It's not really how many pounds you lose to determine if you go to the next rung. It's if you CONTINUE to lose by going to the next rung. For instance--the first rung of the ladder are adding in more servings (at 5-8 gram increments) of more low carb vegetables. If you are able to do that and continue to lose weight than you move on to the next rung which would be a serving or two (i.e. 5-8 grams) of dairy like an extra serving of cheese or a serving of cottage cheese. If you are still losing after adding in more low carb veg and dairy (please do not bash me if dairy is not the second rung--I don't have my book in front of me) then you can go to the next rung which would be a serving of nuts (at 5-8 gram increments). You get the idea. When you are not losing, you should take a look at your servings (to make sure you are not overdoing it). If your servings are in order, you may need to take a look at you calories (as much as we like to believe--even Dr. Atkins states that calories DO COUNT). And last but not least you may need to drop back down a rung to get your weight loss moving again. After you have done this awhile, you will discover things that will stop your weight loss and start up cravings. I personally, will never be able to add back the grain rung and I have to be extra diligent at the fruit rung (fruit whether it's the low carb fruits such as berries or any other fruit, causes horrible cravings--I eat it minimally).

HTH

Lisa