Keto Diet Vs Atkins For Weight Loss: What’s Best?

The Atkins and keto diets are different diets that both take a low-carb, high-fat approach to dieting. But what makes the 2 discrete from each other? And which is better? Atkins and keto are 2 of the best-known low-carb diets.

Both need an extreme reduction in high-carb foods, including sweets, sugary drinks, breads, grains, fruits, legumes, & potatoes. These diets are similar, but they have differences as well. 

This guide balances the Atkins & keto diets to help you decide which is a better fit. In Short, know the differences and which is better between the keto diet vs Atkins for weight loss.

What Is The Atkins Diet?

The Atkins diet is one of the most popular diets worldwide. It’s a low-carb, moderate protein, high-fat diet.

Though Atkins has evolved to provide a variety of plans, the original version (now called Atkins 20) is still the most popular. It’s broken down into four phases, which are based on your daily allowance of net carbs (total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols):

• Phase 1 (Induction): This stage allows you to consume 5–6 tsp of carbs until you are 15lb (7kg or 15 pounds) from your set point goal.
• Phase 2: In the first period, you consume 25-50g of net carbs daily for half a year or until you are 10 lb (5 kg) away from your desired weight.
• Phase 3: You are then encouraged to gradually add baked goods, starches, and fruits to your diet until you have achieved your target weight and maintained it for at least one month.
• Phase 4: After the initial phase, in which you consume 80–100 g net carbs daily, is over, you go into weight maintenance, for which 80–100 g net carbs daily is recommended.

As you journey towards your goal weight, you move from affordance phase one to phase two; your daily net carb will be increased each time, eventually permitting you to incorporate a better meal variety.

Nevertheless, during Phase 4, during which you can have a maximum of 100g of net carbs, you eat almost none of the carbs compared with the usual culinary norms.

Approximately half of Americans’ daily intake comes in about 50% of 2000 calorie diet, equaling 250 g is calculated. Keto Diet Vs Atkins For Weight Loss

What Is Keto?

The ketogenic diet or short as “keto,”. It is a high-fat, low-carb eating plan. It was first used in the 19th century to help people with diabetes.

In the 1920s, it became famous for treating epilepsy in children who weren’t helped by medications. The keto diet has also been studied for its potential. To help with other conditions like-

1. Cancer,
2. Diabetes,
3. Polycystic ovary syndrome and
4. Alzheimer’s disease.

Lately, the keto diet has become popular to lose weight. This interest comes from the low-carb diet trend. It started in the 1970s with the Atkins diet.

Unlike other diets like Paleo, South Beach, and Dukan, which are high in protein and moderate in fat. The keto diet stands out because it involves eating more fat—about 70% – 80% of total calories—and only a moderate amount of protein.

This diet pushes the body to burn fat for energy instead of carbs. It can also guide weight loss and other health benefits. Keto Diet Vs Atkins For Weight Loss

Learn: 7-Day Keto Diet Plan For Weight Loss

Similarities Between the keto diet vs Atkins for weight loss:

Atkins and keto diets are similar because they’re both low-carb. In Phase 1 of Atkins (Induction), net carbs are kept under 25 grams daily, like on keto, activating ketosis for fat burning.

Phase 2 of Atkins suggests 25–50 grams of carbs daily, which is still low enough for many people to reach ketosis.

Both diets help you lose weight by cutting calories. High-carb foods, especially sugary ones, pack many calories, leading to weight gain. Atkins and keto make it easier to trim calories and drop pounds by ditching these foods. Keto Diet Vs Atkins For Weight Loss

Weight loss:

Many people take up the keto or Atkins diets for weight loss.

Many analyses have indicated that these diets may result in weight loss like the body burns fat very well when it enters ketosis. Most suitable studies suggest that a low-carb diet provides more weight loss than a low-fat diet in the short term.

However, these diets produce similar weight loss results in the long term.

A small study published in Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews notes. That ketosis may help control obesity and metabolic risk parts that are precursors to type 2 diabetes. However, more research is needed to confirm these findings.

Differences Between the keto diet vs Atkins for weight loss

Atkins and keto have typical differences as well.

While keto is a moderate protein approach, with about 20% of calories coming from protein, the Atkins diet allows up to 30% of calories from protein, relying on the phase.

Moreover, the goal of the keto diet is to maintain your body in ketosis by limiting your carb intake.

Thus, the Atkins diet gradually improves your carb intake, ultimately kicking your body out of ketosis. Because of this flexible carb limit, Atkins permits a wider variety of foods, such as

• fruits, 
• vegetables, and 
• grains.

In short, Atkins is a less restrictive guideline, as one does not have to observe ketones or adhere to specific macronutrient targets to stay in ketosis. Keto Diet Vs Atkins For Weight Loss

Category	Keto Diet	Atkins Diet
Low-Carb	Always	Only in phase #1
Weight Loss	Very efficient	Easier to follow
Fat Intake	Up to 70-75% of your calories	Higher than typical weight loss diets
Long Term	More difficult to follow	Easier to follow

Potential Benefits:

Weight Loss

• Atkins Diet: Recent researches on weight loss diets show that it is the most successful diet that ensures the most body weight loss after 6 months. This list is made up of the Zone Diet, Ornish Diet, and Jenny Craig.
• Keto Diet: On the other hand, it is more severe than Atkin but can enable weight loss as well. Sustaining ketosis minimizes hunger sensation and that can be used to overcome the main obstruction which is continual hunger.
• Preservation of Muscle Mass: The ketogenic diets will not only likely preserve muscle mass but also speed up the lipolysis so that most of the weight lost will be fat, rather than muscles. During a 12-month research, 20 kg [approximately 44 lb] weight loss was observed from the low-carb high diet which is way more than the 7 kg (the normal low-calorie diet) with a very minimal-low muscle loss.
• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): Risks of metabolism with ketogenic diets, meaning that your body still burns calories even while resting. On some occasions, besides low-calorie diets, your metabolic rate may drop and hereby the difficulty of maintaining weight loss may arise.

Blood sugar regulation

In a study carried out, the impact of a low-carbohydrate diet on insulin tolerance is seen in improvements.

The American Diabetes Association has modified its Clinical Care and Education standards to include low-carb diet options as a viable and successful dietary intervention for those with type 2 diabetes.

These regimes are well known as among those improving glycemic control and KAPA-1 function. It prevents the necessity of prescribing medications and the improvement in HgbA1c level. That also helps in better control of long-term blood sugar management.

A research of 24 weeks showed both weight loss and glycated hemoglobin reduction, without HgbA1c levels and no need for diabetes drugs, in the 14 adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes who followed the Atkins diet program.

Other Benefits- keto diet vs Atkins for weight loss:

• Low-carb, higher-fat diets may improve specific heart disease risk factors.
• Such diets potentially reduce triglyceride levels and increase HDL (good) cholesterol, thereby decreasing the triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol ratio.
• A high triglyceride-to-HDL ratio is considered an indicator of poor heart health and is linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
• A review of over 1,300 people indicated that those on the Atkins diet had greater triglyceride decreases and more significant increases in HDL cholesterol than those on a low-fat diet.
• Low-carb diets might also improve mental health and digestion, though further research is required to confirm these benefits.

Keto diet vs Atkins for weight loss- Which is better?

Aspect	Atkins Diet	Ketogenic Diet
Carb Restriction	Moderate carb restriction; more flexible	Very low carb intake; extremely restrictive
Protein Intake	Allows for more protein	Protein limited to about 20% of calories
Fat Intake	High fat, but less so than keto	Very high fat intake
Long-term Feasibility	Generally easier to maintain long-term	Challenging to stick to, especially long-term
Monitoring	Less need for monitoring ketones	Often requires monitoring of ketone levels
Nutrient Deficiency	Lower risk if well-planned	Higher risk of nutrient deficiencies
Long-term Safety	Less evidence on risks compared to higher carb diets	Limited evidence; long-term health risks unknown
Health Benefits	Benefits without full ketosis; focuses on low-carb	Requires ketosis; potential benefits with strict adherence
Dietary Focus	Can be adjusted to include healthy foods	Requires careful dietary planning to avoid deficiencies

Key Takeaways:

• Flexibility and Feasibility: The Atkins diet tends to be more flexible and easier to maintain over the long term than the highly restrictive keto diet.
• Health Risks and Nutrient Intake: The keto diet poses a higher risk of nutrient lack if carefully managed. On the other hand, the Atkins diet allows for a more balanced approach if well-planned.
• Long-term Effectiveness: Both diets offer health benefits, but the Atkins diet may be easier to sustain.

Learn More: How To Follow A Keto Diet For Weight Loss

Bottom line:

Explore the benefits of low-carb diets like Atkins and Keto for weight loss and health. Atkins allows flexible carb intake, while Keto keeps carbs low for ketosis. Consult a healthcare professional before starting.

FAQS About Keto Diet Vs Atkins For Weight Loss