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Atkins for Life

Theory:

The Atkins diet is a high protein diet based on limiting the carbs in your daily food intake. The Atkins diet plan restricts your intake of processed/refined carbohydrates such as high-sugar foods, breads, pasta, cereal and starchy vegetables. You can, however, eat all the meat, cheese, eggs and fats (like butter and oils) that you want.  The Atkins philosophy is a four-phase eating program with vitamin and mineral supplementation and regular exercise (4 to 6 aerobic workouts per week).  Food selections will differ depending upon the phase you are in and your individual metabolism.  As you follow the Atkins diet over time, you’ll discover the amount of carbohydrates you can eat each day while neither gaining or losing weight. 

Phase 1: Induction – Minimum of 2 weeks

• Limit carbohydrate consumption to 20 grams each day. 

• Eat fish, poultry, eggs, fish, beef, and other foods high in protein and in good fats, such as olive oil.

• May also eat 3 cups of salad greens (dressed with a low-carbohydrate dressing) or non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli or zucchini.

• No conventional bread, baked goods, pasta, nothing with added sugar

• No brown rice, lentils, and sweet potatoes until you are close to your goal weight

Phase 2: Ongoing Weight Loss

Continue to eat high-quality protein and fat, along with your salad greens and vegetables.

Week by week, add back nutrient-rich carbohydrates such as more veggies, cheese, berries, nuts, and seeds. Do this by adding only 5 grams of carbohydrates per day in weekly increments until weight loss stops. So go from 20 to 25 grams per day one week, then to 30 grams daily the next week, and so forth.  Once weight loss ceases, drop back 5 grams and you’ve discovered the amount of carbohydrates you can consume while still losing weight.  For most people, that amount is somewhere between 40 and 60 grams daily. Continue until you are within 5 to 10 pounds of your goal weight.

Phase 3: Pre-Maintenance

Make the transition from weight loss to weight maintenance by increasing the daily carbohydrate intake in 10-gram increments each week so long as very gradual weight loss is maintained.

Phase 4: Lifetime Maintenance

Select from a wide variety of foods while controlling carbohydrate intake to ensure weight maintenance.

Phase 1 of Atkins Diet Sample Menu

Breakfast: Southwestern omelet with tomato, avocado and ham

Lunch: Caesar salad with grilled chicken

Dinner: Steak au Poivre, roasted asparagus, mixed green salad with lemon vinaigrette, gelatin dessert made with sucralose

Snack:  Celery stuffed with herb cream cheese

Atkins, Robert C., M.D. 2003. New York: St. Martin ’s Press. 

Information provided on this website is not meant to replace the services of your physician, but only to act as an educational tool. The diet summaries are by no means a substitute for reading the actual diet programs, but rather are synopses of basic principles meant to pique your interest and help you select a diet. Be sure to consult your physician and read the entire diet book before beginning any weight loss program.