Do's:- Eat 3 regular-sized meals or 4-5 small meals a day
- Try to eat
at least 4-6 oz. of protein foods, either from meat, eggs, cheese or veggies, at every meal. If eating 4-5 small meals a day, you would eat at least 3-4 oz. at every meal.
- Use olive oil, coconut oil, or butter in meal preparation; butter may also be used as a condiment or additive, along with real mayonnaise.
- Eat no more than 20 grams of net carbs (net carbs = total carbs minus fiber grams*) a day.
(*Some regions have already deducted the fiber grams from total carb grams, so what is listed as "carbs" on the package, are actually the net carb amounts. If you live in a region that does this, you probably are already aware of that fact.)- 12-15 of your net carb grams each day need to come from foundation veggies. This would be approximately 6 loosely-packed cups of salad and 2 cups of cooked veggies a day. You can see a list of foundation veggies, along with all the other foods you can eat while on Induction, here:
Atkins Induction Allowed Foods- You can have up to 4 oz. of most cheeses (but not cottage cheese or ricotta cheese) a day. You can also have 10 black or 20 green olives, half of a Haas Avocado (the kind with the dark, pebbly skin), 1 oz. of sour cream, or 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream, and up to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice or lime juice. But, be sure to add the carb counts for these to your daily intake.
- While it's best to abstain from artificial sweeteners, you can have up to 3 packets of those containing sucralose (Splenda), saccharine (Sweet'N Low), stevia (SweetLeaf or Truvia) or xylitol.
(Even though these sweeteners are touted as having "no carbs", most of them do contain a trace. This is from the fillers that are added to them to keep them from clumping. Splenda packets, for example, have .9 grams of carbs per packet. Splenda Granular has .5 grams of carbs per teaspoon. So, be sure to add these carb amounts to your daily intake.)- The recommended amount of water you should drink daily is 8 eight-ounce portions of water. Unsweetened tea and/or coffee may be included in this count, but drink these in moderation. You may also include 2 cups of broth (not low-sodium) a day. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Many times, the broth will help prevent that run-down, draggy or flu-like feeling also known as Atkins Flu.
- You may want to take a daily iron-free multivitamin/multimineral combo and an omega-3 fatty-acid supplement.
- When dining out, be on guard for hidden carbs in food, such as gravy which is normally made from flour or cornstarch, and sugar which is often found in salad dressings, coleslaw and other deli salads. Also, avoid any deep-fried or breaded food.
- If you're not hungry at meal time, eat a small, low-carb snack.
Don'ts:- Don't skip meals, or go more than 6 waking hours without eating.
- Don't trim the fat from meat, or the skin from poultry, unless this is your preference. If you do so, add a little olive oil or butter to your veggies to replace the fat.
(Atkins gives the "okay" for sugar-free gelatin, Atkins bars and shakes, but many times the sugar-alcohol in these have caused weight loss to stall.)- Don't eat simply out of habit. We need to learn in this Phase to distinguish hunger from habit. When you're hungry, eat until you feel satisfied, but not stuffed. If you're not sure if you're full, wait 10 minutes, drink a glass of water, and eat more ONLY if you're still unsatisfied.
- Don't starve yourself. There are plenty of different foods you can eat while on Induction. Take advantage of them, and be creative with your meals.
- Don't skimp on fats. The more fat you have in your diet, the more full you'll feel.
- Don't assume that any food is low in carbs. Check the label on the packaging or look it up online.
Source:
http://www.atkins.com/Program/Phase-1/How-to-Do-Induction-Right.aspx
"This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything." - Scott Reed