A Nutritionist Weighs in...

It is very difficult to recommend a plan that says fruit and whole grains are the enemy while bacon and sausage are your friends and the key to safe weight loss. True, many people have lost weight on this diet, but there haven't been any long-term studies on the health effects of following such a plan.

The book itself lists possible side effects you may experience in Phase 1, such as leg cramps, fatigue, faintness, palpitations, headaches, and cold sweats.

You also may become constipated; hence the daily psyllium husks for fiber. But wait, there's more! Many folks on the diet report you can develop bad breath, too. Make sure your family and friends are following the plan with you so you're in it together!

If you are going to follow this diet, choose the leaner cuts of meat and stick with olive oil instead of butter as your choice of fat. On a positive note, the exercise recommendations are good and some of the recipes in the book are interesting.

You'll lose weight quickly to start, but sticking to the plan long-term is a challenge

If you can trade in your hamburger bun and ketchup but keep the meat and the cheese, then you might find this diet tolerable. The rapid loss of pounds and inches during Induction can be motivating to keep going despite the restrictions.

If you buy the book or sign up online, you'll get meal plans and plenty of recipes to follow, but some are very time-consuming. Prepare for large consumption of highly saturated fats such as red meat, cheese, eggs, bacon, and sausage. If you are a meat lover, this might be convincing, but those who have high cholesterol concerns may start to worry. And you need to remember that fruits, bread, and pasta will be traded in for all those fatty protein foods-so you've got the butter, but no roll to spread it on. This might be do-able for a couple of months, but many have found it hard to stick with for more than a year without backsliding.

Eating out should not be too difficult, since most restaurants will allow you to skip the starch and add more vegetables, but asking for no cornstarch or flour in sauces could be tricky. Finally, Dr. Atkins recommends many supplements, which is not only something you need to remember to take every day, but also could get quite costly.

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But, What Can I Eat?

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