BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb Newbie

Hi: I started the low-carb diet three weeks ago. During the induction phase I lost initially 8lbs but somehow I am up 2lbs so realistically I lost 6lbs. I weighed 149 and I am down to 143. My goal is 130lbs. My question is, should I continue with the induction phase until I reach my goal or should I start on the maintenance phase. I have looked on this website for info on the maintenance phase and I did not find anything (maybe I am not looking in the right area). I would like to know what is a suitable amount of carbs for the maintenance phase. I feel great, have loads of energy and I am not craving sweets (shockingly). I have introduced strawberrys and low-carb yoguart and smoothies back into my diet - should I lay off this stuff until I reach my goal? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Maintenance phase is what you do when you are maintaining your ideal weight. So you aren't there yet <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What you are in now is past induction (i.e. the first two weeks) and in the normal low carb diet. That's why there's no specific information on it - it's just the entire site's content <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The article you're looking for is here -

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art23259.asp

Once you go through two weeks of 20g to get your body used to the non-sugar diet, you then slowly start adding in more carbs, at 5g a week.

Eventually you will hit the point where you stop losing weight. That is your balance point. That's the level at which your intake of carbs equals what your body burns. If you eat more, the excess will get stored away as fat.

For many people, that balance point is around 70g or 80g a day. That's plenty to eat not only a ton of healthy food - but also some extra treats as well. But you need to start at the low end so that your body loses the weight first. If you're going on a low carb diet it's normally because you are NOT eating healthy right now, and have some extra weight.

So in general you shouldn't just add everything back in after you pass 2 weeks <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> You are supposed to go up to 25g, then a week later go up to 30 and so on. That way you will reach a point where you find your equilibrium and know how much your body can handle at your current exercise level.

Also part of what you're doing here is figuring out what you have developed allergies to. So you should add items in back in very slowly - to see if you react to anything in particular. For example many adults have developed allergies to grain or milk over the years but not noticed it.