Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

[ff11]

This was going to start out as a boo-hoo, poor me post, but I'm realizing that I'm LEARNING and getting better! Little tweaks DO help....changing forty years of habits will take TIME, and I am steadily getting better on this WOE...Wanna hear?

THis is my THIRD time back in induction since NOVEMBER. Two weeks is all I do, cuz I have little to lose, but I start into OWL and do it MY way, using low carb products that are NOT in the rungs and ignoring the food cravings they give me. When these cravings are in action, they RULE, not me. I have had to face some truths and am proud to say that I THREW OUT the packages, all untouched. I have learned here that I'm NOT a garbage disposal, so if that's where the product needs to go, then it goes THERE and not here.
Turkey with zero carbs (sugar listed...I'm LEARNING..don't read carb grams READ INGREDIENTS...I forgot!)
LOW CARB peanut butter (zero carbs my YOU-KNOW-WHAT..) major hunger cravings and addiciton...Low carb frozen yogurt (come on?! you mean TWO CUPS of whipped cream per day isn't allowed? even if you DO mix it with lo carb mixture?)

I have learned that Brie cheese isn't ok for me, but cheddar is. I've gotten FIVE cups of regular coffee per a.m down to three 1/2 decaf, 1/2 regular with less than 1 tablespoon whipped cream, no sweetener. Whipped cream is not a problem for me UNLESS it's whipped..then I'm whipped ..ha ha...

What else have I learned? That you have watch like a HAWK what your cravings and body are doing..they sneak up, take over, and control. I've learned that the more you try, the better you get.

I cook all my meats at home. Those bbq pork ribs at the local market are YUMMY (what's on them?) Roasted chicken from same store has WHEAT and sugar!?? I'm learning that salad greens cooked or raw don't do anything weird to me, nor do sugar free dressings! I've learned to throw in a cup of broccoli at the end of the day to get the veggie count where it needs to be.

For me, I HAVE to go back to induction to get the cravings OFF my back and to start fresh. .Each time I've moved into OWl, I've gained weight from losing diligence...But each time I go back into induction, I do it better, cleaner, and can take ONE MORE THING OFF my MUST HAVE list. This time, it's the low carb treats (ice cream, bars and chocolate).I'm still trying to cut back on coffee and have limited the gum to one per day (from like 20!!! Seriously).
But these are the first three days in over forty years where a sweet treat did not enter my day. First time. Forty years. Do you GET THAT???!!!! I'm the BOSS (hurrah!)

Every time, if I KEEP ON TRUCKIN', I get better at this. one more victory, one more realization, one more point for me and one less for the monkey on my back.

I'm not needing to lose a bunch of weight, but blood sugar swings RAN my life. I am healing, thanks to this board, this WOE and this POWER. I am in charge, not my cravings...this has NEVER happened to me.

So, maybe to some, "failing" at OWL and marching my sorry little butt back into Induction every three weeks MIGHT seem like a boo-hoo...to me, I just keep getting better at it. I will keep trying!

THIS time I move to owl in little over a week, and I'm going to try to do it to the letter. I have huge sensitivity to food cravings. THAT is clear!

thanks for reading. Anyone else fumble EVERY TIME they try OWL? It's TOUGH.

[not2late]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

This was going to start out as a boo-hoo, poor me post, but I'm realizing that I'm LEARNING and getting better! Little tweaks DO help....changing forty years of habits will take TIME, and I am steadily getting better on this WOE...Wanna hear?

THis is my THIRD time back in induction since NOVEMBER. Two weeks is all I do, cuz I have little to lose, but I start into OWL and do it MY way, using low carb products that are NOT in the rungs and ignoring the food cravings they give me. When these cravings are in action, they RULE, not me. I have had to face some truths and am proud to say that I THREW OUT the packages, all untouched. I have learned here that I'm NOT a garbage disposal, so if that's where the product needs to go, then it goes THERE and not here.
Turkey with zero carbs (sugar listed...I'm LEARNING..don't read carb grams READ INGREDIENTS...I forgot!)
LOW CARB peanut butter (zero carbs my YOU-KNOW-WHAT..) major hunger cravings and addiciton...Low carb frozen yogurt (come on?! you mean TWO CUPS of whipped cream per day isn't allowed? even if you DO mix it with lo carb mixture?)

I have learned that Brie cheese isn't ok for me, but cheddar is. I've gotten FIVE cups of regular coffee per a.m down to three 1/2 decaf, 1/2 regular with less than 1 tablespoon whipped cream, no sweetener. Whipped cream is not a problem for me UNLESS it's whipped..then I'm whipped ..ha ha...

What else have I learned? That you have watch like a HAWK what your cravings and body are doing..they sneak up, take over, and control. I've learned that the more you try, the better you get.

I cook all my meats at home. Those bbq pork ribs at the local market are YUMMY (what's on them?) Roasted chicken from same store has WHEAT and sugar!?? I'm learning that salad greens cooked or raw don't do anything weird to me, nor do sugar free dressings! I've learned to throw in a cup of broccoli at the end of the day to get the veggie count where it needs to be.

For me, I HAVE to go back to induction to get the cravings OFF my back and to start fresh. .Each time I've moved into OWl, I've gained weight from losing diligence...But each time I go back into induction, I do it better, cleaner, and can take ONE MORE THING OFF my MUST HAVE list. This time, it's the low carb treats (ice cream, bars and chocolate).I'm still trying to cut back on coffee and have limited the gum to one per day (from like 20!!! Seriously).
But these are the first three days in over forty years where a sweet treat did not enter my day. First time. Forty years. Do you GET THAT???!!!! I'm the BOSS (hurrah!)

Every time, if I KEEP ON TRUCKIN', I get better at this. one more victory, one more realization, one more point for me and one less for the monkey on my back.

I'm not needing to lose a bunch of weight, but blood sugar swings RAN my life. I am healing, thanks to this board, this WOE and this POWER. I am in charge, not my cravings...this has NEVER happened to me.

So, maybe to some, "failing" at OWL and marching my sorry little butt back into Induction every three weeks MIGHT seem like a boo-hoo...to me, I just keep getting better at it. I will keep trying!

THIS time I move to owl in little over a week, and I'm going to try to do it to the letter. I have huge sensitivity to food cravings. THAT is clear!

thanks for reading. Anyone else fumble EVERY TIME they try OWL? It's TOUGH.

Take a big breath and let it out slowly.

Don't make OWL harder than it is.

Rung 1 is whatever you ate during Induction PLUS 5 net carbs of whatever Induction veggie you want to eat.

Rung 2 is what you ate during Rung 1 PLUS 5 net carbs of dairy.

Rung 3 is what you ate during Rung 2 PLUS 1 oz of nuts or seeds (exception is cashews are limited to 1/2 oz.)

And so forth.

Follow the rungs: Dr. Atkins included them for a reason----structure and organization. Don't make the mistake of adding in whatever you want in whatever amount you want as long as you don't go over x number net carbs daily. It might work with those folks who are superduper-disciplined, but if you aren't superduper disciplined, you may just fall flat on your face!

Make sure you do the Blood Sugar Symptom Test in the book to see how you react to a food. If you react to a food negatively, drop it immediately from your menu.

Lastly, enjoy your OWL.

[Elizellen]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

Good for you for making your progress/slip-ups into a learning process
Keep up the good work

[mission to lose]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

Great post FF1, Megs!

Hi Elizellen.


FF1,

It is great when you can step back and evaluate what is going on.

You made some great decisions/discoveries. Especially about the low carb "products" . And that dirty word---peanut butter---ok, two words, Can anyone really keep that around the house, low carb, no sugar, or not, it is like a DRUG!!!

I commend you on what you have come to realize!

~Mary

[Kntrylady]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

I'm realizing that I'm LEARNING and getting better! Little tweaks DO help....changing forty years of habits will take TIME, and I am steadily getting better on this WOE.

Good for you. Bad that you're still reaching for the frankenfoods, but good that you're figuring it out, and not falling off the tracks.

I'm NOT a garbage disposal, so if that's where the product needs to go, then it goes THERE and not here.

I love this.... good analogy.

LOW CARB peanut butter (zero carbs my YOU-KNOW-WHAT..) major hunger cravings and addiciton...Low carb frozen yogurt (come on?! you mean TWO CUPS of whipped cream per day isn't allowed? even if you DO mix it with lo carb mixture?)

I grind peanuts fresh in the health food section so I know there is no sugar. And isn't it weird the combination's that affect us? For me, MUP is wonderful, but whip cream cheese w/Splenda and vanilla alone, gives me cravings????

That you have watch like a HAWK what your cravings and body are doing..they sneak up, take over, and control. I've learned that the more you try, the better you get.

I agree with you here... I'm finding my CCL is close to 35 before I get major munchies. At first I was like 'what did I eat that I'm sensitive to?', until I realized I had simply reached my top. Now I'm introducing my '5' with the lower carb totals. And I too am such a Carb Addict. It takes alot of control to keep me from sliding into carb land.

But these are the first three days in over forty years where a sweet treat did not enter my day. First time. Forty years. Do you GET THAT???!!!! I'm the BOSS (hurrah!)

Let's see if you can make it the full 2 weeks and kick the sweet addiction for good. Wouldn't it feel good to control those addictions for good? It may sound silly, but I've kind of adopted a non-victim / stalker mentality. The sweets (junk foods/sugars/high carbs) are the stalkers, and I refuse to be the victim. Imagine a creepy ex-boyfriend you're avoiding, and how you would handle it. You can't even be polite about it.

Take a big breath and let it out slowly.
Don't make OWL harder than it is.

and I agree with Megs (of course I do ) about not making it more difficult than it is... but first you have to have a CLEAN induction, and if you are unlucky like me, I wasn't doing well with OWL not because I was sensitive to ALL foods I tried to add, I just have a low CCL .
If you haven't done so yet, while you're doing you CLEAN induction, may I suggest you go through the OWL stickies. At least for me, it cleared up so much in my approach to OWL, and made it so much easier (IE: I didn't know I could continue up the rungs at a 35 CCL, but I learned that I could subtract carbs from a lower rung, and add at a higher in order to figure out my sensitivities)

Best wishes on your continued journey...and stay determined.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

I call OWL the great food experiment where we are not only the scientist testing for cravings intolerances and weight loss isses but also the lab rat being subjected to the testing.

if you mess up you don't need to go back and do 14 more days of induction as 14 day induction is neither the punishment nor the cure for OWL mistakes. All we have to do is do a few days to get back tio ketosis if we are out of ketosis and then resume right were we were on the rungs.

Move as slowly as you need to. hang on that veggie rung till you have tried all 54 listed veggies if you want. If you never plan to consume a food on a rung like number 5 you can skip that one and go to the next. take good notes and know that one craving doesn't mean you got to punt the whole rung nor that the food you ate actually caused the craving. Not2late can tell you about moving slowly on the dairy rung to discover it was an addative in the cheese not the cheese itself that gave her issues but if she had punted cheese cause of one issue she might have never discovered it.

Remember to have a fat with your carbs and remember any new to you food needs to be only eatten 3 times the first week you eat it even if you are way past the rung it is on.

[ff11]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

THANKS YOU GUYS!
Where are these "OWL Stickies" that were recommended. Clearly. SOMETHING'S gotta change for me when I get there next.

[mission to lose]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

Go to the "Forums" on top of the page for ALL the stickies.

Here is the OWL:


Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) - Atkins Diet

[Suzanne_H]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

Good onya for learning from that which works and that which does NOT!

I pray I never stop learning! This morning I decided to try chorizo. Had always wanted to try it. Saw some in the store. Read the package, 3 carbs per serving with 3 carbs of fibre... has soy flour in it as a binder evidently. Oh I was in heaven at breakfast with my chorizo and scrambled eggs with some cheddar and a dollop of sour cream... so I'm munching and think oh I'll put this in FitDay...

Honey my breakfast added up to 1,163 calories. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Now carb-wise I was a-ok. Just goes to show I can resemble what I'm eating if I'm only counting carbs and carbs alone.

I about fell outta my chair. OOOOOOOOOPS! Dang well needless to say the REST of the day has been much more conservative! LOL

[ziggy]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

good work ff11

thats great your finding out what foods do to you it took me years on the rungs to find out what foods do to me but i started pretty disorganized

try adding only 1 new food in each week and if you feel good and no allergic reactions or weight gain or etc then that food is ok for you

one of the last foods i found out made me feel uncomfortable was fiber because i never expected something like eating to much fiber to cause trouble xD

[IrishIrish]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

Learning how our bodies crave and use food is one of the greatest lessons that I have learned in my years on Atkins. In all the low cal, low fat, high protein diets I followed over the years, I learned very little. Atkins OWL turned on a large spotlight that focused on my eating, my habits, my cravings.

If you have had a few lapses along the way, so be it. But more importantly, if you are learning how your body reacts to certain foods, that is what OWL is for and you have learned some life long lessons!

Good post.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

good work ff11

thats great your finding out what foods do to you it took me years on the rungs to find out what foods do to me but i started pretty disorganized

try adding only 1 new food in each week and if you feel good and no allergic reactions or weight gain or etc then that food is ok for you

one of the last foods i found out made me feel uncomfortable was fiber because i never expected something like eating to much fiber to cause trouble xD

some of the stuff labled as fiber is actually food for bacteria so even if you have the healthiest gut flora and no bad for you bacteria present if you eat something with food for them they have a party and one byproduct is gas

[stephinextremis]

Re: Successes in Failures..OWL is tricky!

THANK YOU for posting this, it is exactly what I needed to read today. OWL is such a steep learning curve sometimes, and I am dealing with it too! I am so thankful for the collective learning experience of the ADBB members to help people like us along the way

Stephanie