Atkins Diet: OWL - End of a Good Thing?

[the7thwreck]

So Alcohol is a fuel? God is Great! lol!

[bowulf]

@the7thwreck Yep! A powerful and easy one at that...

[tarawilder123]

How long did you stay on the induction phase?

[bowulf]

@tarawilder123 Roughly 11 or 12 months although some days I would eat more than the allotted 3 cups of veggies.

[frdgordon]

Now that I'm on ongoing weight loss, is it okay to drink caffeinated black coffee? If so, how much am I allowed? Thank you.

[bowulf]

The same cautions apply, but remember these are just cautionary statements not "you may not" statements. So the answer with caffeine is you are advised against it, but having made your way through Induction, you now know you can lose on Atkins and can judge caffeine's effects for yourself. Once you reach OWL, you start having to make what works for you choices within the guidelines and best practices.

[sigrino]

@bowulf Hello. Could you please tell if little quantitties of sugar are alowed on induction. As many products include it like dexetrose and other stuff, I am still counting net carbs.

If it is not allowe on Induction stage, when does it become alowed?

What are the conseqeances of having some sugar in the food? such as dexetrose? why isn't it allowed basicaly.

Thanks.

[bowulf]

@sigrino Natural sugars within food are allowed on Induction (like tomatoes). Added sugar are not allowed on Induction. Any food not on the Acceptable Induction foods list are not allowed.

As for when added sugars (like dextrose, honey, cane juice, sucrose, HFCS) become allowed, the answer is probably pre-maintenance, but the obvious statement is sometimes it may be convenient but generally discouraged at all points.

Your questions point to a need of reading the book.

[bowulf]

@sigrino (cont.) I can't explain the entirety of a 500 page in 500 characters or less. The whole point of the diet is normalize one's blood glucose thereby limit insulin release and get used to burning fat for fuel. Adding sugar into one's diet can and will cause interference with those goals.

I would suggest reading the book for a better explanation than I can possibly do as a reply in 500 characters.

[fatimashade]

i have 2 questions 1 , are no carb noodles allowed on the induction diet???and 2, ive been on this diet for 7 months ive lost 85 pounds and i have 15 more to go im bored with the restrictive induction phase but im not ready to transition is this ok?

[bowulf]

No on the konjac flour noodles during Induction, but I would ask what are you afraid of or not ready with OWL? You actually only have 5 more pounds to go before you HAVE to go to the pre-maintenance phase. Boredom with food choices is one my key indicators for when to start progressing the carbohydrate ladders.

What aren't you ready to do on OWL?

[Zorica12]

@bowulf But what about the ppl that eat the same foods but with carbs? Example, always eating the same type of cereal. How's that any different than with low-carb? I think people generally tend to stick to a few foods regardless of whether it's carb or low carb.

[bowulf]

@Zorica12 You can certainly eat within a few food groups on low carb if you tolerate that routine. However, most people who fall into that rut eventually rebel from that rut and not always into correct ways, i.e. they see low carb as the source of the boredom not their own personal food selection.

It is for that reason I suggest that people do experiment a little with their diet if only for the fact that they know what alternatives are out there.

[Zorica12]

@bowulf O, ok. Maybe it's just me then...because I never feel in a rut (no matter what eating plan I am on). lol. I can go for months wanting to eat only one type of food...lol. (Funny thing to observe though that before switching to a healthier low-carb (improved digestion) I always craved the most fats....coincidence...no. :-) Cheers.

[emelypinto]

i dont understand help!!

okey i finished the diet now what do i do ,can i eat normally i mean bread chocolate ect or am i going to gain weight please help

[bowulf]

There is no "after" or finished the diet. There is a maintenance phase where you can indeed add foods like bread and chocolate up to your ACE (Carbohydrate Equilibrium) -- the amount of carbs you can eat and not lose or add weight.

[VeoKenKs]

wow thx for this video =) i lost around 100 pounds on the atkins diet and am on it for life i never knew about rungs till now rung 4 is as high as i want to go

i used to be around 315 pounds then on atkins whent down to 230 but was stuck at 250 for awhile cause i was eating these 10 net carb whole wheat wraps and i see now it was a rung 9 food

i stoped eating them and slowly whent down to 230 =)

[angusng1n1hit]

All of you are fat people who are too lazy to work out honestly just go work out at the ymca , basment , or jym its faster , better results and way easier

[bowulf]

When's the last time you ran a marathon? (Me? October) Or completed a 90 day series of P90x? (Me? July) Or how about simply run more than 25 miles in a week? *Me last week and each of the last 13 weeks) You have no clue.

Exercise alone will not produce long term weight loss. You have to change the way you eat.

[jingling30]

You did P90X too? You're an Iron Man.

[bowulf]

What can I say? A man gets bored if you aren't challenged with a new goal. :-)

[graceunleashed]

Oh yeah, someone who can't spell GYM is obviously the brilliant mind I need helping me. Your uninformed and unintelligent. Take your words of ignorance and stuff them in your self indulgent, self centered, ignorant face.

[Serp1313]

@angusng1n1hit

Were you trying to spell Jim? You like to work out at the Jim?

Most men don't like to have sex with men in order to lose weight, but more power to you for liking it in your butt. :D

[sidecrank]

Why would I want to eat oat meal?I'm not a horse.

[bowulf]

Exactly...

[Bobofet241]

I think if I had of had your kind and patient help when I went on Atkins 2 year ago I would likely stuck have to it.I actually panicked because I was afraid what I would look like small again.I'll let you know how things go.Thank you.

[melanieydaniella]

hi kent,

well first of all i want to thank u because your videos have been a great help for me so far. i've lost 30 pounds on atkins and even though i have been on and off the diet, still lost that amount of weight.but i am really scared about going into OWL because every time i try i see the scale going up again.

[ml70sgirl]

Where in the WORLD do you get that he seems shallow? I'm totally distracted by your cruel and unnecessary comment here. He seems/looks very nice and sweet. He wants to help others. I find him very charming and helpful. I'm so glad I found his videos. In addition, WHO talks about peoples different accents anymore? He's simply trying to concentrate while talking and reading to try and make his points clear. I think his accent is also very cute. Go somewhere else and be a downer. Not welcome here.

[bowulf]

Don't mind that spam post - that I missed as it rolled the other day trying to promote that weightloss site. I doubt it was talking about me anyways because the same thing was posted elsewhere.

Thanks for the very nice comments.  They definitely put a smile on my face today.

[shinviroz]

if im 6 feet tall, and i am 160 lbs,

and my goal is to lose 20 lbs,

do you suggest i follow the atkin's diet from induction? or should I simply reduce my carbohydrate intake?

because I really don't want to give up bread and cake and rice and stuff

[bowulf]

With only 20 pounds to lose, I would suggest an Atkins for Life approach in which you regulate the carbs you take and reduce or eliminate all the refined the carbs. Think how you want to eat long term and start eating that way.

[federicohidalgo7]

I see what your saying. Question, WHen I get to my main goal which is 190,( I am now 227)....what would happen if I just began to eat healthy normal meals everyday. Would I just begin to get fat real fast because I didnt slowly add food type into my diet week at a time?

[bowulf]

Define "healthy normal meals..." Are you saying that Atkins is not healthy? My point is that this is a long term diet and that it is complete healthy to eat this way for a long time - think decades. I would highly suggest you read the book and perhaps better understand what I fail to teach in my videos. The reason you add food slowly is to find out at what point you can eat to. Is it 1 orange a day or 1 a week, is 200g per day or is it 50g?

[bowulf]

That's what you need to discover in the OWL. What can your body handle? You can definitely be healthy on either 20, 65, or 150g per day. One of the other reason for the rungs is to discover those foods that trigger negative reactions like alcohol or breads. Take the opportunity of what caused the cravings and how to prevent them in the future.

[paranoidcypriot]

thanx bewolf :-) uve helped alot. maybe i should try some of your recipes too. the chocolate cake looks really nice. so does the fake danish.

[bowulf]

Thanks. I think those treats help eliminate the feeling of deprivation. Glad I could help.

[paranoidcypriot]

hi i dunno wether i should feel guilty or not but i drunk one of them sugar free red bulls. it had 0g carbs but it had aspartame in it. was it a mistake or am i allowed this drink?

[bowulf]

Both caffiene and aspartame are not suggested due to them causing stalls in some people. I preferred to stay "clean," so I never had to worry if I could be losing faster. Is it the worst thing - absolutely not? You may not even notice.

[zegonzales]

I think it varis from individual to individual. caffeine is said to cause carb cravings on some people. on my first day of induction it caused me a lot of craving, but latter I didnt have this problem. I basically don´t drink coffe ( very rarely ) but I drink tons of coke and pepsi ( zero carb of course ).

[paranoidcypriot]

hi, thanx for the info. but if i was to stay on induction( coz to be honest i m loving it) how long can a person do it for. i mean i only have 22 pounds to lose till im an american size 6 but can i do it for longer? could u get skinny on atkins?

[bowulf]

You can do Induction phase as long as you want or up until the last 5 pounds of the diet, where you need to migrate to the Pre-Maintenance phase. I stayed on Induction for over year, but I had 9x your weight to lose. You can certainly get to whatever your desired goal weight is (aka skinny), but the amount you lose each week will get less and less as you get closer to your body's goal weight.

[galgendan]

Hi Bowulf, Thank you so much for everything!!

2 questions: 1. I m done with the Induction phase, going on OWL but I only have 13 lb left to lose. How long should I stay on OWL? and can I skip some food Groups in OWL, like the 1st (veg.) and go to Dairies then skip nuts and go to berries? also skip alcohol and legumes and go straight to fruits? And so on since I only have few pounds more to lose...then go back to that food group in pre maintenance?

[user7145]

bowulf, thanks as always for the good video.

shaneless, it isn't as simple as you make it out to be. Not everyone's body reacts to food the same way, based in part on genetics and in part on what they've done to their body in the past. You do realize that to "amend what one consumes and reduce the portions" is to change your way of eating, which is exactly what Atkins is, right?

[Loakum]

Question: Is eat beef hamberger patties without bread acceptible to the atkins introduction phase?

[bowulf]

Absolutely... One of my quick fix snack items is double cheeseburgers no buns from McD's with just lettuce and onions.

[Loakum]

Thanks bowulf, for your quick and educated response! I'm currently on Atkins introduction phase (13 days as of today.) and I was hoping I was doing it right. I'm trying to lose 90 pounds hopefully by my next birthday.

[shanelees]

When can you eat oatmeal again? When you feel like it. Consume less calories than one burns in a day. Follow that up with exercise. Diet programs are loathesome. Just amend what one consumes and reduce the portions. And of course exercise.

[Loakum]

Thanks for your advice shanelees. I bought me a Mountain Bike. I try to bike for about three hours four days a week.

[shanelees]

I ride to and from work every day, which comes to 20 miles a day. I ride 40 - 50 miles every Saturday. If you really desire to burn fat, bicycling is one of the best ways to do that. if you really want to eat oatmeal, then eat it. I recomend a very high fiber diet, and thata includes complex carbohydrates. If you're exerscising I wouldn't be concerned about how many carbs you're consuming.

[Loakum]

Thanks again shaneless, you're the best!

[bowulf]

The problem is not being consumed about what you are eating if you are exercising ignores all the recent disclosures by people like Alberto Salazar or an olderr ones like Jim Fixx. Being an athlete doesn't give you a pass to eating healthy. High fiber is great since fiber doesn't add anything to your metabolism, but the real question is where does your body get its source of energy from.

[bowulf]

Do you want to get it from quick burning fuel source or a source that can fuel your body over the long haul. I am about endurance when I train spending 2-3+ hours running, burning primarily fat the entire time. If I had to rely upon glycogen in my muscles for that time, I would be out after only 2 hours and be sucking down bottles of gatorade one after another.

[bowulf]

That's one of things Atkins strives to do. Figure out what foods you can add into your diet and still maintain your weight. I would agree anything you do temporarily to lose weight should be avoided, but following a plan to achieve long term health is what brings long terms results.

[bowulf]

If it was only just Calories in - Calories out theory why did a research study with 2 groups (low carb & low fat) of men eating the same about Calories (~1500 Cal/day) result in the low carbers losing more weight (2 pounds more in 14 day) and lost primarily fat and the low fat group lost much higher portion of lean body mass and less fat. The body is much more complex than in-out equation.

[1216am]

great

[zalzalahbuttsaab]

Once you're on the diet, you stay on it. If you get tired of a certain food, start eating something else instead, making sure you don't eat the few foods which make you fat. Add to this excercise to pamper yourself and that's it. Simple.

Think of it not as a "diet" but the correct way of eating, i.e. the things you should actually be eating as a regular, healthy human being.

[Tokishedo]

The correct way of eating according to who. The world? I would really like to know how happy you are inside. Infact i would like to know how happy all "skinny" people are inside. Why live at all if you must plan your day according to a book. If this where law i would shoot myself.

[bowulf]

I am personally happier now than I ever has been in past. No longer do I have the drain of the fat on my life or limited from activities that I would like to do. As for planning my day according to a book, I spend no more time planning now than I do for my kids who don't eat like I do. It's like driving -- do you have to plan not to speed or to stop at red lights? Eventually, it just becomes the routine.

[Tokishedo]

well maby im different. You see I am not limited by my fat. Infact i personaly think it makes me open to new concepts. Maby other people are different if so then i can see why they want to be thin

[zalzalahbuttsaab]

Atkins is really simple: it has three stages and there are only a handful of things that you need to cut out of your diet (mostly processed carbohydrates and cereals). The great thing is that you will start to see results after just a few days.