What Is the Atkins Diet? A Detailed Beginner’s Guide

All forms of the Atkins Diet are focused on restricting net carbs.

The Atkins diet also emphasizes eating protein and healthy types of fat. You’ll add select carbs back to your diet as you start approaching your weight loss goal.

Atkins 20

When you reach your goal weight, you’ll maintain your carb level at about 80 to 100 net carbs per day.

To help jump-start your weight loss on the Atkins 20, you might eat some of the following foods:

• Foundation veggies, such as broccoli, spinach, bok choy, and cucumbers
• Protein, like eggs, chicken, and beef
• All fish, including salmon, cod, flounder, and herring
• Butter and olive oil
• Some cheeses, such as cheddar, goat, Swiss, and Parmesan

Atkins 40

In Atkins 40, you add net carbs back to your diet in 10 g increments. Like Atkins 20, you’ll maintain eating about 80 to 100 g of net carbs per day once you reach your goal weight.

• Nuts and seeds
• Legumes (beans)
• Fruit
• Starchy vegetables, like squash, potatoes, and beets
• Whole grains, like barley, whole-grain rice, and whole-wheat pasta

Atkins 100

As a low-carb diet, the Atkins Diet may have certain health benefits.

The premise of the Atkins diet is that if you count and limit carbs — the body’s usual fuel — your body will be forced to burn your fat stores for energy, thereby promoting weight loss.

“Cutting out carbs can contribute to weight loss initially. However, eliminating whole food groups, such as grains, milk, yogurt, and fruit, is likely unsustainable and inadequate in nutrients,” Popeck cautions. “Fiber will certainly be lacking, as well as calcium, potassium, and other vitamins and minerals.”

Popeck also notes that it’s unclear whether this diet may work in the long run. “I believe low-carb diets may be nutritionally unbalanced and difficult to maintain,” she says. “I work with many patients in my clinic who have tried the Atkins diet and successfully lost weight, but then [they] regain the lost weight and in turn have a difficult time losing weight again.”

Instead, she says, she encourages her clients to try to think of diet planning more as a lifestyle — one in which all foods can fit.

Top 10 Foods to Eat

• Beef
• Chicken
• Fish
• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Nuts
• Cheese
• Milk

Top 10 Foods to Limit or Avoid

• Pasta
• White bread
• Pretzels
• Potatoes
• Cakes
• Cookies
• Candy
• Maple syrup
• Honey
• Ice cream

The Atkins website also offers free detailed meal plans for every type of Atkins Diet.

1. Prioritize Protein

2. Choose Your Snacks Wisely

• Black olives with cheddar
• Crab dip with vegetables
• Cucumber guacamole
• Kale chips
• Smoked salmon, cucumber, and cream cheese roll-ups

If you’re on the Atkins 40 plan, you can have all of the above plus:

• ¾ cup of blackberries
• Greek yogurt
• A slice of whole-grain toast with almond butter
• Hummus

Followers of the Atkins 100 plan can have any snacks, so long as the daily net carbs doesn’t exceed 100 g.

3. Plan Ahead When Dining Out

If you’re eating out, scan the menu online before you arrive so you can plot your order ahead of time. Look for dishes that center on lean meats and vegetables, says Vanessa Rissetto, RD, a nutritionist based in Hoboken, New Jersey. A safe bet is a salad topped with grilled chicken or a burger with no bun and a side salad, she says.

4. Limit Condiments

5. Pair your meal with low-carb sides

Even if your main dish is light on carbs, side dishes can quickly add to the carb count.

• The Atkins Diet is a low-carb diet designed to help people lose weight and maintain their weight loss.
• There are three forms of the Atkins Diet: Atkins 20, 40, and 100. Each corresponds with how many net carbs you’ll eat per day when starting the eating pattern.
• This diet may be helpful for weight loss and blood sugar regulation.
• There’s some evidence it could potentially lead to dehydration and reduced kidney function, so it’s important to consult your doctor before trying it.

Additional reporting by Julie Davis Canter and Stephanie Bucklin.