Brick Wall Cracked

[Bob M]

Well finally this week after trying everything including purpously going off atkins for a couple days just for the shock to my system....I AM LOOSING AGAIN!!!!! I am keeping my calorie intake up around 1800 and doing ok. I still am not sure if it was a long winded stall or if I truely was in survival mode. I am back to rung one and plan on moving up weekly. I moved from the horrible stuck 200 down to 194 this week 24 more pounds to my goal of 170. YAAAAAAAH!!! I am moving up the rungs as it tells you in the book first week 3 times and next week all 7 days is this the right thing to do or is it ok just to move up and eat the next rung everyday? Also is it ok to eat the prepakaged prepared jello sugar free?...Thanks...Bob

[julirama723]

Re: Brick Wall Cracked

Bob, you should stay AT LEAST 2 weeks on each rung, in my opinion. I believe the book states that you may move up a rung each week, but that's not nearly enough time to experiment with new foods.

So you start with Rung 1, veggies. This is one more serving of induction veggies, either a salad or other veggie. If you've eaten a certain vegetable on induction and it gave you no problems, you can eat it daily if you choose. HOWEVER, whenever you add a NEW FOOD (one you have not eaten yet on Atkins) you may only have it 3x a week for the first week. If it causes no symptoms (cravings, bloating, etc.) then you may have it daily thereafter. There is a typo in DANDR that says the "food group" instead of "food" and hence the confusion.

This is the time when you begin to not only incorporate new foods, but increase your carb intake gradually. Each week it is suggested you add 5g carbs. So if you were eating 20g carbs on induction, by moving to Rung 1, you're adding 5g of veggies for a total of 25g daily. It's a good idea to add 5g when you're NOT moving up a rung. So you might want to stay on Rung 1 at 25g, and move up to 30g while staying on Rung 1. Or you could move up to 25g on Rung 1, and stay at 25g while moving up to Rung 2. This is to pinpoint any possible causes of stalls or weight gain--you will be able to tell if it is a certain food or carbhydrate gram intake.

Check out the OWL chapters in the book and make sure you follow the rungs carefully. Also check out the OWL stickies in the FAQ forum.