Sarah Fox Jahn" wrote in message
...
Just a FYI post, who those curious: [quoting the Atkins web site]

"How long can I stay on Induction?

The longer you consume no more than 20 grams of carbs daily, the more
body fat you will burn. Depending on how much weight you need to lose,
you can safely continue with Induction as long as the following three
conditions are met:


What utter horse patootie!

The amount of body fat you burn has very little to do with how many grams of
carbs you eat.

If it did, people wouldn't stall out for months while spilling ketones every
day.

Lowering your carbs below a certain threshold will shift your muscles and
organs first into burning ketones, and then, about three weeks later into
burning free fatty acids rather than carbs. But if your daily caloric intake
is more than you are burning off, you won't lose a pound. Even if you are
burning fat, after the first couple weeks most people (especially those who
are not young males) will see their weight loss slow down to a pound or two
a week at very most no matter how many grams they eat.

The huge burst of energy that the Atkins site waxes enthusiatic about will
also decrease after a few weeks as the body adapts to a fat-burning regimen
and many dieters will find themselves contending with low energy and
exhaustion if they don't boost their carbs a bit, especially if they are
pursuing an exercise regimen.

When you
switch to Ongoing Weight Loss, your rate of loss will naturally
diminish

This too is hogwash. Switching to OWL has nothing to do with the slowing
down of weight loss. After 3 weeks on a very low carb diet most people's
early, fast weight loss slows way down and after that it's a matter of
eating less than your body burns.

Partly this is because they've flushed the water out of their tissues, and
partly it is because after going through an initial state of confusion, in
which it is prone to drop a surprising amount of weight, the body figures
out what is going on and stops what it sees as dangerous depletion of famine
stores.

After this adaptation kicks in, weight loss slows to normal levels which
depend almost completely on how much you are eating. The more you weigh, the
more you'll tend to lose each week, but the statistics compiled from records
of manyreal dieters show that median weight loss is 1 pound a week for
people under 200 lbs and less than 2 lbs a week for people who weigh over
300 lbs.

http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/dietpage.htm summarizes the data
collected on this newsgroup from real dieters over many months.

It has always been striking to me that Atkins NEVER published any
statistical studies drawn from the many thousands of dieters he supposedly
helped, and that all the anedotes in his book described people in the very
early stages of the diet.

That's probably because while the diet works, for most people it does NOT
work in the near magical way his
bestsellers would make you believe it does.

Long term weight loss is a long, slow, process that requires discipline and
hard work no matter what diet you use. The tragedy of the Atkins diet is
that with its focus on the first couple weeks of impressive weight loss it
raises unrealistic expectations in most of the people who try it. When
things slow down after a month or two, most Atkins dieters get disillusioned
and many of them quit thinking they've failed when in fact they are getting
better than usual results.


-- Jenny

Cut the carbs to respond to my new email address!
New photo: http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/jennypics.htm
Weight: 168.5/137
Diabetes Type II diagnosed 8/1998 -
HBa1c 5.2 10/03
Low Carb 9/1998 - 8/2001 and 11/10/02 - Now

http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean
How to calculate your need for protein * How much people really lose each
month * Water Weight Gain & Loss * The "Two Gram Cure" for Hunger Cravings
* Characteristics of Successful Dieters * Indispensible Low Carb Treats *
Should You Count that Low Impact Carb? * Curing Ketobreath * Exercise
Starting from Zero * Do Starch Blockers Work? * NEW! Why the Low Carb Diet
is Great for Diabetes * NEW! Low Carb Strategies for People with Diabetes


"Sarah Fox Jahn" wrote in message
...
Just a FYI post, who those curious:

"How long can I stay on Induction?

The longer you consume no more than 20 grams of carbs daily, the more
body fat you will burn. Depending on how much weight you need to lose,
you can safely continue with Induction as long as the following three
conditions are met:

Your blood chemistries, lipid values, blood pressure or blood sugar
levels continue to improve or remain stable and within normal limits.

You feel well and are experiencing a high energy level, normal sleep
patterns and stable moods.

You are not bored. Boredom could lead to cheating and undermine your
efforts.

However, it is important to understand the entire Atkins Nutritional
ApproachTM. The ultimate goal of the program is to advance from the
Induction phase through Ongoing Weight Loss and Pre-Maintenance,
culminating in Lifetime Maintenance, which should become your
permanent way eating. By following these steps, you can find your
Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing (CCLL), also known as your
carbohydrate threshold for losing, and ultimately your Critical
Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance (CCLM), also known as your
carbohydrate threshold for maintaining. Segueing from one phase to
another will help you maintain a healthful weight, feel good and
decrease your risk factors for chronic diseases such as heart disease,
hypertension and diabetes.

That being said, if you have a great deal of weight to lose, you can
certainly stay on Induction for six months or even more. When you
switch to Ongoing Weight Loss, your rate of loss will naturally
diminish. On the other hand, if you have a modest weight loss goal,
say 20 pounds, and lose the first pounds rapidly, it is important to
move through the more liberal phases so you can establish the good
eating habits that will become part of your ongoing lifestyle and end
yo-yo dieting."

From

http://atkins.com/helpatkins/newfaq/...Induction.html