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Phase 1: Kickstart your weight loss
Phase 1 is about transforming your body into a fat burning machine and kickstarting your weight loss. By limiting the amount of carbs you eat to around 20g a day, your body will switch its main fuel source from carbs to fat. Every phase of the New Atkins plan is based on proven scientific principles and is a completely safe, natural way to lose weight.
Finding the phase for you
Phase 1 isn’t for everyone, of course. If you don’t have that much weight to lose or if you are vegetarian for example, you’ll start in Phase 2 instead. Our BMI counter or our nutritionists can help you decide what Phase is best for you.
As a rough guide, start at Phase 1 if:
- Your goal is to lose 14lbs (7kg) or more
- You’re inactive or have a slow metabolism
- You’ve regained the weight you once lost
- You want to lose a little bit of weight, but quickly
Phase 1 guidelines
To start your low carb diet, there are a few rules you need to stick to.
- Eat 3 regular sized meals a day or 4-5 smaller meals
- Don’t skip meals or go for longer than 6 hours during the day without eating
- Eat at least 115-175 grams of protein-rich food for every meal (up to 225g for taller men)
- Eat 20g of carbs per day
- 12-15g of your carb total should come from cooked vegetables and salad
- You can also take a daily iron-free multivitamin/multimineral tablet and an omega-3 fatty acid supplement to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need
- Drink 8 glasses of water (or other acceptable drinks) per day
The induction phase is about helping you distinguish hunger from habit, and changing the amount what you eat to suit your appetite as it decreases.
When you’re hungry, eat until you’re satisfied but not overly full. If you’re unsure, wait ten minutes and have a glass of water to see if you’re still hungry. If you don’t have a big appetite at mealtimes, instead of skipping your meal, have a small low carb snack.
Support in phase 1
We have a range of handy weight loss tools plus advice and inspiration on hand from our experts should you need it.
If you’ve got a question, ask one of our experts or read our FAQs.
Let us do the numbers for you with this easy-to-use carb calculator.
Discover our Carb counter >
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