Has anyone tried this pattern of induction?

[LJ]

I've been thinking about staying on induction longer than the 14 days since I want to lose 70 pounds to start, and have over 100 pounds that I should lose. However, I'm counting down the days till the 14 are up because I'm finding the limited foods really boring. Has anyone (or do you recommend trying) 14 days on induction, 14 days off, then 14 days back on, etc? Just wondering. :confused

[Moochiecat]

Depends what you mean by 'off'.

If you mean going back to how you ate before Induction..carby foods etc, then no, that's a very bad idea. Yo-yo'ing back and forth is not healthy at all, and why would you want to destroy the progress you made..it doesn't make sense. Each time you go out of ketosis, it makes it that much harder for your body to get back into it.
I've seen quite a few posts with people asking "Those of you who have been on Atkins before, are you having trouble getting into ketosis or losing weight after going on it for the second/third/fourth time?"


You can stay on Induction for a while though, or you can choose to go into OWL, and on the first rung you begin to add in more vegetables. We're just talking 5 carbs worth, so you will continue to lose weight, but you can add more to what you're eating.
Read the sticky about what to do when your 14 days are up, and see what you think.

It'd be helpful if you posted a menu in 'Review My Menu' so we can get a look at what you're eating.

The list is only as limited as your cooking abilities and imagination! I've never eaten this good, and I'd be happy to suggest some recipes when I see what your menu is like and get an idea of what your tastes are.

You are completely in control of how you put the Acceptable foods together: have you checked out the recipe sections both on the tab up top, and in the food forums? Full of good stuff!
And here's a really excellent site...the author makes and tries everything then offers her suggestions

http://users3.ev1.net/~fontlady/index.html

I'll watch for your post in Review my Menu! :yes

[spazzyhilo]

I love her site! I've recently tried the Induction pancakes, when it was topped with Atkins brand maple syrup, I couldn't tell the difference.

LJ, don't be afraid to experiment with what you are allowed to have. You can have 3 cups of salad or 2 cups of salad with 1 cup veggies and it gives you so many choices!. One of my favs is 2 cups spinach leaves with 1 (or 2 if I'm hungry) chopped up hard boiled egg, some grated cheese, and 1 cup mushrooms. 2 tablespoons of your favorite dressing and mmm... I'll never have potatoes again. :joy

Also Cream cheese goes with just about everything I've found so experiment!

But after all this being creativeness and whatnot and your still bored with the food selection, do the 2 weeks induction then by all means move up to OWL and happy low carbing!

[hulagrl1120]

I don't know how you can get bored with induction...there are so many things you can have you just have to think outside of the box sometimes...never would have thought of dicing up jicama and sprinkling with splenda and cinnamon before this WOE...or parmesan crisps...so simple but never thought about it before...I've melted sharp cheddar over tuna...made salmon cakes with canned salmon...deep fried kale to make veggie popcorn...you are only limited by your imagination so get creative!

[Kent]

I'd also be worried about cycling back and forth as your body just gets to ketosis, and within a week your WOE switches back to burning the easier carbs for fuel. To me, it just seems like a recipe for quick dissatisfaction and numerous induction flu headaches. That said, I used to have a boss who did this except he went entirely off fat the non-Atkins week. He had some success, but never learned a healthy eating style.

Overall, I would encourage you like Moochie did to find alternatives to the monotony of the standard Induction menu's by hitting some of the recipe sights. I think you'd be much happier with the results and keep the weight off longer.

[Desertthorn]

What do you feel that your really missing on this plan.

[LJ]

I guess I didn't make myself clear . . .

I meant doing 14 days of induction, then 14 days of OWL, then another 14 days of induction, and so on, just to vary the foods a bit. I miss fruit!

I've never hear of kale popcorn (one of the things I miss quite a lot).

I tried Atkins a year ago and gave up pop (pepsi). I thought I was going to die. Before I tried any other part of the diet, I took two weeks just to get off the pop. When I fell off the wagon, I still refused to allow myself to go back to pop. I knew I couldn't have "just one." I haven't had a pepsi since April 1, 2004. You have no idea how addicted to that stuff I was! :capital

At this point, 8 days into induction, I don't believe I'll ever allow myself to have sugar again; it was so hard to give it up, and there are so many alternatives.

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. I really appreciate this site. (I'd better check out the recipe forum.)

[hulagrl1120]

parmesan crisps are an easy replacement for something salty and crunchy...put some shredded parmesan on a baking sheet(I use parchment paper to make sure it slides off) and bake at 400 until crispy...the deep fried kale can get messy if you don't have a deep fryer...you just cut up the kale into large pieces and drop it into very hot cooking oil...it cooks really fast so you have to be ready to scoop it out quickly or it will burn...then just salt and eat...someone had a recipe for a baked version but I don't remember who it was...it may be in the recipe section.

[2big4mysize]

you can get the weight loss speed of induction with the food variety of OWL if you hold your carbs artifically low like at the induction 20 net but add back some of the rungs. Check the stickies in the oWL section about doing a modified OWl lots of us did variations of that.

Checkout the board recipe section too. We have lots of induction recipes and you can search by ingredeint too.

http://www.lowcarbrecipes.org/

[not2late]

Don't be scared of OWL. Some people can stay on Induction for a long period of time without getting bored. I stayed on for 4 months and moved onto OWL due to a job related seminar, where I knew if I didn't introduce OWL foods, I would have a very hard time staying on this WOE.

Moving on was the best thing for me, because I love food and the variety that OWL gives me prevents me from getting bored (which means I'm not tempted to cheat). I love the fact that if I want to have strawberries for dessert, I can have them. Or if I want some beans in my chili I can have them. This diet/lifestyle is much more doable and adaptable to "eating in the real world" during OWL.

Follow the plan as written. Dr. Atkins figured it all out for us so we wouldn't have to guess and make things up as we go along. He knew what he was doing.

[cnwade]

LJ

I knew what you mean..too bad so many mistook your question as permission cheat or do something other than the Atkins WOE.

Varying food pattern is not unhealthy from what I've been told and before I get the lectures-- I'm not talking bingeing and then dieting---or starving and then bingeing, etc. That's the kind of cyclic pattern that can be damaging to someone's metabolism---...but adding and/or subtracting certain things from your diet every once in awhile keeps your body from adapting, insures you get different nutrients and in some cases may actually help break a weight loss stall.

You might also find some suggestions on the plain low carb board...there are other low carb diets that recommend what you are talking about to a certain degree...for people who get bored with some low carb options.

I'm not discounting anyone else's ideas but I know if you are like me...convenience/time /availability/ personal likes and dislikes may factor into why you easily bore with Atkins at this stage.

[not2late]

LJ

I knew what you mean..too bad so many mistook your question as permission cheat or do something other than the Atkins WOE.

Frankly cnwade, I've re-read the posts here and I don't see where anyone "mistook his question as permision to cheat or do something other than Atkins WOE". On the contrary, the advice given to him encompassed how he can add variety to his current foods and advice to move onto OWL, where he will be allowed to add more variety to his current menu.

For all newbies reading this thread, you need to know that there's a common misconception that the Induction Phase is the entire Atkins diet, that it's the only phase where you lose weight and that the other phases (OWL and Pre-Maintenance) are only for when you've lost all but 20 pounds of your weight. I visited another Atkins board yesterday and saw the advice they gave supported these three misconceptions. These kinds of myths are what ADBB tries to avoid perpetuating about the Atkins WOE.

Here are the facts:

Fact 1. Induction is the phase that gets you into ketosis/lipolysis. It's a minimum of 14 days. Dr. Atkins did write that if you had alot of metabolic problems to correct, staying on it would help to reverse these problems.

Fact 2. Induction is not the only weight loss phase. There are 3 weight loss phases to Atkins: Induction, On-Going Weight Loss, and Pre-Maintenance.

Fact 3. On Induction Day 15 one can either choose to stay to do a bit more Induction or one can choose to go to OWL. The decision is based on the 4 Questions in Chapter 13 and on one's goals.

Fact 4. OWL (On Going Weight Loss) Phase allows you to add variety to the Atkins menu. One will still lose weight on OWL and one can eat at a higher carbohydrate level. See Loonatika's thread in the OWL Forum---she's eating about 100 net carbs daily and is losing about a pound a week!For folks who are bored or unhappy with the lack of variety of the Induction foods, moving onto OWL will add variety and will help them to stay on track by reducing boredom.

This is why we encourage everyone to read the entire book. People seem to read only Chapter 11 and stop. By doing this these folks miss the big picture of Atkins and what each phase does to help you lose weight and keep it off. Two sections in Chapter 17, "Uses and Abuses of Induction" and "The Wrong Way To Do Atkins", are important readings for everyone on this WOE.

[cnwade]

b]If you mean going back to how you ate before Induction..carby foods etc, then no, that's a very bad idea. Yo-yo'ing back and forth is not healthy at all, and why would you want to destroy the progress you made..it doesn't make sense.[/b]

Also there was a comment to the effect that a switch back and forth, seemingly meaning Atkins to "normal" eating will destroy progress and cause permanent weight loss problems.

It was a comment like those that I was talking about...that always seems to be the first assumption when anyone asks a question.

You can get snitty and call me to task all you like, but even LJ felt he/she had to clarify his position, so its not like Im the ONLY person who intepreted some of the comments assuming he wants to back to a life of big carbs.

[not2late]

b]If you mean going back to how you ate before Induction..carby foods etc, then no, that's a very bad idea. Yo-yo'ing back and forth is not healthy at all, and why would you want to destroy the progress you made..it doesn't make sense.[/b]

Also there was a comment to the effect that a switch back and forth, seemingly meaning Atkins to "normal" eating will destroy progress and cause permanent weight loss problems.

It was a comment like those that I was talking about...that always seems to be the first assumption when anyone asks a question.

You can get snitty and call me to task all you like, but even LJ felt he/she had to clarify his position, so its not like Im the ONLY person who intepreted some of the comments assuming he wants to back to a life of big carbs.

He did clarify it because in his first post he stated a plan of 14 days on Induction and 14 days "off Induction". Moochie pointed that out.

He was given advice why that wasn't a good idea. Here's the basis for that advice.
DANDR 2002 Chapter 17 section "The Wrong Way to Do Atkins"

2. Misconception: You can lose weight doing Atkins, then return to your old way of eating.
Reality: Do this, and as with your past attempts, you will neglect to change those eating habits that ensure you always regain lost weight.

Misconception: You can go back to eating your favorite foods after you lose weight.
Reality: Your favorite foods may well be your problem foods. Unless you acknowledge and learn how to deal with your addictions, you are doomed to regain your weight and fall back into the dangerous cycle of high blood sugar and overproduction of insulin.

Same Chapter section "Uses and Abuses of Induction"

Another more serious concern I have is the impact this back-and-forthing can have on you metabolism. I have heard people say, "I love doing Atkins because we can cheat on the weekends, then go back to Induction on Monday morning". While this behavior pattern may work for the short term, it will probably backfire on more ways than one. It's likely that your metabolism will adapt at a certain point--in a sense, developing a tolerance. People who repeatedly regain weight and go back to Induction sometimes find that they do not experience the dramatic and easy weight loss they initially enjoyed. Add in the fact that none of us is getting any younger and our metabolism's natural tendency is to slow down with passing years. Finally your body pays a price healthwise if you dramatically switch back and forth repeatedly from a fat burning metabolism to a glucose burning metabolism.

Later on LJ clarified his post and stated that he was thinking of doing 14 days Induction and 14 days OWL to add variety to his meals. He was given the advice to either move onto OWL or move onto a modified OWL.

Again, I don't see where anyone thought he was trying to
"get permission to cheat" or "trying to do something other than Atkins". He asked a legitimate question and was given advice and suggestions.

[2big4mysize]

the quoted passage in context with the first sentence should be

Depends what you mean by 'off'.

If you mean going back to how you ate before Induction..carby foods etc, then no, that's a very bad idea. Yo-yo'ing back and forth is not healthy at all, and why would you want to destroy the progress you made..it doesn't make sense...

And Dr Atkins warns us in DANDR About the dangers of doing it that way even with just weekend switching back to higher carb.

There are many other low carb programs out there but Atkins is the only high fat one so if you want to keep eating your higher fat foods improve your health and getsmaller you really need to follow DR Atkins Advice about how to do his plan and he based his advice on giving the most folk trying to follow it the best chance for being a successful problem free loser.

When we get to maintenance and premaintenance there are many optin for how we choice to employ our program as Dr Atkins calls it Atkins and me. When you arrive there have at it with weeks on weeks off if your metabolism and your food addictions allow that.