It's funny you mentioned the new book, b/c on another board we are doing a "challenge", and it's called "Atkins '72" (old book)

anyway just to clarify some stuff you mentioned, the ladder is the carbohydrate ladder, and it's just the order of foods that you add back into your diet, with berries or nuts first and whole grains last. This is when you move into OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss).

Dr. Atkins also talks about deducting fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbs to get your "net" or "usable" carbs. Fiber has been shown not to affect blood sugar and the same with sugar alcohols (malitol, and some others). Glycerin is also another item that can be deducted, I don't know if it's a sugar alcohol or not. Some folks don't deduct sugar alcohols or fiber, they use straight carbs, i.e. the old Atkins.