People who actually take the time to read his book instead of making snap judgements about it know this. The premise of his plan is very simple, your body runs off of 2 (3 if you count alcohol) fuels: Carbohydrates and Fat. Carbohydrates burn faster than fat so your body will naturally use it first to burn.
If you take the time to read and learn about the diet in depth, you are not only supposed to eat MEAT. There a million other food choices. Atkin's even states in his book not to eat and excessive amount of protein. Instead, most of your carbohydrates (during induction), should come from VEGETABLES. Vegetables are GOOD FOR YOU, and you can never get enough. Instead of eating eggs with bacon slathered with cheese. Try a salad full of tomato, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, asparagus, with one breast of chicken.
I dropped two sizes in clothing in less than two months and have not put the weight back on with no effort on my part. It has been a year now. I eat a pretty healthy diet anyway, but enjoy chocolate and the occasional sweet potato fries. On the diet the proteins I ate were all seafood and poultry and the fats were healthy plant based oils, I used strong tasting cheeses in small amounts mostly for flavor. Red meat and cheese is the old Atkins, I know their website has a vegetarian version of the diet as well a vegan, but I have not looked at the menus for either. Several friends have done my version since and all have the same success stories.
Now, if you don't have a very active lifestyle, and your body doesn't burn through all the carbs your ingesting, the excess carbs it doesn't burn gets stored as fat. this is the whole "counting calories" way of eating. If you deprive your body of carbohydrates it has no choice but to burn fat, which is what the "induction phase" of atkins is for, but the induction phase is not the whole atkins diet! This diet proves it's WHAT your eating not how much you eat, because I regularly eat 2000-2500 calories a day and still lose weight. And no matter how many experts set out to prove that this diet isn't healthy for you their hasn't been one study that I'm aware of that shows Atkins is dangerous to your health.
Somewhere, I heard:
"Most nutritionists recommend that 55 to 60 percent of your calories come from carbohydrate"
"With a 1,500-calorie weight-loss diet, that would add up to 188 to 225 grams of carbs per day. Even the maintenance phase, which recommends 40 to 60 grams, is far too low."
I have one question...why? The reasoning behind this statement. If you want to know where I get my information from it's easy: buy mr. atkins book and take the time to read it. the book is called "Dr. Atkins new diet revolution". And quite frankly the Nutrasystem pretty much works on the same premise as Atkins, it just works on the glycemic index and providing good carbs instead of bad, but you'll notice the plan still focuses on carbs and the kind of food you eat (which atkins also does, but the atkins organization doesn't provide people with ready to eat meals, so I guess that's a good reason for saying it's an "average" diet plan that's "not in the same league" as other plans).
I tried "eating healthy" and only lost 2 pounds in the first month, which is why I decided to go on a real diet. I chose Atkins because it wasn't that far off from my eating schedule for my diabetes. I think the key to Atkins is knowledge. ..make lifestyle changes and good preparations so that you will succeed. Keep a journal. Write down your carbs. Drink your water. Don't just think you know what it is all about. It's not about just meat. Read the labels on everything and determine what you can have. On the induction part you can have 20 carbs. 4 carbs here and 11 carbs there...but you have to read the labels. I think it's a wonderful diet with plenty of variety. I also added the Atkins shakes and enjoy packs of tuna with low-card mayo. Wasa crackers with butter and sugar free jelly. Hot tea with sweeteners and so on. It's not hard, but it takes effort. But it's all for "me" so I make the effort. I started out at 237 and just this morning was 196.4 so I still have a ways to go. I have elected to just stay on the Induction part but I "treat" myself every other Friday and go out to a restaurant and then to a movie. Technically I "blow it" but I don't really go overboard...I just give myself a little break on this day and maybe have something different like Mexican, Tai, or Indian food. Then right back on it. AND by-the-way, my blood sugar went from 201 to 117 in the first four days! I wish everyone well in their journey towards loosing weight!
Now realizing my body has been so deprived of what it really needed... REAL nutrients. Of course you can eat carbs!!! (in the later phases), but the diet is about eating HEALTHY CARBS, not Junk Carbs like candy, or white bread. People shouldn't judge Atkins diet before learning about it completely. I know my preconcieved notion of it was that it sounded gross and unhealthy, but when you realize there are all these vegetables you have never really consumed before, It opens up your appetite and you feel full and satisfied, not starving like restricted calorie diets.
I will really think about my eating habits more and cut every carb corner possible. I am so much more aware now of what enters my mouth and how it affects my weight fluctuations. No more pigging out on cake, on candies, on chocolate bars. I've learned how to limit the foods that contribute to weight gain. Try it, it's great, just do it correctly according to the book, don't listen to Atkins rumors.