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Principles of the Atkins Lifestyle

The Atkins Lifestyle is driven by science and designed for life. Backed by decades of independent, peer-reviewed research, Science Advisory Board oversight, and support from the health professional community, this approach is both evidence-based and ever-adaptable to meet individual needs.

Three flexible plans allow your patients to find their best-fit approach that works well with their lifestyle, preferences and health goals: Atkins 20®, Atkins 40®, and Atkins 100®.

Though each plan is structured differently, all underscore the same dietary principles:

  • Reduce intake of ‘net carbs’ – total carbohydrates minus fiber and sugar alcohols
  • Emphasize adequate protein and healthy fats
  • Include small to moderate portions of high-fiber carb sources
  • Limit refined grains and added sugars

Weight Management and Wellness 

Weight Loss

Female leg stepping on weigh scales. Healthy lifestyle, food and sport concept

The Atkins Diet is designed for safe and effective weight loss. Through the Atkins Nutritional Approach, carbohydrates are sufficiently restricted to shift the body into lipolysis and ketosis, preferentially oxidizing stored fat for energy, breaking down adipose tissue, and facilitating weight loss. This approach may be especially effective for patients who have struggled to lose weight by other means, those reluctant to count calories or restrict fat, or those with lifestyle-related comorbidities. For example:

  • Research demonstrates the efficacy of low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs), like the Atkins Nutritional Approach, over low-fat diets (LFDs) and other conventional, calorie-restricted dietary interventions. This advantage may be attributed to LCDs’ dual ability to break down fat for fuel and inhibit fat storage (1-4).
  • Additional evidence shows LCDs’ ability to promote greater weight loss with smaller calorie deficits compared to LFDs, which helps promote improved dietary compliance (5-6).
  • Multiple studies have shown LCDs result in greater percentages of fat loss and better retention of lean body mass compared to other dietary interventions. A comprehensive analysis of 87 studies concluded that LCDs have a favorable effect on both body mass and body composition (7), with some evidence suggesting that abdominal fat may be particularly targeted (8).

Weight Maintenance

True success with any weight loss program is the ability to keep the weight off and achieve a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. That’s why the Atkins Nutritional Approach provides personalized support and structure for life by helping individuals establish their unique Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium (ACE) – the carbohydrate intake found to promote weight maintenance and protect against weight regain. Studies show this continued carbohydrate restriction, combined with higher protein intake, promotes acute weight-loss and long-term weight maintenance.

Talking Over a Healthy Lunch

For example:

  • Evidence suggests that higher protein, lower carbohydrate diets (25% and 45% of total daily calorie intake, respectively), can minimize adaptive thermogenesis after weight loss, thereby avoiding the concurrent decrease in metabolic rate that often stymies long-term weight loss maintenance (9).
  • Studies have also shown LCDs produce significantly greater resting and total energy expenditure during periods of weight loss maintenance compared to isocaloric LFDs (10-11).
  • Sustained caloric restriction is often easier on an LCD, due to increased feelings of satiety and decreased cravings associated with choosing foods that are lower in carbohydrate, higher in fat, and contain adequate protein (12-14).

Good Health

The Atkins Nutritional Approach provides a nutritionally complete diet and is more likely to ensure adequate nutrient intakes and good health compared to a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet. Studies have demonstrated the ability to include a variety of nutrient-dense foods and meet micronutrient needs while following an LCD meal plan (15-16). For example:

  • Despite limiting carbohydrate-containing foods, LCDs have been found to increase mean daily fiber intake compared to baseline fiber consumption (17) and encourage intake of phytonutrient-rich plant foods (18-19). These dietary improvements are likely due to LCDs’ emphasis on high-fiber/low-glycemic vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
  • LCDs help stabilize metabolism during weight loss, and thus, require less drastic calorie reductions to achieve and maintain weight loss compared to standard low-fat/calorie-restricted diets (5, 6, 11, 20) thereby allowing more opportunities to meet micronutrient needs through dietary choices.

Disease Prevention

Patients who are at high risk for, or diagnosed with certain chronic diseases, can see improvement in clinical parameters by following an individualized Atkins Diet plan. Research increasingly shows carbohydrate restriction results in global improvements in biomarkers related to metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Senior man monitoring his blood pressure at home

For example:

  • Multiple studies have demonstrated that carbohydrate restriction helps lower hemoglobin A1c and fasting glucose levels, reduce serum insulin levels and improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce or obviate medication requirements in patients with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance (21-24).
  • Increasing evidence suggests LCDs promote cardiovascular health by reducing plasma triglycerides, increasing HDL cholesterol, and improving LDL cholesterol particle-size patterns (25-27).
  • Several dozen studies have examined the efficacy of LCDs compared to LFDs; findings show LCDs do as well or better than LFDs in improving metabolic syndrome biomarkers. These studies support the use of the Atkins Diet as a powerful clinical tool in the long-term management of obesity-related chronic diseases (1, 5, 28-29).

Click here to learn more about the current body of evidence supporting the efficacy of LCDs and the Atkins Nutritional Approach.

References

  1. Brehm BJ, Seeley RJ, Daniels SR, D’Alessio DA. A randomized trial comparing a very low carbohydrate diet and a calorie-restricted low fat diet on body weight and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Apr;88(4):1617-23 
  2. Yancy WS Jr, Olsen MK, Guyton JR, Bakst RP, Westman EC. A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004 May 18;140(10):769-77 
  3. Foster GD, Wyatt HR, Hill JO, McGuckin BG, Brill C, Mohammed BS, Szapary PO, Rader DJ, Edman JS, Klein S. A randomized trial of a low-carbohydrate diet for obesity. N Engl J Med. 2003 May 22;348(21):2082-90 
  4. Nordmann AJ, Nordmann A, Briel M, Keller U, Yancy WS Jr, Brehm BJ, Bucher HC. Effects of low-carbohydrate vs low-fat diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Feb 13;166(3):285-93 
  5. Samaha FF, Iqbal N, Seshadri P, Chicano KL, Daily DA, McGrory J, Williams T, Williams M, Gracely EJ, Stern L. A low-carbohydrate as compared with a low-fat diet in severe obesity. N Engl J Med. 2003 May 22;348(21):2074-81 
  6. Shiue, H, Sather C, Layman D. Reduced Carbohydrate/Protein Ratio Enhances Metabolic Changes Associated With Weight Loss Diet. FASEB Journal, 2001;15(4): 301 
  7. Krieger JW, Sitren HS, Daniels MJ, Langkamp-Henken B. Effects of variation in protein and carbohydrate intake on body mass and composition during energy restriction: a meta-regression. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 83, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages 260–274, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/83.2.260 
  8. Volek J, Sharman M, Gómez A, Judelson D, Rubin M, Watson G, Sokmen B, Silvestre R, French D, Kraemer W. Comparison of energy-restricted very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets on weight loss and body composition in overweight men and women. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2004 Nov 8;1(1):13
  9. Drummen M, Tischmann L, Gatta-Cherifi B, Fogelholm M, Raben A, Adam TC, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. High Compared with Moderate Protein Intake Reduces Adaptive Thermogenesis and Induces a Negative Energy Balance during Long-term Weight-Loss Maintenance in Participants with Prediabetes in the Post Obese State: A PREVIEW Study. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 150, Issue 3, March 2020, Pages 458–463, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz281 
  10. Ebbeling CB, Swain JF, Feldman HA, Wong WW, Hachey DL, Garcia-Lago E, Ludwig DS: Effects of dietary composition on energy expenditure during weight-loss maintenance. JAMA 2012, 307(24):2627-2634 
  11. Ebbeling Cara B, Feldman Henry A, Klein Gloria L, Wong Julia M W, Bielak Lisa, Steltz Sarah K et al. Effects of a low carbohydrate diet on energy expenditure during weight loss maintenance: randomized trial BMJ 2018; 363 :k4583 
  12. Latner JD, Schwartz M. The effects of a high-carbohydrate, high-protein or balanced lunch upon later food intake and hunger ratings. Appetite. 1999 Aug;33(1):119-28 
  13. Ball SD, Keller KR, Moyer-Mileur LJ, et al. Prolongation of Satiety After Low Versus Moderately High Glycemic Index Meals in Obese Adolescents. Pediatrics. 2003, 111:3;488-494 
  14. Hoertel HA, Will MJ, Leidy HJ. A randomized crossover, pilot study examining the effects of a normal protein vs. high protein breakfast on food cravings and reward signals in overweight/obese “breakfast skipping”, late-adolescent girls. Nutr J. 2014, 3:80 https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-13-80 
  15. Zinn C, Rush A, Johnson Reassessing the nutrient intake of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet: a hypothetical case study design. BMJ 2018;8:e018846. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018846 
  16. Seddon JM., Ajani UA, Sperduto RD, et al. Dietary Carotenoids, Vitamins A, C, and E, and Advanced Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Eye Disease Case-Control Study Group. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1994;272(18): 1413-1420 
  17. Syed-Abdul MM, Hu Q, Jacome-Sosa M, Padilla J, Manrique-Acevedo C, Heimowitz C,. Parks EJ. Effect of carbohydrate restriction-induced weight loss on aortic pulse wave velocity in overweight men and women. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2018 Dec;43(12):1247-1256. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2018-0113. 
  18. Wang H, Cao G, Prior RL. Total Antioxidant Capacity of Fruits. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 1996; 44:701-705 
  19. Prior RL., Cao G, Martin A., et al. Antioxidant Capacity as Influenced by Total Phenolic and Anthocyanin Content, Maturity, and Variety of Vaccinium Species. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 1998; 46(7): 2686-2693 
  20. Johnston CS, Day CS, Swan PD. Postprandial Thermogenesis is Increased 100% on a High-Protein, Low-Fat Diet Versus a High-Carbohydrate, Low-Fat Diet in Healthy, Young Women. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 2002, 21(1): 55-61 
  21. Boden G, Sargrad K, Homko C, Mozzoli M, Stein TP. Effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on appetite, blood glucose levels, and insulin resistance in obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Ann Intern Med 2005, 142(6):403-411 
  22. Dashti HM, Al-Zaid NS, Mathew TC, Al-Mousawi M, Talib H, Asfar SK, Behbahani AI. Long term effects of ketogenic diet in obese subjects with high cholesterol level. Mol Cell Biochem 2006, 286(1-2):1-9 
  23. Hussain TA, Mathew TC, Dashti AA, Asfar S, Al-Zaid N, Dashti HM. Effect of low-calorie versus low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet in type 2 diabetes. Nutrition 2012, 28(10):1016-1021 
  24. Paoli, A., Mancin, L., Giacona, M.C. et al. Effects of a ketogenic diet in overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome. J Transl Med 18, 104 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-020-02277-0 
  25. Shai I, Schwarzfuchs D, Henkin Y, et al. Weight loss with a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or low-fat diet. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:229–241. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa0708681 
  26. Krauss RM. Dietary and genetic probes of atherogenic dyslipidemia. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2005, 25(11):2265-2272 
  27. Volek JS, Phinney SD, Forsythe CE, Quann EE, Wood RJ, Puglisi MJ, Kraemer WJ, Bibus DM, Fernandez ML, Feinman RD: Carbohydrate restriction has a more favorable impact on the metabolic syndrome than a low fat diet. Lipids 2009, 44(4):297-309 
  28. McAuley KA, Smith KJ, Taylor RW, McLay RT, Williams SM, Mann JI. Long-term effects of popular dietary approaches on weight loss and features of insulin resistance. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 Feb;30(2):342-9 Gardner CD, Kiazand A, Alhassan S, Kim S, Stafford RS, Balise RR, Kraemer HC, King AC. Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: The A to Z weight loss study: A randomized trial. JAMA. 2007;297:969–977. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.297.9.969