The and keto and Atkins diets are two ways of eating that are quite similar. They both focus on eating fewer foods with lots of carbs and more foods that are high in fat. But you might be curious about how they’re not exactly the same.
Think of Atkins and keto like two famous teams in the low carb diet game.
Both teams tell you to cut down a lot on foods that have a ton of carbs, like sweets, sugary drinks, bread, grains, fruits, beans, and potatoes.
Even though these teams are alike, they also have some differences.
This article will show you what’s different between the Atkins and keto diets, so you can figure out which team might work better for you.
The Athkins Diet:
The Atkins diet is really famous all around the world. It’s a diet that’s all about eating fewer carbs, having a good amount of protein, and getting lots of fat.
The main version of Atkins (it’s now called Atkins 20) is divided into four parts. These parts are based on how many net carbs you can eat each day. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber and some special types of sugar.
Here’s how the four parts work:
- Phase 1 (Induction): At the start, you’re allowed to eat 20–25 grams (g) of net carbs each day. You stay in this phase until you’re about 15 pounds (lb) or 7 kilograms (kg) away from your goal weight.
- Phase 2: In this phase, you can eat 25–50 g of net carbs each day. You keep doing this until you’re about 10 pounds (5 kg) from your goal weight.
- Phase 3: Now, you can have 50–80 g of net carbs each day. You do this until you reach your goal weight and keep it steady for 1 month.
- Phase 4: In the last part, you can eat 80–100 g of net carbs every day to maintain your weight.
As you move through these phases and get closer to your goal, you get to eat more net carbs each day. This means you can add a wider variety of foods to your meals.
But even in the last phase where you can have up to 100 g of net carbs a day, it’s still way less than what most people usually eat.
For example, many folks in the US get about half of their daily calories from carbs, which is around 250 g of carbs if they eat 2,000 calories a day.
The Keto Diet
The keto diet is a way of eating that’s really low in carbs, has a good amount of protein, and a lot of fat.
It was first used to help kids who had seizures, but scientists found out that it could also help other people too.
The main goal of the keto diet is to make your body go into a special state called ketosis. That’s when your body uses fat as its main energy source instead of getting energy from carbs.
In ketosis, your body uses things called ketones. These are made when your body breaks down fat from the food you eat or the fat stored in your body.
To get and stay in ketosis, most people need to eat only 20–50 grams of carbs every day. When you’re on the keto diet, you usually get less than 5% of your calories from carbs, around 10–30% from protein, and about 65–90% from fat.
Some folks even test their ketone levels using things like blood tests, pee tests, or breath tests. This helps them know if they’re in ketosis or not.
Similarities and differences
Similarities:
Both diets are low in carbs, so they share some things in common.
For instance, the first part of the Atkins diet, called Phase 1 (Induction), is quite similar to the keto diet. In this phase, you’re only allowed to eat 25 grams of net carbs a day. This usually makes your body enter a state called ketosis, where it starts burning fat as the main energy source.
In the second part of the Atkins diet, you can eat between 25 to 50 grams of carbs each day. This can still be low enough for some people to go into ketosis.
Both diets can help you lose weight because they make you eat fewer calories. Many foods that are high in carbs and calories, like sweets, chips, and sugary drinks, can make you gain weight. Both Atkins and keto diets make you avoid these high-calorie, carb-filled foods, which can help you eat less and shed those extra pounds.
Differences:
But there are also differences between Atkins and keto.
The keto diet has a moderate amount of protein, about 20% of the calories come from it. On the other hand, Atkins can have up to 30% of calories from protein, depending on which phase you’re in.
Keto aims to keep your body in ketosis by having you eat extremely few carbs.
But the Atkins diet lets you slowly eat more carbs as you go along, and this can kick your body out of ketosis.
Because of this, Atkins lets you eat a bigger variety of foods, including more fruits, veggies, and some grains.
In general, Atkins is a bit less strict. You don’t have to check your ketone levels or follow certain targets for the amount of carbs, proteins, and fats you eat to stay in ketosis.
Which one is better?
Both Atkins and keto have their good and not-so-good sides.
The keto diet is very strict, which means it might be hard to stick to. It can be tough to limit your protein to only 20% of your calories while eating very few carbs and a lot of fat, especially for a long time.
Some folks might need to check their ketone levels, which can be tricky and expensive.
Following a strict diet like keto might also make you miss out on important nutrients if you’re not careful about eating healthy foods.
Plus, we don’t have a lot of proof about how safe or effective the keto diet is in the long run, so we’re not sure about the health risks over a long time.
Most people can get lots of benefits from low carb diets without being in ketosis. So, going with a low carb diet like Atkins that’s not as strict as keto is usually good enough.
Overall, what’s really important is picking healthy foods, no matter how much protein, fat, or carbs they have. For example, diets with more carbs from plant foods like veggies and fruits are really good for our health.
Though low carb diets are healthy for most people, diets with more carbs from whole foods are just as good for our health as low carb, high fat diets.
Remember, when you choose the best way to eat, think about your weight goals, how healthy you want to be, and what foods you like to eat.
The bottom line:
Diets with fewer carbs, especially when they include healthy and good-for-you foods, can be really helpful. But before you change your diet a lot, it’s a good idea to talk to a healthcare expert.
Both Atkins and keto diets are low in carbs and can help with weight loss, managing diabetes, and keeping your heart healthy.
The big difference is that in Atkins, you slowly eat more carbs as you go along. But in keto, you keep carbs very low to stay in ketosis and use ketones for energy.
While some folks might do well with keto’s strictness, most people can get the benefits of a low carb diet by doing something like the later phases of Atkins. This means you don’t have to be as strict with carbs.
So, if you’re looking for a good diet, remember that you can benefit from fewer carbs, but it’s important to think about what’s best for your health. And it’s always smart to talk to a healthcare expert before you make any big changes to what you eat.
