Hi all!! i am pretty new and mostly stalk other ppls atkins posts but have a few questions myself. first i want to tell you a bit about myself, i am 22 married with a 4 mo old baby and a 4 yr old. My husband is currently deployed and will be returning in about a month. When he left i was about 170lbs and the last time he saw me i was 9 mos pregnant lol. i really want to surprise him by looking great for him when he gets home!! i have lost quite a bit since i had my baby,i got up to 179 afterbirth and am now 154!! I have been staying on induction for about a month in a half now to lose as much as possible. I would like to stay on it until he gets home then move to owl. My first question is ...Is this ok to stay on indution this long? Will igain moving up to owl after being on indution this long? I did cheat one day about 2 1/2 wks ago at a fam reunion and pigggged out eating everything in sight and i wonder if it set me back or if i am just slowing down on weight loss as i get closer to my ideal weight. i have lost 6 lbs since then in about 2/12 wks and was losing like 10-13 lbs every two wks i know that is still good but just wonder.Finally i have been thinking about cheating for a day but not bad just like a bit of wholegrain bread maybe a pudding or yogurt and wondered if this might jump start the weight loss again? i do appologise for such a long post but would appreciate advice.

Hi, and great job. You can stay on induction as long as you want, but Dr. A. wrote the plan for induction to give you a kick start. I think you might be a little confused about OWL. With OWL you still keep your carbs very low but you do add different choices slowly. It never means yes, I can eat a bag of chips.

I would not recommend cheating with Atkins. Once you eat that bread you might not be able to stop, and your cravings will come back. Try adding something with more carbs but still on plan.
You ARE allowed yogurt on OWL. Look for low carb diabetic yogurt, or plain greek yogurt. You are also allowed berries. But don't add them all at once. Choose one thing you want to add, then wait to see what the outcome is before adding something else.

If you can get the Atkins book out of the library it might explain it much better than me.

Keep up the good work. And I thank your husband for his service and sacrifice.

Congrats on your loss! I have to say DON'T CHEAT!!! That can become a slippery slope. After cheating you have to go back on induction for a few days at least to kill the cravings (not to mention lose the water weight). We all have our slip ups but I wouldn't plan one. There are low carb bread options - 1 minute flax muffin, oopsie rolls/revolution rolls. It is safe to stay on induction for up to 6 months but moving on to OWL doesn't necessarily mean that your weight loss will stop, especially if you do it right.

thanks ladies ill be sure not to fall off the wagon. congrats also to you on your loss!!1

Why is there an increase in weight (water) after consuming carbs and getting out of ketosis? I read it had something to do with glycogen reserves being replenished but if anyone knows the scientific explanation, please share!!

Personally I would save any cheating for when hubby gets home and you two get to celebrate being together without a passenger on board