Beginners Guide To Atkins Owl Pre Maintenance Phase

After experiencing the Induction and OWL phases of the Atkins diet

, your next step is to go in the pre-maintenance phase. This phase will set you up for a lifetime of healthy and balanced eating and living. You should begin this phase as you come within 5 to 10 pounds of your target weight goal. Your weight loss will be slowed up even further but it is for a purpose. You want to learn the practices and habits that will determine your long-term success.

In the OWL phase, you will be adding carbohydrate grams to your daily count in the increment of 5 grams every seven days. During pre-maintenance you will increase that to 10 grams per week. As long as you're continuing to shed weight ( regardless of how slowly it is coming off) you will carry on add grams. Ideally, toward the end of the pre-maintenance phase you will be losing less than one pound every seven days.

According to the Atkins book, you should hold on to this phase until you get a to your main goal weight and can maintain it for a month. This action may take any place from 1 to 3 months. Your main aim is to grasp a state called "carbohydrate equilibrium." This is your ideal carbohydrate intake and it will cause you to maintain your weight perfectly.

During pre-maintenance you have access to to try a wider assortment of foods. Make sure to introduce new foods slowly and grow your carbohydrate intake at a calculated pace. Don't add 20 or 30 carb grams a week. Measuring out the increases in increments of 10 will give you a better idea of your individual carbohydrate count. Knowing this number will help set you up for long term weight management.

Make certain to confer with a carbohydrate counter resource book or a reliable website before you add a new food to your diet plan. Some instances of 10 carbohydrate gram foods include 1/3 of a cupful of legumes, an apple, cup of potatoes and cup of plain oatmeal. These foods may be included on a day-to-day basis, and then raised to the next week.

Pre-maintenance is not a perfect process. It takes a sensitive balance of carbohydrate counting and exercise to slow weight reduction yet still move it forward. You will need to pay even closer attention than you have before to ensure that your carb gram increase is not leading to a rise in weight. There is a fine line between gaining, maintaining and losing, and during pre-maintenance you are attempting to determine just exactly where that line is.

If you aren't able to include carbohydrates without stalling your weight reduction, you may have a high metabolic resistance. You will profit from increasing your exercise regimen to get your metabolic process burning at a higher level. For you, the pre-maintenance phase will resemble OWL more closely.

Some individuals do a variation on pre-maintenance that allows them to have a treat once every seven days. As opposed to adding 10 grams every day, they allow themselves a 20 to 30-carbohydrate gram treat a couple of times a week. Examples of the treat may well be a piece of a fruit or a serving of sweet potatoes. A glass of white wine or beer also qualifies for this treat. This is a fun way to reward yourself and still be on the program.

Yet a different way to do pre-maintenance is to average out your carbohydrate intake for the seven days. Since life is sometimes unpredictable, it can be useful to possess a bit of flexibility in your eating plan. As an example, if your current carbohydrate level is at 70 grams, you can limit yourself to 50 grams one day. Then the following day, you can splurge a bit on a meal and have 90 grams for that day. Yet, only follow this technique if it doesn't create carbohydrate cravings. Sometimes excess carb grams on one day can make you lust them even more the following day.

The pre-maintenance phase will give you the tools for long-term success. By learning to slowly grow your carbohydrate grams, you will have a better hold on the volume of carbs that is appropriate for you.

by: Betty D. Funderburk

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