by Nicole Mcclearn Sanchez

Created on: January 28, 2010

When I tell people my husband lives by the Atkins diet, the response is inevitably the same every time, disapproval. I know the first thing people visualize is a heaping pile of bacon, eggs and cheese. And yes I admit, eating those foods is permitted on the diet, but it's not recommended.

If you are unfamiliar with the diet, let me fill you in. At the core, this is a no carbohydrate (carb) diet; no rice, no pasta, no potato, no sugar and the worst, no bread, at least initially. Proteins, vegetables, nuts and some grains are the main staples. How does it work? By limiting your carb intake, the body is forced to burn fat for fuel, increasing your metabolism and melting the pounds away.

Technically you can eat steak, burgers (without the bun), butter and cream in unlimited quantities, but of course it's not the right way to approach this diet. The healthier choice is to dine on lean proteins such as chicken breast, fish and pork loin along with lots of leafy green vegetables.

The upside to this diet is it works. Dining out is a snap, unlike calorie restrictive and low fat diets, you can order almost any meat dish from the menu, just be sure to substitute the carbs for a vegetable side. For some people, like my husband, it's easy. He prefers meat to pasta any day, and rice and potatoes don't interest him. Bread is a little tougher, especially when a hot basket is sitting in the middle of the table, but he has great will power, so this lifestyle is the right choice for him. Don't think he didn't try everything else first; calorie restrictive, low fat, and hours at the gym. Nothing worked, so this was a last resort. It's been two years and I would call it a success story.

The downside...where do I start? It's expensive. Since you can no longer rely on starchy carbs to compliment your meals, they must be heavily protein based. You must learn to be very creative in the kitchen to give variety to each meal. Dining at friends and families homes can be complicated so I recommend bringing an Atkins friendly side dish. Crabbiness can be a side effect, but I suppose that can be said of almost any diet.

If you find yourself looking for an effective diet, this may be one to research.  Check out www.atkins.com for more information on the four phases as well as food lists and helpful recipes.

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