Question about upping carbs
 

Hi....I have done atkins in the past (2 years ago) and had a couple pounds gone. I have a very high level of metabolic resistance (I had 7 months with no weight loss with weight lifting and cardio and very clean diet). So I started atkins 2 weeks ago (lost 11 lbs on induction). I don't think it will stay off...it never does. Anyway....I don't have a problem staying on it it just stops working. I have had some preliminary tests done and they came back fine. I have an appt. for an endocrinologist in February for more in depth workup. So my question is.....since I seem to have had luck these first two weeks...should I up my carbs with fruits and veggies and nuts a bit? When I did this 2 years ago, I stayed on induction for months with no loss after induction. Some say it's because I needed to up it...others say I should stay lower than 20.....anyone have any suggestions?? Thanks in advance.....

Kristen

one step at a time... I stayed on induction for 4 weeks and then slowly, like every 2 weeks or so added 5 grams of carbs.. maybe you can do it that way

If you do a clean Induction for a very long time, then it's easy to get bored with the limited food choices. If you don't, then you're probably limiting the healthy carbs. Regardless, the thing that helped me make my choice to move on at the end of a two months long clean Induction was the fact that at 20 carbs, there was hardly any wiggle room for reducing those carbs if I stalled.

Technically, the Atkins books says losing 11 lbs on induction for 2 weeks indicates that you are not too badly metabolically resistant. But then again, your past experience said differently.

Personally, I'd stay on induction and see if you continue to lose. If you are still losing, great, you can decide whether to continue onto OWL as directed in the book or stick with induction for a while.

If you stay on induction another 2 weeks and you don't lose anymore, then start to look at other options, like upping carbs. But, I'd try staying on induction first to see. Everybody is different and sometimes even the same body reacts differently at different times, maybe you will continue to lose this time.

Val

Thanks for all of your input. It isn't too bad this time. I'm hoping whatever was the problem has left me alone!! So I think I'll try to stay around 20 but I'm going to have fruit and nuts now. Sound okay?? By the way....I asked you all because you are all so inspirational and you clearly have more answers than I do about what really works.

Thanks again!!

Kristen

The issue with nuts is that they have a lot of calories, so if you are going to add them, keep a careful eye on quantities and if you stop losing think about either cutting out the nuts or cutting calories someplace else.

In general, though, I think adding some fruit (berries are best because they are low in carbs and low on the glycemic index) and nuts for variety is much better than branching out into all the lowcarb "fake" foods. Try to stay with whole foods in as close to their natural state as possible -- salads, veggies, meat, chicken, eggs, fish, some cheese, a little nuts, berries, etc. Many people find that when they start adding bars, shakes, lowcarb ice cream, etc., their weight loss stops.

You think maybe it'd make more sense to add starchier vegetables that add texture (i.e. green beans) before you up the carbs with fake ice cream?

Low carb ice cream is great, I'm not knocking it, but it's high in sugar alcohols, and maybe that isn't such a great idea for someone who has struggled each time they went off Induction (and that includes me too).

I don't think I mentioned icecream in my post? I'm not sure what you mean? I don't even like regular icecream. Maybe that wasn't meant for me. Anyway...yes I will watch the nuts and strawberries and blueberries are for me. As for calories...I work out a lot. I lift very heavy weights. I'm pretty sure I'm okay there. Thanks for the input...I'll keep you posted.

Kristen