Induction or OWL ~ Opinions Please

[Lose to Live]

Tomorrow is day 14 of a clean induction. Don't know what the scales will say in the morning, but as of yesterday I'm down 13.5 lbs!! WOO HOO!

I've read the sticky and the book about continuing induction or going on to OWL, but I think I need some personal opinions. First of all, I'm assuming I don't have an issue with metabolic resistance since I lost more than 10% of my goal during this induction phase.

I still have 91 lbs to go, and clearly would like to get there the quickest way possible! I realize that I won't lose another 13.5 lbs in the next 2 weeks regardless of the choice. But as a general rule, would I be able to drop the weight faster on extended induction than OWL?

Currently, I'm not craving more veggies, dairy, nuts or fruit. I think i COULD continue with an extended induction without getting too frustrated...But then, I could also move onto OWL with no problems too.

Just looking for some "real life" feedback!

[momtomany1]

Moving to the first rung of OWL is not that big of a change, and I like having the extra veggie allowance, it makes room for onions in my greens and such. You can always move 'backward' back to induction if the rate of loss becomes too slow for you. But you know, slow and steady wins this race anyway!

[ValidRouge]

I recommend moving to OWL, especially since you did such a good job on your induction.

Rung 1 is just more veggies anyway. No one on this board has gotten fat eating more veggies (that I know of). Most people on extended induction are really doing rung 1 anyway...keep in mind that ONE McDonalds, Wendy's, BK, (or any fast food or restaurant) salad is MORE than your induction levels of veggies anyway. Add another serving of veggies at a different meal and they ARE eating rung 1 whether they want to accept that or not LOL

[Lisa]

Congratulations on the 13.5 pounds lost!

I agree whole heartedly agree....you should move on up the OWL rungs. My philosophy with moving up the rungs is "you'll never know unless you try". I think you'll do great!

[Lose to Live]

Thanks, everyone! These responses were just the encouragement I needed! (That and having dropped another .5 lb this am for an induction grand total of 14 lbs gone forever!)

Tomorrow, I'm moving on to OWL!

[moniegail]

i agree with everyone else about moving on. having said that, however for myself, i did do an extended induction, but only for an extra week. just wanted to make sure i had my feet firmly planted in the woe again before i moved on. there is so much to learn by moving onto OWL, you learn the way your body reacts to the new foods you are introducing back into you life. just remember to move at your own pace. you can stay at each rung for as long as you feel you need to. if you are not bored with what you are eating, you can stay on a rung for many weeks or just a week at a time. just remember it's important that as soon as you feel you are getting bored, you should move up to the next rung so that there are more food choices to choose from.

hope this helps.
monie

[sugarsack]

ooh valid.. here i am thinking i am doing extended induction when you are right ... i am really on rung 1... without thinking about it i have added extra veggies .. wow.. that changes my thinking..

i was going to stay on extended induction untill about 30 lbs to goal.. then start the rungs.. but i guess i am on rung 1 already.. who knew ?? hehe

sorry about the me me me post.. its all about me you know ?? this board is all about learning from the experience of others and i just had an aha moment..

listen (read) everyones experience and advice then you can make up your own mind as to what to do... but i have read that moving up the rungs really helps in the long run since you find out what your body can and can not handle carb wise, and what foods you may need to stay away from for a while..

keep reading and you can do it !!

[Lisa]

Woo hoo to waking up another .5 pound gone! Whole numbers are great sometimes

[ValidRouge]

monie, I stayed an extra 2 weeks on induction too, because I didn't do it (exactly) right the first two weeks. However, during those two weeks I didn't lose any significant weight anyway....moving on into rung 1 was when I really started losing again.

There really is NO REASON to be afraid of low carb vegetables!!! In fact, as you move through OWL, you really should find yourself eating higher and higher numbers of carbs, and at all times AT MINIMUM half of your daily carbs should be from veggies. So, you could technically stay on the veggie rung for a long time.

I am in maintenance...and I eat at Rung 1 after going all the way through the rungs. In fact, my rung 1 is more "restrictive" than induction. I eat a higher number of veggie carbs than most people do, but I don't really eat any other carbs (other than eggs and coffee--bad bad coffee--but that's for another thread). No dairy, fruit, nuts, legumes. Occasionally I might have a partial serving of one of those things, but it's rare. Most of the time I eat as much of the veggies that I want and fatty cuts of meat. The reason for this is that as I moved through the rungs and premaintenance I have been able to identify my trigger foods and food intolerances. Without doing that I would still be heavier and having one **** of a time with blood sugar instability issues.

My fitday is in my signature, feel free to take a look.