The south beach diet focuses on cutting carbs too but is less extreme than atkins. I've definitely seen atkins work, but the problem is it's nearly impossible to stick to for life and once you go off of it you gain back all the fat you lost and then some. Low carb diets are very effective ways to lose fat but be careful I would say you should consume 100 grams of carbs a day at least but not much more than that if you wanna lose fat then when you reach your goal keep exercising and up your carb intake gradually