Friday CARb Accountability Thread

Good morning everyone!!!  I'm doing the Carb Accountability Roundup thread on Becky's behalf today --


I'm back on the low-carb wagon today -- Ate jordan almonds yesterday (sugary) and was up a pound and a half, sure as sunshine.  Will see if I can get it comfortably below 20 gm carbs and see  if that helps!

What's your carb total looking like, today?

Hi WD,

Sorry about that 1.5 pounds.  At least it wasn't a surprise!

Not sure yet what I'll be eating today.  Today is a work from home day and I also have a haircut and a 3.5 mile walk planned with friends this afternoon.   I'll keep my carbs below 20 as I'm still in my two week induction phase.  I'll probably just keep staying to around 20 even after Sunday which will finish off my two weeks.

I do have a question.  For those of you that do the Atkins Induction, do you find it helpful to stay at or below 20 carbs longterm, or do you start to up them.  I am in week two but haven't shed any weight this week.  It may be the sodium in the bacon and cheese, not sure. 

What do you find your optimal carb levels for letting go of pounds?

I'm in small ketones on the ketostix.  Regardless of how few carbs I eat, I never really go above that very often.  I've heard that it doesn't matter how dark the stix are, just so that it shows ketosis.  Also heard that being well hydrated keeps the color lighter.   Opinions?  Wisdom?  Always appreciated.  :)

Wishing you all a fun day!

It's very hard to decide the right way to begin adding favorable, limited carbs during Atkins' "Ongoing Weight Loss" phase.    The problem often is, people think that the Induction phase is IT ... and that's all there is to Atkins.  Not true!  The point is to learn how and when to restore certain carbohydrates during the second phase (OWL) ... via the "carbohydrate ladder" -- so that you can find your own maximum and optimal carbohydrate level for losing (as opposded to maintaining).

The carb ladder looks like this:

Phase 1, Induction:

Rung 1: Foundation vegetables: leafy greens and other low-carb vegetables

Rung 2: Dairy foods high in fat and low in carbs: cream, sour cream, and most hard cheeses

Phase 2, Ongoing Weight Loss:

Rung 3: Nuts and seeds (but not chestnuts)

Rung 4: Berries, cherries, and melon (but no****ermelon)

Rung 5: Whole milk yogurt and fresh cheeses, such as cottage cheese and ricotta

Rung 6: Legumes, including chickpeas, lentils, and the like

Rung 7: Tomato and vegetable juice “****tail" (plus more lemon and lime juice)

Phases 3 and 4, Pre-Maintenance and Lifetime Maintenance:

Rung 8: Other fruits (but not fruit juices or dried fruits)

Rung 9: Higher-carb vegetables, such as winter squash, carrots, and peas

Rung 10: Whole grains

Hope this helps!!!

OMG, this helps soooo much!  I haven't read my Atkins 72 book in awhile (that's the one I like because it doesn't have net carbs).  I really need to go back and reread the rules because I can see from your post that while my carbs have been under ten for most of the last 12 days, I've been eating some almonds etc.

I can see that I need to go back and do another level of "food housecleaning" .

Which book is this "rung ladder" from?

I clipped this from the atkins.com website, but I believe it's in the New Atkins for a New You, which is also generously mostly online ... See books.google.com and search for "new atkins you" .... I believe it will come up as one of your first few choices!

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I googled Atkins Rungs after I read your earlier post and found it all online.  I've bookmarked it and also gotten out my old hardbound 72 Atkins Diet Revolution to read.

Thanks for all your help.  I appreciate you!

For me I just stayed 20 until I was through with losing.  Cheese sodium does not stay with me, but bacon sure does!  Must be the nitrites.

Ketones/ketostix - Any ketones equals ketosis, kind of like being a little pregnant or a little dead. You either are, or you are not.

Ketostix are affected by how old they are, the humidity where you tested, the humidity where you keep them - and of course, like you know, ketones are hugely affected by how hydrated you are, which is usually why optimum time to test is first urine upon waking, since it tends to be the most concentrated of the day. 

Any is good baby!  You are doing it!  Maybe drop the supadelicious bacon for a bit and see if that was being a culprit.  I would suggest dropping the cheese, but I would not suggest anyone doing something I sure would not wanna do!  :}

Muwah.

The best ketosis indicator for me is not the stix, the taste in my mouth (I do not get it), or stanky breath (only have morning breath, my other day's breath is fine), or pit stank (only happens when I have stress combined with hormones or sit under florescent bulbs for extended periods of time, then my pits stank of angry tiger whiz) but the calming of the "gimme" cravings.

Oh yeah, that metal in the mouth taste.  I've had that a lot this week.

Ok, cutting out the yumilicious bacon to see if that helps.  Woof!

Happy Friday Low carbers;

I am waiting to get a lap band and decided to get busy with as low carb as I can get.
Doing great all week!

2 shakes per day and 1 lean/green meal.

Today: 1 Labrada banana shake and 1 Atkins Stawberry so far.....

 Hi there, welcome aboard!

Please do check the useful stickied discussion threads at the top of the welcome page -- Are you trying to get your intake primarily from processed low-carb foods at this point?  And ... What is a lean/green meal? 

(I'm a fan of the labrada shakes, but check the carbs on those ....)

Are you tracking your intake?