What Can You Eat on Atkins?

For those who have never tried the Low Carb Lifestyle, I'm going to share some of the meals I've been eating this past week. I think you might be surprised!

I'm on Atkins 40, which is a program for people looking to lose less than 40 pounds. Of course, anyone can choose to use this program, but if you have more weight to lose, you might want to start with Induction. This is a more extreme version of carb cutting, where you have 20 grams of carbs or less per day. This is what most people think of when they hear "Atkins Diet." However, Induction is usually only a 2-week program followed by small increases in carbs in order to determine how many carbs you can eat while still losing weight.

On the Atkins programs, you will count "net" carbs instead of total carbs. Net carbs are determined by taking the total grams of carbs per serving and subtracting grams of fiber. Fiber is not counted as it doesn't affect blood sugar levels. In fact, fiber is extremely helpful! Fiber helps you feel fuller when you are on a diet. Fiber also helps food move through your digestive tract at a healthy pace, so you don't get clogged up. This can be an issue on low carb diets. Atkins recommends drinking plenty of water, which also helps you stay regular.

There are recommended carbs on Atkins, but I am not worrying about this. If you choose to start with Induction, you should follow these recommendations because this will assure that you begin burning fat as quickly as possible. Eating foods that are higher in natural sugars--foods like corn or sweet potatoes--could stop some people from entering ketosis--the fat-burning zone. 

The Atkins Food Tracker app will help you dial in exactly how much of everything to eat. It gives you a range to aim for in terms of protein, fat, fiber, calories, and net carbs. By keeping all your numbers within this range, you can be sure you are getting enough of all your macro nutrients. AND you will be sure to lose weight!

For breakfast, I only have a cup of coffee. This is normal for me. I stopped eating breakfast on the day after Thanksgiving, 2016. It was an experiment in intermittent fasting. The experiment worked! I found that I could skip breakfast with no deleterious effects. I always workout in the mornings and I never have an issue. However, I do use several supplements in my coffee, including half and half, unsweetened cocoa powder, Celtic salt, collagen, a drop of heavy cream. The cream is a new addition. It adds a little extra fat, which is very helpful on Atkins. (Helpful in terms of keeping me satisfied and helpful in terms of burning fat.)

For lunch, I always have a salad. However, I am now very careful about what I put on my salad. I calculate every ahead of time so I know how many carbs I am eating. I usually start with about 3 cups of organic salad mix (baby lettuces, spinach, arugula, kale, etc.) and some kind of dressing. I have been using Sprouts Balsamic Vinaigrette made with avocado oil. (I avoid all the heavily processed seed oils like canola, soy, corn, etc.) It's easy to find bottled salad dressing made with avocado oil, but you can also make your own. On top of the greens, I add some type of protein. It might be about 4 oz. of roast chicken, tuna salad, sardines, or an omelet made with 3 eggs. Then I add a few extras, like grape tomatoes, slices of cucumber, pumpkin seeds, etc. I might choose to add a slice of sprouted wheat bread, toasted, if I feel like it!

For dinner, I have been eating plenty of protein. I start with 4-6 oz. of meat or fish. This might be slow-cooked pork shoulder, salmon fillet, roast chicken (with the skin!), a beef burger (no bun), or a grass-fed beef sausage. I'm aiming for about 90 grams of protein per day, so I check my Food Tracker to make sure I'm getting enough. Protein is crucial when you are trying to lose weight. Without enough protein, there's a very good chance you will start losing muscle mass instead of fat. This is the opposite of what you want! In addition to the protein, I have several veggies: steamed broccoli, half a roasted sweet potato, mushrooms sautéed in butter, and mashed avocado on top. Of course, you can substitute the veggies you like best. 

After dinner is the time that I usually ruin my diet! This is the witching hour, when my sweet tooth rears its ugly head and demands cookies! To combat the ugly sweet tooth, I've made a tahini and cocoa powder spread. It's completely sugar-free and low carb, but delicious. I added ground flax seeds and psyllium fiber to beef up my daily fiber count. I have a few berries (the lowest carb fruits are berries) with about a tablespoon or so of my tahini spread. And a large mug of herbal tea to help fill up my belly. This has been working great!

There you have it. That's my food plan. Pretty simple. Very doable. I'm eating foods that I love and feeling very happy about my choices. I'm really not thinking about sugar or cookies at all these days. And I'm losing weight.