I am presently entering my fourth week of Atkins-Induction Phase.
I have lost 22 pounds of the total of 60 pounds I want to lose by this summer. I work out 4-6 times a week and drink 4 litres of water a day. I feel great and I am getting compliments from everyone at work and at home.

My question is when should i switch over to the OWL phase? I have no problem staying in Induction a little while longer.

Thanks in Advance.

I decided to move to OWL after three weeks of Induction. I had originally thought that I would stay on Induction much longer, feeling that I had lots of willpower to match the lots of weight I want to lose. Oddly enough, though, I did start to crave a little more variety in my diet after 2 1/2 weeks or so, even if that variety was going to come largely in the form of more vegetables!

So I started OWL last week, and added another serving of vegetables (cauliflower -- a head of cauliflower lasts a LONG time when really only one person in a household eats it!) three or four times during the week, taking gross carbs up to about 25.

I still seem to be losing at a good clip. It seems, from anecdotes related on this forum, that people's CCLL varies with their level of physical activity, so there must be wiggle room there. If this WOE is to become a lifetime affair, I guess that it is important that we re-introduce foods so as not to become trapped in a "dieter's mindset" of endless salads and chunks of unadorned protein!

Good luck!

Hi Superpun:

Congratulations on your excellent weight loss! You can stay on induction as long as you want to but I think the problem is that boredom starts creeping in. I stayed on induction just two weeks becaue I wanted to experiment with different foods. But if it is working for you, no problem staying there! Good luck - Orchid

Hi,
My personal experience would suggest that if you can, stay at induction level as long as possible, especially since it is working so great for you. Regardless of what you do, at some point your body will request a break and the weight loss will slow down or stop, to resume again once it realizes that you are not trying to kill it. Even after 14 months of this WOE, I still often eat at induction level for weeks... I just feel better.
Best Wishes,
T.

I'm staying on Induction until I'm about 10 pounds from goal weight, which is 6 pounds to go for me.

This is one of those truly individual decisions as the previous responses show. I think that you learn more about what your body can handle if you gradually add more carbs, sticking with the recommended veggies and fruits. The problem with staying on induction is that your body gets used to that and you have very little room to tweak should you stop losing or even, God forbid, gain a bit. Remember, induction is always there. You can go back to it for a few days anytime.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and advice. I have decided to stay on Induction for another 2 weeks and then switch to OWL.

I've been on Induction for 6 months and have lost about 65 pounds.. I have recently added a little fruit every other day.. Grapefruit, peaches in unsweetened juice..I still count them into my 20 to 25 carbs a day.. Even tho the scales haven't moved for a week, my rings are falling off!!! LOL!

I've been on induction since September and don't plan on moving on until very close to the end. I am sooo scared that I will move to the next level and stall.

I've been on Induction since July with no problems. My original plan is to remain on Induction for a full year and then evaluate where I'm at.

Like everyone else has said, the switch to different phases is basically a personal decision. I guess you have to ask yourself where do you want to be and how soon do you want to get there.

Jim

First off Congrats!

And congrats to all the others who have posted and who look so wonderful!! I am amazed at some of the before and after pics!
Very inspiring.

I have to echo what a lot of the people have posted already... although there is one other thing you may want to consider... you said you will give it another 2 weeks and then move on. well if you experience a change (like no additional weightloss) you can always go back to the induction. I tend to vary my days. One day I will allow a few more carbs then stick to 20 on the next. I find that water consumption is huge! Also for variety you might want to check out www.lowcarbluxury.com, I found some pretty cool recipes there.

Best of luck and Congrats!!

This is truly an individualized decision. I'm staying at Induction levels, not because I'm forcing myself to, but because I've become so accustomed to the way I eat, that I don't want to change anything just yet. Besides, I just can't imagine anything else I would want to add in another 5 or 10 carbs per day.