Weight Loss Diets That Work

Low carb dieting on the Atkins diet can be difficult if you don’t do it right. One big factor in making your diet successful is eating a wide variety of satisfying food. Work these foods into your low carb diet and watch the pounds melt away.

This is a list of Atkins diet foods allowed in the induction phase.

All eggs, including: deviled, fried, hard-boiled, poached, omelets, soft-boiled, scrambled.

All fish, including: bass, cod, flounder, haddock, herring, perch, pollack, roughy, salmon, sardines, sole, tilapia, trout, tuna, walleyed pike.

All fowl, including: chicken, cornish hen, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, turkey.

All meat, including: beef, pork, lamb, veal, venison. Bacon and ham are allowed if they have not been sugar cured.

All shellfish, including: clams, crab, octopus, shrimp, squid. Oysters and mussels are limited to 4 ounces per day because of their higher carbohydrate count.

You may eat these foods to until your satisfied. The following foods are allowed with some restrictions.

You may eat 3 to 4 ounces of certain cheese. They include hard, firm, soft and semi-soft aged cheeses. You should check the carbohydrate content of your cheese before you eat, keeping in mind you are allowed only 12 to 15 carbs per day. You can enjoy cheddar, goat cheese, gouda, mozzarella, swiss, and blue cheese.

Salad vegetables are next on the list. These are a good source of fiber. Remember to count carbs. These low carb veggies are your first choice: alfalfa sprouts, arugala, bok choy, celery, chicory, chives, cucumber, daikon, endive, escarole, fennel, jicama, lettuce, peppers, radicchio, radishes, and romaine.

These vegetables are slightly higher in carbohydrates and you should use them carefully, making sure to stay within your daily carb limit: artichoke, celery root, pumpkin, artichoke hearts, rhubarb, asparagus, chard, sauerkraut, bamboo shoots, collard greens, scallions, dandelion, snow peas, bean sprouts, dandelion greens, spaghetti squash, beet greens, eggplant, spinach, broccoli, hearts of palm, string or wax beans, broccoli, kale, summer squash, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, tomato, bean sprouts, leeks, turnips, cabbage, okra, water chestnuts, cauliflower, onion, and zucchini.

Of course you will want to use condiments and garnishes to make the food more palatable. Use spices and herbs to taste (make sure there is no added sugar). Butter and sour cream will also make this diet easier to follow. Just remember these are very high sources of calories, so limit there use.

You’ll need oil to cook with. Olive oil is good. So are canola, walnut, soybean, grape seed, sesame, sunflower and safflower. Avoid margarine and other trans fats.

If you have a sweet tooth you will want to use sweeteners. Sucralose (Splenda), cyclamate, saccharin, and acesulfame-K are okay to use. Do not use maltose, dextrose, fructose and anything else that ends in “ose”.

The beverage of choice on the list of Atkins diet foods is water. Filtered, spring, mineral or tap will do just fine. Other beverages are allowed if there are no added carbs, make sure to read the labels.

Diet soda pop is okay if sweetened with Splenda. Avoid caffeinated beverages. Caffeine can caused blood sugar to spike in some people.

If you need more variety in your diet you can add these foods occasionally. 10 to 20 olives or half of a small avocado per day. Or instead have 2 or 3 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice, 1 oz. of sour cream or 3 oz. of unsweetened heavy cream. You do need to be careful eating these because they may slow down your weight loss efforts. If you see you stop losing after eating these foods then you will need to avoid them in the induction phase.