Atkins Diet Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) Carbohydrate Ladder
The Atkins low-carb diet consists of four phases: Induction, Ongoing Weight Loss, Pre-Maintenance, and Maintenance. This article focuses on phase II of the Atkins diet, ongoing weight loss, or OWL.
The OWL phase of the Atkins diet begins immediately after the two-week induction phase. This is the fun part of the diet where you get to experiment with new foods and determine how they affect you.
As you move from one rung to the next, you add carbohydrate foods back into your diet in the order prescribed by the OWL carbohydrate ladder. Adhering to this order tends to minimize blood-sugar surges that could reactivate food cravings. While fat and protein will continue to be the mainstays of your diet, you will eat less of them as you add carbohydrates.
As you choose foods from each rung on the ladder, you should choose most often from foods with a low Atkins Glycemic Ranking, or AGR. The concept of AGR was followed in the 2002 edition of [i]Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution[/i], but it was formally introduced in [i]Atkins for Life[/i]. Foods with a low AGR will have the least impact on your blood sugar for each rung of the OWL ladder. The foods listed in each rung of the ladder below are examples of low AGR foods for their rung.
As you hit each Atkins OWL rung, you can add up to 5 net carbohydrates from that rung. For each food group you add, you should eat from it no more than three times the first week and monitor your body for changes, using foods from induction and lower rungs to increase your carbohydrates on the off days. You need to give it the entire week as a couple of days may not be enough to know how a food is affecting you. You can eat daily from same food group the second week as you continue to monitor your progress.
I personally recommend spending a minimum of two weeks on each rung of the ladder, and preferably a month. This allows you time to adjust your diet and learn how different foods affect you. For example, one brand of cheese may cause you problems while another brand is just fine.
You should only skip a rung if you do not plan on eating from it. For example, someone may have dairy allergies, so they may skip the Atkins OWL dairy rung #2.
If you do skip a rung, I have found that it is best if you spend the time you normally would have spent for that rung before moving to the next one. This helps to give your body enough time to adjust before giving it the higher AGR foods. For example, if you normally spend three weeks on each rung, and you want to skip alcohol rung#5, then you should spend six weeks at berries rung #4 before proceeding to legumes rung #6. In the same example, if you normally spend two weeks on each rung, then you would spend four weeks at the berries rung #4 before proceeding to the legumes rung #6.
Your ability to add all the food groups back depends upon your Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium, or ACE. The term ACE was introduced in Atkins for Life, and it replaces the old term CCLL, which meant Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing. For example, someone that does not exercise and has a low ACE would probably not be able to add legumes back during OWL, while someone who is young, works out regularly, and has a high ACE might have no problems climbing to the top.
Once you begin consuming alcohol on rung #5, be sure to count the carbohydrates and monitor your weight loss. Spirits have no carbohydrates, while white wine and red wine have 0.9 and 2.0 carbohydrates respectively. Alcohol will suspend weight loss as you do not burn fat while your body has alcohol to burn. If you find that you are stalled, discontinue your alcohol consumption.
When you get to the last three rungs of the ladder, you are eating foods with the highest AGR. Make sure you do not eat those foods alone. Eat them with foods high in fat and fiber to help minimize their impact on your blood sugar.
With fruits and vegetables, the more color they have, the more nutrition they have. If you have a choice between red grapes and white grapes, choose red. Also, be careful of dried fruit as it concentrates the natural sugar and could potentially make a small piece have as many carbohydrates as the entire fruit.
When looking at low carbohydrate pre-packaged foods, check the ingredients against the ladder below. The highest rung for the ingredients is the rung you must be on to eat it.
The OWL Carbohydrate Ladder
The foods listed in each rung of the ladder below are examples of low AGR foods for their rung, unless noted to eat in moderation. This is intended to be an example of some of the foods you can eat, not an exhaustive list of all the foods you can eat.
Vegetables
More salad and other vegetables on the acceptable foods list
Dairy
Fresh cheeses:
Cottage cheese
Farmer's cheese
Ricotta cheese
Pot cheese
Keep portions small for
Hard aged cheese
Cream, heavy and light
Half and half
Sour cream
Low-carb ice cream, yogurt, and milk
Seeds and Nuts
Macadamias
Almonds
Peanuts/Natural Peanut Butter
Coconut
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Walnuts
Pistachios
Berries
Eat frequently from:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Eat moderately from higher AGR melons:
Watermelon
Honeydew
Cantaloupe
Wine and other spirits low in carbs
Spirits
White Wine
Red Wine
Low-carbohydrate Beer
Legumes
Lentils
Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Black Beans
Hummus
Chickpeas
Tofu
Soybeans
Soy milk, unsweetened
Fruits other than Berries and Melons
Plums
Kiwis
Peaches
Apples
Grapefruit
Tangerines
Starchy Vegetables
Keep all portions small
Carrots
Green Peas
Acorn squash
Butternut squash
Eat rarely:
Corn
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Whole Grains
Keep all portions small and focus on whole, unprocessed grains:
Old fashioned Oatmeal (Steel cut oats
Oat Bran
Wheat Bran
Low-carb (soy) bread and muffins
All-bran
Barley, cooked
Elleth Faewen began the Atkins diet in October of 2003 and provides support for those interested in low-carb dieting at http://www.lowcarbbulletinboard.com She also provides support for women at http://www.babytalkzone.com, an Internet company dedicated to helping women who are trying to conceive, pregnant, or adopting.
Related Articles:
Exercise Tip ? The Most Overlooked Exercise Tip
You have within you the ability to succeed and excel in any exercise or sport that you want too. All you need is one exercise tip that you can easily master in a short time. Most exercise tips target physical preparation in order to help you improve. The tip I would like to offer is one that will change not only your athletic motivation, stamina and ability but I would not be surprised if your whole life would benefit and prosper if implemented.
Bike Riding for Exercise: How Effective Is It?
Bike riding for exercise is one effective way of staying fit and toned and building physical endurance. In biking, almost all parts of the body are exercised, from the legs to the thighs to the abdomen and even the arms. Cycling, though, is more recommended to people who wish to strengthen the lower part of their body since the upper half does not get as much activity as the lower part when it comes to riding a bike.
Power Walking - How To Improve Your Golf Game With One Simple Exercise
Do you have a spring in your step while playing a round of golf or do you feel completely exhausted by the 15th hole? Sometimes you may feel out of breath just walking to your next shot.
Weight Loss Tips - Healthy Breakfast Recipes
We've all known for some time that breakfast is an integral part of the day. Now research has shown that, regardless of physical activity, eating high fibre cereal in the morning at least three times a week leads to having a lower body mass index. This study followed 2,300 teenage girls over ten years, and was conducted by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in the US.
How Water Can Help You Lose Weight Fast
Here are the 4 things you need to know about water that can help you lose weight fast:1. Drink plenty of water.
Why Do You Say You Want To Lose Weight?
How many of your New Year's resolution start out with "I
want to lose x amount of pounds" as if just saying it were
some kind of magic mantra.As if the weight would just fall off, in response to the
spoken words!Why do we not want to pay the price for anything? Gaining
weight is not an overnight effect and it will NOT be
reversed overnight.
20 Pounds in 3 Months ? Natural Weight Loss Tips
There are two kinds of secrets ? one is not good enough to keep and the other is too good to keep. In this article, I will let slip a secret that is too good to be kept for myself. I am going to disclose things I did to lose 20 pounds in three months - naturally. This had never been easy, specially, when people used to laugh at me for all those extra flab! I almost stopped going to social gatherings because I psychologically felt so unsecured. In fact, now I realize, people were not that bad always. Out of my feeling of insecurity, I myself created many of those embarrassing situations and lost some good friends. There was a time, when I used to lock myself in a room or pretended to be busy to avoid public interaction. However, the days ...
Exercise And Weight-Loss Surgery
With any weight-loss plan, exercise plays a key role. Not only does exercise help reduce fat, but it tones muscles, give a person more energy, and help the person feel better. Weight loss achieved through surgery is no exception. Surgery does not work all by itself. It is critical that a patient adhere to a daily routine of exercise and a carefully planned diet.
Weight Loss Pills For The Treatment Of Weight Loss
When a person walks into the room, the first thing we all notice is how they look, are they thin or fat, short or tall. And if they are overweight, we frown upon them as if they have an incurable disease. This drives a lot obese people to resort to taking slimming pills as treatment for weight loss. Not only does obesity cause physiological problems, it also leads to psychological consequences. The person might withdraw from their social circle, not want to attend parties or gatherings, become a recluse and remain alone. The family and friends around such people need to be supportive and help them in this battle that never seems to end. If they are comforting and motivating, the obese person will be encouraged and feel positive. They migh...
Giving Weight To Weight Loss
There are numerous topics and articles floating everywhere that talk about the importance of staying healthy and keeping flab at bay. In the light, this might just be another floating page, or someone would actually take it seriously and try to change for the better, as it is intended.
Why You Need To Exercise During Pregnancy
Everyone is aware that a numerous amount of benefits come with exercising. Every individual should exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes on a daily basis.
Fast Weight Loss That Matters
Excessive weight in a person may be because of heredity or genetic factors which is beyond the anyone's control, it may also be a result of the person's food eating habits, life style, the nature of work and activities the person routinely engages in, etc. Except in cases of genetic disorders or heredity, generally people gain weight over a long period of time and with reasonable awareness towards your well-being there is generally no reason for you to look for ways to achieve fast weight loss.
Exercise for a Healthy Heart
Do you exercise every day? If you want to live a long, healthy life, maybe you should.A recent study by Timothy Wessel, a physician at the University of Florida, indicates one of the strongest risk factors for developing heart disease is inactivity – even more so than being overweight.
Inspiring and Transformative Weight Loss Book Teaches How to Heal Relationship with Food and Body
Cherished for its abundant compassion, award-winning author and registered dietitian Dr. Annette Colby releases ground-breaking self-help book that shows how to overcome old sabotage patterns, food addictions, weight issues, and fears through self-discovery and understanding. Body Redesign will touch the heart as it illustrates exactly how to call a truce with self, body, and food, and then structure a brand new life.
Break Your Weight Loss Plateau
How to Break Your PlateauToday is a typical morning like any other for you. You get up, go for your workout at the gym or go for a nice run, before you start your day.
