I have never left the induction phase of Atkins. I am now at a comfortable weight and would like to stay there. Should I move to the OWL phase, and then premaintance, and then maintainance...Or just jump right to maintainance. I was having about 15-20 net carbs a day. I am reading the Atkins book now (I just bought it) and am seeing that the added carbs should be coming mostly from fruits and veggies. Thats about all Im getting from the book...Can anyone help me out, give me suggestions? My mom and me had a lil heart to heart so now Im going to try and add back what she calls *normal* food. She said enough is enough over the Labor Day weekend when she was making the family burgers and added A1 Steak Sauce to the ground beef and I refused to eat them cuz of the sauce...So maybe I have a lil bit of a control issue My biggest problem...other than trying not to cry as I eat a higher carb food is knowing what foods ARE higher in carbs! Ive been eating LC for such awhile that I dont even know where to begin! My cal. intake needs to stay around 1400...Thanks in advance!!

As you raise carbs you will lower the fat level, keeping your calories at about the same level.

Follow the carb ladder, and add back in carbs slowly. You can't enter maintanance really well without knowing how many carbs you can tolerate. Add back in veggies, and choose low glycemic fruits to start. You can also try adding back in cottage cheese, nuts and nut butters, and so on. Remember at meals where you have carbs, have a small amount of protien to control insulin spikes. If you have half of an apple, have a piece of string cheese with it, or dip it in peanut butter.

You can eat higher carb foods without eating high carb foods. Choose whole grains and avoid white flour and sugar. Choose low GI and low carb fruits, and remember to watch portion control. Read through the OWL chapter of the book again. Atkins for life can probably help too as he has tables set up listing what you can eat frequently, in moderation, and what should be only eaten as a special treat. If you can't afford to get one, get it from your library. If they don't have it they can do an interlibrary loan and get it for you.

There is no need to stay in induction. You will miss out on many nutrients and antioxidents some carby foods offer such as berries. Varying your foods also lets you experiment with more recipes and helps keep this WOl interesting so you won't be as tempted to cheat and throw it all out the window.

thank you so much. i am going to do 30 carbs a day for awhile until im comfy with it...then maybe ill move to 35...and so on. fitday is really helping with the balancing thing. thanks for the advice about the protein with the carbs too. i got the wrong book i guess, i got Atkins For Life. ill run to barnes and noble tomorrow and get the other 1.

Hiya El Corazon,

Whether or not you jump straight to maintenance depends very much on your present weight.

I wonder why you are keeping that a secret? If your weight is presently within the normal range for your height, then I would strongly suggest you go straight to maintenance. The fact that your mother is urging you to eat "normal food," makes me assume that perhaps your weight is normal or perhaps a little under. Could your mum be worried that you are at risk of an eating disorder?

All the best.

Rosebud

my weight is a bit low for my height. i took my stats off because of the comments i was getting, and one certain person not being too nice about it. i am technically underweight for my height. not by much, and it's in my family to be *tall and limby*, which i am, so im not too worried about the underweight thing. its very scary for me to go above 25 reg. carbs a day. i am going to eat 30 for a week or longer if i need to. today im going to have 1/2 an apple with some peanutbutter. its very hard for me to do stuff like this. i didnt cheat the entire time i was losing, even the stuff that is *okay* by atkins in moderation. im looking at the food lists in the atkins for life book and picking and chosing off the veggy and fruit list because thats what im supposed to add first...right? thanks for all the help you guys.

I think you should move to OWL and increase not only your carbs but your calories - 1400 calories is what you are eating to LOSE weight, and if you're heading to Maintenance that means you're done losing. I know roughly your weight - I remember helping you a few weeks ago and I remember seeing that you'd lost a few more pounds from that time. This means at your present calories you're still losing and that you should start to increase until you find your Maintenance level. This number will probably be around 2000 calories, based on the 4 lbs I *think* you've lost in the past 2 weeks since you asked for help about eating more.

HTH
-Nat

hey nat! i was hoping youd reply youre really smart about this stuff. i read through the premaintenance and maintenance parts of the atkins book, and i bought the atkins for life book and am about 1/2 way through that now. none of the stuff in there is as helpful as the things youve told me. i did lose another 4lbs or so. i dont remember what my stats said. im actually down to 114.5 now. i just got results back from blood work (the 3rd time around). my thyroid is overactive (and my levels are low). i go so an endocrine whatever in a week. im going to post over in the health section for some info on that, as well as search on yahoo. thank you so much for all your help.

El, I remembered you at 120, then at 116. I'd definitely say you've got something going on if you're actively increasing your calories and you're still losing. I saw your post over in the Health section and I saw Do's reply - good luck with the tests and I hope it all turns out OK.

-Nat

Thanks Nat! I got on the scale this morning with my eyes closed...I was down another 1/2 lb. Maybe just water weight? Ive been consistently weighing 114-114.5 for the past 2 weeks. This morning it said 113. I dunno what to do

I'd make a pit stop at the fridge, for some extra chow, on my way to the Doctor's.

Seriously, get looked at and take care.

-Nat

haha yea seems that way! i am having a hard time eating more carbs, and eating more calories at the same time. im so stuffed all the time!!