In 1972, cardiologist Dr. Robert Atkins developed a low-carbohydrate weight loss program called the Atkins nutritional approach. This low-carbohydrate diet has three phases for losing weight to reach your goal, and the program also states that you can use it to maintain your goal weight for life. A low-carbohydrate diet might not be nutritionally adequate, and you should get your doctor's approval before starting any diet for weight loss.
Diet Overview
On Atkins, you limit your food intake by restricting your carbohydrates, not by counting calories. Each day on Atkins, you can have a certain number of net carbs, which you calculate by subtracting the grams of dietary fiber from the total number of carbohydrates in a food. Your daily net carb limit increases throughout the diet. Atkins claims that the diet can help you lose weight and control your blood sugar levels, but a risk of a low-carbohydrate diet is that it might raise your cholesterol levels if it is high in saturated fat, according to MayoClinic.com.
Induction
The goal of phase 1, or induction, is to start losing weight by restricting your net carbs so that your body switches to burning stored body fat instead of dietary carbohydrates for fuel. You can have 20 g of net carbs daily, with 12 to 15 g coming from non-starchy vegetables and the rest from low-carbohydrate foods such as high-fat cheese or bacon bits. Pure fats and meats are carbohydrate-free and you can have meats, fish, poultry, eggs, oils and butter. You might lose up to 15 lbs. in the first two weeks.
Ongoing Weight Loss
You can start phase 2, or ongoing weight loss, when you are within 15 lbs. of your goal weight, when you become bored with your food choices on the induction phase, or when you are more than halfway to your goal weight. Each week, add 5 g of daily net carbs, so that your weight loss slows. Your food choices include all of the foods from phase 1 as well as new options such as cottage cheese, nuts, seeds, berries, melon, lemon juice, lime juice and tomato juice.
Pre-Maintenance
Move into phase 3 of Atkins, or pre-maintenance, when you are within 10 lbs. of your goal weight or have been losing weight but have become bored with your food choices on phase 2. Continue to eat protein and fat at each meal and increase your daily net carbs by 10 g each week. You can eat all of the foods from the first two phases, as well as small portions of beans, starchy vegetables such as acorn squash and potatoes, fruit and grains.
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