I don't feel qualified to state how long you can safely stay at 20 grams of carbs a day. You might want to ask that question on the offical Atkins website. I've seen other people post that they asked a question of the Atkins people and got a response, so I think there is a way on their website to post inquiries.

If you are interested in increasing your carbs and still losing, I can suggest a couple of things that have worked for me.

First, exercise is very important. Atkins states that people who do a lot of exercise can eat more carbs and still lose and I have found that to be true. If you're not exercising, you might want to start. If you are exercising, you might consider increasing the amount or intensity.

Second, I don't know how old you are (you don't list your birthday in your profile), but it has been my observation that middle-aged and older people need to be somewhat conscious of calories as well as carbs. I am 45 and I know that I stop losing if I eat too much. By cutting way down on snacking, and making sure that I stop eating at mealtime the second I am full, I am able to consume a few more carbs and still lose.


Third, it is possible that there are hidden carbs in the food you are eating and you are in fact eating more carbs than you think you are. It doesn't hurt to go back occasionally and read every label. I stalled out at one point and then started reading labels and realized that the salted Planters nuts I had been eating had cornstarch in them! I never dreamed that there would be something like cornstart in a jar of nuts. I switched to the unsalted which had no added ingredients.