New to this board...

[maj811]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the bulletin board and just found this forum. I've posted on some others but not this one yet. Today is day 6 of induction for me (and also my birthday) and I am down 10 pounds so far. I have 132 more lbs to lose and I was wondering if anyone in here has experience with staying on induction for long periods of time. Does it get harder, or is it easier because your cravings really go away? I've noticed that by now I'm not really craving sugar. I still eat a lot, but have been able to say no to a lot of things without it being a big deal. Any insight would help!

Also, I'm not sure if anyone would know this but I have a question about Ketostix. Is it right that the darker the color, the more weight you will lose? I cannot seem to get to the darkest purple even though I'm doing everything right. Any tips?

Melissa

[Kate113]

Re: New to this board...

Welcome to the Century Club! It sounds like you're doing great so far! Keep up the good work!

When I do induction, I tend to stay on for longer than 2 weeks. I just hit a stall (over a month with no loss in pounds or inches) so I started induction again to try to boost something to happen. lol! The last time I started induction, I did it for about 3 months and by then I was bored and needed something more. I wanted nuts and strawberries so I decided to move on from induction. Does it get harder the longer you're on induction? That all depends on the person really, whether you're bored and would like to have more food choices or if you're satisfied with the induction choices. I can tell you the I do not have any cravings for any type of food, especially sweets. One time I accidently took a sip of my hubby's coffee, with sugar, and it tasted so sweet it was disgusting to me! If I remember correctly, Dr. A says in his book that one can do induction safely for up to 6 months. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, someone).

I've never used the Ketostix so I can't help you there. Hopefully someone else can.

[1poundatatime]

Re: New to this board...

Hi Melissa!

Staying on extended induction is different for everyone. Some people like the rigid nature of it, others get bored and either move up the rungs or cheat. From my own personal experience, I went on extended induction for only a week, and I was worried I would cheat so I started moving up the rungs. I'm continuing to lose weight (I started off needing to lose almost exactly the amount you're trying to lose) and I'm on the nut and seed rung right now.

As for your ketostix, I've never used them personally, but I've read multiple times that it does not matter whether it's dark purple or light pink, if you're achieving some color, you're in ketosis. The lightness or darkness of them does not measure how deeply you're in ketosis.

I wish you luck on your journey!

[IrishIrish]

Re: New to this board...

Hi and Welcome! I know you will find this board to be a helpful and thoughtful place to pose questions and get support.

Personally, I went on Induction when I began Atkins in January 2004 and didn't deviate for nine months. I think that was possible because I did develop a varied and interesting menu and didn't find myself getting bored. When I read some of the posts by new posters showing their menus to be burgers and salads for nearly every meal, it is no wonder that they get bored. I eat fish, chicken, seafood, beef, pork, many different kinds of veggies. I use spices in my cooking and look for new recipes and "make over" old recipes. I don't miss Mexican food because I make Atkins friendly Mexican food. I don't miss Chinese food because I make Atkins friendly Chinese food. Being able to maintain Induction for a long period of time can be very healthy. I enjoy pizza so I make alternatives to higher carb pizza. I have been in consultation with my physician since the beginning of my Atkins journey.

I moved on to OWL, but only in baby steps. There are some foods I will not introduce that I could, otherwise, because I still view them as triggers to my former bad eating habits.

Best wishes to you.

[onerskygrl]

Re: New to this board...

Melissa:


With respect to the Keto sticks, my husband is a doctor and he said the darker the color the harder your kidneys are working - meaning not enough water intake. You want to stay around 40 in the color. Darker than that means more water is needed on board.

Hope that helps.

Christina

[maj811]

Re: New to this board...

Thanks everyone, that was a big help. Christina - I'm glad my Ketostix are not dark purple then! Tomorrow will be day 7 of Induction and I think I'll try it for another week and see where to go from there. Anyone have any idea what the weight loss difference, maybe per week, is between doing induction and OWL? I do have a lot to lose, and while I'm not looking for 10 lbs per week like this week, I would like it to move kind of fast.

Melissa

[Kent]

Re: New to this board...

I am new to the bulletin board and just found this forum. I've posted on some others but not this one yet. Today is day 6 of induction for me (and also my birthday) and I am down 10 pounds so far. I have 132 more lbs to lose and I was wondering if anyone in here has experience with staying on induction for long periods of time. Does it get harder, or is it easier because your cravings really go away? I've noticed that by now I'm not really craving sugar. I still eat a lot, but have been able to say no to a lot of things without it being a big deal. Any insight would help!
Melissa

First welcome to the Century Club. This forum is a special home to me as I think I met some of the best Atkineers here. Anyhow to your questions, I did Extended Induction for almost one year. For me, I didn't mind the limitations and often ate similar things each week. For others, that sort of food selection boredom would have drove them crazy. I simply never craved what I didn't have, and I still don't even with the wife's low carb ice cream in the house. I always related it to inertia -- it is so much easier to do the same thing over and over than to start and try something new. However as ward against off plan eating, I always kept low carb recipe close at hand to try new recipes whenever a try something new fancy hit me. There a re lot s of Induction friendly recipes out there.

Certainly feel free to ask any other questions, you might have...

[dreamof145]

Re: New to this board...

Welcome! So happy to have you join us! I also stayed on induction for the first year on Atkins. I never felt deprived or hungry as although I ate the same things most of the time (tuna and chicken - because they are my fav foods). I fixed them differently using recipes that others shared in the recipe section and in the forums. That was the major reason I was able to stick to this way of eating, because I enjoyed the foods I ate and never got bored. One thing you can do is to find substitute foods for the things that you miss. For example...when my family ordered pizza...I made myself the ATKINS friendly pizza and ate with them. It satisfied my taste for pizza and I didn't feel sorry for myself that I couldn't participate in the party. Another substitute for me was mashed cauliflower. I ate it instead of mashed potatoes. If you do your homework - you can just about substitute anything for something Atkins friendly. And when you feel good and see the inches dropping, it mentally helps you to stop craving the foods you used to eat before going low-carb.

My advice is to keep a journal (either hard-copy or in the jounal forum). Make a plan to succeed. If you plan what to do when you are tempted, then when you have things pop up in your life, then it will be easier to get through them without reaching for the wrong foods. Keep a good positive attitude. We are all changing our life-styles to become healthier and happier. Everyone here is great for lending advice, suggestions, and understand the relationship that we've previously had with food.

Welcome aboard! Keep us posted on your progress! Everyone here cares and wants to see you succeed. You can do it!

[BenandHallesMom_1]

Re: New to this board...

Welcome Melissa! So glad to have you join the CC. Join us for a water challenge sometime during the weekso you're sure to get plenty of water and keep those kidneys working well and keep 'em happy!

[bizzlekitty]

Re: New to this board...

I stayed on Induction for about 3 months total before moving into OWL. Staying on this long really helped me get cravings under control and helped me tune my eating habits to the new Atkins WOE. I also made it a point to go cheat-free for as long as possible.

I wasn't necessarily bored, since I'm not a picky eater, but I was more worried about getting enough nutrients for what I wanted. Ex. HDL number was low and hadn't improved in those 3 months, but once I started adding nuts and seeds, it got better. I also missed fruit and wanted to add in berries.

Staying on Induction longer doesn't necessarily mean you will lose weight faster. It can improve your metabolism if you think you might have had issues such as insulin resistance, etc. It can be helpful for cravings and triggers and getting a good control of your new eating habits. But OWL really isn't so bad, honestly, and some people lose weight better in OWL.

[Lyssie]

Re: New to this board...

Hi Melissa, I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. I stayed on induction my first time around, clean, straight, no playing around, induction. It was good for me to have the structure of having things planned out - so I didn't think about cheating, and didn't have cravings after about a week or two, then I just stopped caring about anything with sugar and didn't want to eat it. I know some people get bored... it just depends what type of person you are. As for the stix, they're fun. If you drink a lot of water though, they barely change colour so even seeing that they're pink is harder than if you're dehydrated. As much as I love watching them change colour, they're not that important.