The Atkins Diet was designed by Dr. Robert Atkins in the 1970s. He designed the diet to followed forever. That is, the diet is more of a lifestyle than a fad diet. The Dr. was a proponent of ketogenic fat burning. This is accomplished by consuming few than 40 grams of carbohydrate daily. He also suggested using dietary supplements to maintain nutrition within the body's systems.

The Atkins Diet has 4 stages: the Induction Diet, the Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) Diet, the Pre-Maintenance Diet, and lastly the Lifetime Maintenance Diet.

The Induction diet is very strict as far as carb elimination (20 grams or less per day), but generous in the allowance of fat and protein. It should be noted that low starch vegetables are the recommended source of carbs. This phase of the diet lasts 14 days and is followed by the Ongoing Weight Loss diet (OWL).

The OWL Stage is less severe and more carbs are introduced, but intake is limited to 40 grams per day. Participants stay on the OWL diet until they reach their ideal weight. Once this goal is attained, dieters transition to the pre-maintenance diet phase. Here they experiment with the addition of carbs until their individual carb tolerance level is established (the total grams of carbs they can eat without gaining weight).

When dieters finally comprehend the total number of grams of carbs they can consume and maintain their ideal weight they've reach Lifetime Maintenance. Here the participants will continually avoid processed foods, sugar, white flour, and hydrogenated oils and fats.