Hi,
A couple people where I work have started Atkin's. Some of us disagree on induction foods. They say you can eat anything low carb(as long as you stay under 20 carbs.) and still loose weight. They say it will just come off slower. Does anyone know anything about this? We've all read the book and know which foods we should be eating and how much, but they say it is too limiting. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!

There are very specific rules for allowed foods during induction.

The 20 carbs should be with VEGETABLES, eggs, dairy (3-4 oz of heavy cream or specified cheeses), high fat dressings and artificial sweetners only.

You can't trade sugar carbs for good healthy eating.

This works and will help you detox and put you in ketosis and then your appetite will be curbed to jump start your lc journey.

This has worked for hundreds and hundreds of people for about 20 years.

If you can come up with a better way that people can eat what they want and lose weight forever and stay healthy.... please let me know.

Sorry if that came off sarcastic....

If they're not following the plan as written, then they're not doing Atkins; they're doing their own version of low carb.
The plan is written as it is for specific reasons, the biggest one to promote health not just lose weight.
I could probably get my 20 grams of carb per day from chocolate and still lose weight, but it wouldn't be the Atkins plan and it certainly wouldn't be healthy. I could also probably get my 20 grams of carb per day from fruit (or any other food low in carbs besides the allowed foods), but the volume would be considerably less and I'd likely be provoking some pretty strong carb cravings from the sugars in the fruit.
If they think that Atkins is too limiting why not suggest that they check out some other low carb plans that are more to their liking like Protein Power or Schwarzbein? Atkins isn't the only low carb program out there. I did that with a co-worker and he's very happy with the Schwarzbein plan and is now at goal and maintaining.
Which ever program they choose, though, they should follow it exactly as written until they get a good grip on the priciples of their plan. Many people "tweak" their own plans to suit their own needs and lifestyles, but I would only suggest that someone do that after at least a couple of months following their plan exactly as written.
Here's what Dr. Atkins has to say about all of this:

If I stay under 20 grams of carbs a day, why can't I have some in the form of a slice of whole grain bread or even a peanut butter cup, which has 20 grams of carbs?

There are two reasons this approach won't work. For one, all carbohydrates are not created equal. The Atkins Nutritional Approach is designed to prevent blood sugar levels from spiking and causing the overproduction of insulin—a hormone that helps convert carbohydrates to body fat. The first carbohydrates you need to add back to your diet when you move beyond Induction are more vegetables, then seeds and nuts, then berries and then—if you are still losing—legumes and grains. Even bread made from 100 percent whole-wheat flour contains enough refined carbs to produce this insulin-raising, fat-storing effect in many people. Later, if your weight loss is progressing well and you have increased your daily carb intake, you may eat an occasional slice of whole grain bread. (In the meantime, try AtkinsTM Bake Mix, with which you can make tasty quick breads and even crunchy snacks such as garlic toast.) As for the 20-gram peanut butter cup, it contains a lot of sugar--not to mention artery-clogging hydrogenated fat—and sugar is the worst kind of carbohydrate.
Secondly, the Atkins approach is not just about rapid weight loss--it's about learning to eat only nutrient-dense carbohydrates for the rest of your life. These are foods that are packed with the most antioxidant vitamins and healthful phytochemicals relative to the amount of carbohydrates--so you’re getting the most bang for your carbohydrate buck. (This is what we call the “Atkins Ratio.”) Once you’ve reached your goal weight and established your personal Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance (CCLM), most people can enjoy whole-grain bread, fruit and even the occasional plate of French fries. Unfortunately, that conventional peanut butter cup just doesn’t make the grade!

Atkins addresses this point specifically, in one of the FAQs at the end of the induction chapter. He says that it's important to learn how to rely on nutrient-rich complex carbohydrates (i.e. vegetables) as our primary source of carbohydrates. Eating 20 carbs worth of cheese or diet soda or low carb bars every day won't help with that goal.

I think your coworkers are right, they probably will lose weight (albeit more slowly) by doing their modified version of Atkins. But they won't be learning how to eat better in the long term, especially if they fill up their 20 carbs with processed low carb junk foods every day.

The only modification to the "rules of induction" that I think is OK right off the bat, is that the limit on vegetables is designed to allow people to have their coffee with cream and sweetener, diet soda, sugar-free jello, cheese, eggs, etc., without going over 20 carbs a day. If you don't eat much of those other things, I think it's perfectly OK to eat more than 3 cups of vegetables as long as you stay within 20 net carbs. I can't imagine Atkins would disapprove of skipping the coffee or processed snacks in favor of more vegetables. But I'm guessing that's not what your coworkers were talking about

Hey Lisa, I see that you posted the exact quote from the Atkins book that I was thinking of! That's what I get for leaving the "reply" screen open while I do something else -- someone comes along and responds much better than I could, and makes my reply redundant

Hi,
Thanks with all of your answers! But, maybe I made it sound like they wanted to eat unhealthy foods. I mean they are sticking with healthy foods, but foods they should not have during induction (nuts, low carb granola,and cereals). Things like that. Not junk food.

I see what you mean but those things aren't allowed during induction for a reason.

1) they cause stalls of weightloss in some people
2) they cause cravings which you may not be ready to deal with

So you want to really free your body of carbs to get on track those first two weeks.

If you want to do another diet because of this you should read up on other options listed on the right on Which low carb plan???

All the best.

Not to be too critical , but gosh - induction only lasts about 2 weeks ! I don't understand why some people can't give the program a try as written for a measly two weeks and see how they feel. I guess it may be a matter of degree of carb addiction that I'm not identifying with.

I can understand where they're coming from -- for most people, induction is hard. It was for me at least. It's so much more restrictive than OWL, and being the first stage, I wasn't used to low carbing yet & still had a lot to learn about how to create inventive & satisfying meals. I remember thinking that if I never saw another hamburger it would be too soon I also remember graduating to OWL and starting to add foods. If I recall correctly, the first non-induction food I ate was fresh mozzarella, I had it with tomatoes and olive oil and it was just about the best thing I'd ever eaten.

So I can definitely understand the temptation to start adding foods early. Although I do agree with Lisa that it's important to stick it out & give your body at least two full weeks of induction.