Started OWL today

[Discolemonade]

well, today I begin OWL. I have read the stickies, and went over the book again. I just had my extra 5 grams of veggie carbs and feeling alittle bit nervous...it was brocolli by the way....so if I got this right I should only have the extra 5g of veggies about 3 times a week right? And next week, I want to stay in the first rung, do I add another 5g or what do I do? I am still confused, lol....I am also not sure how long I should do each rung. So, say I do the first rung and it goes well, and I go to the second rung do I add another 5g each rung?

[not2late]

Re: Started OWL today

well, today I begin OWL. I have read the stickies, and went over the book again. I just had my extra 5 grams of veggie carbs and feeling alittle bit nervous...it was brocolli by the way....so if I got this right I should only have the extra 5g of veggies about 3 times a week right? And next week, I want to stay in the first rung, do I add another 5g or what do I do? I am still confused, lol....I am also not sure how long I should do each rung. So, say I do the first rung and it goes well, and I go to the second rung do I add another 5g each rung?

There's nothing to be nervous about. From your results after the first 14 days of Induction, you have an idea of your metabolic resistance to weight loss, because you looked it up in the chart in Chapter 13. So unless you're one of the minority who have a very high degree of metabolic resistance, adding 5 net carbs of broccoli or any veggie won't set you back.

Was the broccoli a new veggie to you? That is were you eating broccoli during Induction. If you were, then you can add the broccoli net carbs everyday to see how you are doing with carbs because you more or less know how broccoli affects you. If broccoli is something new to you since you've been on Atkins, then add it in every other day.

you can stay on a rung as long as you like. If you feel more comfortable looking for your CCLL on the veggie rung, you can do that. There are a few of the Induction veggies that have 5 net carbs per 1/2 cup or 1 cup and they happen to be some of the more nutritious veggies on those lists.

If you want to stay at your current level and want to stay on the rung to try out different rung foods, you can do that too. I spent along time on the lower rungs because there were more foods from them that I wanted to try out. For the higher rungs, I think I stayed on the legume rung for 2 weeks (tested out 2 legumes) and I stayed on the starchy vegetable rung for 3 weeks (tested out 3 vegetables) because there weren't alot of veggies on those rungs I wanted to reintroduce at this point.

Just remember to keep track of your foods and the foods you add. Take the Blood Sugar Stability Test in the book because it's a faster way to see if a food reacts badly than waiting for the weekly measure/weigh-in.

[Discolemonade]

Re: Started OWL today

If you want to stay at your current level and want to stay on the rung to try out different rung foods, you can do that too. I spent along time on the lower rungs because there were more foods from them that I wanted to try out. For the higher rungs, I think I stayed on the legume rung for 2 weeks (tested out 2 legumes) and I stayed on the starchy vegetable rung for 3 weeks (tested out 3 vegetables) because there weren't alot of veggies on those rungs I wanted to reintroduce at this point.

THANK YOU! THAT helps me to see the light! so if I want to try 3 things on the 1st rung I should stay on that rung 3 weeks?

I am kinda excited. I appreciate your advice xoxo!

[ValidRouge]

Re: Started OWL today

Disco, welcome to the wonderful world of OWL. I absolutely *LOVE* it here and I've lost more weight weekly since I've been moving through the rungs than I did on the 4 weeks of induction I did. I love the variety, and of course I love the weight loss.

I've also added weight training and regular cardio exercise which I'm sure impacts my ability to eat more variety and continue to lose. If you're interested, come over to Sarahs BodyBuilding 101 in the exercise thread!

[sunflowergrl]

Re: Started OWL today

Welcome to OWL!! Good for you! I spent about 4 weeks on Rung 1, and just moved on to Rung 2 on Monday. I love the added food choices. You will still lose on OWL, don't worry. I added yogurt this week, and so far so good. No cravings. The only foods I have found that I can't eat are mushrooms and cucumbers (and pork rinds). Enjoy your OWLing!!

[Discolemonade]

Re: Started OWL today

Thanks for the warm welcome! so, do I do one new veggie a week or can I stick with veggies I know I can handle and just up the carb grams?

[soliwit]

Re: Started OWL today

You can do both, you may want to eat 5 gr of carbs extra every day now.
But make sure that the NEW veggie is the one you only eat 3 times in the first week you start eating that particular new veggie.
This to see how your body reacts to it.
I myself just stay on a rung as long as I feel like, so I for example stayed on the first rung something like 4 weeks or so, just to make myself feel comfortable on climbing the rungs, then I stayed on dairy for a couple of weeks untill I felt like 'ok, now I am strong for the next rung', I guess everybody has his own way, as long as you make sure you follow the rules and 'read' your body-reactions.
Happy losing !!!
Oh yah and welcome aboard (or should I say welcome arung ?)

[not2late]

Re: Started OWL today

Re: introducing foods, sticking around rung....

Let's say this is week 1 of OWL. You decide you want to see if you can increase your carbs by 5 nets and still lose weight. Let's say, you've been eating Brussel sprouts, green beans and tomatoes during Induction and haven't had a problem with them. So on week 1, you can choose to eat an additional 5 net carbs of Brussel sprouts, green bean or tomatoes each day to see if your body can handle 5 additional net carbs. After that week, you're still losing pounds and inches and the Blood Sugar Symptom Test has been negative. Week 2 you want to hang around the rung and try out artichoke hearts. So on week 2 you eat 5 net carbs of the artichoke hearts every other day. On the off days, you can eat 5 net carbs of the "known to you" vegetables. You notice that after eating the artichokes on the second try, you have Blood Sugar Symptoms. So you drop the food, and see what happens. No more blood sugar symptoms and you still lost weight and inches. Therefore you know that artichokes are a food that can cause blood sugar problems with you, but you can still lose weight. You might decide to put artichokes on your "okay to eat with caution" list.

Let's say you had blood sugar symptoms and you stopped losing pounds and inches. The following week, don't eat artichokes, but stick to the "known to you" veggies. After a day or two you begin losing weight and inches again. So, you put artichokes on your "don't eat during OWL" list. And move onto another veggie or a new rung.

This is why Atkins is very individual. Some foods might affect you, some might not. I had a heck of a time in the dairy rung because through alot of trial and error, I found I can only eat 1 brand of ricotta cheese. It was kind of weird because I was eating ricotta with no problem. Then a couple weeks later, I bought some ricotta and had alot of problems. I didn't realize until later that I had bought a different brand. When I tried out the good-for-me brand, I had no problems again.

The thing is don't give up! Just keep a good food diary and if any new food affects you, drop the food, not the Phase or the rung.

[Isabeau]

Re: Started OWL today

Welcome to OWL!

[jimenitayo]

Re: Started OWL today

hi

Im peeking in here, and I was curious.

what is the blood sugar symptom test?

I'm away from home, and don't have my DANDR with me...

[not2late]

Re: Started OWL today

It's in Chapter 12 of DANDR 2002. It's a detailed questionnaire. I've found it more useful in determining if a food affects me than waiting around until weigh-in time.

[kkat55]

Re: Started OWL today

This was a great post! Bumping up for newbies.

BTW, Disco, how are you doing?