Hi aggiefan
I personally haven't tried the Atkin's diet. Most people that I have heard talk about it did lose weight (and fast!) but also tended to gain the weight back.
I have two suggestions. One: you might want to consider water aerobics for exercise (if you aren't already) given your back situation. It's very low impact, maybe no impact if done in deep water. Two: there is a book I found to be very helpful. It's not exactly a "diet" book. It's a guide to weight loss that looks at the underlying reasons people are overweight and makes suggestions for losing weight based on that. For example, you might be overweight because of a sluggish thyroid, a toxic colon, food allergies, enzyme deficiencies, etc, etc. The underlying cause of the weight gain must be addressed in order for the diet to succeed long term. Anyway, the book is very good; it's published by Burton Goldberg and the editors of Alternative Medicine and the title is "Weight Loss An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide." I really highly recommend it and the water aerobics!
Good luck and God Bless

kvanrijn