What Can You Eat on the Atkins Diet? The Ultimate Guide

In the world of low-carb eating plans, the Atkins Diet stands out as a pioneering approach that has endured the test of time. As more individuals seek effective methods to lose weight and improve overall health, the Atkins Diet continues to be a popular choice. But what exactly can you eat on the Atkins Diet?

This comprehensive guide will help answer that question and delve into the core principles, benefits, and finer details of the Atkins Diet. While it shares similarities with other low-carb diets like keto, the Atkins Diet has unique features that make it an appealing option for many.

Whether you're already familiar with low-carb lifestyles or just starting your wellness journey, this guide will walk you through the transformative power of controlled carbohydrate consumption in the Atkins Diet. We’ll also help you decide whether this diet is the right fit for your health goals.

Key Takeaways

• The Atkins diet is a diet plan that involves eating fewer carbs and if you follow the plan, you could be successful at losing weight.
• In phase 1 of the diet, your focus is on eating low-carb, filling, and delicious foods such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese, fats, and low-carb vegetables.
• In phases 2 and 3 of the diet, you gradually add back some higher-carb foods, based on personal progress and your response to carbs.

What Is the Atkins Diet?

The Atkins diet was created in the 1960s by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, a cardiologist and physician. He had been observing his patients and found that when they avoided high-carb foods such as fruit, pasta, potatoes, and bread they were able to lose weight easily. In addition, they weren’t left feeling hungry or having to intentionally restrict calories.

Essentially, at least in the beginning, the Atkins diet is a keto diet. In other words, you eat more protein foods and lower your intake of net carbs.

What Is the Basic Principle of the Atkins Diet?

The Atkins Diet is a four-phase lifetime eating plan that helps people achieve permanent weight control with the help of careful consumption of carbohydrates.

This diet also has four core principles:

• Weight loss: Both men and women who follow the Atkins find they can lose pounds and inches.
• Weight maintenance: With the Atkins Diet, you feel satisfied with the foods you eat and not feel hungry, a common issue with many other low-fat, low-calorie diets. You’re able to find your optimum level of carb intake and maintain a healthy weight.
• Good health and well-being: The Atkins Diet helps you meet your nutritional needs by eating wholesome and healthy foods and omitting junk food.
• Disease prevention: With this individualized controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach, people at high risk of chronic illnesses experience a marked improvement in their health.

Is the Atkins Diet Actually Good for You?

The Atkins Diet can provide several health benefits beyond weight loss. According to National Library of Medicine, studies have shown that it may help reduce blood pressure, lower triglyceride levels, and improve blood sugar control in individuals with type 2 diabetes. These changes can contribute to a reduced risk of heart disease and improved metabolic health.

For most people, the Atkins Diet is generally considered safe. However, because it significantly restricts carbohydrates, individuals taking medication for conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes should consult a healthcare professional before making dietary changes. This is especially important because the diet's effects on blood sugar and blood pressure could necessitate adjustments to your medication regimen.

As with any diet, the key to success is ensuring it aligns with your long-term health goals and individual needs. Speaking with a nutritionist or dietitian can also provide valuable guidance on whether the Atkins Diet is the right fit for you.

Related: What Is Dirty Keto? Clean Keto vs. Dirty Keto

The Atkins Diet: Phases

The Atkins Diet is made up of four phases:

• Phase 1 - Induction: During phase 1, your meals must come from a specific list of foods, mostly consisting of seafood, meat, cheese, and eggs. Carb intake must stay below 20 grams of “net carbs” per day. This is the strict keto diet phase and should be for a minimum of two weeks.
• Phase 2 - Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL): During phase 2 you’re allowed to add back more foods to your diet, five grams of net carbs at a time. You stick with phase 2 until you’re getting close to your goal weight.
• Phase 3 - Pre-Maintenance: At this stage, you can start to experiment with adding back more carbs and fine-tuning your intake of carbs. You stay at this phase until you’ve achieved your weight loss goal.
• Phase 4 - Maintenance: The goal is to reach phase 4 and follow it for the rest of your life.

You’re eating within the carb range that allows you to maintain your ideal weight.

What Can You Eat on the Atkins Diet Phase 1? (Meal Ideas)

During Phase 1, the Induction Phase, your meals should include minimal amounts of carbs. The foods you’re allowed are limited, but you can still enjoy some tasty and filling foods.

During this phase, you should be getting around 10% of your daily calories from carbohydrates. Your intake of carbs should be less than 20 grams of Net Carbs per day. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbs in a food.

You can eat protein such as fish and shellfish, poultry, meat, eggs, and cheese, at every meal. “Foundation” vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus, celery, cucumber, peppers, and green beans, should account for 12 to 15 grams of your daily net carbs.

Foods you don’t have to limit include oils and fats. And food to avoid include most fruits, bread, pastas, grains, nuts, sugary baked goods, or alcohol. In addition, you must drink a minimum of eight glasses of water every day.

What Do You Eat for Breakfast on the Atkins Diet?

• Egg-filled avocado with prosciutto
• Baby kale and blue cheese salad with hazelnut dressing
• Salmon and steamed artichoke with homemade lemon mayonnaise
• Vegan keto coconut protein shake
• California breakfast burrito
• Leek quiche

What Is a Good Lunch on the Atkins diet?

• Spinach and cheese omelet
• Spinach or kale salad with cucumbers raw broccoli, and cheese
• Chicken salad with nuts and a side of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers
• Blackened salmon filet with a side of cauliflower or Brussel sprouts
• Turkey with vegetable soup

Atkins Diet: Dinner Ideas

• Chicken eggplant casserole
• Keto steaks with green onion and caper sauce
• Chicken and cheese quesadillas
• Turkey tacos

What Can You Eat on the Low-Carb Atkins Diet?

A low-carb diet should include a variety of minimally processed, low-carb foods, including protein sources, non-starchy and preferably high-protein vegetables, and high-fat dairy products.

What Foods Are Allowed on the Atkins Diet?

• Meat: beef, lamb, chicken, and pork
• Fish: Tuna, haddock, trout, salmon
• Eggs
• Non-starchy vegetables: Tomatoes, asparagus. Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and spinach
• Lower-carb fruits: blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and oranges
• Nuts and seeds: Pistachios, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds
• High-fat dairy: Greek yogurt, heavy cream, butter, and cheese
• Fats and oils: Coconut pol, olive oil, avocado oil, avocados, and lard

Foods you can eat in moderation include:

• Starchy vegetables: Corn, peas, yams, sweet potatoes
• Higher-carb fruits: Mango, pineapple, banana, and many others
• Whole grains
• Quinoa, oats, and brown rice
• Legumes: Chickpeas, pinto beans
• Higher-carb dairy: Full-fat yogurt, and milk

What Can't You Eat on the Atkins Diet?

When you’re on the Atkins Diet, there are several foods you should avoid or limit. They include sugar and sugary foods, grains, starchy vegetables, fruits with high sugar content, some dairy products, beans, peas, lentils, and processed or refined foods.

Here’s a list of food and drinks you should avoid:

Foods to Avoid:

• Sugary foods: cakes, candies, honey, ice cream, etc.
• Grains: wheat, spelt, rye, barley, rice
• Trans fats: hydrogenated oils
• High-carb fruit & veg: bananas, apples, carrots, turnips, sweet potatoes

Drinks to Avoid :

• Regular soda
• Fruit juice
• Energy drinks
• Hot chocolate with sugar
• Alcohol

Related: Keto No-Go - What Can You Not Eat On Keto?

Atkins vs. Keto: What Is the Difference?

The Atkins and keto diets are two of the most popular and there are similarities and differences between the two.

Similarities Between Atkins & Keto

They are similar in that they are both based on the principle of reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat intake, with the aim of reducing weight and improving overall health.

Both diets also decrease the number of calories you eat, thereby resulting in weight loss. Many high carb foods, particularly those containing refined carbs, such as sweets, chips, and sugary drinks, are high in calories and may contribute to weight gain.

Both the Atkins and the keto diets require that you remove high-calorie, carb-rich foods, thereby making it easier to cut calories and lose weight.

Keto vs. the Atkins Diet: Differences

The main difference between these two approaches to weight loss is that keto is a moderate protein approach, with around 20% of calories coming from protein, while the Atkins diet allows for up to 30% of calories from protein, depending on the phase.

Another difference is that the goal of the keto diet is to keep your body in ketosis by extremely limiting your carb intake.

The Atkins diet differs in that it involves gradually increasing your carb intake, which results in kicking your body out of ketosis, eventually.

The Atkins diet allows for a wider variety of foods, because of the flexible carb limit. As you move through the phases, you can add more fruits and vegetables and even some grains.

The Atkins diet is less restrictive than keto as you don’t have to monitor ketones or stick to certain macronutrient targets to keep your body in ketosis.

What Is Faster for Weight Loss: Atkins or keto?

In terms of weight loss, the keto diet takes the biscuit. It also keeps your weight steady overall if you can stick to it. While the keto diet is more efficient for losing weight, it’s also incredibly challenging and difficult to stick to.

Atkins 20 vs. Atkins 40 vs. Atkins 100

There are three distinct types of Atkins diet:

Atkins 20®

This is the original Arkins diet and the original keto diet. Not only is it a low-carb keto diet, it’s also amazingly simple.

The starting point (Phase 1) is twenty grams of net carbs a day. It’s a plan that’s best for those who have more than forty pounds to lose or are diabetic.

Atkins 40®

Atkins 40 is also an easy low-carb diet plan that’s based on portion control. In this case, you limit your eating to 40g net carbs per day.

The Atkins 40 is the best fit for people who have less than 40 pounds to lose, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or want a wider variety of food choices from the first day of the diet.

Atkins 100®

The starting point with Atkins 100 is 100 grams of net carbs a day. It’s the perfect Atkins diet for those who want to maintain their current weight and still enjoy the benefits of a low-carb lifestyle.

Related: What Does a Keto Diet Consist of? Healthy Fats & Low-Carbs

Atkins Diet FAQs

Is the Atkins diet healthy?

The Atkins diet is a low-carb diet that can help you lose weight by burning fat faster. The diet doesn’t leave you hungry, as it’s not based on calorie intake, but on limiting carbs. It can be safe and healthy if you choose whole foods and avoid processed foods.

You should also include healthy fats and carbs, like fish, nuts, olive oil, fruits, and whole grains in your long-term eating plan.

What fruit can you eat on the Atkins diet?

You can eat fruit, depending on the phase. For example, in Phase 1, fruit is not allowed as only 20 grams of net carbs are permitted per day. In Phase 2, certain fruits can be added, such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, or honeydew melon.

In Phase 3 and Phase 4, you can eat all the fruit that was permitted in Phase 2 and add in most other kinds gradually.

Are potatoes OK on Atkins?

Generally, potatoes are not recommended on the Atkins diet. This is because they are a starchy vegetable which can undermine weight-loss and low-carb efforts.

Can I do Atkins as a vegan?

Absolutely, yes, you can. The difference is that your protein will come from plant sources such as nuts, beans, soy burgers, soy beverages, tofu, gluten cereals, and vegetable products.

Final Thoughts

The Atkins Diet offers a flexible approach to weight loss, allowing you to enjoy a wide variety of low-carb, high-protein foods while promoting better health. However, sticking to the diet can sometimes feel overwhelming with meal planning and preparation. That’s where CookUnity’s prepared meal delivery service comes in. With a range of delicious, low-carb meals crafted by talented chefs, you can stay on track with your Atkins plan without the hassle. Explore our menu and let CookUnity make your diet journey more convenient and enjoyable. Try CookUnity and save 50% today!

References: Diet Doctor, Mayo Clinic, Healthline, Atkins.com