I am starting week 5 of induction. I am thinking about adding jello brand sf jello to my menu. I know it contains aspertain(sp). Any good or bad thoughts? thanks. oh yea I survived the holidays with only legal foods but more than normal so scale did not move up or down. I can live with that!

Hi, deckboat.

Congratulations on getting past the carbohydrate festivals which surround our end of year holidays!

Aspartame, the sweetener in SF Jello, is a YMMV kind of thing in terms of weight loss. Many members get a lot of aspartame in various ways and have no problem with it. Other's report that it stalls them or triggers cravings for other sweets. You'll just have to give it a try and see how you react. That will be the only sure way to know if it will work for you.

BUT, now to "starting week 5 of induction." I really urge you to move on to OWL. There are many reasons, both physiological and psychological, that you do so. I'm assuming that your goal is not only to lose weight, but to have the ability to maintain that new weight for the rest of your life. (If I'm wrong, then disregard this advice. )

Without getting hyper-technical, extended induction tends to "train" your metabolism to expect a very low level of carbs, which makes it difficult to expand your menus to include a really satisfying variety of foods. (For a much more extended explanation, The Secret to Low Carb Success, by Laura Richard, BSN, MHA, is an excellent source.)

The main reason I usually mention for moving immediately to OWL, and seeking out your CCLL, is the educational aspect of it. It is during this period that you learn the most about your individual metabolism and how it reacts to various foods in various amounts. Without this period of experimentation, you haven't gotten a sufficient "education" about yourself to make maintenance easy. It's been my experience that those who get to (or close to) their goal weight on the most restrictive phase of this 4 stage nutritional plan often fail to maintain their new weight. They have had such a restricted menu for so long that they really don't know how to expand their food choices. Simply put, they haven't learned how to eat.

Hope you'll consider this in choosing what's best for you.

Maggie
5'1" ~~ Atkins since '98 (160+)
Maintaining nicely (110 +/-)
~~ Redhead until further notice!

Deck, if you want to make your own s/f jello here's a recipe:
1 pkt unflavored gelatin
1/2 envelope unsweetened Kool-aid, any flavor
3/8 cup + 1 tsp. Splenda
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cold water

Dissolve gelatin in cup of boiling water, thouroughly.
Add the rest of the ingredients. Transfer to another bowl and chill overnight.

You can add more or less Kool-aid depending on how it tastes to you. Make some homemade whipped cream to top it with.

1 cup of whipping cream
CHILLED metal bowl and beaters
(I chill my whipping cream in the freezer for about 15 mins too)
Beat until stiff peaks form. Don't over beat or you will end up with butter.
Add a couple of packets of Splenda after it has become stiff.

You can use this as an alternative if you don't want to use Aspartame. (IMO I think aspartame is evil and should be avoided. It is a chemical nightmare.)

Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/146/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

thanks for the tips.. I plan on moving to owl after the new year holiday.. I feel more in control of the old food if doing induction. I have added more greens so I may be moving up now