The Atkins diet is probably the best known diet. And why not? On this low carbohydrate, high protein and fat diet you can eat steak, eggs, bacon, cheese, cream and butter. According to Dr. Atkins the body burns both fat and carbohydrates for energy, but carbohydrates are used first.

If you eat fewer carbohydrates, the body will burn stored fat for energy – a process called ketosis takes place now. When you are in ketosis, you will get your energy from ketones, little carbon fragments that are the fuel created by the breakdown of fat stores. To find out if your body are in ketosis, you can test your urine for ketones by dipping a ketone stick in your urine. When the body is in ketosis, you will feel less hungry and eat less, resulting in weight loss.

Unfortunately, when the body is in ketosis, you may have smelly breath. Keep mints handy or a breath freshener containing parsley or cinnamon.  Or chew on a cinnamon stick. Do not rinse your mouth with a mouth rinse containing alcohol.  Alcohol makes your mouth dry which actually makes your breath smell worse! The lack of fiber rich carbohydrates will also make you constipated - take fiber supplements.  Also take a vitamin supplement because of the lack of fruit and vegetables.

The first 2 weeks of the Atkins diet is called the in Induction Phase. During the Induction Phase carbs are restricted to 20 grams of net carbs per day. You subtract the grams of fiber from your total carbs for the day; e.g if all the food you eat for a given day contains 25 grams of carbohydrates and 5 grams of fiber, your total carbs for the day will only be 20 grams (25 - 5 = 20). Your 20 carbs will be about three cups of loosely packed salad or two cups of salad with two-thirds cup of certain cooked vegetables each day. There are no exceptions to these rules during the first two weeks because low-carb consumption (no fruits and only a few leafy green vegetables) is supposed to jump-start the weight-loss biochemical activity of the diet.

You never count calories; therefore it is no surprise that this diet is so popular. You may even consume more calories than you did before.

In the second stage the carb allowance is increased to 40 grams a day as you include more fiber rich food. You can still not return to eating refined sugar, milk, white rice, white bread, white potatoes or pasta made with white flour. Those remain on a lifelong list of forbidden pleasures.

The final stage is the maintenance stage but the forbidden foods are still forbidden.

Exercise in all phases is recommended as it increases your metabolism.

Although thousands of people have lost weight on the Atkins diet, it remains controversial. Dr. Atkins and his team have cited a number of studies, including those funded by the American Heart Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration that demonstrated some benefits of a low-carbohydrate diet, but the diet still have many skeptics.