The Atkins Diet was widely recognized as the most popular and the first low carb diet ever created.  He was still a bigger guy, but he was also a qualified medical professional that claimed this was the ultimate way to lose weight.  You could eat all the fats, meats, etc, you wanted, must no carbs at all.  They slowly changed it actually to reflect a change in lifestyle and slowly allow some carbs back into your diet.  But that was only after Atkins’ death.

My personal suspicion is that the Atkins Diet was changed because Dr Atkins died of a heart attack.  Every medical professional besides him agrees that when you put that much fat in, especially with the absence of any good carbs, even from fruits and vegetables, you are going to suffer serious consequences are your heart will pay for it.  But they say he slipped on ice.

This being said, the new Atkins Diet has never really gained back the popularity it once had.  There have been other low carb diets introduced that supposedly provide you with something you could use on a more long term basis, and as they continue to gain steam, the Atkins Diet continues to lower in its popularity.  This is something I personally consider to be a good thing, and realistically speaking, you should never actually use the Atkins Diet in any version they may introduce at this point in time.