New Member of the Club

[kaylinsmom]

Good morning all!
I was reading some posts and you are all so encouraging.

It is hard to believe that just 20 years ago I was 140 lb and in the Navy. I know I won't get back down to that weight, but I am so looking forward to getting under 199 lb! I actually miss running.

So, on day 5, I am down 5 lb. I have put away the Atkins bars and shakes (info from the introduction forum) and am sticking with the "list".

Question: How long is it safe to stay on Induction? I really want to lose a good 50 lb fairly quickly so my joints don't hurt when exercising. I am currently 300.5 lb at 5'5" tall.

Thanks!
Robin

[FwL]

Dr A said, "6 months or more."

That's not very specific... but his whole thing was getting into OWL.

At your weight, the only reason to move into OWL is to avoid frustration with your menu.

[tuttifrutti]

Hello and welcome to ADBB
Atkins says you can stay on induction for 6 months or more...but I believe he also states that you should be in pre-maintence by the last 5-10 lbs? In DANDR, Chapter 13 talks about OWL [Ongoing Weight Loss] and then Chapter 16 discusses pre-maintenance. If you don't have a copy of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, you should get yourself a copy. Everything you need to know is in there. And if you can't find it, we can always help refer to which chapter the info is in!

Oh, and way to go on your loss!! Keep it up

[Ryan.Stoeppel]

Hey Robin, and welcome! Congrats on deciding to make a positive change in your life!

The first thing I would say is never count anything out. If your desire is to weigh the 140 lbs you were at while in the Navy don't automatically discount it as possible! Will it take a lot of work to reach that goal? Yes, but if that is your desire won't it be worth the work?

I used to think that I was a person who would never have abs, much less those washboard abs every person secretly dreams of having. Those things that seem so unachievable to us we tend to build big walls around, convincing ourselves that they are out of reach. After learning that I told myself that I should stick to that secret dream, and I fully believe that I will achieve that goal in the future. Will it be tomorrow? No. Will it be next year? Probably not, but it isn't impossible. The thing I've learned is that nothing is out of reach if you put your mind to it though.

Making a goal for yourself is important, but just as important is mini-goals. Reaching your mini-goals will help to keep you motivated.

Make sure you are taking pictures of yourself and keeping track of your measurements as well. It is very difficult for us to see the changes in ourselves, so both of these things are very important, as you can compare side to side how you are progressing.

As for how long you can stay on induction, Dr. Atkins never mentions a time when it becomes critical to get OFF of the induction stage. However, you do need to go through OWL and Pre-Maintenance at some point. You cannot do induction the rest of your life.

Based on your brief intro I am going to assume that you haven't read the book Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution yet. I very strongly suggest that you either go to your local bookstore and purchase it or get it off Amazon.com and read it. Don't just read it, but understand it. If you are going to make this change you need to understand all the inner workings of how and why it works, and that is what DANDR helps you with.

If you have any questions make sure to come here and ask them. Lots of very intelligent people here who can help you out! And come here every day to check in and let us know how you are doing and how we can be helping to support you! We all want to see you succeed!

Good luck and welcome!

Ryan

[kaylinsmom]

Thanks you all for your replies. Yes, I have actually read both of Dr. Atkin's books. Unfortunately, Revolution is packed for moving and I have no idea what box it's in! It has just been a few years since I read them. In the past, I never made it the full 2 weeks on Induction, but I also never weighed over 300 pounds. And, I never will again! At this point, due to money and moving, I am relying on the Atkins.com site for my lists.

My biggest pitfalls are exercise and drinking water. I will start walking today and keeping track of my water intake.

Thanks!
Robin

[Ryan.Stoeppel]

Robin, if I can say one thing to you that I want you to hear it is DO NOT use Atkins.com for your information on the Atkins Diet. Their website is there to sell you products and make profit for themselves. The Atkins they are selling you is not the Atkins developed by Dr. Atkins. I encourage you to come to this website, read the induction forum and all the stickies for the information you need in order to do a real induction. If you have any questions please ask them here, as there are many helpful people here who have been living the Atkins lifestyle for years and have had great success. We aren't trying to sell you anything here, we just want to see you succeed!

[IrishIrish]

I remained on Induction for an extended period of time ... my theory was that if it isn't broke, don't fix it and it was working for me. I moved on to OWL after about 14 months and remained at Rung 1 for another extended period of time. It is only in the last three years that I went up all the Rungs of OWL .. I did it slowly, but I figured out all of my "trigger" foods and got to understand how my body reacted to certain foods and combination. Clearly you don't have near as much to lose as I did, but the point it, everyone approaches the phases differently from establishing time frames, but we can all have excellent results. Remember, this is a way of life.

[Avery]

Welcome! I don't have anything else to add, just want to wish you a warm welcome and lots of success. You are doing great, keep it up.