Hey everyone. I'll get around to posting more about me, and maybe open a journal, when I have a bit more time. I am a 22 year old college student and have been low carbing since Tuesday. So far I've lost about 6 lbs. (Started at 245). I'm excited, and reading this site has only increased that excitement.

This may sound like a silly question, but here it goes: During induction you are supposed to have less than 20g of carbs. 1 piece of wheat bread is only 9g so is it okay to have 1 every few days.

I read Dr. Atkins book and remember him saying that this is a qualitative diet, you have your foods you can have or you cant have. This obviously suggests that even a piece of bread that contains 2g of carbs would be off limits.

I look forward to hearing your insight on which is okay and if you could explain why (thats what is confusing me!) I would appreciate it! Thanks!

Hi Steve,

I strongly suggest that you get yourself a copy of Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution and read it thoroughly. You'll see that he is very specific about what you can and can't eat during Induction.

Bread of all kinds is out until you are well into OWL. The idea of Induction is to get most of those 20g from vegies. Many of us with serious carb addiction would find that 1 slice of bread would lead to another, and another...

You've started well - keep up the good work. Incidentally, the successful members among us are those who have followed the plan as written at least for the first few months. Some do various tweaks after that, but for that first few months at least it's best to follow the plan as written.

Cheers.

Rosebud

Hi Steve

No, it is never acceptable to have breads made of refined flours in any stage of atkins, except occasionally in maintenance. The reason this is so, is because not all carbohydrate sources are equal to your body. Some carbohydrate food is so dense with sugars and starches, that it much more closely resembles pure glucose than others. For example, your body would break down 9 grams of that piece of bread much quicker than it would 9 grams of carbs from nuts or berries.
The quicker a carbohydrate is broken down, the quicker it enters your bloodstream as fuel. High blood sugar is unnatural state for your body to be in. So, your body then normalizes its fuel reserves by triggering an excessive release of insulin. The insulin rushes the glucose off to your bodies cells, and whatever cannot be used during this process (and chances are, its most of that bread you just ate) is rushed off to storage: your fat cells. How detrimental a carbohydrate source is to your blood sugar (and how greatly it effects insulin production) is quantified by a system called the Glycemic Index (or Glycemic Load, which multiplies a carbs GI by its weight in grams).

Insulin is the mother hormone when it comes to controlling your bodies fuel levels, fat stores, and hunger cravings. Insulin either directly or indirectly controls these processes. Understanding the link between insulin, overweight, and weightloss is crucial to understanding why atkins works so beautifully. Keeping insulin levels low and stable not only prevents your body from storing additional fat, but also encourages your body to use the existing stored fat as fuel. Whereas, when insulin is high, your body fights to hold on to fat stores (making you feel miserable in the process).

Until now, it has been believed normalizing weight is linked with deprivation and misery. When the insulin link is examined, brought into the equation, and eating habits are tailored appropriately, we can see this isn't so. These reasons are why atkins is not only so effective, but also enjoyable and fairly easy to maintain. It is grounded in scientific reality. It notes the details regarding what works, and ignores nutritional dogma. A calorie is not a calorie, macronutrient sources are different for a reason. Fat does not make you fat, excessive insulin triggered by high refined carbohydrate dietary intake makes you fat.

Great post, ItsTheWooo!

Steve, it sounds like you've gotten off on the right foot. Keep with the foods listed in the DANDR (Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution) Induction list for the next 10 days, at a bare minimum. That will give you a firm foundation for your new way of eating (WOE), and allow you to maximize the weight-loss you are currentlly experiencing.

If you choose to experiment and test after your Induction period (or choose to continue your Induction), you can do this with the understanding that you are attempting to assess the impact of various foods on your weight loss. You should also be prepared for some set-backs that may accompany your tests. Everyone's metabolism (and psychological makeup) is a bit different and, considering that this WOE (Way Of Eating) is a long-term commitment, it will eventually be important to learn the details of what works for you.

Rosebud is absolutely dead-on when she tells you that success is more likely if you strictly adhere to the program laid out in DANDR. Ultimately, the choice of how to lose weight (and keep it off) is up to you, but following the path marked out in DANDR is most likely to produce the kind of results you desire.

Congratulations on your progress, and welcome to the group.

Steve, I have only one comment to add to the great replies you have received already. It is:

One of the purposes of Induction is to change what and how you eat. Obviously we are here because what we were doing was not working for us. Breaking the cycle and the habit of turning to high carb foods by replacing them with different carbs in the form of green veggies accomplishes just this. Most find that they eat many more veggies on LC than they ever did before. The ultimate goal of LC, IMHO, it permanent fat loss, accomplished by changing behaviour and eating patterns. Having bread, every few days, when you begin does not enforce this.

Induction is about detoxing and learning to eat differently. And it works very well.

Nat

p.s. btw, I would suggest printing out and saving that post by ItsTheWooo - she hit the nail on the head

Thanks everyone! ItsTheWoooo answered my question and between the four of you and your successes I'm totally motivated to stick to the plan throughout induction! Thanks again!

Hi!! When I read the section in the Dr Atkins book there in the induction samples of recipes was Zucchini Bread. So I made it and have it for breakfast and it satisfies my bread craving with very few carbs. I slice it and put one slice in a ziploc bag and freeze them then warm it in the microwave in the morning.