For Atkins Followers: How Long Did You Do Induction?

[eddie150]

Hey everyone! Well, I'm thinking ahead and wanted to get some more ideas from those who have/had large amounts of weight to lose. DANDR obviously talks about the two week Induction, but he also talks about if you have a large amount of weight to lose, you should consider staying on it longer. How long did you stay on it? Was it a good/bad/indifferent decision? I know everyone's mileage varies but I thought I might get some more real-life stories. Thanks!

[hdyhouse]

http://www.lowcarbeating.com/bb/showthread.php?t=14108

The foregoing is a link to my 2 year history on Atkins.

[Rhalvahn]

Eddie... I seem to stay at constant induction levels followed by falling off plan. I can't strongly enough recommend figuring out your critical carb level. I would do induction (this is my personal opinion) until your loss slows down ...then add 5 carbs to each day for one week (25 one week, 30 the next, etc) . Lots of time adding carbs like that can actually restart your loss. Figure out the number that you start gaining at, and then you know to stay under that.

[Felonee]

I was staying at induction level carbs, and have slowly been increasing my carbs. I plan to stay at the 20-30 level for several more months.

[Goddess]

i only did induction a couple of weeks, as i wanted to add different stuff. but i have to be honest that i didn't go by the book after the first couple of weeks, either. i adapted and paid attention to what created problems for me and what didn't.

but i usually encourage people to start moving that direction of upping carbs not too long after the first 2 weeks because you have to feel comfortable eating this way forever, and as time goes on, you integrate it into your lifestyle. the gradual increase of carbs helps you do that. it's also VITAL you don't feel deprived, because it is an eating lifestyle. it doesn't matter how fast it goes, just how permanently.

[Rob]

I did induction for 12 days and then began upping my carb level by 5 per week. It was a matter of not getting bored with only 20 net carbs and not being able to have things like fruit. In fact the reason I only did induction for only 12 days was a really great looking flat of strawberries I saw on sale. HArd to resist strawberries at the beginning of the season.

[tiashanty]

Hi Eddie: I did induction for the whole two weeks. I have to admit that I was glad when it was over. Just too structured for me. But, it did help me to lose a lot of weight and got me started. Like goddess, I didn't really follow the book totally after induction, but after a little tweaking, I found what would make me lose or gain. It's been almost two years now since I started this woe and I'm on maintenance. I wish I'd found this woe many years ago. I think it's a personal preference as to how long you want to stay on induction.

Hi Eddie - Ok, so I'm new...as you know but I plan on staying on 20 carbs as long as I can. As long as I'm loosing weight and don't feel deprieved. I have not seen anything that states you can't stay in induction for longer than two weeks. Its working ok for me. If and when it starts to get boring or I feel hungry then I'll look into increasing the amount. I hate fruit (I know that's insane) but I only like fruit in pie! Ok, maybe a blueberry or strawberry is ok but other than that, I'm not missing it. Oh and orange juice...I would like a glass of OJ not sure why, I never wanted it before. Hey, I digress....anyway, Have a great day.