7-Day Ketogenic Diet Menu for Atkins Induction

Need help planning your Atkins Induction meals?
This 7-day meal plan is simple to follow!

Want to do Atkins Induction right, but don't have time to create your own Induction menu? 

Well, thanks to this 7-Day Ketogenic Diet Menu for Atkins Induction, you don't have to! I created this sample Atkins menu to be a super-simple meal plan that will help you kick-start the dieting process by getting you into ketosis in no time at all.

Before you know it, you'll be in ketosis, ditch those nasty cravings, calm your hunger, and turn your body into a fat-burning machine. 

But, I'm going to be honest here.

This was the very first ketogenic menu for Atkins Induction (Phase 1) that I ever made. When it comes to planning meals for myself and family, I prefer to shoot from the hip. 

But not every does. 

If you're new to low-carb diets, restricting yourself to 20-net carbs can be overwhelming.

When putting together a low-carb menu, you'll need to map out dinner first and then travel backward to get a daily meal plan that fits into the calorie deficit and carbohydrate tolerance you're using. 

But for Atkins Induction, that degree of planning isn't necessary. 

The goal of Atkins Induction isn't weight loss. The target you are trying to achieve is to get yourself into the state of ketosis, and the following 7-day keto diet menu will help you get there fast.

Don't Let Yourself Go Hungry

You don't count fat grams on this keto plan and you most certainly do not count calories. You should also never allow yourself to go hungry.

If you are hungry, you need to eat more. 

Honestly.

Dr. Atkins' advice was to eat until you're satisfied on Induction because Induction isn't the time to pare down your meals to the bone. 

You want the first two weeks on the Atkins Diet to be a pleasant experience. You want to give your body the space and time it needs to make the transition from burning glucose to predominantly burning fatty acids.

In fact, in the 2002 version of the Atkins Diet, the version that the following 7-day ketogenic menu is based on, Dr. Atkins clearly stated that you should never go more than 6 hours without eating something. 

He made it a rule.

What Atkins Induction Will Do For You

Atkins Induction lasts for 14 days. 

During that time period, you do not climb on the bathroom scale. 

You eat from the list of Acceptable Foods for Induction found in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution book, published in 2002.

If you don't have that book, and don't have access to a used copy, you can still get the information you need in our article on how to do the Atkins Induction Diet correctly. 

While there are newer versions of the Atkins Diet, the 2002 book is still available at Amazon and used book stores. Despite the fact that Atkins Nutritionals now offer additional diet plans (Atkins 20, Atkins 40, and Atkins 100), the low-carb community continues to consider Atkins 2002 the bible of low carb.

Wait to evaluate your body's response to these ketogenic meals until after the full 14 days has passed. 

This practice sits at the heart of why Dr. Atkins created the Induction diet. I'm going to state it as clearly as I can because most people who start a low-carb diet don't understand the purpose of Induction:

Atkins Induction is not a weight-loss diet. It isn't the Atkins Diet. It is a method of changing your body chemistry to make it more favorable to fat burning.

The result of doing this 7-day diet plan includes:

• reduced hunger and cravings
• an upswing in energy and well-being
• balanced blood glucose levels

This is what Atkins Induction is designed to do for you. It works hard to get you into the state of ketosis quickly, so you can begin to move toward accomplishing your weight-loss goals. 

Once you're solidly in ketosis and you've made it through Phase 1 of the diet, THEN you can worry about carving off those pesky, excess pounds.

A ketogenic diet will change your body chemistry -- easily and effortlessly -- IF you follow the plan. But that isn't always easy to do. A low-carb diet is a radical change from the way you are used to eating.

If you're new to a low-carb diet or are returning to Atkins after a diet break, please read our Beginner's Guide to a Low-Carb Diet before you start using the menu below.

Common diet menus contain a ton of carbs, and you really need to understand what a low-carb diet is before you begin. You need to know what you can eat before you try to switch to this type of lifestyle. Otherwise, you're more likely to get it wrong and blame the diet when Atkins induction doesn't go as well as you expected.

I'm hoping that the following 7-day ketogenic diet example will help you create a great Induction menu for yourself, but you won't be able to do that unless you understand the basic principles that make a low-carb diet work.

7 Day Ketogenic Diet Menu for Atkins Induction

These are only sample menus, based on what I might eat if I were to do Atkins Induction again today. If you don't like something, or if you have dietary restrictions that I don't have, please feel free to substitute with another low-carb food that's similar. 

Hubby and I eat low-carb gluten-free, but you honestly don't have to do that to have a successful first two weeks.

To make a great Atkins 2002 lettuce salad,
use your favorite low-carb vegetables and dressings.

For example, you might prefer to use ranch or blue cheese dressing on your salad, rather than homemade thousand island. Please do so.

Maybe you prefer to garnish your salad with chopped hard boiled eggs, bacon crumbles, and sliced celery rather than using the tomatoes. If you don't enjoy broccoli, pick a low-carb vegetable that you do like. 

The same goes for the meat or other protein sources. 

If you prefer chicken breast to chicken thighs, go ahead and swap out the thighs for the part of the chicken you like best. You can even swap a burger for the chicken or a piece of fish for the pork chop. 

Since meat doesn't contain any carbs, you can easily switch the meats around for something you like better.

In addition, if you don't want to make 1-minute muffins or revolution rolls, if you don't want to eat diet gelatin or drink a protein shake for breakfast, feel free to substitute other things from the acceptable foods list for Atkins Induction.

These are "sample" menus only. 

Day 1

Breakfast:

Chocolate Protein Shake

1-minute muffin, toasted

1 tablespoon butter

Lunch:

Baked chicken leg and thigh

1 cup cooked broccoli

1 tablespoon butter

diet soda

Dinner:

Large pork chop, sauteed in butter

2 cups lettuce salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions

2 tablespoons of homemade Thousand Island Dressing

hot tea with lemon and sugar substitute

Snack Suggestions:

2 ounces hard cheese

2 hard-boiled eggs

leftover chicken from lunch

Day 2

If you followed my 3-day Pre-Induction diet in the previous post, you will already be in ketosis, so you won't need to eat as much food on day 2 and 3. Your hunger will be greatly reduced by now, so if that's you, just trim the menus down to fit your appetite. 

If you are not in ketosis yet, day 2 and 3 will be somewhat difficult because your body will have started to run out of glycogen. If you need more food than what I have listed here, go ahead and eat larger portions of meat or other non-carby protein sources.

Alternatively, you can add more foods for variety, but choose foods that are zero or nearly zero carbs.

When your carbohydrate storage runs low, the brain begins to scream for food. Sometimes, that will be in the form of carbs like desserts and sweet snacks, and sometimes, it will just be food -- period. 

The following two days will reflect the need to eat more food. If you are already in ketosis, either because you're repeating this menu for week 2 or because you followed the Pre-Induction Diet in our article on getting into ketosis in less than 3 days, the only carbohydrate requirement for Induction is:

1 cup of cooked vegetables
2 cups of salad

The rest of your diet can be adjusted to fit your protein needs and fat requirement so that you're eating at a calorie deficit. Snacks are optional.

Breakfast:

2 scrambled eggs

3 slices bacon

1-minute muffin, toasted

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup warm chicken broth

Lunch:

2-cup chef salad with ham, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, bacon crumbles, and 2-ounces cheese

2 tablespoons homemade Thousand Island dressing

10 to 20 olives

diet soda

Dinner:

4 to 8-ounce cheeseburger on two 1972 Revolution rolls

mustard, sugar-free catsup, and/or mayonnaise

lettuce and tomato for the burger

assorted raw veggies with ranch-style dressing

1/2 small avocado made into guacamole and served with pork rinds

Snack Suggestions:

5-ounce can of tuna with 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 deviled eggs

2 slices ham luncheon meat spread with 1 ounce cream cheese each and rolled up

Day 3

Breakfast:

ham and cheese omelet (2-ounces cheese) with the rest of the avocado

1-minute muffin, toasted

1 tablespoon butter

hot tea with lemon and sugar substitute

Lunch:

Easier Hot Wings with ranch or blue-cheese dressing

2 deviled eggs

1 cup basic coleslaw

10 to 20 olives

diet soda

Dinner:

4 to 8 ounces of steak

2 cups lettuce salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, bacon crumbles, and 2-ounces cheese

2 tablespoons homemade Ranch-Style dressing

1 cup warm beef broth with a scrambled egg drizzled into it, and garnished with chives

Snack Suggestions:

1 ounce of pork rinds with 1/2 cup homemade salsa

5-ounce can tuna with 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

left over hot wings or baked chicken

Day 4

By now, you will definitely be in ketosis -- no matter which diet you started with -- so the amount of food in the menus will reflect a drop in appetite. 

If you haven't entered into ketosis for some reason, or if your body is fighting against making the switch to predominantly burning fats, you can add a variety of foods to the rest of the menus, but pick things that don't have any carbs:

• meat
• fish
• poultry
• eggs
• broth
• fats

These are basically free foods during the first 14 days. Homemade 1-minute muffins are limited to one per day, but Dr. Atkins Revolution Rolls can be eaten more frequently, if desired.

What I usually do on Atkins Induction is cook up a lot of protein foods, such as a pork roast, turkey breast, or a 9x13 pan of chicken legs and thighs, so that there is plenty of meat on hand to snack on. 

I make sure that I have several cans of tuna in the cupboard. I hard boil at least a dozen eggs and buy a 3-lb brick of bacon ends before starting. That way, there are easy snacks available whenever I'm hungry.

Breakfast:

Chocolate Protein Shake

Lunch:

Ham and cheese sandwich made with two 1972 Revolution rolls

mayonnaise or mustard

lettuce and tomato for the sandwich, if desired

diet soda

Dinner:

6 ounces fish baked in foil packets with butter, herbs and spices

2-cup lettuce salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and radishes

2 tablespoons homemade dressing

1 cup cooked broccoli and cauliflower, mixed

hot tea with lemon and sugar substitute

Snack Suggestions:

2 hard boiled eggs, deviled if you prefer

warm chicken broth with scrambled egg drizzled into it, and chives

diet gelatin topped with whipped cream

Day 5

Breakfast:

chicken and vegetable soup

1-minute muffin, toased

1 tablespoon butter

Lunch:

Chicken or tuna salad with bacon crumbles, green onions, chopped celery, and spices

served in two 1972 Revolution rolls

1 ounce pork rinds with 1/2 cup homemade salsa

diet soda

Dinner:

6 ounces of sliced pork roast (cook in crock pot)

2-cup lettuce salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, radishes

2 tablespoons homemade dressing

hot tea with lemon and sugar substitute

Snack Suggestions:

2 cheese sticks

2 hard boiled eggs

diet gelatin topped with whipped cream

Day 6

Breakfast:

Chocolate protein shake

Lunch:

2-cup chef salad with tuna, cheese, hard boiled eggs, bacon crumbles, and 1/2 small avocado

2 to 3 tablespoons homemade dressing

10 to 20 olives

diet soda

Dinner:

Meatballs made with crushed pork rinds and simmered in Alfredo sauce

serve over 1 cup french-style green beans with mushrooms

2 deviled eggs

Snack Suggestions:

1 ounce pork rinds with homemade cream-cheese dip (green onions, bacon, jalapeno)

1 or 2 left over slices of pork roast

chicken broth with scrambled egg drizzled into it, and chives

Day 7

Breakfast:

2 scrambled eggs

3 slices of bacon

1-minute muffin, toasted

1 tablespoon butter

hot tea with lemon and sugar substitute

Lunch:

baked chicken leg and thigh

1 cup cold vegetable salad made with cooked vegetables and sugar-free Italian dressing

diet soda

Dinner:

6 ounces fish spread with mayo and rolled in crushed pork rinds and Parmesan cheese, then baked

1 cup coleslaw

small raw vegetable tray with ranch-style dressing

Snacks:

chicken vegetable soup

2 cheese sticks

2 slices ham luncheon meat spread with 1 ounce cream cheese each, rolled up

*This menu is only for the first week and based on the 2002 version of the diet. Atkins Induction is a full 2-week phase, so you can either repeat the menu for week two, or create your own using the same principles. 

To help you create your own menus for week two, as well as for Phase 2 (the weight-loss phase of the diet), check out our post on creating a menu from low-carb meal templates.

Additional Menu Tips and Ideas

Did You Know?
You can make Chicken Strips using
crushed pork rinds for flour!

My own meals would be far more repetitive than this varied ketogenic diet menu is. I tend to eat only a couple of different breakfast menus, and the same goes for lunches.

I would take advantage of leftovers and eat them for breakfast and snacks as well until they are gone, but I don't have a huge family to feed. There is just hubby and I, so I might have the same main dish, such as the pork roast, for two or three days in a row. 

I've been known to eat baked chicken every day for a week, ground turkey patties, meatballs, and especially hot wings for breakfast. I love them!

Chicken strips are another Induction favorite. To make them, you simply cut a chicken breast into strips, coat them in spices, dredge in a mixture of heavy cream and egg, and then coat them with crushed pork rinds and Parmesan cheese, similar to what I did with the fish in the above menu. 

The Heroin wings in our recipe archives is also great for Induction and can be made with chicken legs if you're looking for recipes that are budget-friendly.

Another easy dish is our chili-garlic chicken. To make this tasty dish, you simply take a chicken breast and cut it into bite-sized cubes. Saute the cubes in a non-stick frying pan until they are browned on all sides. Coat the cubes with a little bit of garlic-chili sauce, available in the oriental section of your local supermarket. You'll want to start with just a dab. This stuff is sugar free but hot, hot, hot, and you can easily get too much if you aren't used to eating spicy food. 

I tried this once with veggies, and honestly, didn't care for it that way. I prefer to serve this with some steamed broccoli on the side instead.

A low-carb custard
makes a great dish
for Atkins Induction!

A custard made with heavy cream and a couple of eggs also makes a nice breakfast when you're sick of eggs because you can't taste them in the custard. The above link will take you to 12 additional breakfast ideas, some of which like the chia pudding is also suitable for Induction.

However, there's no reason why you have to eat eggs everyday. 

Like I said, I often eat leftovers for breakfast, some type of meat and vegetable soup, or even baked chicken. I love hot wings first thing in the morning. They really wake up the taste buds.

I used to make a lot of protein shakes for breakfast and snacks when I was working at the boys home because the shakes are easy and quick to make. Today, I stick mostly with some type of eggs and bacon, ham, or sausage.

A lot of low-carb dieters also eat lots of taco salad. Taco salad will really perk up those greens into something more festive.

How you design your ketogenic diet menus will depend on your lifestyle. Working from home will give you more freedom with your meals than if you need to take your lunch with you to work.

A lot of times, the trick is simply to substitute high-carb ingredients for low-carb ones. For example, in the above menu, the meatballs are simmered in a low-carb Alfredo sauce (instead of a beef gravy) and can be served over the green beans, rather than noodles or rice. 

If you choose to stay on Atkins Induction for more than 14 days, you'll want to find recipes that stay within the Induction rules and guidelines. 

The above ketogenic diet menus don't take a lot of advantage of fancy recipes. This is a simplified approach to Atkins Induction for those who are new to a low-carb diet and don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen. However, a ketogenic diet meal can be as complex or simple as you like.

Take the time to browse through our recipe archives. Our Holiday and Food page at the top of the blog contains food and ingredient posts, holiday ideas, breakfast aids, and snack ideas as well as individual recipes.

Additional Resources:

12 Low-Carb Breakfast Ideas to Make Mornings Easier
What Can I Eat on Atkins Induction?
Atkins 72 Induction Menu with Recipes
My Top 10 Ideas for Eating Low Carb on a Budget
12 Cheap Recipes for Eating Low Carb on a Budget