What Foods Do I Eat On the Atkins Diet?

The Atkins Diet consists of four phases. There are different foods allowed in each of three phases.  We will go through each phase and some of the allowable foods.
Phase 1 is the induction. It’s a two week long jumpstart phase that supercharges your body’s fat burning power. During this phase, you’ll reduce your carbohydrate intake to 20 net carbs per day.  A net carb is the grams of carbohydrates in a serving, minus the grams of fiber. If something has 20 grams of carbs per serving and 5 grams of fiber, it has 15 net carbs per serving. The first two weeks will certainly be very challenging, but the end result will be worth it.  You’ll rev up your metabolism, eat a variety of foods, say goodbye to bad carbs, and begin to see results.
On phase 1, you may eat all types of fish, including shellfish, all types of poultry, all types of meat (with the exception of processed meat that is cured with sugar), and eggs any way you want to fix them.
Cheese is limited to a few types for the first phase. Vegetables are in two categories. The salad variety, (lettuce, cucumbers, sprouts, mushrooms, celery, peppers, etc), which have very low carb content, All other vegetables have a higher carb content and should be eaten in smaller portions. The starchy vegetables will be added in phase 3.
To make your salads tastier, you may garnish them with crumbled bacon, diced hard-boiled  eggs, and crumbled cheeses. You can eat any prepared salad dressings with no added sugar and no more than 2 net carbs per serving.  All herbs and spices are allowed if they don’t contain sugar.

Fats, oils, mayonnaise, butter and olive oil can be used if the serving size is kept to 1 tablespoon and there is no added sugar and no trans fat.
Interestingly enough, milk has more carbs than cream, so milk is not allowed on the Atkins Diet, but cream is.  Almost any beverage is allowed except caffeinated tea or coffee, tea with barley or fruit sugar, and alcohol. Alcohol will be allowed in moderation in phase 2.
Phase 2 is called ongoing weight loss. It gives you the knowledge and freedom to begin to add variety into your daily diet. You will stay on this phase until you are within 10lbs. of your goal weight. Then you will move to pre-maintenance.
The list of foods you will eat on phase 2, is the same as phase 1, with a few additions. You can add cottage cheese 1%, heavy cream, and ricotta cheese to your dairy foods. You can start adding nuts and seeds, and some fruits, such as, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe and honeydew melon. You can also have lemon, lime, and tomato juices.  Atkins has snack bars and shakes in a variety of flavors that you can eat in phase 2.
Phase 3 is pre-maintenance. This is the phase where you are in total control. You’re enjoying more variety and still losing weight. Now you can add in the rest of foods you will be eating on the Atkins Diet.
It’s time to add starchy vegetables such as, acorn squash, carrots, white potatoes, and yams. Legumes and grains can now be added. You can have all types of beans, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice.

Bread is not allowed in any of the phases. The fruits not allowed in phase 2 can now be added in. You can eat apples, bananas, cherries, grapes, kiwi, mango, peaches, and watermelon.
And finally Phase 4 is where you celebrate the sensible eating plan you’ve mastered, renewed energy, improved health, and the new thinner look. The complete list of allowable foods is on the Atkins Diet website.