Atkins
goes against all nutritional advice to eat a sensible, balanced diet - (which
would be lots of fruit and vegetables, protein, wholemeal carbohydrates and
low saturated fat). Atkins is high in fat and very low in carbohydrates.
Can it work and is it harmful?
The best advice I can give is to take it one step at a time. Some TV shows would encourage you to bin all the 'bad' stuff, and eat a 100% healthy diet immediately. I think that's recipe for disaster!
Take it slowly and aim to improve your diet over months not days. If you can convert to a really healthy diet and lifestyle in a year, I think you're doing really well and you are much more likely to stick with it.