Before I start...I must say this, this whole thing must be a long term lifestyle change for you if your going to do Adkins...then you should do it and eat that way for life, which I believe is a pretty good thing. Also keep in mind that I am not a nutritionist or anything related to it (I'm actually a software developer by trade)...I have no agenda to push or money to make.
In simple terms Adkins is a new way to eat...not a diet. The traditional American diet has morphed into high-carb, high-sugar consumption. Americans are in love with sugar, microwaved "healthy" choice meals, bread, and french (damn them) fried potatoes. All these things will make you fat. Your body takes a longer time to process carbs than it does proteins, and carbs (starchy/sugary foods) easily produce fat unless you go to the gym everyday.
I didn't really get anal about following and understanding some of the more fundemental things about Adkins...I've kept it simple. This is my typical menu for the whole day:
Breakfast: Eggs (anyway I want, with real butter and/or cheddar/mozerella/swiss cheese too!) + a meat of some kind. When I got tired of eggs, I ate the left over meat and veggies for dinner the night before. Portion size equal to a cereal bowl.
Lunch: Salad w/skinless chicken or tuna with REAL dressing (not the diet stuff) I've gotten so used to eating a salad for lunch, I feel guilty if I can't get to one. If I get tired of salad, I had lunchmeat w/mayonaise(the real stuff) lettuce and pork grinds(my potato chip substitute). Portion size equal to a cereal bowl.
Dinner: Meat, chicken (NOT fried), fish (NOT breaded), vegatables, about a 1:1 ratio between the meat and veggies. Portion size equal to 2 cereal bowls. You can have burgers on the grill till your hearts content....just put everything on them as usual except for the bun! It is important to NOT only to eat meat...keep the meat/veggie ration at about 50/50.
I've bascially given up bread, noodles, milk, rice, anything potato, sugar (I use Splenda now), regular pop, and anything else that is really high is carbs. Contrary to Adkins, I enjoy a couple scoops of ice cream, or a slice of cake/pie once a week. Try it, it works. If you have time and the means...get the book too.
So the key is to kill the major part of the carbs in your diet.
Looking at it that way actually makes a lot of sense. I'll eventually get around to reading the book (along with the rest of my mammoth reading list that I'm almost constantly working through), but if it's all this simple, then perhaps I have the answer in front of me.
It won't be the easiest - I love potatoes, pasta AND rice (I was practially raised on it - a hazard of my dad's family being from Louisiana is that there is a pot of rice on the stove almost daily; we consider it a must-have staple). But I suppose if I work with the notion of a modified version of the diet (if I have rice, cutting out something else?), and get back on my daily multi-vitamin (fat-soluble, of course), things should begin to make themselves evident in short order...