My wife and I have both been on Atkins for 3 weeks now and have made significant progress. We are both staying on induction for the time being because we have a fair amount to lose and are doing fine with the menu.

My wife's b-day is next weekend and she really wants to eat a piece of b-day cake (I am at the point were I don't have any desire to, which is a new way of thinking for me, no cravings at all ).

The question is....what are the ramifications of having a piece of cake? Does it knock one out of ketosis? If so do you have to do anything special to get back into ketoisis? Will she feel lousy? Will she gain weight for a few days before losing again? Inquiring minds want to know.

-- Craig

Yes, a piece of regular cake will likely throw her out of ketosis. It'll take a day or two to get back in, and she likely will feel kind of nasty for a while, and might put on some bloaty water weight.

Here's a suggestion...there are many really good recipes in the kitchen section of the board. Why not make a low-carb cake?

That's a great suggestion!

You don't even have to make cake, tell her you willmake her a birthday meal and make her all the LC foods she loves to eat.

The original Diet Revolution book has a low-carb cheesecake recipe in it. With a little modification, it's downright scrumptious! Unfortunately I don't know where the book is right now, but I'm sure there are LC cheesecake recipes in the Recipe section, too.

Will she feel bad? If it were me, most likely someone would be hauling me out on a gurney after just one piece of cake. But then others don't react quite as violently as I do to sugar, either. Pre-Atkins, one small pancake with syrup would make me sick for an entire day, sometimes longer.

I like the idea of cooking up her favorite foods. Sounds superb!