Low carb Diet concerns

Hi Low Carb Friends,

I have been doing the Low Carb diet for abot 2 1/2 weeks now.
I started with 191Lbs and right now I am at 180.

Total lost of 11 pounds.
My goal is to be 150 or below for now.

I have been in induction since day one till up to date. I am not sure if i should remain on Induction for another couple weeks or move to phase 2.

With the diet itself I work about 4-5 days a week.
Drink Green Tea every day.
Watch my calories intake as well.

I am afraid if i move to phase 2 what if I start gaining weight and whatver i lost i gain back.

I noticed that eating the Atkins Bars even though they say safe on all Phases is a lie. They Stalled me last week and i lost only 1 pound in like 5 days. I stopped them and boom i lost total of 5 after that.

Please experts give me your advise what else can i do to avoid Plaute or stalls. I want to loost weight quickly and have it show already.

Thanks in Advance,

Well ... probably different takes on this from different people with different philosophies.
I dislike Atkins induction - too restricted for me. When I did it I stayed on it for the required period and then moved on. But when I moved on I took it dead slow. I followed the system in the Old Book (Atkins 2002) so the first step is to just add more veggies and only 5 net carbs worth. I added even more veggies after staying there and when I found I could still lose I starting experimenting by taking 5 carb and replacing with dairy while still eating lots of veggies (like in Atkins meaning of lots of veggies) Once that was done and I had learned more about dairy and how small portions really was. I went on and tried nuts and then I tried berries after that.

I lost most of my weight on the this OWL phase.

My take on it is that you will have to find a way to keep your losses off. The thing is that it is easier to lose the weight than to maintain it, If you do not develop knowledge and good habits while losing you will probably be back here soon again trying again. There is no cure for fat.

maybe someone else will share their ideas.

I had the same experience with bars and shakes. They just so not work for many people

Some people stay in the induction phase until they are almost done. You can do that, then transition through the other phases as you like.

You have your diet on private and I'm just wondering what you ate...I'm plateau and I know I need to do low carb on some days, so just wondering.

I was an Atkins dieter for a little over a decade. Lost 60 lbs on it, never doing it the way it was intended. I would stay in Induction until all the weight came off and then as soon as I added back in the carbs I would start gaining. The last time I tried it, I decided to try to do it the right way, stayed on Induction for 2 weeks then moved on to OWL but with each increment I felt hungrier and craved carbs.

I tossed the diet out all together and created my own plan eating sensibly, especially all the healthy foods I missed like bananas, beans, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, chocolate. I'm so happy I decided to do it my way this time because the weight is coming off just as fast, I'm eating all the foods I love and even made it through the holidays, New Year's, V-Day all while still losing weight.

I'm leaving on a 3 week vacation to South East Asia and Australia and I'm not worried one bit because I know I can eat rice, tofu, veggies, fruits all in moderation with lots of walking. It's over a hundred degrees over there right now and I just don't think I would have been able to stomach all the protein and fat. I feel much better eating in a more intuitive way.

I decided to calorie count on Atkins so didn't follow induction strictly. In that I had 20g net carbs but also ate fruits (Berries: raspberries, strawberries & blueberries), nuts (almonds, macadamia), cheese, cream, diet drinks, sugar free sweets & even the Atkins bars, but I counted the full 12g of net carbs in them & not the 2g claimed on the box.

Having read both the old & new Atkins books I feel comfortable mixing & matching this way, all the while staying on 20g net carbs. But if I start to stall I will go back to the more strict advice for induction of the original older book & cut out the sugar free sweets, fruits, nuts & cheese.

I'm on Atkins and I have been doing Induction for the last three weeks.

The decision to move on to phase 2 is a personal one. I have a lot of weight to lose and I am comfortable on the Induction level carbs so I am staying on Induction. I plan to do that for 12 weeks and then evaluate my situation before deciding whether or not to move on. My spouse, on the other hand, struggled at Induction level, but she is doing better on OWL.

The point of adding carbs as you move up the phases is for you to find out what types of carbs you personally can eat and how much of them you can eat without uncontrolled weight gain. If you move up to level 2, take your time, add only one new food at a time and see how you feel. You can always eliminate the new food and try something else later. In a worst case scenario, you can always just go back to Induction level eating and try again.

It was important for Induction and becomes increasingly important as you add more carbs to your diet that you get most of your carb grams from vegetables, and later fruits and nuts. Don't just go crazy on bread and pasta just because your carb counts allow it. When you reach the maintenance phase of Atkins (Level 4) you should be eating an ordinary diet of lean protein, fiber rich carbs and healthy fats. The early phases are training to reach that goal.

I have been on Adkins since January 2 and have since lost 24 lbs. I am staying in induction and using Linda's low carb recipes on the internet. The website is amazing. I never get bored with food and there are so many easy recipes. Good luck

Great recipes at Linda's low carb recipes!