eating enough to learn you CCCL

[msnicksmom]

I plan on taking OWL to my CCCL pretty quickly, 5 carbs/week til I stop losing at least .5 lb or 1 inch per week. So, today, I ate when I was hungry, had good ratios, ate my 2 cups salad veges, 1 cup asparagus and 5 carbs worth of pumpkin. I should be at 25 carbs/day this week and today am just at 20.

I'm not terribly hungry, but would like to eat something to get me through the night, and more importantly, be at the level I think I am so I know at the end of the week how it's "working". Make sense? So, should I have some veggies now? Or just be better tomorrow? Consistently I mean, so the real question is should I "force" the amount of carbs if they don't happen naturally?

[not2late]

Originally Posted by msnicksmom

I plan on taking OWL to my CCCL pretty quickly, 5 carbs/week til I stop losing at least .5 lb or 1 inch per week. So, today, I ate when I was hungry, had good ratios, ate my 2 cups salad veges, 1 cup asparagus and 5 carbs worth of pumpkin. I should be at 25 carbs/day this week and today am just at 20.

I'm not terribly hungry, but would like to eat something to get me through the night, and more importantly, be at the level I think I am so I know at the end of the week how it's "working". Make sense? So, should I have some veggies now? Or just be better tomorrow? Consistently I mean, so the real question is should I "force" the amount of carbs if they don't happen naturally?

That's okay if you are only at 20 net carbs. You add 5 net carbs to whatever your carb level was during Induction. So if you were eating an average of 15 net carbs during Induction, the first rung of the OWL carb ladder, you'll be eating at 20.

The hunger rules for Induction applies to OWL and beyond. You only eat enough to satisfy your hunger. If you're not hungry, don't eat unless you have gone 6 waking hours without eating. At the 6 hour mark, if your appetite is still low, just eat a small fat-protein snack, not an entire meal.

Out of curiosity, if you don't have a bedtime snack, what happens? If you can sleep through the night without waking up hungry, then you may consider dropping the bedtime snack habit.

[msnicksmom]

My baby still wakes several times a night. If I don't have a small snack, sometimes I get shaky and kind of...nauseous? Not really bad, but just a funny feeling. And I ALWAYS wake up in the am hungry, snack or not. It's probably the "6 waking hours" thing, see, if you don't SLEEP more than 3 at a time, you probably have to follow the 6 hour rule for the night too. HOPEFULLY this night waking will end soon

I was almost always at 20 on induction. Eating to satisfy hunger and always having both the 2 cup salad and the 1 cup other veggies and 4 oz cheese. I am lucky on my inductions, pre baby I lost 16 lbs on induction, this time lost 11.5. Which is why I want to determine my CCCL relatively quickly, and stop having to say "diet" and just be eating the way I always will, y'know?

Thanks again for your thoughts, are we the only ones OWLING these days?

[not2late]

Originally Posted by msnicksmom

are we the only ones OWLING these days?

Nah, lots of folks are OWLers. They post and lurk alot during their first weeks of OWL. Then they get used to the OWL routine, so you might not see them here until they either run into a minor hitch or are ready to graduate to Pre-Maintenance.

You can eat a small snack if you need to. And when I mean small, I mean small, not a 14 course meal lol.

[sunflowergrl]

I am an OWLer!! LOL
It seems like a lot of people stay on Extended Induction instead of moving on to OWL. I love OWL,and I am a nag about it to the other people here! I don't want them not to move on, Dr. A says this is the most important part of the 'diet'. I am glad you are doing so well, and I hope your baby starts to sleep through the night for you!

[soliwit]

Yup, I am around too, there's not always something to say though, heh, I do post occasionally in the main atkins forum, but I'll be there if you need me

[msnicksmom]

Thanks for piping in ladies. I couldn't WAIT to get to OWL, I just think even the veggies rung variety makes me feel much less "deprived", and I encourage others too. I have 3 people in my life "doing Atkins" with me, but one has A LOT to lose and doesn't believe in eating fat, and the other two are going to lose all their weight on induction, and then get back to "normal". I do NOT get it. Isn't "normal" what got you here??? Haven't you TRIED to "watch what I eat"??? Whatever.

So, I need you OWLERS!!!! And yes, I need the baby to sleep too. He's been SUPER sick though, so I'm patient with him for now. But pretty soon he should be able to stretch that out, I'm hopeful. Thanks again!

[H2Ohhh]

Hi there ... another OWLer here!

I was eager to move up the rungs, too. Silly reason, really -- one of my favorite meals is summer sausage, cheese, and a granny smith apple, so I wanted to hurry up and get to fruits! The weight loss has been pretty consistent -- five pounds in induction, a few weeks with no change, and then a pound a week in OWL. I doesn't sound like much, but it took me five years to lose this much doing low fat!

Anyway, we'll be here if you have any questions or just need support. Hope you get some sleep!

P.S. Your friends who plan to go back to "normal" ... uh, all that processed cr*p might be normal, but it ain't healthy!

I thought OWL was the best part of this entire eating plan!!! it was amazing what I learned about eating here...finding trigger foods was the most valuable thing for me..and finding the right carb level to either loose or maintain...I applaud you for thinking this through so well!

Have fun adding foods and expanding your diet it makes life so much less mundane!

[not2late]

OWL is great, because it's also the phase you can tell those Atkins-bashers to shove a strawberry up their noses.

One of my sisters is married to a very...ummm...well..."opinionated" man. Anyhow, when I moved onto OWL and began eating OWL foods at family functions. Mr. Brother-in-law was beaming ear-to-ear and loudly whispered to another relative "I knew Megs couldn't last on that Atkins! It's impossible for anyone to follow long term." After deciding it wouldn't be appropriate to dump the 3 bean salad on him, I replied "Oh, I'm still following Atkins. Only people who don't understand the diet think it's an all meat-eggs-and-cheese deal."