I've been on induction for the past four weeks. Last week I started adding some pumpkin seeds, a glass of wine here or there, and last night I had some of the low carb chocolate and strawberries with Whipped cream. I've lost about 8-10pds so far....it switches, so I haven't yet changed my stats.....but should I be moving on or should I stay on induction. Is there an amount of weight I should have lost before switching to phase two? What do you all think? I'm finding that in giving people advice on the board, people tend to take a hard core stance and are very "By the Book" when answering. But I wants some real life, realistic answers from people who've been down this road. I want to hear some of your experiences, not necessarily what DANDR says.

Sounds to me like you've already moved into OWL. The additin of the nuts and berries as well as the low carb treats are not induction type foods. The purpose of induction is to switch your metabolism from carb burning, to fat burning and bring about lyposis/ketosis. OWL allows you to slowly add additional carbs to your diet and introduces more foods (different vegies, fruits etc) while you continue to lose weight. If you feel the need to add more food choices to your menu by all means move ahead, slowly, if your content at your current level you can stay there as well, it's up to you.

You are not in induction now if you have added the things you have mentioned.....it is better to add a bit of variety if you are getting bored rather than go off this WOE but watch how certain foods react and if you gain. Many people say they are still on "induction" just because they keep to 20 carbs.....

I have had the odd glass of wine and nuts etc but not very often and I do try and stay between 20-25 carbs a day...the nice thing about Atkins is that it IS a very individual thing once you get past induction.
I have done well this way. I have added strawberries, rasberries,canteloupe and watermelon once or twice a week. I do not eat any frankenfood at all.I also pretty well eat as many veggies as I want.

It all depends on how much you have to lose and your lifestyle, expectations etc.
Good Luck and have fun

Hi slim4life,

Most of us will tell you to go by the book, because each of us is different and what works in one case will not work for another person.

The best approach is to move on to the next phase after induction and if you are bored with what you are currently eating. You can do induction for more than two weeks (which you say you have). After that you need to find what is the carb level at which you can continue to loose. In order to find that level, the next weeks are a trial and error sort of thing. The book recommends you follow a carb ladder and gives you the order in which you should reintroduce foods. But if you are not affected by certain foods or you don't get cravings, you can skip the ladder, that's up to you.

I did LC for seven months (may-dec 03) following "my own plan" and then I did a clean induction in January. And then I understood why everyone was saying "read the book". The plan works great when you follow it. Even though I lost weight doing my own version of the plan, I lost a lot more, quicker and more effectively when I did it by the book.

The posts that told people to buy the book or read the book used to turn me off. I used to get ticked about people using Fitday,too. When I decided to give Fitday a try I discovered it is a great tool and has helped me so much.

I hope this may be of some help to you.