What should I do?...argh.

[transypodge]

Hi everyone I have a simple question: Do I need to go back to an induction menu for awhile? Reason being: I ate a pint of blueberries today (appro. 48 net carbs) and a total for the day of 71 carbs. I'm currently on the berry rung and have been trying to eat less than 40 carb/day. Needless to say, I found a food that is a but too easy to overdo--a few here, a few there!

[liv]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

You should just continue as normal. Tomorrow you eat the amount of carbs you are supposed to eat this week.
And you have indentified a problem food. Now you have to find strategies of how to deal with it.
I usually try the allott portion in the morning in a seperate containter and stick with that. If that does not work the food is OUT.

[transypodge]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

Definitely a problem food. I will try to portion them out and see how it goes. I had been counting them out (32 berry portions), but I let my guard down today. I'm not going to let this get me too down. Overall, I'm very happy with how I've down. I just consider myself a living science fair experiement! Thanks for the guidance!!

[imagood1]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

I had a problem with blueberries a couple weeks ago. I measured out a portion but found myself wanting to go get more....I ended up giving them to my neighbor - her 2 year old son loved them!!!

[liv]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

There is something about them.... (Just like peanut butter - which is evil )
I love to have some in my yogurt but yes ... needs to be carefully controlled.
This is one of the things I actually have liked about OWL learning that you can eat so much stuff if you can develop some moderation. I work on this moderation thing a lot with certain foods.

[transypodge]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

lol...I've not let myself have peanut butter again yet for that very reason. I have a feeling that nuts in general stall me. I had a heck of a time with the Cocoa Almonds. But then again, I think that again was a portion issue. I took your advice Liv and packed my lunch carefully w/premeasured portions. I agree that OWL allows for great experimentation. It can be exciting and the prospect of expanding my menu options is very motivating. I've not let any little setback derail me. Overall, I still feel really empowered and upbeat.

[Georgiana]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

And do not eat berries (of any kind) without some fat/protein, or they are likely to affect your blood sugar levels. In DANDR, Dr. Atkins was very specific about fruits (Chapter 14, page 181):

Eat berries and other fruits with cheese, nuts or cream, to slow down their impact on your blood sugar.

[transypodge]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

Carole...I don't think I could bear wasting my blueberries on a neighbor child. I'm really enjoying being able to eat them, I've just got to be more conscientious! I think not having fat with them caused my blood sugar to spike and resulted in my over-indulgence. Georgiana...thanks for reminding me about eating fat w/ my fruit. I had a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese w/ my 32 blueberries this morning. I'm planning to eat a piece of cheese w/ my strawberries later this afternoon. If I ate my fruit w/ my morning coffee (using heavy cream), would that be enough fat??

[Georgiana]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

Georgiana...thanks for reminding me about eating fat w/ my fruit. I had a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese w/ my 32 blueberries this morning. I'm planning to eat a piece of cheese w/ my strawberries later this afternoon. If I ate my fruit w/ my morning coffee (using heavy cream), would that be enough fat??

Cottage cheese doesn't really have fat in it... Better go for some aged cheese.

I don't know how much heavy cream you use in your coffee and it's something I never tried. Coffee and I did not agree even before Atkins (blood sugar trouble), so I'm not drinking coffee anymore... not even decaf. You'll have to see how much fat you need, because this varies from person to person. Use the Blood Sugar Symptom Test in DANDR to see what effect a food or a food combination has on your blood sugar.

I see you are eating quite a lot of berries in one day. Make sure most of your net carbs are coming from veggies. This rule still holds in OWL.

[Whatsername]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

I am curious about something. Does it matter that your cheat was "legal"? Or is too many carbs, too many carbs, plain and simple?
I cheated monday but mine was 1/2 piece pizza, small bit of ice cream and 1/2 of a cupcake (my son's birthday ). I just went back to where I was on OWL (dairy). I need to get serious with it again.

I can't wait to get to the berry rung yet at the same time I am scared of it. I am taking it slow. I will get there soon though because I don't plan to be on the nut rung for long. I just want to try almonds. I am doing that once I recover from my cheat and I am feeling in control.

Jane

[Georgiana]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

I'm not sure what you mean by "does it matter"... I guess what matters is a very personal thing.

I posted this in another thread where someone asked how I define a cheat:

[Eating]
- a food not in my rung
- a food in my rung, but added the wrong way (e.g. more than 3x a week, more than I should eat from it)
- going over my carb level
- overeating
- not exercising

[JulieB]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

I think the question was in terms of dealing with/recovering from a cheat - when do we need to go back to induction, and when do we just carry on from where we slipped.

[Georgiana]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

Oh, I see. Well, I don't think there's a clear line between the two cases. If it is a small mistake, like eating 10 net carbs of _____ instead of 5, I would definitely not move back to Induction. If it was a big cheat while in OWL (e.g. eating a cup of rice and then going on an ice cream binge), then I would move to Induction just long enough to get back in ketosis. If it was a big cheat while in Induction, I would just continue with Induction and make sure I'm in ketosis before moving to OWL. In some cases, I would just move back to OWL Rung 1.

In general, if an Induction/OWL cheat puts you out of ketosis (not according to the sticks!) and your appetite is not suppressed anymore, I think it's better to do Induction for a few days and then continue from where you left off. Ketosis makes it easier for us to try new foods --- even if a food affects our blood sugar, the effect is not as bad as it would be had we not been in ketosis. So continuing with OWL and trying new foods while not in ketosis can be dangerous and can lead to more overeating/cheating episodes.

I think (and that's a big "think" there, because I'm not that far with my Atkins yet) by the end of OWL and Pre-Mainenance, when you probably no longer have the appetite suppression effect of ketosis, you had learned how much food you need to satisfy your hunger and are more in control of what you are doing in general (diet-wise ), so you're less likely to run into trouble. At least that's what I hope...

What I find very useful when trying new foods is the Blood Sugar Test. Also, if I eat 5 net carbs of the new food and then I want to finish the whole package, then the package goes straight in the bin before I screw up and I eat a snack that combines fat and protein to control the cravings. Or I go for a walk, just to stay away from the fridge.

[liv]

Re: What should I do?...argh.

What I find very useful when trying new foods is the Blood Sugar Test. Also, if I eat 5 net carbs of the new food and then I want to finish the whole package, then the package goes straight in the bin before I screw up and I eat a snack that combines fat and protein to control the cravings. Or I go for a walk, just to stay away from the fridge.

I also find the responses to food the most important indiction of whether they will work for me. There are some very starchy items that just give me a rush and there is little I do to help that. This is true for rice for instance.

But when it comes to most food I do try to find ways I can eat them. If I cannot eat them by themselves maybe they can work in a recipe or in a combination with other foods. I have decided there is no way I am going to go through OWL and come out on the other side with a long list of prohibited foods. I think that would not work for me. I want to go through OWL and come out with a long list of possibilites for things I can eat and ways I can eat them.