What is my ACE (CCLL)?

[Elleth Faewen]

Your Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium, or ACE, is the number of net carbohydrates you can eat without gaining or losing weight. The term ACE was introduced in Atkins for Life, and it replaces the old term CCLL, which meant Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing.

You determine your actual ACE by moving up the rungs of the OWL ladder and finding out how different foods and exercise affect you. This is when you really start to personalize your diet. It can help to have an idea of where your ACE is likely to wind up.

To estimate your ACE, you must first know your metabolic resistance level. This is determined based on your first two weeks of induction and the amount you had to lose. You can then use your metabolic resistance level as a guide for how many net carbohydrates you will be able to eat each day on OWL to reach your ACE. Everyone is different, so use these charts as a general guide.

Degree of Metabolic Resistance for Men
...................Pounds Lost in First 14 Days
Pounds to Lose......High........Avg........Low
Less than 20.........4...........6..........8
20-50................6...........9.........12
More than 50.........8..........12.........16

Degree of Metabolic Resistance for Women
...................Pounds Lost in First 14 Days
Pounds to Lose......High........Avg........Low
Less than 20.........2...........4..........6
20-50................3...........6..........9
More than 50.........4...........6.........12

Metabolic Resistance........Approximate ACE Range
.......High.................15 grams of carbs per day
......Average...............15-40 grams of carbs per day
.......Low..................40-60 grams of carbs per day
..Regular exerciser*........60-90 grams of carbs per day


*In this context, a regular exerciser is someone who does vigorous exercise five days a week for at least 45 minutes.

Example 1: A man needing to lose 60 pounds that lost 13 pounds during the first two weeks of induction has an average metabolic resistance. He can expect his ACE to fall between 15 and 40 net carbs per day.

Example 2: A woman needing to lose 30 pounds that lost 9 pounds during the first two weeks of induction has a low metabolic resistance. She can expect her ACE to fall between 40 and 60 grams of net carbs per day.

Dr. Atkins said that exercise was not an option on our diet, and the charts above help to show why. Either of our example people can drastically increase their ACE through regular exercise. You can increase your ACE and have fun too by joining us in the Atkins Diet Bulletin Board exercise challenge. You have nothing to lose but pounds!

[loliloli]

What do you mean by "want to lose"? I mean I understand my goal but that may be over or under how much I need to lose to get a healthy weight. Does that matter?

[not2late]

Originally Posted by loliloli

What do you mean by "want to lose"? I mean I understand my goal but that may be over or under how much I need to lose to get a healthy weight. Does that matter?

The charts in the book are set up for your "ideal" weight. So unless you are extremely overweight and only want to lose maybe 5 pounds, the metabolic resistance charts will be accurate for you.

[pdueck]

im lost, sorry! Tell me if Im reading this correct.... Im a female, 5"5 138lbs
I've lost roughly 10lbs in two weeks.... am I low on the ace? so I can 40-50 carbs a day? Is having a low metabolic rate bad?

[not2late]

Originally Posted by pdueck

im lost, sorry! Tell me if Im reading this correct.... Im a female, 5"5 138lbs
I've lost roughly 10lbs in two weeks.... am I low on the ace? so I can 40-50 carbs a day? Is having a low metabolic rate bad?

How much weight do you want to lose? The chart in the book is based on how much weight you want to lose and how much weight you lost during Induction.

[Thin is possible!]

Thanks...very helpful!

[pdueck]

Originally Posted by not2late

How much weight do you want to lose? The chart in the book is based on how much weight you want to lose and how much weight you lost during Induction.

OOPs sorry I would like to lose another 18lbs

[not2late]

Originally Posted by pdueck

OOPs sorry I would like to lose another 18lbs

When you began your Atkins Induction, what was your start weight and your weight loss goal? For example, my start weight was 242 pounds (or whatever I have in my siggy...it was a long time ago lol!) and my goal weight was 130. So I had a 112 pound weight loss goal. I lost 9 1/2 pounds during my 14 days Induction. So if you look at the women's chart in the initial post, I wanted to lose over 50 pounds and I lost 9 1/2 pounds during my Induction. Therefore, I had average to low metabolic resistance to weight loss.

So, on the CCLL chart, my estimated CCLL was 15 to 60 net carbs daily. (Remember that CCLL chart is an estimate because our bodies are individual and can react differently to different levels of carbs and to different carb foods.)

Anyhow, this is why I'm such an S.O.B. on the Induction Forum about doing a clean Induction and not cheating with little bites of this or that or whatever----those 14 days are super-duper important to the remainder of your Atkins. If you spend your 14 days cheating, then your weight loss result might be vastly under-estimated and that will give you a false impression of how 'easily' you can lose weight. For example, your body could have lost 10 pounds, but you cheated with a bite of lemon meringue pie on Day 2, a couple of glasses of wine on Day 3, a quarter of a bagel on Day 5, half an apple on Day 7, etc. you didn't care because you were using those ketostix and they kept turning pink, so you figured your cheats weren't cheats because they didn't hurt your loss. However due to your cheats, your 14 Day result is 5 pounds. Then you look at the charts and figure you have High metabolic resistance and freak out because you think you have to stay on Induction longer, etc. etc. etc.

I'm willing to bet if you poll the folks on "Extended Induction" the majority of them don't know what their degree of metabolic resistance is because they don't know about the charts in the book.

On of these days, they'll learn. Until then I can only hope.....

[pdueck]

[QUOTE=not2late]When you began your Atkins Induction, what was your start weight and your weight loss goal? [quote=not2late]

I was roughy 148-150 my scale is off kilter sometimes... I wanted to be 120lbs
so I lost 10lbs in the first two weeks and I never cheated on induction. this whole owl thing makes my head spin

[not2late]

Originally Posted by pdueck

I was roughy 148-150 my scale is off kilter sometimes... I wanted to be 120lbs
so I lost 10lbs in the first two weeks and I never cheated on induction. this whole owl thing makes my head spin

Okay so 149 - 120 = 29. That was the weight you wanted to lose. So look at the chart above. The "pounds to lose" is between 20- 50 pounds, right? So look across and see what it says for 10 pounds. That will tell you your degree of metabolic resistance to weight loss. What is it?

The one thing about the estimated CCLL chart is that if you are a regular exerciser, your CCLL might be higher. So again, the numbers on the CCLL chart are an estimate.

As for OWL, all you have to remember is that your Induction menu is your basic daily menu. To that you will add 5 net carbs of the Carb Ladder Foods. I've used this analogy in other threads....

When you get dressed for a night out, what do you do? You pick a dress, right? Then what do you do? You look through your drawers, jewelry box, and closet to accessorize that dress, right? So you might put on a pair of dangly earrings, you might put on some strappy sandals, you might tie a scarf around your waist, you might wear your hair up, you might wear a darker shade of lipstick, right?

That's what you're doing during OWL, too. Your basic dress is the Induction menu. Those earrings are the 5 net carbs of Rung 1 foods. Those sandals---5 net carbs of Rung 2 foods. The scarf? 5 net carbs of Rung 3 foods. The hair do? 5 net carbs of Rung 4 foods. The lipstick? 5 net carbs Rung Rung 5 food.

And what happens if those earrings don't go with your outfit? You remove them and try on another pair until you find a pair that does look 'good' or go without, right? That's the same thing you do on OWL. If adding 5 net carbs of tomato sauce to your Induction menu stops your weight loss or causes any blood sugar instability problems (cravings, bloating, etc.), you drop the tomato sauce from your menu and try 5 net carbs of another Rung 1 food.