Chances are you’ve at least heard of the Atkins Diet, which has been around since the ‘50s and gained mainstream recognition in the ‘70s. At its roots, Atkins is basically the original keto approach: a low-carb approach that relies on high-fiber carbs, optimal protein, and healthy fat sources to fill your daily calories. It’s a diet strategy that’s not without controversy, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence to support its effectiveness for significant weight loss.
When offered a chance to try the diet for two weeks, I was skeptical at first. I’m not on a mission to lose any serious weight, but a broken foot and Covid-19 quarantine did set me back a few pounds — and not the muscle kind — over the past few months. And since I’m not exactly working out at full-strength just yet, it seemed like a good time to test out a new eating strategy to see how my body reacted.
First, I spoke with Atkins lead nutrition expert Colette Heimowitz, MS, who has designed plans for celebrity clients and has worked in nutrition counseling for more than 20 years. Based on the fact that I didn’t have a particularly ambitious end goal, she suggested I try the Atkins 40 Budget Plan (which you can find here) instead of the Atkins 20 (the original, super-low-carb keto diet).
The Atkins 40 is a bit less restrictive than the Atkins 20, allowing 40 grams of net carbs per day and a wider range of ingredients to fill your meals. I’m not a picky eater, so I opted to follow the Atkins 40 meal plan as-is. Heimowitz suggested I stick with my typical vitamin regimen (a daily multivitamin, B12, vitamin D, and probiotic) and stressed the importance of actually sticking to the diet and not skipping meals.
“We have this habit of thinking less is better because we’re so used to low-calorie diets,” she explained. “So you think, ‘If I eat less, I’ll lose more.’ That’s that’s not how the ketogenic diet works. The body will slow down weight loss if it doesn’t have enough fat or enough protein in the diet. It doesn’t have enough calories, then the metabolism is slowed down.” For that reason, her key recommendation was sticking to both the scheduled meals and snacks to keep my blood sugar regulated and my appetite satisfied. Drinking lots of water is also important.
Overall, the diet is fairly simple, and it’s not the bacon-laden keto fad diet many have come to expect. I followed it with the recommended Atkins-brand products, but there’s a free app you can download and use to plan out your meals if you want to choose your own adventure.
All that said, make sure to check with your doctor before starting any new nutrition plan. In all honesty, my own general practitioner wasn’t thrilled with the prospect when I showed up for my annual physical after Week One of the diet, and told her I was switching up my eating habits. She may recommend it to her patients who have issues with sugar, she explained, but not necessarily to people like myself who are generally active and not pre-diabetic. At that point, I already felt good a week into the diet and saw it through to the end, but it’s worth noting that your doctor may have suggestions depending on your specific situation.
Here’s what I found when I took on this two-week, budget-friendly low-carb eating plan.
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It’s not a greasy, dirty keto diet
Despite what you may see on some #keto Instagram feeds, the Atkins 40 involved exactly no bacon. Of course, there were fattier protein sources like pork, chicken thighs, and turkey thighs, but nothing crazy. And nearly every meal involved a hearty base of vegetables.
Overall, the plan felt a lot more balanced than I’d expected, not like a restrictive diet.
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I wasn’t left hungry after meals
Heimowitz told me that I could expect at least 1,500 calories a day on the diet, which doesn’t sound like a lot —and isn’t a lot— if you’re someone who works out hard. At least a few days also ended up being more than that, but I felt more than satisfied even on the days with the least food. Again, I’m not hitting the gym for two-hour lifting sessions at the moment.
Spacing out the meals properly definitely helped me stay full all day. The few times I did go a while without eating, I ended up eating a meal and snack in one sitting.
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There was a lot of cooking involved
If you’re like me and enjoy spending some time in the kitchen whipping up new recipes, you’ll be happy to know that while some things can be meal-prepped, the bulk of these recipes I found easier to just cook as I went.
Those who haven’t touched an oven in years, though, may want to sub in recipes that are easier to cook or can more easily be prepared in bulk. One great one was the pulled pork that makes a few appearances throughout the plan. It was a bit of a task to make, but saved really well in the fridge for a few days.
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I did drop a few pounds over the two weeks
Over the course of the diet, I dropped about 4 pounds (for reference, I’m 5’9″ and started off at 152 lbs). As someone who isn’t overweight but has been taking it easier on the workout front, that’s not a bad result. And again, I didn’t feel like I was restricting myself because in general, the recipes were hearty and delicious. Who needs sugar, anyway?
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It was actually budget-friendly
The meal plan claims to cost less than $10 per day on average (so less than $140 over the two-week period). That includes groceries and any snacks or shakes from Atkins. In the end, it would be close but a bit more depending on where you’re located (I’m in New Jersey just a couple miles outside NYC, where things tend to be expensive). And if you need to buy things like spices that I already had on hand, it would definitely be more.
Either way, it’s definitely less than I’d typically spend on groceries because I was following a list and only getting those items, not taking detours through the frozen food aisles for ice cream or buying any other unnecessary items. Having a list provided with the meal plan also took any guesswork out of making my own list based on the recipes.
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Final Thoughts
Overall, the plan did live up to its promises. It was easy for me to follow, budget-friendly, and I did drop a few pounds without changing anything else in my daily routine. But again, starting a new diet, especially one with a keto-style macronutrient breakdown, is always something you should speak with your doctor or nutritionist about first. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to eating, so the best method is always going to be one that’s personalized to your own needs.
