atkins diet plan

THE PROGRAM: PHASE 1

What You Can Eat in this Phase

 Most fish, poultry and meat don't contain carbs so you can feel free to enjoy them, but be sure you're also getting your 12 to 15 grams of net carbs in vegetables as well. 

All fish including:

• Flounder
• Herring
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Sole
• Tuna
• Trout
• Cod
• Halibut

All fowl including:

• Cornish hen 
• Chicken
• Duck
• Goose
• Pheasant
• Quail
• Turkey
• Ostrich

All shellfish including:

• Clams 
• Crabmeat
• Mussels*
• Oysters*
• Shrimp
• Squid
• Lobster

*Oysters and mussels are higher in carbs so limit to about 4 ounces per day.

All meat including:

• Bacon* 
• Beef
• Ham*
• Lamb
• Pork
• Veal
• Venison

Some processed meat, bacon, and ham is cured with sugar, which will add to the carb count. Also steer clear of cold cuts and other meats with added nitrates.

Eggs are one of nature's most nutritious creations. That’s why eggs are a staple breakfast in the Atkins Nutritional Approach.

Feel free to get creative with your eggs: Add mushrooms and onions, or even green pepper. Top the dish off with feta cheese or add basil, oregano and other herbs.

Eggs in any style, including: 

• Deviled 
• Fried
• Hard-boiled
• Omelets
• Poached
• Scrambled
• Soft-boiled

Keep in mind that cheese does contain carbs, about 1 gram per ounce. You may have about 3 to 4 ounces of cheese per day. An ounce is about the size of an individually wrapped slice of American cheese or a 1" cube.

Fats and Oils 

There are no carbs here, but keep in mind that the serving size is approximately 1 tablespoon.

1. Butter
2. Mayonnaise – make sure it has no added sugar
3. Olive oil
4. Vegetable oils – Those labeled “cold pressed” or “expeller pressed” are especially good and olive oil is one of the best.
   • Canola*
   • Walnut
   • Soybean*
   • Grape seed*
   • Sesame
   • Sunflower*
   • Safflower*

*Do not allow any oils to reach overly high temperatures when cooking. Use olive oil for sautéing only. Use walnut or sesame oil to dress cooked veggies or salad, but not for cooking.

Artificial Sweeteners

• Splenda – one packet equals 1 gram of net carbs 

Beverages

• Clear broth/ bouillon (make sure it has no sugars added)
• Club soda
• Cream, heavy or light.
• Decaffeinated or regular coffee and tea*
• Diet soda (be sure to note the carb count)
• Flavored seltzer (must say no calories)
• Herb tea (without added barley or fruit sugar added)
• Unflavored soy/almond milk
• Water – at least eight 8-ounce glasses per day including...
  • Filtered water
  • Mineral water
  • Spring water
  • Tap water

* One to two cups of caffeinated tea or coffee is allowed as desired and tolerated by each individual. If you experience symptoms of hypoglycemia or cravings as a result, do not use caffeine. If you have a true caffeine addiction, it is best to break the habit during the induction phase.
* Limit lemon and lime juices to 3 T per day

What is a Low-Carbohydrate Diet?

The theory behind low-carbohydrate diets is that if dieters avoid foods containing carbohydrate—that is, starches or sugars—they will shed pounds. Such diets eliminate or dramatically restrict the intake of fruit, fruit juice, starchy vegetables, beans, bread, rice, cereals, pasta and other grain products, and all other foods containing carbohydrate, leaving a limited diet of foods that contain primarily fat and protein: meat, cheese, nonstarchy vegetables, and very little else. As the diet proceeds, the carbohydrate restriction relaxes somewhat, but fatty, high-protein foods continue to dominate the dieter’s plate.
Despite anecdotal accounts of seemingly dramatic weight loss, the effect of low-carbohydrate diets on body weight is similar to that of other weight-reduction diets. In research studies at the University of Pennsylvania and at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the average participant lost weight during the first six months on a low-carbohydrate diet, but regained some of this weight during the next six months so that the net weight loss after one year (15.8 pounds in the University of Pennsylvania study and 11.2 pounds in the VA study) was not significantly different from that seen with other diets used for comparison.  This degree of weight loss is not greater than that which occurs with programs using low-fat, vegetarian diets. In Dean Ornish’s program for reversing heart disease, for example, a combination of a low-fat, vegetarian diet and exercise led to an average weight loss of 22 pounds in the first year, along with dramatic reductions in cholesterol levels and reversal of existing heart disease.  Five years later, much of that benefit had been retained.  Studies of whether weight loss from low-carbohydrate diets is maintained for more than one year have not been performed.
In a one-year clinical trial reported in JAMA in 2005, researchers randomly assigned 160 overweight individuals to one of four popular diets. Participants assigned to the Atkins diet lost 2.1 kilograms, while Weight Watchers dieters lost 3.0 kilograms, Zone dieters lost 3.2 kilograms, and dieters following the Ornish program lost 3.3 kilograms.
A review of 107 research studies on various low-carbohydrate, high-protein weight-loss diets concluded that weight loss on these diets is not due to any special effect of restricting carbohydrate; rather, weight loss depended on the extent to which the dieters’ caloric intake fell and how long they continued with their regimens. Other reports have also found calorie reduction to be the most important factor in weight loss, with no special weight-loss advantage from the restriction of carbohydrates.
 
A review on the safety of low-carbohydrate diets notes that Atkins-type diets are at a greater risk for being nutritionally inadequate and raise the issue of potential long-term health effects.