Dilema Moving To OWL

**Rae-Marie** · July 19, 2006, 07:27 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

I am not an expert on this so I don't think I should give any advise. But do go into the OWL forum and see what has already been posted on this subject.
All most everyone is nervious about moving on from induction. A lot of good advise has been posted.

There are some really good threads in that forum.

**loliloli** · July 19, 2006, 07:34 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

I'm not an expert either but from i've read the veggie rung is important. Make sure you go through that. However, if you're not gonna eat the food of the dairy and nut rungs you can probably just skip it and move on to the berry rung. You will probably have to be careful though. Eat only 5g of berries 3 times per week for few weeks and check how it's affecting you. Eat one type of berry each time so you know which one does what. The way I see it is it all depends on you and your body so the whole point of this is to find out how things affect, so you basicly modify this whole thing to suit your needs. It works for me anyways

**Seshena36** · July 19, 2006, 07:38 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Originally posted by loliloli

I'm not an expert either but from i've read the veggie rung is important. Make sure you go through that. However, if you're not gonna eat the food of the dairy and nut rungs you can probably just skip it and move on to the berry rung. You will probably have to be careful though. Eat only 5g of berries 3 times per week for few weeks and check how it's affecting you. Eat one type of berry each time so you know which one does what. The way I see it is it all depends on you and your body so the whole point of this is to find out how things affect, so you basicly modify this whole thing to suit your needs. It works for me anyways

I guess that's another part of my dilema....can one modify the plan to suit one's specific needs so long as one is still following all the basic rules??? Or do you absoluately positively have to follow this TO the letter....I think maybe I'm making that too big of an issue with me and that's whats making me bored with it......

I guess my modification would be.....can I add more veggies and berries to my plan so long as I'm still trying to maintain the 20g net carbs per day thing? (since I cant hit it any other time).....and following the other rules???

**2big4mysize** · July 19, 2006, 07:56 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

you can skip any rung you don't plan to have as a part of your permanent way of eating.

So do a 1,4,6,7,8 OWl just know that you will need to be very careful when you move from rung one to rung 4 because even though the berries are low glycemic they will be much higher glycemic then anything you have been eating. Use the chapter 12 sugar symptom chart so you can know if you are being effected and take steps to control it before it controls you right off your Atkins.
The fresh dairy includes yogurt too if you like that.

**not2late** · July 19, 2006, 08:02 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

What 2Big said

Some people can't eat foods on rungs because they either don't like them or can't eat them due to food allergies/intolerances. So if you don't like legumes, don't do the rung. If you don't like berries but like melons, don't eat the berries on the berry/melon rung.

Vegetables, however, are important. It's intimidating to think you'll need to eat an additional cup of a veggie when you've already eaten 3 cups. But you can reduce the volume of your food by using vegetables as sauces: tomato sauce, roasted red pepper, mushroom sauce, onion sauce, etc.

Take a look through the OWL forum because there are a number of sticky threads there that address commonly asked questions about OWL.

**Seshena36** · July 19, 2006, 08:47 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Originally posted by 2big4mysize

you can skip any rung you don't plan to have as a part of your permanent way of eating.

So do a 1,4,6,7,8 OWl just know that you will need to be very careful when you move from rung one to rung 4 because even though the berries are low glycemic they will be much higher glycemic then anything you have been eating. Use the chapter 12 sugar symptom chart so you can know if you are being effected and take steps to control it before it controls you right off your Atkins.
The fresh dairy includes yogurt too if you like that.

Okay...question about the blood sugar symptom chart and your advice.....so....if I use the chart aftering adding some berries to my day and I score 50 or more, I'll know that I have to.....do what? Not eat that particular item or not eat as much of that particular item? I'm a little confused with chapter 12 because it really doesnt say anything after the chart/test.
I do like yogurt....but does it have to be the yogurt with the artificial sweetner in it or can it be regular yogurt? Because I dont eat the first...I cant stand the after taste......and I couldnt find it in the book.....

**Seshena36** · July 19, 2006, 08:50 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Originally posted by not2late

What 2Big said

Some people can't eat foods on rungs because they either don't like them or can't eat them due to food allergies/intolerances. So if you don't like legumes, don't do the rung. If you don't like berries but like melons, don't eat the berries on the berry/melon rung.

Vegetables, however, are important. It's intimidating to think you'll need to eat an additional cup of a veggie when you've already eaten 3 cups. But you can reduce the volume of your food by using vegetables as sauces: tomato sauce, roasted red pepper, mushroom sauce, onion sauce, etc.

Take a look through the OWL forum because there are a number of sticky threads there that address commonly asked questions about OWL.

Okay, its good to know that I can skip rungs that I dont ever intend to eat or make part of my WOE/lifestyle....
I do realize that the veggies are important and again...I like veggies but I think my problem is that I dont like so much SALAD veggies.....I feel like I'm not getting to eat enough of the vegetables I do like and there in lies my problem....I'm down with broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi...well you get the picture....I dont know that the veggie sauce thing sounds appetizing to me.....I'm more of a straight eater than a saucy person...LOL....and I'm headed back over to the OWL forum here in a bit to re-read some things there..........I'm trying to get this figured out...thanks for your help.

**not2late** · July 19, 2006, 10:49 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Well, the "Salad" veggies don't need to be eaten as "salad". All of those veggies can be cooked, including the lettuces! That's another misconception people make about those "salad" veggies---it's okay to cook them, just measure them before you cook them.

But if you absolutely don't like any of the "salad" veggies, like mushrooms, cucumbers, green/red bell peppers, etc. Then you might want to try them prepared in different ways or combine them with other veggies.

I've been having a blast with chilled soups (because it's so awfully hot and humid here!) So, things like gazpacho, chilled cucumber soup, faux vichyssoise, chilled red pepper soup are finding their way on my summer menu. To make these soups more substantial I add chilled cooked seafood, like shrimp, and a dab of sour cream.

**lil_Buddy** · July 19, 2006, 11:11 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Don't know if this is helpful but maybe you could try stuff you don't think you're so crazy about. I made myself do that out of curiosity/boredom. For instance, was never too crazy about stuff from the squash family unless they were in pies or breads. Then I discovered if you brown zucchini in butter it's great. And zucchini squash, baked then cooked it in a pan with some olive oil, butter, herbs and parmesan cheese is quite tasty.
I was never too crazy about yogurt, too, but discovered the organic whole milk stuff with the thick cream top. Now I'm sold.

In summation, I think this WOE changes your palate a bit. Also, cooking things in butter makes them extra delicious.

**ValidRouge** · July 19, 2006, 01:30 PM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Seshena....since you want more of the non-salad veggies...then OWL rung 1 is PERFECT FOR YOU!!!! Continue to eat your 2 cup salad (which isn't that big at all) and have 5 g more of the other vegetables you do like! Do that the first week, then if you have no problems, then add another 5 g carb the next week. What you want to do is slowly add up the carbs to see how high you can go and also prepare your body for the higher glycemic load that not2late is talking about. The next week, add 5 g of berries and melon. Now....be careful here...5 net grams of melon is NOT very much!!! I love honeydew, and trust me, 5 net carbs is less than 1/2 cup. that is NOT that much in my opinion...and it is not even close to the amount I want to eat. I don't want you to get MORE frustrated because of the small portion sizes. You need to have a good base of fat/protein and veggie before you start adding that 1/2 cup of honeydew or cantaloupe. Berries on the other hand go a little farther than the melon does. Frequently I add the berries and melons to my SALADS. Or, I have berries with splenda sweetened cream.

Lil Buddy has a good point about trying new foods that you never liked before or haven't tried, you may find some new stuff that you do like now. I know I have. There are still some I don't want, but I'm giving stuff a fair chance.

**Elizellen** · July 19, 2006, 03:59 PM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

I thought I would skip the dairy rung too as I never did like milk or cottage cheese. But then someone on the OWL forum mentioned yogurt which I love!!

I buy the plain greek fullfat yogurt and once I reached the berries rung added chopped up fruit to it!! In fact I had strawberries and yogurt for my meal tonight before going to the gym, as it is too hot for a cooked meal.

I even mix splenda with yogurt to make special desserts for the rest of my (non-Atkineering) family and they love it too.

**ValidRouge** · July 19, 2006, 05:41 PM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

I always said I didn't like yogurt until I hit the dairy rung....now I love it.

Also on the dairy rung, I used Ricotta cheese to make George Stella's New York Ricotta cheesecake. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

And I use ricotta with meat and tomato sauce to make italian-ish atkins dishes, or cottage cheese. I don't eat cottage cheese plain, even now...but I love it with tomato sauce to make low carb lasagne and italianish casseroles.

Nuts--grind up almonds to make a flour to use for breading--make chicken parmesan, or fried chicken--it's better than regular flour.

There are ways to use these things as "ingredients" in other dishes.

**Seshena36** · July 20, 2006, 05:53 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Thanks guys.....I guess I kind of get the picture on how to do it......I guess....LOL. I dont know why I have this difficulty.....I mean, out of the salad veggies...I LOVE mushrooms and I can eat cucumbers and bok choy every now and again....but I dont really care for the bitter lettuces nor can I stomach eating iceberg every single day....so how bad is it if I simply added 2 cups of mushrooms to my meals every day and twice a week had stir fry or a green salad or something done with bell peppers instead?
As for the regular veggies...well that's what I was saying...I love the regular non salad type veggies and have even been eating some that I didnt think I liked (like zucchini and yellow squash).....
But the one thing nobody seemed to be able to answer is what kind of yogurt is okay to eat? I mean, can I have a regular yoplait flavored yogurt or does it have to be unflavored/plain or does it have to be the low fat one that has an artificial sweetner in it? I have never seen nor heard of greek yogurt....if thats some non flavored type...well that doesnt appeal to me and I will be skipping over the dairy rung entirely.
ValidRogue, thank you for the info about how little the servings of melon and/or berries are....I know its probably not much *sadly*...but sometimes I think if I could just have two or three strawberries, I'd feel that much better about my WOE....I dont know...I'm coming to terms with a lot of things....I hate that I've gotten weird or depressed or upset about this WOE...I think to be honest that I've just kept myself on the induction too long.
I weighed and measured myself this morning....didnt drop any pounds...actually showed a gain of 3...but I lost another 1.5 inches on my thigh and another inch on my hips.....plus I was having MAJOR leg cramps last night (guess I lost too many electrolytes yesterday and didnt replace)...I think I'm going to try OWL Rung 1 starting today.....I saw a lot of yummy looking recipes on that one site....the one you guys keep linking people too....Linda's Low Carb stuff....anyway....lots of things made with green beans and cauliflower and other veggies that really really appeal to me.....
I appreciate all your help and advice and well let's just all cross our fingers that I can move on and that it's what I need........mentally I feel that I"m in a better place today so I'm kind of gung ho about it now...........I know I can do this...it's what I want.......

**not2late** · July 20, 2006, 07:53 AM

Re: Dilema Moving To OWL

Mushrooms and bell peppers are on the "salad" list. So if you wanted to you could eat 2-3 cups, even during Induction.

The term "salad" is very deceptive, because everyone associates it with leafy green veggies (AKA, lettuce). Lettuce comprises about 1/4 of the veggies I eat daily---had been like that since Induction. I tend to eat the non-lettuce "salad" veggies more, like mushrooms, peppers, cucumbers, radishes.

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