Dr. Atkins said that if you do not have a lot to lose or are beginning to get bored by your food choices then it is time to move on to OWL.

No matter what you do, your weight loss will slow down. Don't expect the big losses of induction. What you should expect is that weight loss is not linear and comes in fits and spurts.

With that said, follow the carb ladder slowly. Give your body time to adjust to each new food addition.

The OWL Carbohydrate Ladder

Detailed Version



1. Vegetables
More salad and other vegetables on the Induction acceptable foods list

2.Dairy
Fresh cheeses:
½ cup Cottage cheese
5 oz Farmers cheese
½ cup Ricotta cheese
5 oz Pot cheese

Keep portions small for:
Hard aged cheese
½ cup Cream, heavy and light
Half and half
Sour cream
Yogurt


3. Seeds and Nuts

1 oz serving
Macadamias
Almonds
Peanuts/Natural Peanut Butter
Coconut
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Walnuts
Pistachios


4.Berries
Eat frequently from:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries

Eat moderately from higher AGR melons:
Honeydew
Cantaloupe


5.Wine and other spirits low in carbs
Spirits
White Wine
Red Wine
Low-carbohydrate Beer


6.Legumes
Lentils
Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Black Beans
Hummus
Chickpeas
Tofu
Soybeans
Soy milk, unsweetened


7.Fruits other than Berries and Melons
Plums
Kiwis
Peaches
Apples
Grapefruit
Tangerines


8.Starchy Vegetables
Keep all portions small
Carrots
Green Peas
Acorn squash
Butternut squash

Eat rarely
Corn
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes


9.Whole Grains

Eat rarely
Keep all portions small and focus on whole, unprocessed grains:
Old fashioned Oatmeal
Oat Bran
Wheat Bran
Low carb (soy) bread and muffins
All-bran
Barley, cooked




CARBOHYDRATE LADDER

Simple Version


1. More salad and other vegetables on the acceptable foods list
2. Fresh cheeses (as well as more aged cheese)
3. Seeds and nuts
4. Berries
5. Wine and other spirits low in carbs
6. Legumes
7. Fruits other than berries and melons
8. Starchy vegetables
9. Whole grains





Stay below your CCL and you will experience ongoing weight loss. Go above your CCL and your weight loss stalls. (This will entail you of keeping track of your daily carbohydrate intake).



To determine your CCL:



Each week, you will incrementally increase the quantity of carbohydrate you eat beyond the salad and one cup serving of vegetables allowed during induction. These increments should be measured in five grams of daily carbohydrate.



During the first week of OWL, increase your daily carb intake from 20 grams a day on induction to 25 grams a day, going up ONE level. It is recommended to start at the first level which is non-starchy vegetables. As long as your weight loss continues steadily, you can go up another level—to 30 grams daily—the following week.



Note that few people will be able to add back all of these food groups in OWL. Those items on the second half of the list tend to rank higher on the glycemic index and are more commonly introduced in Pre-maintenance. Following the order of the carbohydrate ladder tends to minimize blood sugar surges that could activate cravings.



The lower your metabolic resistance to weight loss and the greater your physical activity, the higher your CCL will be.



RULES OF OWL:

• Protein and fat remain the mainstays of your nutritional regimen
• Increase your daily carbohydrate intake by no more than 5 grams each week
• Add new foods in order listed on the carbohydrate ladder
• Add one new group at a time
• Eat a food group no more than THREE times per week to start. Then you may eat it daily.
• If new foods provoke weight gain, or return of physical symptoms of such as cravings or increased appetite, stop that food immediately.
• Continue doing OWL until you have 5-10 pounds left to lose

Remember that if you follow Atkins, you don't add all of these in at once. You have to test each of them out per week and see if they affect your weight loss. (Not all carbs are equal. Some stall on nuts or dairy).


Atkins is all about finding what's right for your body, and that's really good information to have in the long run.



My personal advice...

…is add in a new food every TWO weeks. I know this seems a bit slow for most people but I found this is really the best way to pin point foods that will induce cravings. This is how I found out that I don't tolerate strawberries---they turn me into a crave monsters. Black/rasp/blueberries I eat every day without problem.

HTH

Progress not perfection.

Lisa

Bumping..

Thanks so much Lisa for posting this!

So I had come to the conclusion that I only loose weight following VLC...once I start adding carbs my cravings come back, the scale doesn't budge, and next thing you know I'm off plan entirely. Yet I physically don't feel too great on VLC after a few weeks.

Vitamin supplementation HAS helped..along with exercise..however after lurking on some very interesting and informative threads & reading some very wise posts from our LC veterans..I've realized (begrudgingly) that over the last couple years of doing LC on and off I've never properly followed the carb ladder as written in the Atkins book. How can I say that it doesn't work for me..if I've never tried it?!

I guess (no, I KNOW) it was my lack of my patience but I'm finally realizing now how important it is to do so. Maybe VLC isn't the only way I can eat & loose weight. Maybe ..ok definitely..the problem was my eating VLC and then at random times upping my carbs with MY choice of carbs & in too large of increments vs. following the ladder of foods & only adding 5carbs at a time.

And maybe I'll come to the same conclusion that VLC is what I need to do to loose weight..But unless I give the carb ladder a REAL shot--I won't know. So thanks again for this post & your may other similar posts..I needed to read this to get refocused and once and for all climb the carb ladder by the book...

So now I need to get focused..prepare to restart induction (for 2 weeks only) and then climb that carb ladder..one rung at a time!

Thanks Lisa and Gwen for your comments and information. I love this site for all it's information and the experienced Atkins people here!

I am approaching my first rung of OWL and have some questions. The first rung is "1. Vegetables. More salad and other vegetables on the acceptable foods list."

So am I correct in interpreting that as meaning that I am to just add 5 more net carbs' worth of salad and vegetables that are on the induction list? So instead of eating 15 I eat 20 carbs' worth of salad and vegetables, and am still restricted to 5 carbs worth of other items?

Yes - add 5 net carbs more veggies to however many you were eating on induction. :agree:

I was considering staying on induction for one more week, but frankly, there isn't much difference so I will commence OWL. I am a lifetime WeightWatcher, and I only did maintenance once (to get to lifetime status) and didn't do it right when I did do it. I am certain that the key to keeping weight off is learning how to eat right, so this time, I am going to commit myself to DOING IT RIGHT!!!

Alright, I'm a little confused.

I do my two weeks of induction, and I get to add 5gr of carbs/day. I add 5 more carbs of veggies first? I've never loved most of the acceptable veggies in the list, and anticipate getting to 15g of carbs is not going to be so easy. Can't I just start adding the 5g from the soft cheeses category?

Now- I add 5g of carbs each week, how long do I stay on each rung? I'm figuring on doing 2 weeks on the nuts, 3 weeks on the berries, and 2 weeks on the yogurt and soft cheeses (my New Atkins for new you has fresh cheeses with yogurt as rung 5- cream and hard cheeses are rung 2, but allowed in moderate amounts on induction...), then 2 weeks on adding the lemon/lime juice.

I couldn't care less if I never eat another legume, or if I never drink tomato juice, and really am not that concerned about adding in other fruits or grains. I will anxiously wait when I can add carrots back as I love them.

Other fruits, starchy veg and grains are all part of pre-maintenance in my book (New Atkins). This where I get confused.

If I go through the rungs and get to the point where I'd be adding in other fruit, but I'm still not 10lbs from goal, do I just stay at the rung I'm at, but continually add in the 5g of carbs/week?

Alright, I'm a little confused.

I do my two weeks of induction, and I get to add 5gr of carbs/day. I add 5 more carbs of veggies first? I've never loved most of the acceptable veggies in the list, and anticipate getting to 15g of carbs is not going to be so easy. Can't I just start adding the 5g from the soft cheeses category?
Dr. A wrote the carb ladder for a reason. Green leafy vegetables have less of a risk of causing stalls or cravings than something like soft cheeses.

Now- I add 5g of carbs each week, how long do I stay on each rung? I'm figuring on doing 2 weeks on the nuts, 3 weeks on the berries, and 2 weeks on the yogurt and soft cheeses (my New Atkins for new you has fresh cheeses with yogurt as rung 5- cream and hard cheeses are rung 2, but allowed in moderate amounts on induction...), then 2 weeks on adding the lemon/lime juice.

Quote:

RULES OF OWL: Protein and fat remain the mainstays of your nutritional regimen Increase your daily carbohydrate intake to no more than 5 grams each week Add new foods in order listed in the carbohydrate ladder Add one new group at a time Eat a food group no more than THREE times per week to start. Then you may eat it daily. If new foods provoke weight gain, or return of physical symptoms of such as cravings or increased appetite, stop that food immediately. Continue doing OWL until you have 5-10 pounds left to lose Remember that if you follow Atkins, you don't add all of these in at once. You have to test each of them out per week and see if they affect your weight loss. (Not all carbs are equal. Some stall on nuts or dairy). Atkins is all about finding what's right for your body, and that's really good information to have in the long run. My personal advice... …is add in a new food every TWO weeks. I know this seems a bit slow for most people but I found this is really the best way to pin point foods that will induce cravings. This is how I found out that I don't tolerate strawberries---they turn me into a crave monsters. Black/rasp/blueberries I eat every day without problem.

I couldn't care less if I never eat another legume, or if I never drink tomato juice, and really am not that concerned about adding in other fruits or grains. I will anxiously wait when I can add carrots back as I love them.
If you don't like items there is no place that says that you HAVE to add them. I couldn't care less for a legume either. They're just not on my radar. It's all about making and discovering food choices that work for YOU.

Other fruits, starchy veg and grains are all part of pre-maintenance in my book (New Atkins). This where I get confused.

If I go through the rungs and get to the point where I'd be adding in other fruit, but I'm still not 10lbs from goal, do I just stay at the rung I'm at, but continually add in the 5g of carbs/week?

It depends on if you're still losing or not. If you've determined your CCL and CCM than you know that you shouldn't exceed your CCL or you'll stop losing. You keep adding 5 grams until you stop losing (but you're not gaining)--that's your CCM. Then you back off to to where you were when you were losing. That's your CCL. If you can add all the rungs and keep losing, good for you. Many of us cannot incorporate the higher rungs and still lose. I use DANDR which has 9 rungs, NANY has 10 rungs. I like the DANDR ladder--because of DANDR rung 5 (no DANDR rung 5 in NANY;) )

HTH

Progress not perfection.

Lisa

Okay- tolerance of certain foods and CCM/CCL are two separate things. If (hypothetically) my CCM/ACE was only 40 carbs, that potentially would mean that I either a) never eat food from the rungs above 3, or b) progress through the rungs but maintain my carb count at 30-35 and proceed through the rungs- correct?

Here's why I ask: the limited diet I find really difficult, even for the short term. I really really miss my nuts, berries, and yogurt. But I do want to lose at least 40lbs over the next 4 months. I appreciate the point is going through the rungs to determine trigger foods. Could I not for example: after my 2 weeks of induction, add 5g of almonds for the nut rung/week, and 5g of raspberries for the next rung/week, then yogurt (I make a low carb/high protein/high carb yogurt) for the next week, and then simply keep that carb amount and carefully add individual items from the three 'rungs' that I have added? (provided of course that each time I added the food I don't start stalling or getting intense cravings.)

If I could eat induction veggies, my yogurt, almonds and raspberries for carbs, I could easily manage the 'diet' for months. That of course does not make for a good transition to maintenance, nor does it make it for a lifestyle. But- if I could just have those three things, I could easily and patiently work my way through all the other foods in the rungs and in order...

Were I to try that have I crossed the line of making the diet work for me and into making my own diet?

Hi,
I know that I just may get slammed for giving you my opinion as its based on my SBD experience, but here goes!! ;)
If adding in those 3 things will help you stick to your plan and won't pull you off it, I say that its a good strategy for YOU! We each need to figure ways to make the journey as real for us as possible.
FYI- We get yogurt( 2 cups dairy daily) and 1 oz of nuts daily starting in the SBD phase I. The only things that we wait to phase II are fruits and starches.
As long as you still push further into the OWL phase and keep testing new foods and building up your level of the good and right carbs....I say you are doing it right for you!! :agree: :cool:

I waited to see if you'd get any responses since last night and nobody has answered you....so thats why I'm posting my opinion. :)

Aww- thanks Judy! I figured the Atkins people were sleeping or have better things to do on the weekend... For once in my life I'm actually trying to lose weight instead of just being healthy and its making me crazy...

Rungs
 

I think the point of the rungs is that you shouldn't add back some foods too early in your journey. Once you have been on the journey long enough to add back something and it isn't something that interests you then go onto the next rung! The idea is now that food is added to the acceptable list...add it or don't, it is now an option. The rungs just are a way of expanding the acceptable foods list in a slow methodical way.

^^^^^^That.
I might add it's to keep those individuals from skipping from rung 1 to rung 9 with no other rungs in between.

Judy--don't worry, I've got your back:wave:
I do have to agree to a point with Judy's post. If adding in those 3 items keeps you on the straight and narrow, then so be it. What I would say to that is....the entire point of the carb ladder--both DANDR and NANY is that the MAJORITY of your carbs come from the veg rung. MAJORITY. With the rest of your carb allotment taken up with the further rungs. If it's yougurt, berries and nuts, then make sure that you're adding in 1 item at a time a few times a week to gauge your reaction before adding in the next new item. Also, I would start off with a very small portion of berries when you add them in. Dr. Atkins wrote in DANDR that fruit has the highest propensity to stall weight loss and induce cravings.



Sure it does for some individuals. There are some who may not be able to climb to the higher rungs of the ladder either due to weight gain or intolerance. Just because they are there doesn't mean that you HAVE to eat from all the rungs. You stop at the rungs/foods that either stall weight loss or are problematic for you. PERIOD. Dr. Atkins said that you should eat from the upper rungs sparingly--particularly rung #9--wheat and grains.

One of the reasons I don't stray to far from the path...I HATE INDUCTION. Everything about it. I like the variety--of different veg, nuts, dairy, and berries. I hardly ever eat from rung 9. I rarely if ever eat from rungs 6/legumes, 7/Other fruits--sometimes I'll eat 1/4 apple or 1/2 grapefruit, 8/starchy veg--I'll occassionally eat a 1/4 roasted parsnip and 1/2 roasted red potato, and as stated above--hardly ever from rung 9/maybe a WASA. I'm never getting rid of rung 5:lol: So I both lost and am maintaining on the first 5 rungs. While losing, strict with dairy, berries, nuts, and alcohol to about 30-40 carbs per day--my CCL. Now in maintenace I average about 40-50 carbs per day--about 1800 calories average.


Ummmm....no. Not really. What that means is that you don't eat ALL the rungs daily. One day you may decide to have a glass of wine instead of a dairy dessert, or you may want to have yougurt with nuts and a piece of chocolate so that day you don't drink any alcohol, or you may want roasted potato and parsnips with roasted brussel sprouts with dinner, so you don't eat any nuts that day. You get the idea....You don't eat all the rungs everyday. It's about balance.


Nope, just working--a girl has to make a living!



I find that many people really want to make this harder than it really is. It's not rocket science. You just need to practice patience.

JMO. HTH.

Progress not perfection.

Lisa

Rung 5 means little to me- I have at most two drinks a month, so little loss to me. I'm not sure if you misunderstood me- I'm not looking to add all kinds of nuts, all kinds of berries, or other soft cheeses/dairy. Just specifically, the raspberies, almonds, and yogurt. It is the lack of variety (and of things that are actually healthy) that is just killing me. And to think I'll have to wait 5 weeks before nuts? 7 weeks before berries? I have serious doubts I can last that long. Give me raspberries, yogurt, and almonds, and I can ignore every other food in every other wrung besides the veggie wrung- happily.

Right- but if I stayed at the rung I found my CCM on, then I wouldn't be able to ever eat parsnips or potato as they're from a higher rung. I understand that you don't eat all the rungs in a day- but if you find your CCM before the higher rungs, you can't determine if those foods are ones that cause cravings, weightloss stalls, unreasonable bloat etc.. So wouldn't you still try to go through at least some of the rungs above where you found your CCM so that you could know that on a day you don't get carbs from nuts that you could have a half an apple? Or, in your case, if a person did have a CCM of 35, which is much below rung 5, should they then never have a drink?

I'm really not trying to be antagonistic, I'm just trying to find the synergy of working the ladder and finding your CCM/CCL.

Patience and Math required? Sigh... lacking in both, the requirement also makes me crazy ;)

Lisa, what does "AGR" stand for?

Thanks!

*

Where do you see it?

From your OP:



Thanks!

:)

For a minute there I was going to say I'm losing my mind and don't have a clue--lucky I went to my trusty Atkins For Life...copywrite 2003

AGR=Atkins Glycemic Ranking
-a three tiered system which compares carbohydrate foods in terms of their impact on blood sugar. The AGR of food gives you a quick way to identify how often you should select/eat a food based on 3 categories:
-Low AGR--eat regularly
-Medium AGR--eat in moderation
-High AGR--eat sparingly

There are about 6 pages that discusses AGR and gives tables and examples. Some of the things I don't agree with--particularly when the whole grain rung is being discussed, but that's just me. Much of it is just common sense. This was probably added during the time when the glycemic index and glycemic load was the talk of the moment. Most likely added this in to make Atkins more"acceptable" to the mainstream. JMO.

I couldn't even find a reference for AGR in NANY.

Thanks, Lisa.

I'm guessing this is why watermelon, which has only 1 more carb per 1/2 cup serving than cantaloupe, is not included in the list. (It lists at 103 on the glycemic index.) Although absorption of its sugars would be slowed if fat and protein were included in the meal.

*

Requin, let me see if I can help.

In regards to finding your ccm/l... Just because your limit may be 40g, doesn't mean you can't eat from higher rungs. You might just eat meat one day and then try some brown rice. You'd still be under your 40 limit. And just because your ccm is 40, doesn't mean you'll never eat above that level. You may have 100 one day in maintenance and 30 the next.

Just because something is a lower rung, doesn't mean it's "free" or fail safe. For example, I can't eat melon. It gives me WICKED cravings. I can eat brown rice with zero problems. It'll kick me above my ccm, but it doesn't cause me a bump in weight, water retention, or cravings. Same with carrots or peas. You should (and in my opinion, need) to work all rungs and trial all foods you anticipate eating.

At the end of the day, you CAN go a few weeks without certain foods. Low carb is a lifetime change, so a month is a drop in the bucket. The plan is written the way it is for a reason. If you decide to do it another way, that's fine. You just may not know if it's a trial food or the nuts or the berries that is causing you a problem. Sometimes it's not the foods themselves but the way they are combined that is the issue (think fatty, salty) that drives you to overeat without even realizing it.

My personal feeling is save the experimenting until later when you have a firm grasp on what works foodwise. You might slow your losses during OWL, but it's the foundation for a successful maintenance, so I think it's the most critical phase. It took me at least 6 or 7 months to go through it, and I'm glad I did. No guessing on what I can and can't have. No guessing on what'll turn me into a craving monster. No lack of variety in my maintenance.

You could let your impatience win and add them all at once but this would mean if any of them affect your body adversely or you are exceeding your CCLL by adding 15 net carbs in one fell swoop you will then have to take a couple of steps back and eliminate two to see if the first is the culprit then swap out one of the others, which will take just as long as climbing the OWL rungs in the 'normal' way!

I would suggest starting with adding one of those 3 specific foods the first week after induction.

I would do this in the order Dr Atkins suggested with the ones less likely to upset your progress first.

So the first week try adding 5 net carbs of yogurt (the Fage fullfat one has about 5 carbs per cup/200gram) every other day, with 5 net carbs of induction veggies the days you don't have yogurt.

If all is well and you get no blood sugar symptoms and lose weight/inches then the next week have the yogurt each day.

Then add almonds, again every other day initially, (remembering that Dr Atkins told us to add most nuts in 1 ounce additions, not the whole 5 net carbs, and cashews in 1/2 ounce amounts) and see if they cause no problems.

Then move to adding 5 net grams of raspberries and see how you do with blood sugar symptoms and weight/inches loss.

Once you have found your CCLL/CCLM then swap out 5 net carbs of one of the additions with the higher rung food you want to try, initially every other day, then every day for a week.
This way you will be gradually discovering a 'pallette' of higher rung foods you know do not badly affect you that can be included from time to time in your menus

I'm so confused. I think I started OWL all wrong then.
My Atkins book (the NEW one, maybe that is why) says that the first rung is adding NUTS to your diet (and the 2nd rung being berries and melon). But you are saying the first rung is simply more vegetables, the 2nd is more cheese, the 3rd is nuts and the 4th is berries? :help:

Do I have to start all over? I have detected a huge stall in my weightloss since starting OWL (even though I have remained below 25 carbs a day), but I don't want to have to go back to induction.

I have only added one serving of almonds, or 1 tablespoon PB to my intake every day. I haven't had a single berry yet.

These rungs were form DANDR (Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution), the book prior to NANY. I don't have NANY, so I'm not sure of the order of the rungs (if it has changed).

Yeah I only have NANY, so I'm going to buy the one you mentioned. I don't know why they are having people go straight to nuts and berries. That is probably why I have stalled.

This is the new version of the Carb Ladder:

Phase 1, Induction:

Rung 1: Foundation vegetables: leafy greens and other low-carb vegetables

Rung 2: Dairy foods high in fat and low in carbs: cream, sour cream, and most hard cheeses

Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss:

Rung 3: Nuts and seeds (but not chestnuts)

Rung 4: Berries, cherries, and melon (but not watermelon)

Rung 5: Whole milk yogurt and fresh cheeses, such as cottage cheese and ricotta

Rung 6: Legumes, including chickpeas, lentils, and the like

Rung 7: Tomato and vegetable juice “cocktail” (plus more lemon and lime juice)

http://www.atkins.com/Program/Progr...CarbLadder.aspx

Ummm...not in my NANY.

P.120

This is the carb ladder:

Rung 1: Foundation vegetables
Rung 2: Dairy foods high in fat and low in carb
Rung 3: Nuts & seeds
Rung 4: Berries, cherries, and melon (not watermelon)
Rung 5: Whole milk yogurt and fresh cheeses
Rung 6: Legumes
Rung 7: Tomato and vegetable juice cocktail, more lemon & lime juice
Rung 8: Other fruits (but not fruit juices or dried fruit)
Rung 9: Higher carb vegetables
Rung 10: Whole grains

Although rungs 1 & 2 are part of induction, when moving into OWL you START at rung 1. Not at rung 3;)

Progress not perfection.

Lisa


FYI--if you didn't know, peanut butter is made from peanuts which is a legume, not a nut.

Okay, I think that is where I was confused. The book says that if you get bored with Induction, but don't want to leave it, you can add one serving of nuts to your daily carb intake. I think this made me think that it was implied that you start with nuts when you start OWL. On p. 119, it says under "How to do OWL" that "our recommendation is that you add nuts and seeds first, then berries and a few other fruits..." It also says on p. 121 that "Most people start by reintroducing nuts and seeds and butter made from them."
So you can see how easy it was for me to be confused.




You are right, I forgot about that. I will keep that in mind.

I am going to start over completely, though I will do only one week of Induction, just to get myself into Ketosis again, and then I will do OWL properly.

By the way the carb ladder I posted previously was from the official Atkins website, not the NANY book.

Are cherries really allowed with the berries and most melons?? According to fitday one cup of raw sweet cherries has 16 net carbs!!

Per NANY not DANDR. Go figure that one:rolleyes:

Thanks for your post. Very informative.

"Right- but if I stayed at the rung I found my CCM on, then I wouldn't be able to ever eat parsnips or potato as they're from a higher rung. I understand that you don't eat all the rungs in a day- but if you find your CCM before the higher rungs, you can't determine if those foods are ones that cause cravings, weightloss stalls, unreasonable bloat etc.. So wouldn't you still try to go through at least some of the rungs above where you found your CCM so that you could know that on a day you don't get carbs from nuts that you could have a half an apple? Or, in your case, if a person did have a CCM of 35, which is much below rung 5, should they then never have a drink?"


You can go onto all the rungs eventually. The idea is to add the new foods slowly. As you progress on this journey, you will be able to add back more and more varieties of foods while staying within your CCL. Your list of acceptable foods just expands.