OWL- how fast?

[moonwish]

I know I named the thread somehow weird, but I couldn't find a better name LOL

There's one thing I've been wondering about OWL.

I have about 20 lbs to lose.
I should start pre-maintenance when 10 lbs to goal.
This means I have to practically "run" through OWL ladder? I would like to go through all possible food groups, but I would also like to test several foods in each group. I have done this before, but never reached the highest rungs... What do you suggest me to do? Take it slowly and try several foods or go quickly to higher rungs just to see if all rungs work for me?

Also, I'm not quite sure about how exactly do I know a certain food is not for me? I mean except cravings? Does weight loss/gain tell me something or shouldn't I watch it at all? I mean, if I hit one of the "usual" stalls, how do I tell, if it is just a stall or is it the new food I added? Like I said, I've done this before but never really "got it". I want to do this right this time.

How it is practically done? I think I'm quite strong in theory, but life (especially weight-wise) isn't about theory, it's more about practice... How have you managed to find out your yes- or no-foods?

[julirama723]

Re: OWL- how fast?

I'm STILL finding yes and no foods! For some reason, my body seemed to tolerate a certain food for a while, and no longer does. Luckily, you add new foods sparingly so you can pinpoint the problem. I did this with cucumbers. In induction, I would eat a few slices before dinner, no big deal. A couple weeks ago, I packed a cup's worth for my lunch veggie and had major gastrointestinal issues. After trying the food 2x again, I discovered that my body doesn't tolerate them in amounts larger than a few slices.

I would say to spend a week or two on each rung. The first rung is veggies, and just add another serving of the induction veggies. Many people choose to stay at this rung until they determine their CCLL, then progress as normal. I did not do this (though I wish I would have!), and have been staying at a constant carb level while I have added foods.

So, starting with rung 2, dairy, you'll be adding new foods. Eat the new food only 3x a week to start, to see if it gives you problems. If it doesn't you may eat it daily thereafter. By spending 1 or 2 weeks on each rung, you will keep your weight loss at a healthy rate while expirementing with new foods. You don't HAVE to add in every single food on every single rung, but I would suggest visiting each rung. I just recently added cottage cheese even though I'm on rung 6. I just made sure that when I ate the cottage cheese, none of my other foods were "new" foods.

I've known when a food is not right for me because I get horrible cramps/gas/nastiness. I haven't had a problem with cravings EXCEPT with peanuts/most brands of peanut butter. So, look for discomfort, cramps, bloating, cravings, even things like sneezing, runny nose, headache--anything out of the ordinary and out of the blue.

[not2late]

Re: OWL- how fast?

you can move to Pre-Maintenance when you are 5 to 10 pounds from your goal weight.

As for how fast you can go through OWL....this is where planning your Atkins on Day 15 pays.

On Day 15 of Induction, you used your Induction loss to check how metabolically resistant to weight loss you are. Along with the amount of weight you need to lose, that information is used to plan your Atkins.

For example, you have to lose 50 pounds and on Day 15 you find that you have lost 10 pounds. You have only 30-35 pounds left to lose before you move to Pre-Maintenance. Furthermore your metabolic resistance to weight loss (according to the charts) is average to low. So on Day 15, it would be in your best interest to move to OWL Phase, rather than hang around Induction for another 10 pounds.

For folks with the less than 50 pounds and who have average to low metabolic resistance, it's in their best interest to move to OWL on Day 15 as well.

In your case Moonwish, you have 10-15 pounds left to lose on OWL before moving to Pre-Maintenance. There are 9 Rungs on the OWL Carb ladder. So move through, 1 week at a time and find your CCLL. You might encounter some 'snags' like a food that slows or stalls you. So mind your pounds lost too. What's important is to find your CCLL. When you move to Pre-Maintenance, you can still try out different foods.

[moonwish]

Re: OWL- how fast?

Thanks!
I'm planning to move to owl for sure, as I see staying on induction too long as the main reason for my previous failures...
Very few veggies are around in "my world" right now, so I've been eating just maybe 5 or 6 different kinds. So you think just sticking to them and adding portions in first week or two would be clever? I can't really see myself finding my CCLL in veggie rung, not this time of the year...
But what if I lose nothing in next two weeks? Does it mean I can not move on to next rung?

[julirama723]

Re: OWL- how fast?

You can add veggies and move up the rungs week after week, as long as you're sticking around say, 25-30g of carbs and continuing to lose--that's an easy amount to keep in control and still be able to add new foods.

Part of my problem for not finding my CCLL on the veggie rung is that I didn't know how on earth I would have eaten 20g extra of veggies...until Not2Late pointed out that you can make purees, sauces, "gravies", of cooked veggies, and add them to meats or other veggies. The key is to decrease the volume of the veggies--I mean, try to imagine eating 20g of romaine! Impossible! Also, add higher-carb veggies like pumpkin, squash, cauliflower, brussel sprouts to raise your carb count.

I LOVE OWL, and I'm so glad I didn't stick around on induction for 4 months like many people do--I only stayed on induction for about 6 weeks, and I wish I'd moved to OWL sooner! I lost MORE weight weekly (and at a regular pace) on OWL than I did staying on induction. And I loved the fact that I could eat more than one serving of "other" veggies per day...because those are my favorite!

[sadie147]

Re: OWL- how fast?

You can add veggies and move up the rungs week after week, as long as you're sticking around say, 25-30g of carbs and continuing to lose--that's an easy amount to keep in control and still be able to add new foods.

Part of my problem for not finding my CCLL on the veggie rung is that I didn't know how on earth I would have eaten 20g extra of veggies...until Not2Late pointed out that you can make purees, sauces, "gravies", of cooked veggies, and add them to meats or other veggies. The key is to decrease the volume of the veggies--I mean, try to imagine eating 20g of romaine! Impossible! Also, add higher-carb veggies like pumpkin, squash, cauliflower, brussel sprouts to raise your carb count.

I LOVE OWL, and I'm so glad I didn't stick around on induction for 4 months like many people do--I only stayed on induction for about 6 weeks, and I wish I'd moved to OWL sooner! I lost MORE weight weekly (and at a regular pace) on OWL than I did staying on induction. And I loved the fact that I could eat more than one serving of "other" veggies per day...because those are my favorite!

I'm not sure I understand, you were trying to find your ccll at rung 1? that would be very difficult. Did you not want to move up the rungs?

[moonwish]

Re: OWL- how fast?

You can add veggies and move up the rungs week after week, as long as you're sticking around say, 25-30g of carbs and continuing to lose--that's an easy amount to keep in control and still be able to add new foods.

Now that's the part I don't get any more... Isn't it adding 5 carbs in every rung until I meet my CCLL?

And once again, no loss in a week = not moving on???

Sorry for a mess and thank you so much for explaining!

[kylie]

Re: OWL- how fast?

moonwish, have you read this sticky?

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ad.php?t=10528

It talks about all the different "options" for approaching OWL.

[attek]

Re: OWL- how fast?

I have been pondering the same question Moonwish. I have 17 total pounds to lose and have already lost 7 during induction. I am expecting a number of that is just water, and my weight will stay constant for the next 2 or 3 weeks (which is what it did last time on Atkins, and typically happens right after Induction). Hopefully the tape measure will continue to move, and I am using ketosticks to monitor things too.

With a relatively small amount to lose, I've decided to wait till I'm 5 pounds from goal to enter Premaintenance (I think.) I don't think I will make it up all the rungs in OWL. Dr. Atkins did say it was okay to wait till PM to finish off the last few rungs, if necessary.

I am considering spending two weeks on each rung, with the first week to try out new foods on that rung and the second week to move up another 5g carbs. My thoughts for this is that I am pretty sure I will be losing fairly slowly during OWL, and I do not want to confuse the issue of new foods vs. CCLL as being the reason for stopping weight loss.

I am thinking of finding my CCLL close to the end of OWL when I have more variety in my foods.

I too would welcome opinions from those further along, say in PreMaintenance or Maintenance. Jen, at which rung did you find your CCLL, and had you finished all the rungs during OWL or did you still have some to finish in PM?

[julirama723]

Re: OWL- how fast?

Sadie--it was either sillygirl or not2late that talked about finding their CCLL at rung 1 by adding carbs. The way to do it is by adding veggie sauces, purees, and such, not by eating 3,000 cups of veggies.

I haven't found mine yet--nor did I try in rung 1. I was just saying that's how I've heard it's done. I'm currently on rung 6.

[sadie147]

Re: OWL- how fast?

Sadie--it was either sillygirl or not2late that talked about finding their CCLL at rung 1 by adding carbs. The way to do it is by adding veggie sauces, purees, and such, not by eating 3,000 cups of veggies.

I haven't found mine yet--nor did I try in rung 1. I was just saying that's how I've heard it's done. I'm currently on rung 6.

I see. I actually hadn't heard of anyone doing that.

I too would welcome opinions from those further along, say in PreMaintenance or Maintenance. Jen, at which rung did you find your CCLL, and had you finished all the rungs during OWL or did you still have some to finish in PM?

I actually found it in pre-maintence, I was running about 20-30kms a week then and lifting weights, and found I could still lost at about 80g's-90g's a day. I still run, but have been slacking lately due to a bad knee, so I have to take my carbs down to about 50/day to stop from gaining. I'm up a few lbs but i know it's from the lack of exercise..no reduction in carbs helps..so it's definately the lack of gym time. So I kind of have 2 cclls, one when running, one when not.

I had a fairly hard time finding my ccll actually, as my last few lbs literally took months to come off. so i had to play around with it a bit..it was slow going and extremely frustrating but i didn't give up.

Being able to keep my carbs so high when i'm exercising is definately incentive to keep it up! I wouldn't normally eat that many in a day every day, but it's nice to know I could if i wanted to.

Not srue if this really answered your question?

[moonwish]

Re: OWL- how fast?

Wow, sadie, you could it that much carbs! can you tell, how much are you actually eating now? And does the weight just stay still or is it also fluctuating while maintaining?

Can't wait to be there!

I'm starting owl this friday... I'm sick of cauliflower and green beans tho. I must find some other "other" vegetable I can eat as a side. Not many options in the store this time of the year.

[sadie147]

Re: OWL- how fast?

Everyones carb levels will be different, but I have found without exercise, my daily carb levels can be around 50 and still be losing without exercise, this is the level I was eating at when i lost my final lb's.

Right now, I usually eat around 30-50 net g's a day, i'm trying to rid myself of a few lbs at the moment so i aim for lower. And until my knee gets better I can't do much cardio . but once i'm exercising again i'll range from 50-80 a day again...

As wonderful as it all sounds, maintenance for me has been harder than the weight loss itself. No the weight doesn't stay still for me..i go up and down up to 8 lbs..lately it's been up more than down, it becomes frustrating to figure out the perfect forumula to get it back down and to stay down (i've tried going back to induction a couple of times but that doesn't work)..it takes alot of experimentation for me. My key seems to be exercise..which is alot easier in the summer here than winter since i like to run.

[attek]

Re: OWL- how fast?

Jen - Thanks for your input. My other question was - did you finish all the rungs during OWL, or were you partway through the rungs when you switched to pre-maintenance? Just curious.

[not2late]

Re: OWL- how fast?

I found my CCLL by staying on Rung 1. At the time it was 35. I used the "other list" veggies in different preparations---soups, sauces, etc. so I wouldn't have to eat a mountain of veggies. Also the 'other list' veggies are higher in carbs than the 'salad' list veggies....I mean to eat 5 net carbs of lettuce, you'd have to eat about 15 cups of the stuff.

So eating a 1/2 cup vegetable soup at 5-6 net carbs with lunch and with dinner or having a serving of spaghetti squash with a sauce of tomatoes and artichoke hearts (easily a 10 net carb side dish) was an easy way to increase the carbs without having to eat a mountain of vegetables.