Do you think this would be wise?

[NOWandTHIN]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

FINALLY somebody gets it! Zarabelle, what your talking about is almost EXACTLY what my plan is! i derived my own rules and while I am aware it is not going to be Atkins, I am satisfied that I will still be doing low carb. I was looking at something like 2000 cal/50-60g on carb-up days and 1200-1500cal/15-20g on carb-down days based on what I've read on other forums where ppl have had tremendous success...even ppl who have stalled for months at a time and have built up a tolerance to low carb!

and thanx for the bday wishes

[Zarabelle]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

Aha! Glad I got it!
I think for it to be within Atkins guidelines, you would need to OWL-it (like that expression?!!) by adding 5g per week until you are at that 60g level and then I can't see why you can't have some high and some low days? I have never read anything to say don't do that I don't think. BUT I am certainly no expert!! So how often are you going to have these up and down days? Are you going to alternate all the time for a few days at a time or have a mid-ground where you stick at for most the time?

[NOWandTHIN]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

I plan to alternate all the time. At 1st I was going to do 2 up 5 down but carb cycling vets said to not be afraid of carb up days because they are just as important so i will probably do 3-4 up and 4-5 down. its a science so i have 2 figure out what works...

[basketballbelly]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

Oh, I get it, and it makes perfect sense, I can not control portions so Atkins is the best thing for me...I'm 100% behind you. If it does not work for you (and I've been on those boards where it has worked wonders for others...especially when stalled) you are eating clean so reverting back to Atkins will not be a problem.

Happy Bday!!!!

basketballbelly

[NOWandTHIN]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

My point exactly Thanx basketballbelly!

[ttdriver]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

Nope. Not buying it.

I've maintained my weight loss for over 6 years, so trust me.

Betty

[Chicklady]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

FINALLY somebody gets it! Zarabelle, what your talking about is almost EXACTLY what my plan is! i derived my own rules and while I am aware it is not going to be Atkins, I am satisfied that I will still be doing low carb. I was looking at something like 2000 cal/50-60g on carb-up days and 1200-1500cal/15-20g on carb-down days based on what I've read on other forums where ppl have had tremendous success...even ppl who have stalled for months at a time and have built up a tolerance to low carb!

and thanx for the bday wishes

My days actually end up the dead opposite, and with no planning it on my part. The days i eat higher carb -I'm on Rung 9- I consume less calories, and the lower carb days I get more calories. I'm not doing any cycling though. Just eating Atkins and listening to my body and its moods
Good luck with whatever you decided.

[NOWandTHIN]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

Thanx Chicklady and Congrats on your 100 pound loss! I just realized we started at the same point and we have almost the same goal (mines is 140). How tall are you? What size were you wearing when u started? what size are you now? Sorry for all the questions i'm just wishing I was in your shoes!

[basketballbelly]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

Good morning! It does not really matter who has achieved weightloss in what way, what matters is that we all find something that works for us personally and we stick with it (this I am just figuring out after 8 years). So rather someone gets this or not, rather it works for me or not does not matter, what matters is that you find something that works and you stick with it. None of us can tell you what will happen with YOUR body, we can tell you what we've been through, what we've seen others go through, but not one of us can tell you this will or will not work. I wish you the best!

I'm 5/7.5" and weigh 269 (last time I weighed on Wed). I wear a size 20, my overcoat is a 20/22. I really look forward to getting back into the 240's and getting into 18s again. My goal weight is 165 at which point I am a size 6.

basketballbelly

[Georgiana]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

NOWandTHIN, it seems like you have already made your mind about this. However, since this board is a place for people following Atkins and who, after reading this thread, might be tempted to begin carb cycling when frustrated about a natural slowdown in their weight loss, you will have to bear with me.

However, this past weekend while visiting a friend @ college, we ate @ her skools caf and let me tell you it seemed as though they had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING atkins friendly. Maybe if it was dinner time I could've had sum meat and veggies but all they had was pizza, hotdogs, burgers, cereal, sandwiches and other crap loaded with CARBS. So, I had a ham & cheese sandwhich on wheat bread and was sure I'd knock myself out of ketosis as each slice was 16g but when I weighed myself the next morning I had FINALLY gotten past 265.

Even when you only have "pizza, hotdogs, burgers, cereal, sandwiches and other crap" available, if you are determined to stay on this diet, there is ways around it. Hot dogs -- eat only the meat, maybe with a little mustard; not the best choice, but much better than wheat bread. Burgers -- eat the meat and whatever veggies are in it. Sandwiches -- eat the ham and cheese, but throw away the bread. Whenever you are going somewhere, it is always better to plan your meals in case of emergency. If you had gone for a burger sans bun and a few cheese crackers (it's not weird carrying cheese crackers around in your handbag), you would have had a great Atkins-friendly meal.

Chiddlebop, 105 lbs in only 8 months sounds PHENOMINAL 2 me...

I don't think you find it so phenomenal. Because 105 lbs in 8 months mean 3.3 lbs per week. Even with "only" 25 lbs in 7 weeks, you lost more than that (your rate is 3.6 lbs per week) by doing a clean extended Induction. Based on the first four weeks, you lost 6.25 lbs per week... but expecting weight loss to continue at such a high rate is totally unrealistic.

I plan to alternate all the time. At 1st I was going to do 2 up 5 down but carb cycling vets said to not be afraid of carb up days because they are just as important so i will probably do 3-4 up and 4-5 down. its a science so i have 2 figure out what works...

60 or so carbs is still what is considered to be a ketogenic diet and it might actually be below your CCLL. Newbies on Atkins have the impression that weight loss is proportional to carbohydrate intake. False. The reason why you see the "whoosh" at the beginning of induction is because your body is depleting its glycogen stores. Many folks think they will lose faster if they stick to induction, but as I have seen on this board, this is rarely the case -- most stall and their weight loss restarts when they add more vegetables in OWL Rung 1.

What Megs wrote,

IF you do Atkins the proper way---that is, the way Dr. Atkins wrote it---there is no need for "cheat days", carb cycling, etc. to "jump start" your weight loss because you will be eating at your individual carbohydrate level and you will be eating foods not allowed on Induction. Therefore, you will be losing at a consistent rate and no need to rev up anything.

is exactly how it works for me. I lose better by eating ~35 net carbs than by eating 10-15 as I did during Induction. As long as you stay below your CCLL, keeping your carbs very low does not guarantee a weight loss advantage.

My days actually end up the dead opposite, and with no planning it on my part. The days i eat higher carb -I'm on Rung 9- I consume less calories, and the lower carb days I get more calories. I'm not doing any cycling though. Just eating Atkins and listening to my body and its moods.

Same for me. My carbs and calories vary from day to day without any planning. The difference between this and what you will be doing is that you don't yet know what food intolerances you have, nor do you know your CCLL. Both of these are things you find by properly following OWL.

But let's say 60 net carbs would throw you out of ketosis and would be enough to rebuild your glycogen stores. You need about three days to get back in ketosis, so eating 12-15 carbs for 4-5 days is equivalent to 1-2 days of burning fat. Compare this to 3-4 days of high-carbing... and it doesn't make a lot of sense anymore.

Of course, if you keep your calories low enough (1200-1500 is very low for someone your height/weight, while 2000 is just about your BMR), you will lose weight regardless of whether you eat 15 or 60 carbohydrates.

I don't say carb cycling does not work for some. If it does for you, then it's fantastic -- you will get fitter and, if you stay away from junk food, healthier. But those who successfully carb cycle either eat below their CCLL and/or keep their calories lower than they would have to on Atkins, imo. Carb cycling is completely different from Atkins and it should not be used as a way to "speed up" the metabolism by those who want to follow Atkins for life. The best way to boost things on Atkins is to follow OWL by the book.

[Zarabelle]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

G, if NOWandTHIN works her way up the carb ladder in the normal way until she reaches say 60g and then has some days at that level and some days at say 15g - is there anything wrong with that? I assume as long as it is within her CCLL it would be OK? I hadn't even heard of carb cycling before I read this thread! x

[basketballbelly]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

G, if NOWandTHIN works her way up the carb ladder in the normal way until she reaches say 60g and then has some days at that level and some days at say 15g - is there anything wrong with that? I assume as long as it is within her CCLL it would be OK? I hadn't even heard of carb cycling before I read this thread! x

It makes sense that this would work as well, but I think what is important is that she finds something she is comfortable with, not what we want her to be comfortable with.

bbb

[NOWandTHIN]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

WOW....I do believe I've just been ripped a new 1 by Georgiana....

Anywho, Basketballbelly, it is absolutely insane how almost identical we are! I am 5'7.5 and I wear a size 20 (now, was a 22 when starting at 290lbs. I carried my weight well as I should have been a size 24-26 being almost 300lbs) I'm just a few pounds lighter...my goal was to be 140lbs or a size 6 but your sayin your a size 6 @ 165??? guess I will have to see when I get there.

Zarabelle, thanx for taking up for me! I really appreciate it and I will be sure to let you know the results as I have started my carb cycling trial today. Wouldn't wanna taint anyone with my non-sense so i might pm u and basketballbelly my results. Wish me luck!

[Georgiana]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

G, if NOWandTHIN works her way up the carb ladder in the normal way until she reaches say 60g and then has some days at that level and some days at say 15g - is there anything wrong with that? I assume as long as it is within her CCLL it would be OK?

That's right, Zara. She would not have to "cycle" or "carb load", but there would be no problem having days with 15 g instead of 60. In fact, by the end of OWL, she would have probably lost enough weight to be 5-10 lbs away from her goal weight. Then, in Pre-Maintenance, what she can do is

Another approach to Pre-Maintenance is to continue eating as you were at the end of OWL and to allow yourself a 20-gram carb treat two or three times a week. Add a piece of fruit or a starchy vegetable -- a serving of brown rice or sweet potatoes, for example. [...] Still another way to do Pre-Mainenance is to average out your carb intake for the week.

The advantage of doing this instead of jumping to 60 g is that you learn what foods give you cravings, what foods stall you, whether 60 carbs is a good number or just a randomly chosen one, etc.

[Chicklady]

Re: Do you think this would be wise?

Thanx Chicklady and Congrats on your 100 pound loss! I just realized we started at the same point and we have almost the same goal (mines is 140). How tall are you? What size were you wearing when u started? what size are you now? Sorry for all the questions i'm just wishing I was in your shoes!

Thank you I'm 5'7". I was a stretched out 3x In other words, I have no idea. I'd guess about a 28, but it had been sooooo long since I'd bought somehting that wasn't polyester stretch that I don't know my real size. You can go to my "my stats" journal however, and each month I measured and weighed. http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...abbling-6.html My last measure in was in December, Guess I ought to get back to it!!
My upper body shrunk first (of course) so now I'm a 16 upper and 18 lower.
Georgiana gave you some great advice. If you decide to go with Atkins, come join us in the Century Club