Are Nuts Ok For The First Two Weeks Of The Atkins Diet?

The first two weeks on the Atkins Diet are considered the first phase of the diet, or the induction period. The diet claims that you can lose up to 15 lbs. during this two-week period. These first two weeks are intended to accustom your body from burning carbohydrates for energy to burning fat for energy instead, according to the Atkins Diet website.

Induction Period

You are only allowed to eat certain foods during the induction period. This phase involves eating 20 g of carbs a day and a lot of protein and fat. Eat any kind of meat and poultry, seafood and eggs and cheese. You can also have certain vegetables. The diet encourages fats in the form of butter and various oils, including nut oil. However, the diet is very specific about what you can eat during this phase, and it does not include nuts of any sort.

Phase 2

Nuts are allowed during the second phase of the diet. This phase includes more foods and more carbs than the first phase and is intended to last for a longer period of time. During this phase, you are allowed to have 5 "net carbs" each day, which are the number of carbohydrates in a food after subtracting the fiber. Nuts are included in this category. Five "net carbs" is the equivalent of 30 almonds, 10 Brazil nuts, 9 cashews, 12 macadamia nuts, 10 pecan halves, 50 pistachios or 14 walnuts. These are the only carbs you can have that day.

Ketosis

The Atkins Diet encourages ketosis, which might suppress your appetite, although this is not backed by science. However, without carbohydrates, your body does not fully break down fats, which is what causes this condition. Ketosis can cause a number of symptoms, including bad breath, headaches, constipation and feeling weak, irritated and dizzy. Ketosis can also lead to kidney stones or gout.

Considerations

There are a number of problems with the Atkins Diet. The Institute of Medicine recommends eating 225 to 325 g of carbohydrates each day for optimum health, but the Atkins Diet only allows 20 to 100 g a day, depending on the phase. Experts recommend losing 1 to 2 lbs. a week for healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can result in losing water weight, or even muscle, instead of fat. Also, the Atkins Diet includes too much fat, which is unhealthy for your heart.