When to move to OWL?

[AmyinVail]

As I read posts, I see many people are confused - as I AM - about when to move to OWL. I know that I think (maybe incorrectly) that you lose weight fastest on induction, therefore I want to keep the course. But, apparently that's not true? When is the magical moment to move on? I don't have the book yet, so maybe that would explain the process?

[not2late]

Re: When to move to OWL?

As I read posts, I see many people are confused - as I AM - about when to move to OWL. I know that I think (maybe incorrectly) that you lose weight fastest on induction, therefore I want to keep the course. But, apparently that's not true? When is the magical moment to move on? I don't have the book yet, so maybe that would explain the process?

When you get your book, you'll have to read Chapters 12-16.

Chapter 12 discusses your Induction results and some of the issues you'll experience during Induction.

Chapter 13 discusses OWL, including when to move on and your degree of metabolic resistance to weight loss.

Basically, the first 14 days of this diet are extremely important to do correctly because the results you get will help you to determine your rate of metabolic resistance to weight loss. That, in turn, allows you to gage how easily you will lose weight. For most people with low metabolic resistance, they will lose weight quicker than folks who are extremely metabolically resistant. This is why the Induction mods and old-timers are very persistent about doing a "Clean Induction" and about weighing and measuring yourself before you begin this diet. It's a very important time and it's was too bad, Dr. Atkins saved it until Chapter 12 and 13 to reveal how important it is to this WOE.

Other factors determining when to move on are the amount of weight you need to lose, how happy you are with the limited variety of Induction foods, and your general health issues.

Typically, folks who are very metabolically resistant and/or need to lose alot of weight (over 75 pounds) seem to benefit from extending their Induction. Dr. A. even says in the book it's okay for these folks to do it because they need to correct the metabolic problems they have (which caused them to gain weight in the first place). From what I've observed on ADBB, the folks who have less than 50 pounds to lose generally seem to do better when they move onto OWL immediately after their 14 day Induction or if they stay on Induction for no more than 4 months.

The issue about the Induction foods....If I lost a dress size for every confession post "I ate too many veggies" or "I ate strawberries" or "I ate a fruit salad", I would be so thin you wouldn't even be able to see me! Again, from reading posts here, I think that there are some very determined folks who can do a cheat free multi-month Induction---2Big, Irish, Nullo and others are examples of them.

For other folks, they can't. That's not to say these folks are "weak" or "not determined", but it's to say that these folks just got bored with the Induction foods and didn't realize they were bored. And that's unfortunate, because on OWL you can eat more carbs (translation: more food) and a greater variety of food so the boredom factor is practically zero.

The other thing I read alot of is a myth that once you move onto OWL your weight loss grinds to a halt. Not true. Some folks in OWL lose 1-3 pounds a week.

My suggestion to anyone who's doing an extended Induction is to answer the Four Questions in Chapter 13 every week because your attitude, priorities and perspective of this WOE on day 15 might be vastly different than it is on month 6.

But just keep in mind, no matter when you decide to move from Induction to OWL, the last 5-10 pounds must be spent in Pre-Maintenance according to Dr. Atkins.