Atkins 72 Induction Menu with Recipes (Quick-Start Guide)

Bacon and eggs is a standard Atkins 72 breakfast.

[Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase something after using one of those links, I might receive a small financial compensation, at no cost to you.]

Need help implementing Atkins 72?

This handy quick-start guide to the original Atkins Diet sets you up with a 7-day Induction menu, recipes, shopping list, and all of the information you need to get started on Atkins today!

Whether you're new to ketogenic diets or returning to the low-carb lifestyle after a diet break, the Atkins 72 low-carb diet plan is the best way to kick start your weight loss and get into the state of ketosis fast.

Since Atkins 72 is super low in carbs, it can slash those cravings faster than any other Atkins plan.

In fact, the state of ketosis is known to:

• lower insulin levels, which improves your mood
• correct blood pressure irregularities
• eliminate systemic inflammation
• balance blood glucose levels
• reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke
• improve a wide variety of skin conditions

Plus, the quicker you can get yourself into ketosis, the quicker you can turn your body into a fat-burning machine.

Once in ketosis, you'll experience a severe drop in appetite, enabling you to eat at a calorie deficit but still feel comfortable and energetic. Many people experience reduced heartburn, blood pressure, acne, and indigestion after giving up the carbs, as well.

Don't let food get in the way of achieving your weight-loss goals. You can take charge of your life, right now. This keto quick-start guide and 7-day Atkins 72 Induction menu will show you how.

What Atkins 72 Was Designed to Do

If you are brand new to a low-carb lifestyle, the following carbohydrate restriction plan may appear to be quite radical and different from the way you are used to eating, but don't let that scare you off. This is not a long-term keto diet.

Atkins Induction simply paves the way for the state of ketosis.

Atkins Induction gets your body
ready to enter into the state of ketosis.

Once in ketosis, your body will begin to burn fatty acids for fuel. Expanding food choices will also open up a whole new world to you.

However, balanced nutrition isn't accomplished by taking an unbalanced diet and laying a balanced diet over the top of it. Doing that will just create more imbalance.

To make the necessary course correction:

You have to counteract an unbalanced diet with its opposite, and this is exactly what the Atkins 72 Induction Diet is designed to do.

Extremely low in carbohydrate and high in protein and fat, the food intake works to quickly correct hormonal irregularities that have kept you hungry, tired, and fat.

What About All of Those Missing Healthy Grains?

Let's get this myth out of the way first.

Most Americans heap their plates with what?

• mounds of mashed potatoes and gravy
• soft-and-fluffy dinner rolls dripping with melted butter
• mountains of white rice topped with a few chunks of gravy-soaked meat
• several slices of thick-crust pepperoni and sausage pizza
• piles of white spaghetti topped with a skimpy tomato-meat sauce

You try to feel full and satisfied eating that way, but protein foods, produce, and healthy fats take a backseat to starchy choices because marketing and greed control most of the nutritional advice you hear.

The average American does not eat whole grains.
They love semolina pasta, white rice, and white bread.

Very little nutritional information comes from evidence-based science, knowledge, or even personal experience. Most of it is just opinion, and theory seems to trump facts these days. This manipulation toward profits includes the dramatic push toward eating lots of whole grains.

The whole-grains campaign was initiated by the Whole-Grains Counsel, a group of food industry giants who have a financial interest in you eating whole grains. The insistence that you eat plenty of carbs on a daily basis did not originate within the medical community.

It came from those selling whole grains to you.

Biologically, there is no minimum daily requirement for carbohydrate at all. The liver can manufacture glucose from other substrates. Muscle and most body systems can easily burn fatty acids for energy.

What's essential is providing enough fuel for the brain, central nervous system, and a few other body cells that do not have mitochondria because the brain cannot use fatty acids for its needs. The brain and central nervous system must have a certain amount of glucose each day.

Luckily, the brain can derive up to 70 percent of its energy needs from ketones, a by-product of triglyceride break-down. The brain only needs about 30 to 40 grams of glucose a day, once it has reached its full capacity for using ketones effectively.

So quite honestly, it's in your best interest to get into the state of ketosis as quickly as possible, and then begin returning carbohydrates to the diet as Atkins 72 instructs.

Easing yourself into ketosis only delays the uncomfortable adaptions and cravings for sugar that the body must go through to make the switch from predominantly burning glucose to predominantly burning fatty acids and ketones.

However, if you're unable to get through a full week of Induction, it can be to your advantage to take things a little slower. That's one of the reasons why this website isn't partial to any one particular low-carb diet. They all have value.

Who Will Benefit from Doing Atkins 72 Induction?

Commitment doesn't mean that you have to stay with the Atkins Diet for the entire duration of your weight-loss journey. I want to make that clear. In 2007, I tried out several different low-carb approaches, but I ended up designing my own.

After completing this 7-day kick-start keto diet, you can transition into a more normal Keto Diet, Protein Power, Nutritional Ketosis, Atkins 2002, or any other low-carb diet you want. You don't have to stay with Atkins 72.

Atkins 72 is simply the easiest way for those who have a long history of dieting to kick-start their weight loss efforts. It's also great for beginners who are searching for a simple solution to their overweight or obesity, especially those who are prone to allergy, food intolerance, binges, and cravings.

On Atkins 72, you don't restrict calories, proteins, or fats like you do with The Keto Diet. You are free to eat as little or as much as you want, which gives you ample space to adapt to this new eating style without having to feel deprived and hungry.

The 7-day sample menu below only contains serving-size suggestions that may or may not be too little or too much for you.

This plan is the original Atkins Diet that Dr. Atkins published in 1972, so it works like a food elimination diet. Since you're only eating meat, eggs, a little dairy, and some salad, you don't have to worry about counting anything.

Keeping track of the carbohydrates for this first week is simple because Dr. Atkins did all of the work for you.

The only thing you have to do for yourself is pick the type of protein and healthy fat you want to eat for each meal or snack.

Atkins 72 is also a good choice if you are not losing weight as quickly as you want to, especially if you have been struggling with one of the newer Atkins plans.

It uses total carbs, instead of net, and severely limits the amount of carbohydrates you eat, so by the end of the first week, you'll know if you have been overeating carbohydrates or are more insulin resistant than you realized.

According to Dr. Atkins, insulin resistance does not stay the same throughout your life. You'll have to adjust your carbs up or down to compensate for your current state of physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

What if Atkins 72 Induction Doesn't Work for You?

Cutting down on calories was Dr. Atkins suggestion
for those who have reached a weight-loss plateau.
The easiest way to do that? Cut down on fat!

If Atkins 72 doesn't work better than what you are currently doing, the problem is most likely calories instead of carbohydrates.

I know that most low carbers don't want to hear that, but in my own experience, there are more low carbers eating too much fat than there are low carbers eating too little – although, those under-eating fat definitely exist.

In 1992, Dr. Atkins made this point very clear. In fact, reducing calories was his number one suggestion to those who had stalled on their weight-loss program. Lowering carbs to biologically zero was number two.

Atkins 72 Induction Basics

During the first 7 days, carbohydrates are restricted to a total of 20 carbs, or less. Dr. Atkins called the amount of carbohydrate you get: biologically zero.

You'll eat about 2 cups of salad per day, which includes a tiny bit of celery, cucumber, and radishes tossed in to make those assorted greens more palatable. Plus, you're allowed a few other incidental carbs like lemon juice and a tiny bit of heavy cream.

But that's all the carbohydrate you get for the first 7 days.

The body treats these few carbs as if you had not eaten them at all, which is why Atkins 72 Induction works so quickly.

For a complete explanation of the Atkins 72 program, please read our Atkins 72 articles before you start this 7-day menu plan.

• What is Atkins 72?
• How to Do Atkins 72
• Why the Original Atkins Diet is Better for Weight Loss
• How to Personalize Atkins 72

These articles will help you to understand:

• what the original Atkins diet is
• why the original diet can be better for weight loss
• how the menus below were constructed
• the official rules of the Atkins 72 Induction plan
• what restrictions Dr. Atkins placed on specific fatty foods

They will also give you the information you need to keep going with the plan if you decide to continue using it for the rest of your weight-loss journey instead of transitioning to another low-carb plan.

Unlike other kick-start diets, such as the egg fast or meat-and-eggs diet, Atkins 72 can be used long-term, provided you return carbohydrate to your diet as instructed in the above articles.

How Long Does it Take to Go Into Ketosis?

This will be a bit different for everyone, but there is a serious disconnect within the low-carb community about when the state of ketosis actually begins.

You only have enough carbohydrate stored in the form of liver glycogen to fulfill your body's needs for a few hours, so you will get into ketosis within one day.

What doesn't happen:

You won't spill excess ketones into your urine until they build up in the kidney. Ketones are acidic and will irritate the kidney, so the kidney will get rid of them as soon as possible. These are mostly acetoacetone ketones, which are the type of ketone that Ketostix can detect in the urine after 24 to 72 hours.

Do You Need to Buy Ketostix?

Ketone Test Strips (Available at Amazon)

Ketostix were recommended by Dr. Atkins in 1972 because he wanted to give his patients a visible sign that they were burning fatty acids for fuel. He also used the sticks, during the initial first few weeks, to help patients determine their carbohydrate tolerance level.

Biochemically, Ketostix do not measure the state of ketosis. What they measure is the concentration of acetoacetate ketones in your urine. They cannot detect beta-hydroxybutyrate.

Originally, they were designed for Type 1 Diabetics, who need to keep a close eye on their ketone concentrations, so they can get treatment at the first sign of ketoacidosis.

Ketoacidosis occurs when insulin is too low and the body begins making too many ketones.

Ketoacidosis does not occur in non-diabetics because if the ketone level builds up too high in the bloodstream, the body will simply secrete insulin to take care of the problem.

Type 1 Diabetics do not secrete insulin when their ketones build up too high, so they use Ketostix to alert them to any problems.

Some people love Ketostix when dieting because they help to keep you motivated. They will turn from pink to dark purple, depending on the concentration of ketone in the urine.

Other low-carb dieters are not so fond of them. They are unreliable, since they measure ketones being dumped and in concentration, rather than an absolute amount. This unreliability increases if you have been on a low-carb diet before or were carb deprived for several months before starting a very low-carb diet.

Since they only measure acetoacetone ketones, they don't tell you what your beta-hydroxybutyrate ketones are doing. And it's the beta-hydroxybutyrate that build up in the bloodstream once you become keto-adapted.

This is because the body converts acetoacetate into beta-hydroxybutyrate, so the brain can use those ketones for its needs. The more ketones the body converts, the fewer acetoacetate ketones you'll spill over into the urine.

How Much Weight Will I Lose on This Plan?

On day one of a low-carb diet, the body will use glycogen stored in the liver to keep your blood glucose level steady. Any glycogen in the muscle will also be used during activity. Water is lost as glycogen is broken down into glucose, so weight loss as high as 5 to 10 pounds, or more, have been reported.

What's important to understand is that this lost weight is not body fat, so it is not significant weight loss because it doesn't affect your body size at all.

Once glycogen runs low, the liver begins looking around for alternative sources of fuel. The body can burn some amino acids directly for energy, so a little muscle tissue is burned for energy during the first week, as well.

People who have lost tremendous amounts of weight during the first couple of weeks on Atkins Induction are nothing to envy. Most of that weight loss is water, muscle tissue, or both. The body does not turn predominantly to its fat stores until there is no other alternative.

To save muscle, the body begins mobilizing its fat stores, but the amount of body fat it mobilizes during week two is very small. A lot depends on how much you eat and whether you're getting an adequate amount of protein, or not.

Induction is not the time to worry about calories, fat consumption, or weight loss. The purpose of Atkins Induction is to get you into the state of ketosis quickly. That should be your first concern.

7-Day Atkins 72 Induction Menu (Hard Core)

Below is a 7-day sample menu of what a hard-core (strict) Atkins 72 Induction might look like.

The intent of this strict menu is to help you decide whether an Atkins 72 Induction might be right for you, as well as give you ideas for creating your own personalized meal plan.

In the Atkins 72 articles I linked to above, there is an Atkins 72 Food List detailing exactly what you can or can't eat on Induction to help you create your own menus and make appropriate substitutions.

However, you are free to follow the menu below, exactly as written, or adapt it to fit your needs, if that is easier for you.
There is nothing magical about the way this meal plan is put together. Feel free to juggle the days around, as desired.

The most important thing to remember is that carbohydrate content is to be kept as low as possible, with 2 cups of loosely packed salad and a few incidentals used to make the protein foods more appetizing.

I would also recommend that you start this diet on a Saturday. That way, as you run out of glycogen and get hungry, it will be easier to load up on the snacks.

If you need to eat more than what I have listed here, eat more. You can increase the meat servings or choose something else that doesn't have any carbs. Likewise, if the menu provides too much food, just eat less.

You can increase or decrease the fats listed, or exchange one type of meat for another. Eggs do contain incidental carbs, but they come with no restrictions on Atkins 72.

Since you can only have up to 2 cups of loosely packed salad a day, the menu uses a lot of eggs. If you don't want to eat this many eggs, simply substitute some type of poultry, meat, or fish instead. There is nothing wrong with making two separate meat dishes for a single meal if you'd prefer to eat that way.

The eggs just make the Induction phase easier to move through. I happen to eat a lot of eggs, even today, so I've structured the below menu to reflect what I might eat on an Atkins 72 Induction.

Once you start returning carbs to your diet, you'll be eating other foods like:

• cottage cheese
• berries
• a variety of nuts
• vegetables
• larger salads
• and cream cheese

These additional low-carb foods can take the place of eating so many eggs.

Pre-Prep Advice for Atkins 72 Kick-Start Plan

It's best to make your hard-boiled eggs ahead,
so they will be cooked and ready when you need them.

You will need to make up a recipe of Basic Deviled Eggs (see the recipe section below the menu) at least a day ahead, so they will be nice and cold. You can add some crumbled bacon or minced jalapeno to the eggs to perk them up a bit. You can also use any herbs or spices that don't contain sugar.

In addition to the 6 eggs for the deviled eggs recipe, you will also need 4 hard-boiled eggs for the Buttered Hard-Boiled Eggs recipe. Plus, another 4 hard-boiled eggs for egg-salad. The recipe for the salad is in the recipe section below, as well. That's a total of 14 hard-boiled eggs.

Chicken for the soup and salads can be either boiled and shredded or sauteed in a skillet and diced. You could also pick up one of those rotisserie chickens, if that's easier for you, and use it to replace the baked chicken legs for dinner. Dice leftover chicken for some of the chopped meat for the week.

You'll need 1 chicken breast for chicken strips, and the other two breasts can be cooked ahead and either shredded or diced. If you prefer thighs, you could use those for the shredded meat if you like. In that case, you'd only need 1 chicken breast for chicken strips and about 3 to 4 cups of diced cooked chicken meat for soups and salads.

Make up one recipe of the 1972 Original Atkins Revolution Rolls using mayonnaise instead of cream cheese. Although, cream cheese is allowed on later Atkins plans, it was not allowed in 1972. Do this before you start the program, so you'll have time to let them sit in the refrigerator overnight.

If you try to skip that step, I promise that you will NOT like them.

In 1972, you did not have to count the carbohydrates in the herbs and spices you use, as they formed part of the structure of your foundation diet, but please be practical. Dried onions, for example, are real onions. They are not an herb or spice.

Heavy cream allowance on Atkins 72 (sometimes called heavy whipping cream) carries a limit of up to 4 teaspoons per day. That is quite a bit less than was allowed on later programs.

If you have any heavy cream left over from breakfast that you didn't use in your coffee or tea, you can add it to your soup or broth later in the day to make it creamy.

You can also add it to diet soda for a snack.

Hard, aged cheese like cheddar or Swiss is also limited. You can have a total of 4 ounces per day, which is why snack ideas come with a cheese amount. The amount listed under snacks is what you have left over after subtracting the cheese used for meals.

If you want to make your own chicken broth, the instructions for doing that is in our article on How to Make Your Own Salty Chicken Broth.

Day 1

Breakfast:

• 2 eggs fried in 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 slices of bacon
• hot tea with a lemon wedge and sweetener to taste
• OR coffee with up to 4 teaspoons heavy cream and sweetener to taste

Lunch:

Chef Salad:

• 1-1/2 cups of salad: 1 cup torn greens, ½ cup total of celery, cucumber, radishes
• 2 ounces diced ham
• 1 ounce chopped deli roast beef
• 1 ounce cheese
• 2 deviled eggs
• 2 tablespoons homemade Ranch Dressing

Dinner:

• Chicken broth with ¼ cup diced chicken meat and chives
• 6 to 8 Hot wings with homemade Ranch Dressing
• celery sticks stuffed with Simple Tuna Salad (see recipe below)

Snack Ideas

• Up to 3 ounces of cheese
• 1 minute-muffin with butter
• Hot Lemonade: ½ lemon juiced, hot water, sweetener to taste
• diet soda with any leftover heavy cream allowance

[I had someone ask me about the inclusion of a one-minute muffin on Atkins 72. While flaxmeal was not a "thing" in 1972, Dr. Atkins did allow you to use psyllium husks to help keep you regular. Since flaxmeal is almost all fiber, the flaxmeal muffins in these menus do exactly the same thing as psyllium does.]

Day 2

Breakfast:

• Bacon/Cheese Omelet: 2 eggs, 2 slices bacon, 2 ounces cheese, cooked in 1 tbsp butter
• Hot tea with a lemon wedge and sweetener to taste
• Coffee with up to 4 teaspoons heavy cream and sweetener to taste

Lunch:

• Ham and Cheese Sandwich: 2 ounces ham, 1 slice cheese, 2 Revolution rolls, a little mustard, and a small lettuce leaf
• 1 ounce pork rinds

Dinner:

• 3 baked chicken legs, with seasoning salt and garlic powder
• 1-1/2 cups torn lettuce
• 1/3 cup total of celery, radishes, cucumber
• 1 to 2 tablespoons homemade Ranch Dressing
• 2 deviled eggs

Snack Ideas:

• left-over hot wings with Ranch Dressing
• 1 minute-muffin with butter
• 1 cup warm, salty beef broth with chopped deli roast beef
• Hot Lemonade: ½ lemon juiced, hot water, and sweetener to taste
• Diet soda with any heavy cream allowance left over

Day 3

Breakfast:

• 2 Easy Egg-and-Bacon Wraps (recipe below)
• hot tea with lemon wedge and sweetener to taste
• OR coffee with up to 4 teaspoons heavy cream and sweetener to taste

Lunch:

• Chicken Salad Sandwich: ½ cup chopped chicken, ½ cup total: celery, cucumber, radishes; 2 tablespoons mayo, served on 2 Revolution Rolls
• 2 ounces homemade cheese sticks

Dinner:

• Creamy Chicken Soup: ¼ cup diced chicken, 1 cup salty chicken broth, plus any heavy cream allowance you have left over
• Taco Salad (no onions or peppers) and served over 1-1/2 cups torn salad greens with Ranch Dressing

Snack Ideas:

• Celery stuffed with leftover tuna salad
• baked chicken leg
• 1 ounce pork rinds with mustard-mayonnaise
• Hot Lemonade: ½ lemon juiced, hot water, and sweetener to taste
• Diet soda

Day 4

Breakfast:

• Buttered Hard Boiled Eggs (see Recipe below)
• hot tea with lemon wedge and sugar substitute to taste
• OR coffee with up to 4 tsp heavy cream and sugar sub to taste

Lunch:

• Leftover taco salad served over 1-1/2 cups torn greens with Ranch Dressing, 2 ounces grated cheese
• 1 ounce pork rinds

Dinner:

• Parmesan Chicken Strips: (Make Heroin Wings recipe using chicken breast strips instead of wings)
• celery sticks with Ranch Dressing
• 2 deviled eggs

Snack Ideas:

• 1 cup hot salty broth with chopped up deli roast beef
• 2 boiled ham slices filled with egg salad and rolled up
• 1 ounce pork rinds
• Hot Lemonade: ½ lemon juiced, hot water, and sweetener to taste
• Diet soda with any heavy cream allowance left over

Day 5

Breakfast:

• 2 scrambled eggs
• 3 slices bacon
• Hot tea with lemon wedge and sugar substitute to taste
• OR coffee with up to 4 tsp heavy cream and sugar substitute to taste

Lunch:

• 2 Chef Salad Roll-ups: Layer lettuce leaf, slice cheese, 1 oz sliced ham, and 1 oz sliced deli roast beef on top of each other, then roll up.
• Dip in Italian or Ranch Dressing
• 2 deviled eggs

Dinner:

• Salmon Cake (see recipe below) served in 2 Revolution Rolls
• 1 cup torn greens with ½ cup total: cucumber, celery, radishes
• Ranch or Italian Dressing

Snack Ideas:

• Hot broth with diced chicken or diced deli roast beef
• Egg salad in lettuce leaf or celery
• baked chicken leg
• Hot Lemonade: ½ lemon juiced, hot water, and sweetener to taste
• Diet soda with any heavy cream allowance left over

Day 6

Breakfast:

• 2 Buttered Hard-Boiled Eggs (recipe below)
• Hot tea with lemon wedge and sugar substitute to taste
• OR coffee with up to 4 tsp heavy cream and sugar substitute to taste

Lunch:

• Easy chicken salad: 1-1/2 cups torn greens, 3 ounces cooked, cold chicken cubes, 1 ounce diced cheese, 2 slices bacon cooked and crumbled, and top with mayonnaise.
• 1 ounce pork rinds

Dinner:

• Jalapeno Cheeseburger without a bun (recipe below)
• Beef-Egg Drop Soup (recipe below; use beef broth)
• celery sticks with Ranch Dressing

Snack Ideas:

• 1 ounce cheese
• leftover salmon patty with mustard
• celery sticks stuffed with egg salad or tuna salad
• Hot Lemonade: ½ lemon juiced, hot water, and sweetener to taste
• Diet soda with any heavy cream allowance left over

Day 7

Breakfast:

• 2 Easy Egg-and-Bacon Wraps (recipe below)
• Hot tea with lemon wedge and sugar substitute to taste
• OR coffee with up to 4 tsp heavy cream and sugar substitute to taste

Lunch:

• Easy chicken salad: 1-1/2 cups torn greens, 4 ounces cooked, cold chicken cubes, 2 slices bacon cooked and crumbled, and top with mayonnaise.
• 1 ounce pork rinds

Dinner:

• Basic Egg-Drop Soup – (recipe below; chicken or beef)
• Steak or pork chops sauteed in hot skillet
• 2 ounces cheese

Snack Ideas:

• 2 deviled eggs
• Cucumber slices with Ranch Dressing
• 1-minute muffin with butter
• Hot Lemonade: ½ lemon juiced, hot water, and sweetener to taste
• Diet soda with any heavy cream allowance left over

Shopping List

Creating a shopping list with so many variables isn't practical, so don't expect the following amounts to be 100 percent accurate. Amount of food you need for snacks is difficult to determine, since they are optional, and I have no way to know how many snacks you're going to need.

Don't feel like you have to waste food as you go through the week. If you don't eat the deviled eggs assigned to a particular day, it's okay to use them for a snack the following day. The same goes for other leftovers. Use these menus as the sample they were meant to be.

Pantry Supplies:

These are the supplies needed for the menu and recipes that I always have in the house. If you don't, you'll need to add them to the shopping list section or substitute them with something that you already have on hand.

For example, regular pepper can be used instead of seasoned pepper. Plain salt can be used instead of seasoning salt. Use whatever herbs and spices you like.

tea
coffee
ground flaxmeal
mayonnaise
mustard
sour cream
chicken/beef bouillon
dill weed
Mrs. Dash herb and garlic seasoning mix
seasoning salt
seasoned pepper
dried Parmesan cheese
onion powder
garlic powder
pizza seasoning
oregano
chili powder
ground cumin
dried chives
dried parsley

Grocery List

3 dozen eggs
1/3 pound butter
6 ounces heavy cream
1-1/2 pounds bacon
green onion tops (if you don't use chives)
Romaine lettuce
celery
large cucumber
1 bunch radishes
1 jalapeno pepper
4 to 6 lemons
8 ounces deli-sliced ham
8 ounces deli roast beef
12 chicken wings
3 chicken breasts
(or 1 breast and pkg thighs;
or rotisserie chicken)
6 chicken legs
three 6-ounce cans tuna
1-1/4 pounds hamburger
6 ounce can salmon
6 ounces pork rinds

Atkins 72 Induction Recipes

These Atkins 72 menus use lots of hard-boiled eggs.
If you don't want to use this many eggs, simply
replace the eggs with your favorite meat.

Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

6 eggs
¼ cup minced celery
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon hot mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, or more
seasoning salt to taste
seasoned pepper to taste
dill weed to taste
paprika

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a hard boil. Turn the heat off and allow the eggs to sit in the hot water for 20 minutes. Drain. Run cold water over the eggs until they cool.

Peel the eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Pop the yolk out into a bowl and set the whites on a plate or platter. Smash the yolks with a fork. Add celery, lemon juice, hot mustard, and just enough mayonnaise to wet the yolks, about 2 tablespoons, or so. Keep mixing until the yolk mixture is nice and creamy.

Season with seasoning salt, seasoned pepper, and dill weed. You can also add a bit of horseradish or hot sauce if you have it. Any herbs or spices that do not contain sugar are also find. Divide the filling evenly between the hard-set egg whites. Sprinkle with a bit of paprika. Cover and thoroughly chill.

Simple Egg Salad

Ingredients:

4 hard-cooked eggs
Mrs. Dash Herb and Garlic Seasoning Mix
Seasoning Salt
Seasoned Pepper
Mayonnaise to taste

Chop up the hard-boiled eggs with a fork, mashing it up into small chunks. Add seasonings and enough mayonnaise to bring it to a nice consistency. You can add minced celery, minced jalapeno, some crisp bacon bits if you like. Plus, a little bit of lemon juice.

Simple Tuna Salad

Ingredients:

12 oz can tuna (or two 6-oz cans)
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb Seasoning Mix
Seasoned Pepper
mayonnaise to taste

Drain the tuna well. Add seasonings to taste, and stir in just enough mayonnaise to moisten the salad.

Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken or beef broth
¼ cup diced cooked chicken or roast beef
1 egg, uncooked
chives or 2 tbsp sliced green onion tops

Place broth and cooked chicken or roast beef in a small saucepan. Bring to a hard boil. Lower heat to a simmer. While the soup is heating up, crack the egg into a small bowl and whip with a fork until scrambled. Slowly drizzle the raw egg into the simmering soup. The egg will cook almost as soon as it hits the hot broth. Cook for only another minute or so. When not on Induction, you can add a sliced green onion to this. Some freshly minced ginger is good too.

Bacon-Jalapeno Cheeseburger

Ingredients:

1 slice of bacon
¼ pound ground beef
1 ounce cheddar or Swiss cheese, finely grated
2 to 4 slices of fresh jalapeno, minced
¼ teaspoon seasoning salt
dash of seasoned pepper

Fry the bacon in a skillet. When crispy, remove and drain on paper towels. Place the ground beef, cheese, jalapeno, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Fold in crumbled bacon and form into a thick patty. Fry in the bacon drippings until well browned on both sides, and cooked through.

Buttered Hard-Boiled Eggs

Ingredients:

2 hard boiled eggs
2 slices cooked and crumbled bacon
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Chop eggs into bite-sized pieces and place in a small microwavable dish. Add bacon pieces and mix well. Top with butter, salt, and pepper. Nuke to melt the butter and heat the eggs, about 45 to 60 seconds.

Simple Salmon Cakes

Ingredients:

6 ounce can salmon
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup crushed pork rinds
old bay
paprika
seasoning salt
mayonnaise to taste

Drain the salmon and flake with a fork. Combine with egg, crushed pork rinds, seasonings, and enough mayonnaise to bind it all together. Form into two patties and fry like a crab cake.

Easy Bacon-and-Egg Wraps

Ingredients:

2 strips bacon
1 egg, well-beaten
1 oz cheese stick

Fry up the bacon, remove and crumble. Leave the bacon grease behind in the skillet. Heat until hot. Add the beaten egg, twirling the pan, so the egg batter covers the entire bottom of the skillet. Cook for one to two minutes, until just beginning to brown. Carefully flip the wrap over and cook for one minute. Remove from the pan. Fill with bacon, cheese, and roll up. Eat while still warm.

What's Next?

If you decide to stick with Atkins 72, the Induction foods are considered to be your foundation diet.

For week 2, you move into the Ongoing Weight Loss Phase (OWL), which adds to the Atkins 72 Induction food list.

Dr. Atkins recommended returning what you've missed the most, but did say that most of his personal patients preferred to add a cup of cottage cheese for Level 2.

When I personally did Atkins 72 in 1975, I added the cottage cheese in week two, dividing it up between two meals because it took the place of those starchy carbs I was used to on my dinner plate.

It also made cooking for the family easier, as I could just sub in ½ cup of cottage cheese for the potatoes or rice that I was serving to hubby.

If you choose to add back something else, you can only add things back in one 5 – 8 carbohydrate gram portion, per day. If the carbohydrate count is small, like 3 carbs or less, you could then add back two servings.