Dr. Atkins states that, while on induction, one "CAN" have 20 grams of carbs. Does this mean that I HAVE to have that many carbs? Is there any point to trying to have fewer carbs? Has anyone tried this?

I know there are days when I total things up and haven't reached 20 carbs; it doesn't seem to hurt anything. I try not to be too far under too often, mostly because if I'm not eating any veggies I'm not getting any fiber and I know I need the nutrients in the vegetables.

Fewer carbs certainly wont help as a matter of fact it can hinder.

My hubby started out VERY restrictive, thinking less carbs would be better. However, as he went along and saw my results with fresh veggies and he added those and is eating "correctly", he has lost twice as much and in fact had a 9 lb whoosh recently. He and I both are feeling great. I recently started moving up past 20 with OWL and adding some fruit (had 20 fresh raspberries with breakfast :yum and since adding a few carbs, I have also had better results. Just some food for thought Best of luck with this!

If your body thinks it's starving, your metabolism will decrease to compensate, I'd try to keep as close to 20 during Induction as possible. It's an expirement though, some lose on less, some don't. www.fitday.com is a great way to keep track of all you eat.

LL

i fluctuate- 5 or 10 on one day 15 or 20 on another... whatever- hasnt really affected me much. i wouldnt really suggest trying to stick to less than 20 on purpose, it doesnt really do u any good.

Hi Everyone- This is my first post, but I have been reading what a lot of you have to say.

I've just started Atkins 2 weeks ago. The first week I lost 7 pounds, the second (which is also the week of my monthly) I didn't lose any weight, but did maintain.

I've found your thread about too few carbs interesting, because I've been beating myself up over not losing any weight the second week, and had almost convinced myself it was the huge salad that I eat everyday for lunch.
(Romaine lettuce 11/2 cups, 5 cherry tomatos, green or red pepper, cheddar cheese cubes, crumbled bacon, blue cheese).

I weigh 286 pounds today and have kept my carb intake under 5 grams for 2 weeks. If this is the reason for the plateau this week, are there foods that I can add that would be 'wise' carbs? I don't want to eat more for the sake of eating more. I feel satisfied with what I am eating.

I appreciate all of your words!

FlaMom

hey flamom. START A JOURNAL Sorry for yelling I do that when I get excited. You definitely need to up your carbs. Also, how many calories are you consuming daily? Have you checked out fitday? Its an excellent resource.

Now hold onto your socks cause I am about to say something shocking. A rule of thumb especially for people just starting out is to eat 10-12X body weight in calories. I know -- I know it goes against everything you thought you knew about dieting. Take it from a big fat looser it works.

I have been basically on induction (20 carbs, no nuts, no berries, etc) since starting in March. I figured that my age and my sedentary work have attributed to my non-loss of weight. One of the problems I have is that withou the carbs, I am just not hungry. I guess I am going to have to get out the book and try upping my carbs. Scares me though, since I fear gaining or not losing by doing this, but it seems that the majority of low-carbers out there recommend it and, well, you guys have lived this... thanks for the advice, will give it a whirl...

On a normal day I maybe hit like 15g of carbs!

Thanks Irisda

That fit site is great!

I did it for today-

2905 Calories
218 fat (OMG)
14 carbs
213 Protein

Am I on the right track? I wish that site would tell you if you're in line or not, maybe it does, I could just be using it wrong!

Thank you so much!
FlaMom

FlaMom ~

Check your quantities. FitDay has some weird preset amounts (like 1 CUP of boiled eggs instead of 1 egg).

14 carbs? are you subtracting your fiber? start a journal fla mom. somewhere on the board there are percentages as too how much your fat percentage should be. I always forget.

Great job on tackling fit day!

Some of that cup stuff kills me. . . like I don't know what a 1/4 cup of macadamia nuts looks like. . . or a half cup hard boiled eggs. . .

FloridaMom,

You must have entered something wrong because 2905 calories is way too much to eat and expect to lose weight (unless you are super active or have very large muscles). You also need to up you carbs (after 2 weeks on Induction) to eat plenty of the good vegetables (green beans, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc). This is where you want to get your carbs from.

Remember that Atkins is really about "controlled carbs" and not "no carbs". And, you can't get around the fact that you need to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight. "Eat until satisfied, not full" as some good doctor has said.

So, if you really are close to 3,000 calories a day, you need to look at normal portion sizes. Meat should be 2 to 3 ounces for one portion (no bigger than a deck of cards). It is also better to spread your eating out a bit (3 smaller meals with 2 snacks of 100 calories or so).

I tend to try to eat around 40 to 50 grams of carbs mostly from vegetables and stay around 1500 calories a day. I believe my current activity level burns around 2500 calories a day which means I'm losing a steady 2 pounds a week (1000 calorie deficit a day yields 2 pounds burned a week). I've been at this for 7 weeks and I know I will keep it up. This is for life.

Also, as you lose weight, you will be losing some muscle and you will not burn as many calories as you move around (the lost weight makes it easier to move around). So, if you don't increase your activity, your weight loss will slow (assuming you eat the same number of calories).

For this all to work, this is a lifelong process of adjusting and maintaining a good eating plan and activity level.

Finally, if you don't eat plenty of the good veggies, you won't get all the vitamins and nutrients you need to maintain good health. The good veggies aren't that high in carbs and they have the fiber to make them digest slower.