I have a question about Protein Power. The book recommends intervention be less than 10 grams carb per meal/snack; then transition less than 15 grams carb; then maintenance goes up to 20 grams. From my perspective, hitting around 15 grams carbs per meal is drastically less than what my body has been getting for the past 30 years! It is a huge change. I am wondering if it is necessary to go as low as 10 grams to see weight loss. I am not as familiar with other plans . . . is it necessary to be so rigid? I'm not perfect, few who diet are, and doing my very best every day seems to hit me around that 15 gram mark. It also seems closer to what I can do for the long haul. I'd like to hear from some people who have cut carbs to that 60 grams/day and what the benefits have been for them. Or, it could be, that on this kind of program, you can't lose weight that way. I don't have a ton to lose, but it seems making this much change would be enough to burn fat . . . otherwise, for me, it may not be the right program. Even on Weight Watchers I lost weight without doing it every minute perfectly. But, I did have to deal with the cravings, etc, which made it not possible as a lifestyle choice. I feel like I could do this forever, but I would like to lose the weight! So, feedback would be super! Thanks.

Hi! Generally, the more carbs you're allowing yourself, the more you have to keep an eye on calories. This is because the more carbs you're taking in, the more insulin you'll be churning out, and you probably understand what that means - more fat storage, less fat burning. More of your weight loss will have to come via the old fashioned method: calorie-counting and will power. OTOH, when you cut the carbs way back, the lack of insulin means much of the fat you eat (as well as the fat you're releasing) is wasted. This is the metabolic advantage that Atkins encourages, and it's part of PP, too, though the Eadeses don't necessarily recommend checking to see whether or not you're in ketosis. You're consuming more calories, but your body can't use them.

So it's a trade-off, basically, and it's definitely a YMMV thing. You'll have to experiment.

HTH.

When I did PP six years ago I would eat 10-15 carbs every three hours and still lost 50 lbs in six months. I was 40 at the time. I know this is something where YMMV (your mileage may vary) I think most locarbers would tell you to push the limit and make your decision based on whether or not you continue to lose. My results seem to be linked to eating plenty of fats and when I ate 15 carbs every three to four hours it must not have raised my insulin much becasue I never stalled at all the first time I tried this diet. I went off it slowly and for five years ate pretty much what I wanted except I never ate cabs alone. Kept it all of without effort. Now if I had only NOT gone and let that allergy specialist give me that prednisone, I probably wouldn't be here today.