Some of the misconceptions are in your mention. Once past induction and into regular ongoing loss or maintenance, Atkins does suggest Old Fashioned Oats but not 1 minute or microwave(pg 45 Atkins for Life) 100% whole grain bread in moderation (pg 45 Atkins for Life) All-Bran (pg 45) apples, berries, cherries, grapefruit and lots of green vegetables. Yes sweet corn should only be eatin in moderation (pg 39) Red wine is allowed in moderation and no diet suggests beer.
In the beginning phase, Atkins is pretty restrictive, but it is almost a cleansing of a wrong carb infested body. Honestly, this is the first time in my life that whether dieting or not, I don't think about or crave food all the time. Some people eat to live, I lived to eat. No longer. There wasn't a donut shop, cookie aisle, candy rack or pizza house that I could pass. I have no desire for those items now. I used to eat a dozen donuts in a setting I was that bad. I stopped at a Krispy Kreme one night and was going to bring home the hot fresh donuts. Bought a dozen. Gone before I got home. Sad. But no longer.
Thursday night we made spaghetti squash with meat sauce and a salad. Last night pork chops and broccoli and cheese with strawberries for dessert. Lunch was a Jr. bacon cheeseburger (without bun but with lettuce and tomato) and salad. Seems pretty healthy to me.
Some days to jump start, I do induction myself for a few days, but moderate back to a more liberal diet.
Also a year ago, my wife had blood work done. Almost everything was out of whack to the high side. She did it again last week. Everything was back to normal levels. She has weened herself from the coke, pop tarts, candy bars and lack of proper diet to Atkins. Biggest problem with the above is refined sugar or worse corn syrup and refined flours. They are killers.
I've seriously looked into the Atkins Diet and even read the book from cover to cover. But I just can't subscribe to a diet that would have me remove buns from hamburgers the rest of my life. Many have told me before that the Atkins Diet allows carb foods such as rice and pasta in moderation during the "maintenance phase", but the book clearly states that it would be better if you did not. While wine is grudgingly allowed (to one small glass per day), Atkins is a teetotaler and clearly does not believe in any alcohol consumption at all in his diet and recommends that you do not have any alcoholic beverage on his diet.
Like you, I have had some unhealthy diets over the years. But I feel that refined sugars and saturated fats are more of an enemy than carbs.
About three years ago, I discovered the Mediterranean Diet. I've made some minor alterations to it to make it suitable to my tastes, and while I have not lost a lot of weight with it, I have definitely stopped gaining weight and I feel much healthier and have much more energy. I've also dropped by cholesterol to 185, which really shocked my doctor because I am still technically overweight. Curiously, I also require much less sleep than I used to. I only get about five hours a night on average, though I do "sleep in" on Saturdays so at least once a week, I get eight full hours.
I don't really consider what I am on a "diet" and you won't find it in any books. I've basically taken the Meditteranean Diet concept and tailored it to my own tastes, as I said before. So the foods I eat most often are fish (lots of fish), poultry, rice (including that cous-cous stuff), pasta, lot of vegetables (especially corn), beans and olive oil. In fact, I use olive oil instead of butter. Olive oil is loaded with the "good" fats and is very good for you. Much better than the palm oils and coconut oils that you find in most processed food today (and is high in the "bad" fats). But given a choice between butter and margarine (such as at a restaurant), I prefer butter because margarine is very, very bad for you - it's basically some of the worst stuff you can possibly put in your system. I also drink beer or wine pretty much every night, usually 2-3 glasses.
I totally avoid processed "snack foods" and instead snack on nuts (unsalted), especially peanuts and pistachios. Yes, they are high in fat, but a much healther snack than chips and cookies and even pretzels. I also have a can of sardines (packed in olive oil) pretty much ever day for breakfast.
I also totally avoid soda pop and milk. Soda pop is nasty stuff, and milk makes me feel bloated and gassy (besides, I don't like the taste very much). So the only things I drink is beer, wine and water (and probably in that order!)
I eat less red meat than I used to but I have hamburgers at lunch occasionally and at least once a week, I treat myself to a porterhouse or T-bone steak or even a piece of prime rib. If I'm going to only have steak once a week, it's going to be the best one that I can buy!
Anyway, that's what works for me. The Atkins Diet isn't a totally bad idea (and it's better than what you were doing before). But I personally find it too restrictive on the foods that I like to eat.