thought about moving to OWL?

[tarynh86]

Today is day 14. I still have a lot of weight to lose but I can't decide if I should move to OWL or stay on Induction. I don't feel bored with the food, I haven't thought about cheating either (I even went to McDonald's and resisted the urge to eat the fries!*.


Any thoughts or advice?

[not2late]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

Today is day 14. I still have a lot of weight to lose but I can't decide if I should move to OWL or stay on Induction. I don't feel bored with the food, I haven't thought about cheating either (I even went to McDonald's and resisted the urge to eat the fries!*.


Any thoughts or advice?

Look up your degree of metabolic resistance in the book. That will help you plan your Atkins. Too often folks think they have a high metabolic resistance to weight loss because they "only" lost 10 pounds. So look up your degree of metabolic resistance.

Then read Chapters 12, 13, and 14. That will help you understand OWL. Again, we have folks who think if they move to OWL their weight loss will slow to 1 pound every 10 weeks. So they think they HAVE to stay on Induction until they are within 5-10 pounds of their goal. Or they hit that stall on extended Induction and freak out that Atkins isn't working anymore. Or they get bored and cheat on their Atkins extended Induction. So read those chapters and understand what OWL entails and what staying on Induction entails, which leads me to this......

Extended Induction means you are prolonging your Induction beyond the initial 14 Days. That means, you are following the Induction Rules and eating only those foods and amounts on the Induction Acceptable Foods list. So if you add strawberries or yogurt to your extended Induction, you are not doing "extended Induction". If you start eating more than 20 net carbs daily, you are not doing "extended Induction". There is an idea that extended Induction means you can eat whatever you feel like eating as long as you don't eat more than 30 net carbs per day. If you're going to do that---move to OWL.

In the northern hemisphere, we are moving towards spring and summer. Be aware that if you envision yourself eating fresh strawberries, melons, pears, apples, grapes, corn, etc. during the spring and summer, you will want to plan your move to OWL accordingly.

And finally, staying on Induction does not guarantee a faster rate of loss, or a continued rate of loss or a consistent rate of loss.

[PolarBearKing]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

It seems to me that most people don't follow the Induction rules very closely, not to mention Extended Induction. If you really want to do Atkins right you should move to OWL, but that's just my opinion.

If you want to try Extended Induction and see how you feel, go for it. But you don't really have that much to lose, so I'd suggest you move on to OWL.

My story ~ After my Induction I lost 14 Lbs. Then I tried Extended Induction and lost zero pounds after that week. With some prompting, I moved to OWL and have been averaging 3 Lbs a week.

Your milage may vary.

Good luck!

[tarynh86]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

I've read the book but I'm going to re read the sections that you've suggested. I don't want to stay on Induction forever. I don't feel bored with the food yet, I don't even really crave any sweet at all. Maybe I'll give it another week and then move on.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

>>I don't feel bored with the food yet,>>

OWL rung one is the same food! Just 5 more net carbs worth of Induction vegetables.

[tarynh86]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

Thanks for your kind words PolarBearKing! I feel like I have a lot to lose . I have lost about 13lbs so far (obviously it goes up and down throughout the day). The first 10lbs flew right off, these last 3lbs have come off slowly. I wish I could lose 3lbs or more a week that would be amazing! I have a trip to Cuba in October and I want to feel comfotable enough to go swimming and enjoy myself.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

>>I wish I could lose 3lbs or more a week that would be amazing!>>

Yes, it would!

It's better to lose weight slowly ... it improves your chances of keeping it off.

Women lose at the statistical rate of 1/2 to 1 pound per week.

[tarynh86]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

Even at 1lb a week that would still be a great weight loss over the next few months. I do already notice my clothes fitting better going to be time for new pants soon.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

>>Even at 1lb a week that would still be a great weight loss over the next few months.>>

Indeed!

[PolarBearKing]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

Bahahahahahaha... I thought 3 Lbs a week was slow.

We're all impatient and want to lose it all now so we can go back to our old ways. But we can't because we'll just end up overweight again.

Stay the coarse. Slow and steady is the way to change our lives for good.

[WetBanana]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

I questioned myself after my initial induction phase back in August. I realized though that the only way I was going to lose weight was by adding back in foods I knew I wanted to eat regularly, so I started moving up the rungs. I have WAY more weight to lose then you do - even now - and I'm on Rung 6 because it's what feels good for me. I've been on this rung since right before Christmas. I'm THINKING of moving up to the next for the fresh fruit coming into season for the spring/summer because I LOVE fruit.

Anyway - I've lost (haven't updated my ticket) 71 lbs so far...I don't think doing an extended induction would ahve done anything for me.

Besides...my base meal everday is an induction friendly menu. I just add on top of it my extra carbs. So really - I'm still eating from the induction menu, but now I add things to it like nuts and seeds, berries, and legumes. I don't ALWAYS eat from the rungs everyday, but I like the variety I KNOW I have.

And as a PP has mentioned...going to OWL rung 1 just involves an extra 5 carbs of your induction veggies...that's SUPER easy to get into, and your butt will probably thank you for introducing more fibre.

[SouLThinKing]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

PolarBearKing

Would you ever consider sharing your menu? I am just curious to see what other people are eating in a day. I love the recipes from Lindas and am struggling with time constraints right now. I just would like to see what others eat. So if anyone else sees this please jump right in also

Or even a link to your fitday.com

God Bless
Nichole

[PolarBearKing]

Re: thought about moving to OWL?

SoulThinKing, Of coarse I will. I'm gonna be busy today and tomorrow but should have some time this weekend. I'd give you a link to my fitday acct, but I haven't used it yet.

I think that exercise is over looked. I know a lot of people don't, but it is mandatory on Dr Atkins' plan. I think what works for one persons diet may not work for another simpy because of exercise.

Portion control is another. I know there are a few threads going on right now about "Atkins Glutony". There seems to be this misunderstanding that you can eat as much as you want. Although that is technically true, you are also suppose to push your plate away when you feel full or satisfied. I know I have cut my portions down considerable since I restarted. Just something else to think about.