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**not2late** · March 7, 2009, 06:05 PM

Re: OWL please check I've got it right

Originally posted by allykitten View Post

Hi I have been on induction for 4 weeks now and have lost 7lb. I have about another stone to lose. I have read the book albeit the newer version and am now waiting for the 2002 version to be delivered. I've also spent hrs on reading all the forums for help, but just need to check that I am on the right track please.

I want to start OWL next week as am getting very bored on induction and am worried i will go off the rails and have a few questions if anyone could help please.

1. I have tried most of the veg i like on induction, so on rung 1 can i just add the extra 5 carbs from those everyday or must they be new ones. I also find it hard to add so much veg and salad already so can I say add onions which are high carb to make my 5 carbs daily up?

They may be any of the veggies on either veggie list. So if you've been eating asparagus during your Induction, you may add 5 net carbs of that daily. However, if you haven't eaten bean sprouts during your Induction and you want to add them to your OWL, you will need to eat them every other day. Then see what happens with your weight loss and your blood sugar symptoms. If nothing bad happens, you may add them daily and see what happens to your loss and your blood sugar symptoms. If nothing bad happens, then you know you may eat that food without a problem.

2. Also am very worried that my CCL is going to be very low as I only lost 4lb in my first two weeks of induction, am I going to be ok to move to around 25 carbs a day? I do bike 14 miles 3 times a week to work.

Don't be worried. If you are a regular exerciser (and Dr. Atkins defined regular exercise as someone who does "vigorous exercise for five days a week for at least forty-five minutes"), then your CCLL may be much higher than you anticipate.

Go ahead and add the 5 net carbs to your Induction menu. And see how high your body can go. The beauty of OWL is if you stop losing weight, you drop down to your previous carb level and you've found your CCLL. So let's say, you're at 45 net carbs daily and losing weight. You increase to 50 and stop losing. Congrats you've found your CCLL. So you drop back to 45 net carbs and continue OWL. It makes your life much, much easier when you know your CCLL because then you will be able to plan your menues more liberally.

3. Can I stay on the veg rung for just one week and then move to nuts? which I can try any of the nuts 3 times a week, do I have 5 carbs of nuts on each of the 3 days. Does that include 5 carbs from the veg rung? so altogether I would then be on 30 carbs on 3 days and the 25 on the other days or can I just stick to 20-25 carbs when I am going up the rungs.

You may stay on any rung for as long as you like. The minimum, according to Dr. Atkins, is 1 week. But we've found that it's best to stay 2 weeks on a rung especially if the rung foods are new to you.

Nuts/seeds during OWL are limited to 1 ounce, with the exception of cashews which are limited to 1/2 ounce. They aren't added in 5 net carb amounts. Dr. Atkins isn't clear on it, but it could be that nuts/seeds are a food some folks find hard to control portionwise. The other potential reason is that some folks might have food intolerances to nuts and seeds that are previously unknown to them. Remember, we're like babies now. We've "cleaned" our systems of excessive carbs. So we have to reintroduce them back one at a time to see how we will react to them, just like it's recommended for babies.

Nuts and seed are the third rung on the OWL carb ladder. The second rung is dairy---fresh cheeses, cream, etc. It's possible to skip rungs, particularly if you don't like the foods or are allergic to them, but you don't want to do a higher rung, then try a lower rung because the glycemic levels are different. And again, you want to reintroduce the foods that are least likely to cause you problems first.

4. Linda's website is fantastic, but does anyone know of a good book I can buy so that I can flick through the pages instead of on the net all the time, maybe Linda has published her book?

Some folks use Dana Carpender's books. But frankly, unless you want to do low-carb baking, many low carb cookbooks aren't terribly useful. There are loads of naturally low carb recipes in regular cookbooks or recipes that need minor tweaking (like substituting artificial sweetener for sugar). I've found some pretty good naturally low carb/Atkins friendly recipes in things like Gourmet Magazine or even in the food section of the newspaper! I have fun looking around and getting ideas. I've gotten great vegetable dishes from pasta recipes because I've omitted the pasta and increased the veggies.

**allykitten** · March 8, 2009, 04:18 PM

Re: OWL please check I've got it right

Thank you so much not2late for answering all my questions. Thanks Ali

**not2late** · March 9, 2009, 08:16 AM

Re: OWL please check I've got it right

You're welcome. I forgot to add, if the volume of the veggies is too much, then either eat the higher carb veggies on the Induction list or make the veggies into sauces or thick purees. For example, if you toss a jar of roasted red sweet peppers into a blender, give it a whirl, you get a roasted red pepper puree that you may use as a sauce for meats or veggies, as part of a filling for an omelet, etc.

**allykitten** · March 9, 2009, 02:31 PM

Re: OWL please check I've got it right

Thanks that great advice. Ally

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