What Do You Eat After Induction on Low Carb Diets?

"Induction" is a term used to describe the first phase of the Atkins Diet, one of the world's most popular low-carb diets. The purpose of the induction phase is to train the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. Induction, which lasts two weeks, is the most restrictive part of a low-carb diet because total carbs allowed are very low. After the induction phase, dieters are allowed to reintroduce carbohydrates slowly until they reach an equilibrium level where they are no longer losing weight.

OWL

• In the Atkins Diet, the phase after induction is called ongoing weight loss, or OWL. During induction, the dieter's total net carbs were restricted to 20 per day. For the first week of OWL, that limit is raised to 25 grams per day. Though new foods are added to the list of those that are allowed, lean meat and other high-protein foods remain the staple of the diet for most of this second phase.

The Power of Five

• Each week of the diet's second phase sees an increase in the amount of carbs allowed per day increase by five. The new list of allowable foods is organized in serving sizes containing five grams of carbohydrates. This makes it easy for a dieter to simply add one of the new foods in the recommended serving size to a day's intake and remain within the limits of the plan. In the Atkins Diet, this is referred to as the Power of Five.

Recommended Portions

• The new foods that are allowed in the second phase are grouped by type: dairy, nuts and seeds, juice and fruit. Five ounces of mozzarella cheese, 30 almonds, a quarter cup of strawberries and a quarter cup of lemon juice all contain about five grams of carbs. During the first week of OWL, a dieter can add one of these recommended servings to what they ate per day during induction. In the second week they can add two servings, in the third three servings and so on until they are no longer losing weight.