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This discussion of the positives and negatives of Atkins is apart from those of low-carb diets in general. People whose bodies are suited to low-carb eating tend to feel better on them, be less hungry, and have positive health responses (lower triglyercides and blood glucose; lower blood pressure, higher HDL, among others ).

Positives of The Atkins Diet:

The thrill of eating “forbidden foods” – Atkins dieters are often very happy to find that steak, butter, and cream are back in their diets. They should note, however, that Dr. Atkins advocates eating a variety of fats, and not neglect olive oil and Omega-3′s.

It`s relatively simple to catch on to – After you learn what foods to eat and some basic carb counts, you donï ½t have to think about it much.It emphasizes finding your own carb level ½ To me, this is the biggest strength of the diet. I do think it`s clear that different people have different levels of sensitivity to carbohydrates, and it  ½s a big plus to attempt to help people zero in on that.

It`s popular and therefore easy to find support and information. There are a lot of Web sites devoted to Atkins, and your library probably has quite a few of the books.

Negatives of the Atkins Diet:

It`s popular. Everyone has heard of it  and almost everyone seems to have misconceptions about it. If you talk about your diet, you may get to feel that you`re defending it a lot.

It requires counting the carbs in everything your eat.

Induction – The most controversial aspect of the diet is the Induction phase, and it has become so identified with Atkins that many people think it IS the diet. Induction has several difficulties Carb Crash Some people have a negative reaction to the diet around days 3-5. Although the cure is easy (eat more carbs) and the reaction would transient in any case, people have a lasting memory of this feeling  I have met many people who were turned off low-carb diets altogether by this reaction. More on Carb Crash Getting all necessary nutrients on an extremely low amount of carbohydrate. This wouldn`t be so bad if Induction truly only lasted two weeks, but many people extend it, and Atkins says that some people who are extremely metabolically resistant`swill need to stay on a very low-carb diet permanently to lose weight or maintain weight loss. Although vitamins and minerals can be replaced with supplements, phytonutrients cannot, to the detriment of long-term health.Boredom – For all but the most creative, a very low-carb diet such as Induction gets very boring very quickly another thing that turns a lot of people away from low-carb diets.After Induction, the main negative is that it takes a lot of fiddling to figure out what carb level is going to work for each person. I don`t know many who actually stick precisely to the rulesï adding exactly 5 daily carbs every week, for example. On the other hand, it really does take some experimentation for many of us to figure out what works best of us, and it`s nice that Atkins provides some guidance.

“Beginning with Induction is your choice — you can begin Atkins at any of the four phases. However, Induction will jump start your weight loss as you cut back significantly on carb consumption.”

In Dr. Robert C. Atkins’ original books, he makes it clear that the Induction Phase is an essential part of the Atkins Nutritional Approach (also known as The Atkins Diet). Now, Atkins materials are making statements such as the one above, indicating that the Induction Phase is not absolutely necessary. Is this because Induction seems to draw a lot of criticism from anti low-carb health professionals and other critics? I don’t know, but I do have some thoughts on the whole question of Atkins Induction.

What Is Atkins Induction?

Induction is the first phase of the Atkins Diet and is meant to last for two weeks. It is highly restrictive, limiting food choices mainly to proteins and low-carb vegetables. A maximum of 20 grams of net carbs is allowed. (Note that the books and the website even differ in the amount of vegetables allowed during Induction.)

The Positive Side of Atkins Induction

This phase is meant to kick start the diet by forcing the body to convert from using carbohydrates for energy to using fat. It also tends to cause a large amount of weight loss. Untold numbers of people have found this to be helpful in starting them onto a new low-carb way of eating, and I am not going to be one to question their experience. Anything that helps people make a healthy change to healthy eating is wonderful in my book.

The Negative Side of Atkins Induction

On the other hand, it’s clear to me that Induction isn’t for everyone. My heart sinks every time I hear someone say that they tried Atkins but quit because it was “too hard.” I think, “there goes someone else who could have been helped by cutting carbs but was turned off by an approach that is very restrictive.” The fact is that most people don’t need to cut carbs this much to get the benefits, and there is nothing wrong with starting the Atkins Diet at a higher carb level, as the quote at the top of this page attests.

Further, I think that the way Induction is described in some of the books is even more restrictive, and even confusing, than need be. For example, the books usually restrict vegetables to three cups of salad, or two cups of salad and one cup of non-starchy vegetables. Without further explanation, this could be unnecessarily low in carbohydrates, as one cup of shredded lettuce contains about half a gram of net carbs. The new instructions on the Atkins website say to get 12 to 15 grams of net carbs from vegetables, which is much clearer.