Question about rungs

[RachelnLa]

I feel more comfy asking there than the other board, so please forgive me. My book was destroyed in the hurricane of last year so I'm relying on memory.

After induction, I know you add back 5 carb allowances of foods - starting with veggies. You add the 5 carbs three times a week and see if you still lost weight. Then you can move up a rung and do the same.

Question - Do I do this with each food on that specific rung? Or can I say upping brussel sprouts this week three times and I still lost weight so I can move up a rung?

Then the next week I'd up it 5 more carbs. Do I keep adding veggies to that 5 carb uppage? Do I say induction is 20, 5 carb veggies, 5 carbs next rung?

Do you break it down as you can have 20 carbs veggies and 5 carbs nuts and 20 carbs dairy? or do you just say you can have 45 carbs with a combination of these rungs - however you pick.

I have a headache today.. so I'm not thinking too clearly.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Question about rungs

Hey Rachel.

You can stay on any of the rungs for as long as you like.

So, lets say you move into the veggie rung. You'll eat like you normally would during induction as far as the veggies go (let's say that was 15 net grams of carbs). Let's say that you want to eat a veggie you already had during induction...you can have 5 net carbs of those veggies EVERY DAY. You only want to do 3 times a week if you are adding a new food that you haven't eaten before. Say, you haven't had chayote squash before. You add 5 net grams of that in only 3 days that week to see if your body can tolerate it. Total each day would be your 15 g PLUS the 5 grams you added for a total of 20 grams.

When it comes time that you want to move to rung 2, then you eat your induction levels (15 g) plus your 5 extra carbs of veggies (20 g) and add 5g more carbs in the form of dairy (25 g). If you are eating more sour cream and you had sour cream during induction, you can have 5 g sour cream every day if you choose. HOWEVER, if you decide to add yogurt or cottage cheese, you only eat those items 3 days that week to see how your body reacts.

Does this all make sense???

[RachelnLa]

Re: Question about rungs

Yes, that's kinda what I was thinking. my drawback was what if you were going up the rungs, stopped losing.. and then NEVER got to eat berries LOL

All this mixing and matching. So every day you eat induction foods, rung 1, rung 2, rung 3? (if you were up to rung 3) CAn you swap out rungs? Like if you wanted 10 g from rung three and didn't have any from rung 2.

confusing? I know.. I just want to do it correctly this time. I want to rotate foods and eat an assortment. I'm so tired of nay sayers telling me Atkins is too limited to meat and cheese ack! I want variety. Actually, I want it all

[ValidRouge]

Re: Question about rungs

Good for you Rachel!!!!!! You quash those naysayers...I certainly have.

Okay...I do a modified OWL. I don't eat something from each food group every day. Although I'm a veggie lover so I eat as much of veggies as I want....which is minimum of the 3 cup induction rule, plus another cup maybe 2 of the 'other veggies' (squash, cauliflower, etc.) I always count the carbs, whatever that may be. The other 5 grams of carbohydrate I eat in a day is from one of the other food groups--dairy, legumes, fruit, grains, etc. My daily carb count is relatively low because of this. Usually 35-40, though I have eaten higher than that on some days. Lower on others.

Once you go forward into another food group, then you can still have foods from all the rungs you've already gone through. You may not eat them every day. You may not eat them every week.

Pretty much, my menu each day looks like rung 1 with a 'treat' of something from one of the other rungs.

[kislandmom]

Re: Question about rungs

Joy - You have SOOOO answered my questions as well! I was afraid to go up the rungs and add too many carbs because I seem to be resistent. But I guess you can still move up the rungs, just give up some carbs from the lower rung!

Thank you!

[ValidRouge]

Re: Question about rungs

Yep, that's what they call the Modified OWL. You are still testing your body for food intolerances and you are still getting the benefit of variety without a high carb count each day. But, don't try to keep it at 20 if you can still lose at 35, know what I mean?

Honestly, for me, I don't see that much of a difference in the amount I lose whether I eat 20 or 35...and being able to have 35 grams of carbs is a LOT to me now. There are some days when I eat even higher than that.

Since OWL is the big food experiment phase, be sure to take some days higher carb and see how many carbs you can handle and continue to lose.

[ValidRouge]

Re: Question about rungs

When you go on Atkins you really do realize how bad carbohydrates are for you. You lose weight fairly easily, the cravings go away, you get tons of energy, your mind clears, you can sleep, a whole host of ailments go away....all caused by carbohydrates.

I think that makes OWL scary for some too. The thought that OMG, I'm going to add CARBS back in!!

Well, think of it this way...you are adding the healthy carbs back in. We are never going to go back to eating the sugary, highly processed junk crap that made us fat and miserable ever again. However, we can eat the healthy carbohydrates from vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and whole grains without guilt and without expense to our bodies.

[Outback Jess]

Re: Question about rungs

That is a very good. All that you have said here is very very good. I see wisdom and "tested thought processes"...you have the time and expereince to speak about how bad it was to how good it is...
You look so healthy and happy in your pictures. I can tell you Weight Watchers never made me feel the quality I am feeling just 11 days into the program here. I know it's because I was given a range of points and I kept hitting on my sugars...
I know that Atkins and low carb is now passing away from the american psyche and now they are "bad mouthing" it more and more,(but they did that before the poor guy slipped and fell to his death) but the products are still on the shelves, and the advances in understanding are still in the books, and the clean food is still on the shelves, and bad carbs still do bad things to my body and mind!!! I think that is the bottom line I need to allow to sink in.

[liza2006]

Re: Question about rungs

**** its me liza just wanted to check and say aim feeling pretty good this morning and its day 3 for me how are u feeling today??? i have been trying to add pic to my siggy and cant ?? hummmmm... do u know how? well ttys later liza

[RachelnLa]

Re: Question about rungs

Thanks Joy! I'm working on upping the carbs by 5 each week and once I stop losing that will tell me what my limit is. Then I can mix and match. Reminds me of garanimals LOL But it's so nice to know I'm having a variety! That makes a huge difference. I have an eggplant in the fridge.. it's carby.. but gosh it's so good! I love veggies too.

Last night was a low carb tortilla, pizza sauce (measured), with cheese, cooked bacon, canadian bacon, peperoni, onions and bell pepper! OMGOSH. the family had homemade pizza and all was happy!

Last time I measured nothing.. wrong! I'm learning portion control, counting carbs is important, and variety is key! It's a learning process. I'm learning.

Time to refill the water glass!

[2big4mysize]

Re: Question about rungs

oh and if you check the stickies in the OWL forum you will see that the 5 grams 3 days was a typo in DANDR it was supposed to say only have a new to you food not food group 3 times the first week. so when you get to berries only have blue berries 3 times maximum that week and then other berries on the other days or even have 5 more grams of those yummie veggies on the other days.

the 3 times was so you could control it should you get into trouble. And the 3 times rule apples to any new to you food even if you have already passed that rung by. like say strawberries are out of season when you do berries and next spring you want to add them you would only have 5 net grams of them 3 times the first week you eat them then if they are okay you get them every day if you want from then on.

Happy OWLing.

[RachelnLa]

Re: Question about rungs

And the 3 times rule apples to any new to you food even if you have already passed that rung by. like say strawberries are out of season when you do berries and next spring you want to add them you would only have 5 net grams of them 3 times the first week you eat them then if they are okay you get them every day if you want from then on.

Happy OWLing.

Ahh, thanks! That really does make sense. yes, so you can keep things under control and not fall off. Then, if you find a food that sets you into cravings too bad you earmark it for close watching. I'll have to check them off the list as I eat them.

It was soo hard not to eat those blueberries every day LOL I was so afraid they would spoil before I ate them all.

Thanks everyone! I'm learning so much this time around God Bless you all in your journeys!