one week in...

[zadie]

Hi everyone: I'm one week into this diet for the first time and I am really impressed by the results. I feel so much better. I had gained weight over the last 3 years and no amount of calorie counting seemed to make a difference. Suddenly, after 1 week of Atkins, I have lost 8 lbs (even though I'm in Canada, I still use pounds...so radical). Anyway, I've a few things I need to get straight.

If I understand this right, there is a kind of optimum intake of fat and proteins and carbs during induction that gets the engine firing. What if, during induction, you fall of the wagon or make a mistake--how long does it take to get back into ketosis?

I had two glasses of wine the other night (I know, I know, but a good friend after a long time was here for dinner), so I'm wondering if I"ve completely ruined induction.

second, I can't give up coffee. I've cut back and I no longer have my beloved lattes; instead, just coffee with cream (2/day). I quit smoking 2 months ago (YEAH! YEAH!) and I'm not ready to give up coffee yet. Will I still be able to do Atkins?

Third: can you do induction longer than 2 weeks?

thanks everyone,
Zadie

[sugarsack]

1. you can do induction longer than 2 weeks...
2. some people seem to never give up coffee and they do fine, caffiene gives some people cravings - i drink a cup or 2 every morning w/ sugar free creamer, i am going to try the heavy cream recomended here
3. come here often, read everything you can, ask questions, it really helps !
4. welcome aboard !

[Chicklady]

Hi I only gave up coffee for induction. Found it didn't affect me, thank goodness You can do an extended induction if you have lots to lose; on the other hand, many people find that going up a rung actually speeds loss and gives you more variety. your call.
If you had dry wine, you probably didn't do too much damage. Your body will burn the booze first though.

[Sarina D]

Hi Zadie,

Welcome! I live in Canada too and use pounds as a measure as well

Congratulations on losing 8 lbs as well as quiting smoking! That's fantastic, you should be very proud of yourself...well done!

Keep up the great work and read as many posts as you can as well as the book...they're both fantastic tools for motivation, support encouragement and information.

Be well!
Sarina

[sallyseachange]

Hi and welcome aboard! Congrats on your cool results so far!

If you find yourself missing certain foods/drinks, then make the move to OWL (ongoing weight loss) pretty soon after induction. You still get to lose in OWL - indeed some people lose faster, particularly on the first rungs.
The alcohol rung comes pretty soon, so you won't need to cheat to have that glass of wine (I like my glass of red in the evenings too!!)

Happy losing!

[zadie]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and the welcome. I'm not actually bored with the diet yet (are those famous last words) and just missing my wine. I'm glad I haven't blown induction completely. 2 lbs. down this morning. Phew.

zadie

[chinadoll]

Do take your time on the rungs and introduce a couple foods at a time to look for problems. Don't be tempted to rush through to get to the wine. If there is a food you really miss a lot and another you won't (say you really don't care about getting nuts back but you really miss wine) you could try doing the wine rung first then going back to nuts later. This really isn't advised, but it would beat going off the deep end. I doubt you could do that with higher rungs like beans and starchs though. I only suggest it for the alcohol rung because they are burned off differently than other carbs. Keep in mind that the carbs add up with alcohol so portion size is critical and as checklady mentioned, dry wine is OK sweet wines I would avoid.

[zadie]

Hi all: thanks again.

I haven't looked ahead to OWL, just really tried to be focussed on induction. Saturday will be my 2 weeks, so I'll decide whether to make my move.

Thanks for your help. I'm afraid to "play" with the system (rungs) as I don't want to mess it up. I've been stunned by the results. No news, I guess, to you folks, but I really have tried so many fat cutting diets over the last 3 years and yet, creep, creep, creep. So "ANY" shift in my weight at this point is tremendous & I don't want to mess up my metabolism.

I should tell you that that 3 years of gaining was also 3 years of the onset of menopause. As well, I take one of the medications Atkins advises against, so I know it may be tougher for me to continue to lose.

That said, I'm having friends over again Friday night for a housewarming. THis time, a visitor from Montreal who I haven't seen for 5 years. So the wine thing (Obviously, I do like my wine!) is going to be tough.
Zadie

[zadie]

HI all: don't know which forum this fits, so I'm asking you. There seem to be two different strategies to induction. One, on-line is adding 5 and the one, in the book, is the ladder. Why the 2 and do they differ considerably in terms of their efficacy?

thanks again,
Zadie

[Greeneggs&ham]

The "adding 5" method goes back to how the diet was laid out prior to the 2002 edition of Dr. A's book. The goal was to add 5 carbs at a time to determine the total number of carbs you could eat daily while still maintaining weight loss.

From what I can tell, the "ladder" concept was added later. With this concept, you are still adding the 5 carbs to determine your CCLL (Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing) but it adds the complexity of different food groups that may have different effects for each individual. The "rungs" are likely in the specific order they are in for two reasons: their glycemic index on average (the lower the better in terms of effect on your blood sugar level); and the number of people who have problems with the associated foods on that rung.

Under the new OWL method, you may find that your CCLL is at 35 grams, but none of those grams can come from nuts or whole grains. Another person might find they can only have 25 grams per day while maintaining weight loss, but they can eat carbs from any of the rungs.

The new format is just a means to further investigate what you can and can not have as an individual while learning more about your needs prior to beginning the maintenance level of your new WOE.

In both cases, you are slowly adding carbs, but with the latter (or ladder!), you are also determining the specific types of carbs too.

Hope that helps!