I am getting closer to goal and want to up my carbs a bit. Maybe premaintenance. I keep going out of ketosis and going up a pound or 2. Then I will drop it back down and it will be fine. I want to eat more carbs t have more choices. Anyone know how to get your body to adjust how many carbs you can have without blowing it?

It is recommended to add 5 grams daily for an entire week and then again next week add another 5 grams for a week and keep going.... until you stop losing then you found your set point.

Start with nuts or seeds first, then high fiber fruits like berries....

I am following Curves Diet plan which is similar to atkins but when you get to the maintenance phase they tell you to eat "normally" until you gain 3 lbs but never gain more than 5 then go back to 20 carbs a day until you lose it (which is normally pretty fast) and keep repeating the cycle and each time it should take longer and longer for you to gain the three pounds so basically out of 30 days you'll end up only on low carb for like 2 days..it's suppose to raise the metabolism each time???..I posted a while back if anyone had actually reached the maintenance phase and everyone was just kinda starting so..we'll see ...maybe someone else has some thought on this concept...I am curious myself

The new edition of DANDR has a chapter devoted to Pre-Maintenance. Here's some highlights:

When you were doing Ongoing Weight Loss, you learned how to increase your carb intake in increments of 5 grams. In this phase, you can shift into a higher gear: Increase your daily carb count by 10 grams each week as long as you continue to lose. If you introduce new foods slowly and increase your carb grams gradually, your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing (CCLL) should increase gradually. This new and higher CCLL will reflect the fact that you are now losing weight more slowly.

As you continue to make 10 gram incremental additions, you'll quickly reach a point at which you will find that you are no longer losing. If you are at your goal weight, stay at that level for a month or so before you increase your daily carb consumption by another 10 grams to see if you can consume that level without gaining. Once you do begin to gain, drop back 10 grams and you should have established your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance (CCLM).

THE POWER OF 10
The following portions each contain roughly 10 grams of carbohydrates. Food groups are arranged in the general order in which they should be added.

Nuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/4 cup cashews
1/2 cup filberts
1/2 cup macadamias
2 ounces roasted shelled peanuts
3/4 cup pecans
1/2 cup pine nuts (pignoli)
1/4 cup pistachios
3/4 cup walnuts
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sesame seeds
2 ounces sunflower seeds

Starchy Vegetables*
1/2 cup carrots
1 cup winter squash
1/4 cup yams (or sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup peas, shelled
1/4 cup plantain
3/4 cup beets
1/3 cup parsnips
1/4 cup white potatoes

Legumes*
1/4 cup lentils
1/4 cup kidney beans
1/4 cup black beans
1/4 cup navy beans
1/4 cup lima beans
1/4 cup great northern beans
1/4 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup fava beans
1/4 cup pinto beans

Fruit
1/2 apple
12 cherries
1 peach
12 grapes
1 cup strawberries
1/2 grapefruit
3/4 cup cantaloupe
1 kiwi
1 cup watermelon
1/2 cup fruit cocktail, canned in water
1 plum
1/3 banana
1 guava
1/3 mango

Grains
1/4 cup rice (long-grain, brown*)
1/2 cup oatmeal*
1/4 cup corn kernels*
1 slice whole-wheat bread
1/3 cup whole-wheat cereal*
1/4 cup barley*
1/4 cup spinach pasta*

*All figures are for cooked vegetables, starches and legumes.

There's more in the book about how not to blow it and maintain good eating habits.

Karen

Thank you for your input. I had heard you could do this. I am thinking the curves way is something called heaven?

SO.... when your counting the 10 gram increments for carbs (like in the above list) you are not taking fiber into account? So 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts is 10 grams instead of 3 (minus the 6 fiber carbs)? I wonder why?


Heather

I was wondering about that too...because I certainly don't count the fiber when I eat my macadamia nuts...sheesh, I will have to totally change the way I eat if I have to deal with the total carbs.

-Jinkster

Karen was quoting from DANDR and, if I'm not mistaken, he doesn't address the subtraction of fiber from total carb count in that book at all. However, he does so on his website and has, like all other LC authors, now recommended using effective carb counts. So the list above may be a bit inaccurate as far as volumes go, but his point is also that these foods should be added in that particular order.