Dr. Atkins said that if you do not have a lot to lose or are beginning to get bored by your food choices then it is time to move on to OWL.

No matter what you do, your weight loss will slow down. Don't expect the big losses of induction. What you should expect is that weight loss is not linear and comes in fits and spurts.

With that said, follow the carb ladder slowly. Give your body time to adjust to each new food addition.

The OWL Carbohydrate Ladder

Detailed Version



1. Vegetables
More salad and other vegetables on the Induction acceptable foods list

2.Dairy
Fresh cheeses:
½ cup Cottage cheese
5 oz Farmers cheese
½ cup Ricotta cheese
5 oz Pot cheese

Keep portions small for:
Hard aged cheese
½ cup Cream, heavy and light
Half and half
Sour cream
Yogurt


3. Seeds and Nuts

1 oz serving
Macadamias
Almonds
Peanuts/Natural Peanut Butter
Coconut
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Walnuts
Pistachios


4.Berries
Eat frequently from:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries

Eat moderately from higher AGR melons:
Honeydew
Cantaloupe


5.Wine and other spirits low in carbs
Spirits
White Wine
Red Wine
Low-carbohydrate Beer


6.Legumes
Lentils
Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Black Beans
Hummus
Chickpeas
Tofu
Soybeans
Soy milk, unsweetened


7.Fruits other than Berries and Melons
Plums
Kiwis
Peaches
Apples
Grapefruit
Tangerines


8.Starchy Vegetables
Keep all portions small
Carrots
Green Peas
Acorn squash
Butternut squash

Eat rarely
Corn
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes


9.Whole Grains

Eat rarely
Keep all portions small and focus on whole, unprocessed grains:
Old fashioned Oatmeal
Oat Bran
Wheat Bran
Low carb (soy) bread and muffins
All-bran
Barley, cooked




CARBOHYDRATE LADDER

Simple Version


1. More salad and other vegetables on the acceptable foods list
2. Fresh cheeses (as well as more aged cheese)
3. Seeds and nuts
4. Berries
5. Wine and other spirits low in carbs
6. Legumes
7. Fruits other than berries and melons
8. Starchy vegetables
9. Whole grains





Stay below your CCL and you will experience ongoing weight loss. Go above your CCL and your weight loss stalls. (This will entail you of keeping track of your daily carbohydrate intake).



To determine your CCL:



Each week, you will incrementally increase the quantity of carbohydrate you eat beyond the salad and one cup serving of vegetables allowed during induction. These increments should be measured in five grams of daily carbohydrate.



During the first week of OWL, increase your daily carb intake from 20 grams a day on induction to 25 grams a day, going up ONE level. It is recommended to start at the first level which is non-starchy vegetables. As long as your weight loss continues steadily, you can go up another level—to 30 grams daily—the following week.



Note that few people will be able to add back all of these food groups in OWL. Those items on the second half of the list tend to rank higher on the glycemic index and are more commonly introduced in Pre-maintenance. Following the order of the carbohydrate ladder tends to minimize blood sugar surges that could activate cravings.



The lower your metabolic resistance to weight loss and the greater your physical activity, the higher your CCL will be.



RULES OF OWL:

• Protein and fat remain the mainstays of your nutritional regimen
• Increase your daily carbohydrate intake by no more than 5 grams each week
• Add new foods in order listed on the carbohydrate ladder
• Add one new group at a time
• Eat a food group no more than THREE times per week to start. Then you may eat it daily.
• If new foods provoke weight gain, or return of physical symptoms of such as cravings or increased appetite, stop that food immediately.
• Continue doing OWL until you have 5-10 pounds left to lose

Remember that if you follow Atkins, you don't add all of these in at once. You have to test each of them out per week and see if they affect your weight loss. (Not all carbs are equal. Some stall on nuts or dairy).


Atkins is all about finding what's right for your body, and that's really good information to have in the long run.



My personal advice...

…is add in a new food every TWO weeks. I know this seems a bit slow for most people but I found this is really the best way to pin point foods that will induce cravings. This is how I found out that I don't tolerate strawberries---they turn me into a crave monsters. Black/rasp/blueberries I eat every day without problem.

HTH

Progress not perfection.

Lisa