Ongoing Weight Loss Once you have reached the goal of ketosis then you can graduate to the second phase, called Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL). Don't worry, the hard part is over. You've basically learned the rules of the diet already, and very little will change in this next phase. You will now continue as you have been, except you will slowly increase your carbohydrate intake. Each week you will add increments of 5 carbs to each day, and each week you will add another 5 carbs to the daily intake as long as you are still losing weight.

It is important to resist staying on the Induction phase. Of course depending on how much you miss carbs, you might run from it as fast as you can! It is time to learn to eat carbs again - slowly. Atkins recommends that you add in one type of food per week so you can learn which foods cause cravings. In the first week, you might want to add in berries, and select vegetables the week after that.

A couple of keys to success here - Avoid processed carbs or too many sugar substitutes. In some people, this causes too much fluctuation in blood sugar, sends wrong signals to the body, and creates cravings. Also, you should avoid too many low carb substitutes and eat the most basic 'from scratch' foods that you can. There isn't much point to a low carb diet if you are going to eat carb substitutes such as pancakes, cereal, granola, breads and bars in their place. These foods are loaded with chemicals, calories, and in some cases, trans fats. The original low carb diet consisted of meats, non starchy vegetables and low sugar fruit. When followed simply and to the letter, this diet isn't hard to calculate and plan for - adding in the low carb concoctions from your grocery store shelves really can complicate things.

Pre-Maintenance Once again, this is just building on to the previous phase, and is not difficult. Once you've come within 5-10 pounds of your goal, then you are here - Pre Maintenance. You are now going to add 10 carbs per day, and each week add another 10 carbs while your weight loss comes to a complete halt at your goal weight. Your goal should be to lose less than a pound per week, and this will adjust you to the maintenance phase that will last you for life. You may also choose a different path in pre maintenance. If you would rather eat a few extra carby snacks on the occasional basis, then you can lump your daily 10 carbs in to a couple of treats, like a starchy vegetable, or a glass of wine. As long as you are still losing weight, you can continue in any way you choose. This is a tricky phase because you are experiencing freedoms that you have not had throughout the diet, and you must learn to not go too far.

Maintenance, the final phase, is basically the same principal, but for life. You need to add just enough carbs to stop losing weight, yet not regain the lost pounds. You'll know how many carbs you can eat per day and not gain weight. For some people, this will be easy to calculate and maintenance will be easy. Many people will need to count their carbs for the rest of their life.