I'm not quitting! You've convinced me and I'm not quitting. I lost 14 lbs. on induction and was ecstatic. Then the next two weeks - nada, I even gained a pound or two, even though I wasn't cheating at all. I also wasn't checking in at the forum. The last three days I've been off lo-carb, trying to watch my calories - but it doesn't work. I'm hungry all the time. Hunger I haven't felt for the last month.
Reading all these posts about plateaus and stalls and eventual breakthroughs have encouraged me. I have to be patient - and I don't have much choice. This diet is still easier to stay on that any other that I've tried. So, I'm going to start again. What I want to know is - after induction, how many carbs are you having. I know some of you say that you stay on about induction level or close to it all the time. Are any of you having 30 or 40 grams a day and still losing steadily - or do I have to be prepared to stay at about 20 grams a day?

Goldie

You don't quit a way-of-life...

This is what has been happening to me for the last year. Lose a chunk, bounce up and down between 10 pounds for a couple of months. Lose another chunk. Repeat.

I'm used to it now, so it doesn't bother me that much anymore because it's a way-of life. Weight loss is secondary to how great I feel. I look at how much I've gained with this WOL and never worry about what I've had to stop eating.

Atkins reccomends that you add 5 grams per day to find a level that you are still losing weight on and continue for a week. Then try another 5. I think 30 grams is about average for weight loss, but everyone is different. It's something you figure out as you go along.

Karen

Goldie
I find it much easier to stay at the 20 - 25 gram per day level. When I raise my carb intake much more than that the cravings return. I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to do when I get near to my goal weight and have to start increasing my carbs! But for the time being, my current intake keeps my hunger under control and eliminates the cravings.

Good choice - the not quitting thing, I mean.

I never considered quitting, although I got discouraged plenty.

My motivation was, if I quit - what would I go *back* to????

The answer was *nothing* - even if I never lost another ounce, I couldn't imagine feeling any better than I did/do on low carb.

I gain on more than a steady 60 g a day. I can peak some days and eat 70 g, but then I have to 'monitor and manage'.

What I do is to stay at induction some days, and up them other days - so today I had a slice of low carb bread and low carb pancakes - tomorrow I'll probably do an induction type day and all my carbs will come from veggies. The reason I got away with it today was all the exercise I have done in the last 3 days.... 'monitor and manage' - it's a daily thing with me.