Momto2boys2010's Journal, 11 December 2010

It looks like you've been in the 25-30 range for at least a few days this week when you've logged everything. Since you're in OWL, were you trying to test 35g this week? Did you do OK at 30? If you did OK at 30 and were going to see how you would do with 35, then try again to get closer to 35 for the next week and see how you do. You won't hit 35 each day but you should be close, maybe in the 33-37 range. If you're happy with your current rate of losing at 25-30 net carbs, then there's nothing that says you have to go any higher on carbs right now. Eventually, you probably want to go higher (gradually) to see just where your equilibrium point (ACE) is. That's actually what I'm doing right now....keeping my carbs in line until I'm closer to goal. Then I'll start systematically, but slowly, upping the carbs to see where my equilibrium lies. You're doing quite well so far....keep up the good work! 

I'm not sure why you think that you're "supposed to" get 35g carbs per day. If you wanted, you could stick to Induction, which is less than 20 net carbs per day. There's no rule that requires you to be at 35g carbs. In fact, Atkins recommends as follows: "Move to OWL if . . . •You’re already within 15 pounds of your goal weight. It’s important for you to move on to learn a new, permanent way of eating. •You’re bored with your current food choices. •You’ve been in Induction for several months and are more than halfway to your goal. You may choose to stay in Induction if . . . •You still have more than 30 pounds to lose. You should stay in Induction for now if . . . •You still have a large amount of weight to lose. •You’re still struggling with carb cravings. •You’ve not been fully compliant with Induction. •You still have elevated blood sugar or blood pressure levels. •Your weight loss is slow and you aren’t physically active." Since you still have 65 lbs that you want to lose, you could easily stay in Induction (though I'd suggest that you eat a lot more protein than you did in your first couple of weeks; your calories were so low you were probably starving). But even if you choose to move beyond Induction, you may want to stay at a lower level of OWL (20-25g or 25-30g) since, as you point out, you may be carb-sensitive.  

Thanks for the advice Sandy and Helen. Yes, was testing things to see how it would go. I've been losing pretty good and think that I will try to keep it at 35 or somewhere near about for the next week, and then if there is a problem, back it down until I'm closer to goal. I may even go back to Induction after Christmas. I was getting bored with the food choices on Induction, Helen. Which is why I moved up. (I love my fruit! And it's great to have cottage cheese now). I didn't feel I was starving in the first couple of weeks, I think I forgot to log some of what I was eating. LOL. I'm really bad about journalling/logging. 

I know what you mean about the fruit. I was really craving fruit the first 3-4 weeks bc I used to eat fruit every day, but those cravings went away. Now, I occasionally will have blueberries, raspberries or strawberries and I find that I'm satisfied. As long as you're happy with your rate of weight loss, stick with 35g carbs. At 20g net carbs, I'm only losing 1 to 1.5 lbs per week so I don't want to increase carbs and slow down my weight loss even further until I'm within 15 lbs of my goal weight. 

My average is about 2.5lbs/week, although I did lose much of it in the first week so I suppose I shouldn't count that. LOL. Having the berries really does help, and especially if I use frozen berries and blend them with whipping cream. That's great that your numbers are still moving steadily down. 

My husband is on OWL (but only the nuts and berries on the carb ladder). He loves his berries with heavy cream or sour cream. :)