I just joined this forum and am looking forward to learning all that I can about OWL! I am ten pounds from goal, have lost 157 pounds, and never really did OWL as it should be done...kept my carbs as close to 20 as I could...and am ready to learn! Any advice as far as dangers to avoid would be great!

MissScruffy--

Welcome and Congratulations on losing 157lbs and being only 10lbs from goal!

GeeGee

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Thanks GeeGee! I looked at your profile and you've done pretty darn good yourself! Are you now in OWL and how is it working for you??? Did you follow the ladder? Gosh, I am full of questions!

MissScruffy congratulations on such a great weight loss,How long did it take you to lose 157 lbs?? and by staying as low as 20 carbs a day,did you feel healthy all the way.I am just in my second week of having 30 carb a day,as I need to lose at least 40 kg,my son gets married in Jan 2006,and dont want to be the fat one in the photos,I was happy with my weight loss for the first 7 days 2.5 kg, but am feeling a bit down today ,as I weighed myself and scales have gone up 1 kg,I told myself it might be fluid,because I know I have been 100%true to the program,That will teach me not to weigh more than once a week and at same time of day,keep up the good work,.I am in Tasmania Australia,and can anyone tell me what the measurements are in pounds please?.....thank you ...Maureen24:butterfly

At first, I felt great, but the last few months...no! I am not getting enough to eat and so am moving into OWL as I should have months ago. I am not hungry, but feel that I am not getting enough nutrients.

Congrats on the 157 lost, that's great. This is tricky because as you know you should have moved into OWL before and now so close to goal you should really be in pre-maintenance. So what I would suggest is adding the carbs back slowly by 5's as you would normally. Concentrate on adding veggie and fruit carbs and some whole grains. That should help you round out your nutritional intake. When you have reached your CCL then stick with pre-maintence and move beyond OWL. Maybe read the Atkins book again (I assume Atkins because of the lingo but whatever plan you are following). I just took mine home from the office or I could tell you more about pre-maintenance.

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Noël


Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strengths.

You have every reason to be proud of yourself. Maintaining health and fitness over the long term is your new goal--and a tough one at that.

Just 20 carbs is an extremely strenuous discipline. As you've noticed, you really do need to increase the amount and variety of foods. Take a look at the Five Gram lists in Atkins and on this site. Add five per day the first week, five more the next. Then stay at that level for a while and see how it goes. Don't let fluctuations of 3-5 lbs. upset you. This is a continuation of the lifetime learning process!

Make sure the carbs you add are "good" ones--veggies, fruits (I love having an apple now and then!), and some dairy if you like it. Later on, you can consider adding some whole grains. If you are not already eating plenty of fiber (25 gms or more) investigate ways of getting it. There's no carb cost to fiber, and it's very good for processing the carbs you do consume.

I'm at 40-50 net gms most weeks now, and probably will find this to be a good maintenance level. My fat percentage runs about 50-55%--usually as salad dressing and a little butter. I also keep total calories within what I consider a healthy range for me. I exercise 30-60 minutes most days.

Welcome to a good site, and best wishes.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

G'day Maureen24 - welcome to the forum. Tassie eh! Noosa Heads - South East Queensland. Good to have you on board - looking forward to talking to you. 2.2 kilos to the lb mate.

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

That would be 2.2 pounds to the kilo, mate. Now if I could only remember how many lbs. to the stone...

Just put "metric conversion" or something like that in Google and get yourself a handy calculator.

P. S. I just put "how many pounds in a stone" in Google, and the answer came up instantly. It's fourteen. Why this is a common measure of bodyweight, I don't really know.

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Barb L.
Atkins since Jan 2003
Maintenance as of 4/05


My Fitday Journal

O yep - thanks Barb - silly me - always put that down wrongly - I even have a problem working it out properly on my computer calculator - NOT good at numbers!!

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The fox is wild!



5'3" Maintaining 121-125
Original weight 198 +

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! I am hoping to make this place my new low carb home!