Has anyone else done this? Last time I did atkins I gained weight during induction because I needed lower cals and it was too difficult with the high fat and only 20 carbs.

I never skipped induction. It gets the body into fat burning mode

I didn't skip induction either, and 2 months later, I'm still on it.

I wouldnt recomend skipping induction...I feel its an important part of the diet....however you may find a way to modify it to help you.....Ps it is hard but try treat carbs like an addiction...maybe this will help....

Don't skip it. It kick your body into ketosis and fires up your metabolism. You might want to try Flax oil and olive oils for fats
Avoid processed meats. Fish oils are also a good source of fats.
Keep calories reasonable. eat small meals often to keep metabolism up.
Jag

What would you do if you skipped Induction?
Go to a higher carb level?
Just curious?
Jag

You don't have much to lose so maybe check out Atkins for Life. I have never read the book but I think it starts you out at higher carb lvls. You can always start where you feel comfortable and see if it works...

Jenn

Ok, heres a different view than the others so far. Since you only have about 10lbs to lose it probably wouldn't hurt you at all to skip induction and just go on to what they refer to as OWL at a higher carb level that will allow you to reduce your calories to less than you would eat on induction.

Some people really have to do induction to help them get over cravings for certain foods, and they say that induction does that for them - not everyone has cravings though, so this might not be necessary for you. Induction would make you go into ketosis, but you can likely still go into it at higher levels than induction - and with only 9 or 10 pounds to lose do you really need or want to be in ketosis??? You could just do low carb and not specifically Atkins - that way you wouldn't have to worry about getting into ketosis. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with ketosis, but it dosen't necessarily mean you will lose weight if you are in it and it dosen't necessarily mean you won't be hungry - there are plenty of posts from hungry people who are in ketosis and not losing weight.

The way I see it is watching your carbs whether it is 20g a day or on the higher end of the Atkins scale is probably alot less than before you began this WOE.
Marie

I don't think anyone should skip induction, because it allows your body to find out what # of carbs it can handle. But, if you think you would have a hard time sticking to under 20g a day, ease into it. FYI I have a hard time even getting in 12 carbs by 9 pm. It gets easier.

There are a number of low-carb plans that don't have an "induction" phase, and they seem to work well for plenty of people.


Liz

Why not try one of the other LC plans that give you more food in the begining than Atkins does?

I've stayed at induction levels and for me to lose I also have to be careful with calories. I usually have 15-17 carbs a day and keep my fat ratio about 74%.

Koko may be right, that with the amount you want to lose, as long as cravings are not a problem, you might do a higher carb starting point.

Thank you everyone! I have decided to skip the induction and start with about 25 carbs a day. That way it is still low carb intake but I will be able to eat more low cal foods. If that works then I will go to 30. I don't have a problem with sweet cravings or anything like that so I don't think it should be too big of a deal. If it doesn't work I will give a different diet a try. I gained too much weight on induction last time and don't want to go thru that again.

I have a friend who just went straight to maintenance phase and it worked for her. Try it and see if it doesn't work you can always modify.