Proceed With Caution!
If you have decided to move to phase two, I want to remind you not to regard it a time to cut loose and undo all the good work you have just completed. Ongoing Weight Loss has a couple of fundamental differences from Induction, which I will explain in Chapter 14, but it is also very similar to Induction in that you will continue to derive the majority of your carbohydrates from vegetables low in carbs. You will add more portions of vegetables, and most people are later able to add nuts, seeds and even some berries. It ' s important to understand that you will not be shifting significantly away from protein and fat and to carbs, although you will be gradually changing the ratio of carbs to that of fat and protein.
But the one thing we don ' t want to do is get you out of lipolysis and halt your forward momentum. If that happened, we would have to resume Induction, or, as I chide so many of my patients, " It ' s back to square one." On the other hand, know that if you get into trouble, you can always return to Induction for a few days to get your metabolism fired up again.
Look at the Big Picture
In one sense, doing Induction is the easiest part of Atkins. You ' re following a strict regimen that almost always works. Now, as you learn in the next few chapters how to liberalize that regimen, you will be re-entering the " real " world. That doesn ' t have to be the bad world of junk food and uncontrollable cravings. But it is a world of greater choice, and certainly one in which you will be closer to the place where weight gain is a possibility.
If being overweight has been a big problem in your life, I don ' t want you to muff this opportunity. Over the course of the next few months, you can teach yourself a whole new way of life that will keep you healthy for decades. That is what doing Atkins is really all about.
When you begin OWL, you will be at a crucial stage for learning the parameters of your lifetime program. You ' ll find out what ' s the most liberal level of carbohydrate consumption your metabolism can handle while continuing to take off excess pounds. Pay close attention: This important number is your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing( CCLL).
KEY POINTS!
• Be realistic and determine for yourself the weight you would be comfortable with today.
• Knowing exactly how much weight you lost during the first fourteen days of Induction will help give you a general understanding of your personal degree of metabolic resistance and help you set goals and determine your pace of weight loss.
• The key question in the decision to stay on Induction or move on is " Am I willing to trade slower weight loss for more food choices?"
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