The Atkins Diet Plan might be the most radical diet program known to mankind. It is the shining representative of the no/low carbohydrate diet movement. Millions have tried it and it has some very, very, very exciting promises indeed!

The promises of the Atkins Diet Plan...

...eat as much as you like of great tasting no-carb foods like meats, eggs and cheese. Do you feel like eating a huge pork steak every day? Well, the Atkins Diet let’s you do that...

...so, you can lose weight eating lot’s of proteins and fat! Hold on, fat? Yeah, the stuff that other diets ban from your menu...

o.k., here is the catch: ...if you happen to be a carb addict, such an extreme low carb diet might be impossible to follow...

... f you happen to be interested in a healthy balanced diet, the Atkins Diet Plan just might be the scariest thing that you can encounter on the street...

...if you are a vegetarian, the diet is basically impossible...

When do we recommend such an extreme low carb diet?

We only recommend the extreme low carb diets for a limited length of time. The low-carb diets are very one-sided ... well, two-sided… because they only let you eat proteins and fat and nearly no carbs of course.

Check our food facts section for more on these three essential components.

Missing out on carbs for a longer period of time is potentially not such a good idea. We see some very interesting potential to use a low carb diet program a la Atkins to mix up your long-term diet plan for weight loss. Long-term there might be considerable health concerns that are associated with the low carb diets:

Low-carb health concerns:

Elevated levels of fat:
If you can nearly only eat proteins and fat, you will…exactly… eat lots of them. Following an Atkins diet plan, it is easy to get 50% of your calories from fat. Over the long term this can really be disastrous as a high level of fat intake can drive high blood pressure as well as heart and artery related problems.

Very low carbohydrate consumption:
The body needs carbs. Of course, they are most likely the main reason for the global epidemic of obesity.

However that does not necessarily mean that we should ban them nearly completely. Even with the long term recommendation of eating between 45 and 85 grams of carbohydrates a day, your body might not get enough carbs to properly have it’s anti-cancer defenses working fully, to get enough fiber for a healthy digestion and maybe you will feel energy levels sagging. You will also lack vitamins and minerals from natural sources.

Too much protein in the diet

Next to the elevated level of fat, a low carb diet also means a very high protein intake. This will put massive strain on you kidneys. It will also wash out calcium from your body. Be sure to take in extra calcium as a supplement during high protein diets.

Based on these health concerns we only see the Atkins Diet as a short-term cycle opportunity that should not be followed long term within your weight loss program. Be sure to use a good supplement program during the time to compensate for the absence of vitamins and minerals.

After having talked about the pros and cons of the low carb diet family, let’s see what you really can and cannot eat during the diet:

How a low carb diet plan works: Based on a low carb diet a la Atkins you can normally eat the following in unlimited amounts:
Meat (e.g. beef, bacon...), Fish (e.g. salmon...), Poultry (duck, chicken...), Shellfish (shrimp, lobster...), Eggs (any kind...) and Cheese (from cheddar to goat...)
...sounds good, no?

You can get your carbs from raw vegetables used for salads, e.g. lettuce, cucumber, pepper, mushrooms, tomatos...

Complete no-no’s during a low-carb diet plan is everything that smells like lot's of carbs including fruits! So you should also not eat bread, rice, pasta, cereals and anything related. Alcohol and milk is also forbidden. Of course sugars, candy and sodas are super no-no’s. And yes, you read correctly, even fruit and juice are forbidden...

The new Atkins Diet Plan has several phases. In the beginning you may only eat around 20 grams of proteins a day for around two weeks. As time progresses the carb allowance increases slowly.

It is very important to count and keep your allowed carbs. Of course this can be difficult and time consuming. This is why we strongly recommend that you use a great calorie counter tool to count your carbs!

How to try an Atkins Diet Plan for cycling:

And yep, before going on any Atkins Diet Plan, be sure that you like the concept and can imagine eating only around 20 grams of salad carbs a day. And oh, yes, be sure that you are not a vegetarian, but then you would probably be sick by now anyway after reading all of the above...

We recommend using the Atkins Diet Plan in a very strategic way here. The biggest advantage is that you can lose weight without concentrating too much on the size of the meals. The Atkins Diet can be a very interesting option if you want to cycle your diet plan.

During your weight loss program you might encounter a big bump on the road to losing weight when you are completely fed up with your current diet plan. Well - try using the Atkins Diet Plan for a short while! Also, when the weight loss effect of your diet plan is diminishing...maybe try Atkins for a short while!

Let’s imagine you want to lose 20 pounds / 10 kilos and take a conservative goal of 20-weeks to achieve it. Imagine further that the weight loss effect of your diet is getting lower and lower after 2 month of dieting. Well, then try a 2-week mini low-carb diet program:

We recommend the following double-cycle plan:

First 6 days: Eat a la Atkins with only 25 grams of salad carbs per day (if in a rush, count the 25 grams once and then use the same salad combination and size the whole time).

Then for 1 day:Eat as much fruit as you want. Do not eat anything else except fruits. Eat all kinds of fruits. However, leave out bananas. Drink fruit juice or water.

Next 6 days:Eat a la Atkins with only 30 grams of salad carbs per day.

Then for 1 day:Eat as much fruit as you want. Do not eat anything else except fruits. Eat all kinds of fruits. However, leave out bananas. Drink fruit juice or water.

After these 14 days of extreme one-sided dieting, you should return to your longer-term weight loss plan. When using this cycle, your long-term diet plan should not be a low-carb diet of course, as the cycle might not have much effect then.

The ultimate mystery:
Why do you lose weight while being allowed to eat unlimited amounts of calories?

What is the secret behind the Atkins diet plan? Why does it work?
Hmm, the main factor is most likely...

...that the high protein in the diet drives your appetite down! This leads to a low calorie intake even though unlimited amounts are allowed. You lose weight with a low-carb / high-fat diet the same way as with other diets:

by eating less calories...!

Of course, the principle of the Atkins Diet Plan – eat as much as you want of certain foods – is very well suited to keep up your weight loss motivation and to help you to win the mental game!