Can You Eat Popcorn on the Atkins Diet?

The Atkins Diet is a popular nutrition plan that involves the elimination of many types of carbohydrates from the diet. While the Atkins Diet is generally effective when followed as directed, it does restrict the consumption of many carbohydrate-containing foods, including popcorn, while increasing the relative consumption of fats and proteins.

Phases in the Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet is divided into four unique and distinct phases. Each phase is meant to produce specific results.

The first phase is known as induction. Induction is followed for a minimum of two weeks. During induction, Atkins dieters are advised to eat no more than 20g of carbohydrates per day. Most should come from vegetables. This is the strictest phase of the diet.

The second phase is known as Ongoing Weight Loss, or OWL. You can incorporate a few of the foods during this phase that were forbidden during the induction phase, including berries, nuts and seeds in small quantities.

The third phase, Pre-Maintenance, occurs when you are within 10 lbs. of your goal weight. During this phase, the you add additional healthy carbs until you begin to notice a small weight gain. Once this gain is noted, the carbohydrate tolerance level can be identified so you know exactly how many carbohydrate grams will make you gain, maintain and lose weight.

The fourth phase, known as Maintenance, involves a more liberal use of healthy carbs to maintain a healthy weight.

Which Phases Allow Popcorn?

Popcorn is forbidden during induction, the first phase of Atkins.

Popcorn can be moderately consumed during phases two through four. It is critical, however, that you count the carbohydrates from the popcorn into your daily carb allowance.

Air-popped popcorn with no butter contains 6g of carbohydrates and 1g of fiber per cup. On Atkins, dieters can deduct the fiber grams from the overall carb grams to obtain a "net carb" count--or a countable carb count. The net carb count of one cup of air popped popcorn is 5 grams.

Most dieters consume 25 to 50 g of net carbs during phases two through four.

Alternatives to Popcorn on Atkins

During induction, when popcorn is not allowed at all, pork rinds are considered an acceptable alternative. Plain pork rinds contain no carbs. Be sure to count calories, though, and don't go overboard.

Other good alternatives to popcorn include pumpkin seeds, sunflower kernels, almonds or macadamia nuts. These foods are also crunchy and salty, and contain less carbohydrate grams than popcorn.

The Pros of Popcorn on Atkins

Using a buttery spray and sea salt is delicious and Atkins-friendly. Regular melted butter is OK too, but be sure to use only small amounts, as it is very high in saturated fat.

Popcorn is a whole grain and also contains a good amount of fiber, which is good for controlling hunger and keeping your digestive tract healthy.

The Cons of Popcorn on Atkins

Popcorn is moderately high in carbs, especially when eaten in large quantities. Stick to small one or two cup servings and be sure to count the carb grams minus the fiber grams.

Popcorn is also considered to be a high-glycemic index food, according to Carbsinformation.com, meaning that it raises blood sugar quickly. By keeping portions small and even consuming a protein-rich food or beverage alongside the popcorn can help minimize effects on blood sugars. A low fat string cheese stick or small serving of lean deli meat can be good choices to help lower the glycemic index level of popcorn.