Induction do's and donts...

[Gumby]

Hello all, I've been on a high fat high protein diet for awhile, but only recently have I decided to try to maintain a strict atkins approach of less than 20g of carbs a day. Now, Im hardly a person that looks like they need to lose weight (im 6'0, 165lbs) but the reason Im doing it is that I want to maximize my muscle mass at my current weight before attempting to gain weight.

Anyways, a couple of questions about induction:

1: How strict is the 20g a day regime? I ask because natrually I would get a little more from cheese and protein shakes. A regular protein shake that I'll make will have about 40-50g of carbs, and I'll drink up to 2 a day. I exercise 2, sometimes 3 times a day, but Im curious of someone could give me a rough number of carbs you can eat and still maintain burning fat as a primary source of energy in your body.

2: What are the effects of aspartame in the diet? This one I could never seem to find a direct answer- only some people stating that it has caused losing weight to be problematic

3: Caffeine in the diet- I know it causes blood sugar to spike, but will this have any effect on your body in terms of burning fat, or is this just a precaution to help prevent you from bing eating?

Thanks for any help

[Lyssie]

I want to start by saying Atkins is *NOT* a high protein diet.

1. 20g of carbs is for the first two weeks - Induction. It's pretty strict. That's the whole starting point of Atkins. It depends. Each person is different. I exercise anywhere from 2-4hrs 5/6 days a week so my carb level would be different than someone who's sedentary, but from me to you, it would also be a lot different.

2. It can cause you to not lose weight. Aspartame isn't good for you overall. Some people it doesn't have an effect, some people won't lose anything as long as they eat it.

3. You're supposed to break all of the nasty little habits/addictions that you have, including detoxing from caffeine. It can cause you to stall. Then again, for some people, it doesn't have any effect. Caffeine is not related to binge eating, and not everyone who eats according to this WoL does or has ever been a binge eater.

[sadie147]

You will be no where near Atkins induction if you are going to drink 2 40-50 carb protein shakes a day. Protein shakes aren't allowed on induction (whey is not allowed until the dairy rung i believe), and that carb level combined with your veggie carbs will take you probably closer to advanced OWL or maintenance levels. Atkins induction is 20g's of carbs, which should be mostly from veggies, as well as following a stricts list of allowed foods.

If you are serious about doing atkins, you should grab a copy of the book so you understand the complete program. an 'Atkins Approach' is not just living on 20g's of carbs a day, that's onlythe first 2 weeks. There is alot more to it than that.

I would think at your weight/height, if you are looking to just maintain your weight, and lose a bit of body fat and increase your muscle, you should be concentrating more on working out, and adding back OWL foods. I don't think you need to start at induction since you have no weight to lose.

Curious to see what the other opinions will be on whether or not induction is for you. but I am sure that you are not going about this is the correct way for what you are trying to achieve.