Atkins Review

Thursday, February 25th

2021 Popular Diet Reviews

Atkins

• Cost: All plans and tools are FREE
• Meal kits, bars, shakes and treats available for purchase

Atkins is one of several popular diets that focus on reducing carb intake (along with paleo, Keto, and several others). This approach was created in 1963 by Dr. Robert Atkins, a cardiologist who observed that restricting carbohydrates helped with weight loss while not leaving his patients always hungry for more food. So, this approach has been around for decades and continues to be a plan that people often try when looking to lose weight.

Ideal for those who:

• Already know they need/want to control their sugar/carbs intake (diabetics)
• Want a choice between plans for those who need to lose 40+ pounds, less than 40 pounds, or maintain their current weight
• Want access to free plans and tools

Not ideal for those who:

• Like eating fresh fruit on a regular basis
• Aren't willing to cut back on sugar/carbs
• Want direct coaching from health/fitness professionals

The Atkins site offers a lot of helpful tools - at absolutely no cost. That makes this popular diet a great choice for people who want to change their eating habits in a low-carb way but don't want to pay for an expensive membership-based plan. On the site, you'll find these tools and more:

• Mobile app: track your food on the go
• Carb counter
• Meal plans and shopping lists: with a quick-start option for people who don't like to cook and a standard option that combines homemade recipes and Atkins products
• Trackers: record your exercise, body measurements, and weight
• Discussion boards and groups: connect with other people eating the Atkins way, get strategies and tips for success, and ask questions

On the Atkins site, you'll also find plans that are specific to your weight loss goals. Atkins 20 is for people who have more than 40 pounds to lose or for those who are prediabetic or diabetic. The 20 means that you are limited to 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. During the first phase of this plan, you'll only be allowed to eat "foundation vegetables" (no starchy ones), healthy fats like avocado, proteins and most cheeses, along with nuts and seeds. As you progress through the program, you'll gradually add in foods like Greek yogurt, berries and melon, legumes, and tomato juice.

As you might guess, the Atkins 40 plan is for people who have less than 40 pounds to lose, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or who want to have a wider range of foods to choose from. That 40 also means that you're aiming for 40 grams of net carbs each day.

Finally, if you want the widest variety of food choices and are looking to maintain your current weight, you would select the Atkins 100 diet plan. This gives you 100 carbs per day. While it's still recommended that you choose foods from the "acceptable" list and avoid/limit sugar and refined carbs, this plan doesn't have any foods that are truly off-limits.

One way to simplify this plan is by purchasing Atkins products. You can get entire meal kits, frozen foods and meals, shakes and bars, and even treats that all fit within the approved carb ranges required by the Atkins diet. You can often find these products at your local grocery store, but the Atkins store is the easiest way to find everything they offer (except for the frozen foods!).

How does Atkins measure up when it comes to weight loss? If you're trying to break a sugar addiction, control your diabetes, or already a fan of low-carb eating, Atkins could be a good match for you. But, most people find this plan overly restrictive, especially since it cuts out most fruits and grains. People usually lose weight quickly on this plan, but have a hard time sticking to it for a long time.

On the other hand, the Atkins site offers a lot of helpful tools for free - so even if you don't follow the plan 100%, you can still use those tools to help keep an eye on your food intake and lower your overall consumption of sugar and carbs.