Part 16 (2/2)

As you increase your carb intake and home in on your goal weight, you may lose an average of as little as a half pound a week, which is perfectly natural. All the while, you'll be learning the eating habits that will guide you for the rest of your life. As in OWL, you'll experiment as you figure out what you can and can't eat. This process of testing your limits or even temporarily backing off-using your weight change as the imperfect indicator you now know it is-is all part of the learning curve.

There's a good likelihood that at some point you'll find yourself on a plateau. If you experienced one or more of the inexplicable cessations of weight loss in OWL, you'll know what to do. If you haven't plateaued before, go back to ”Hitting a Plateau” on page 128 and carefully reread that section. Dealing patiently with and learning from a plateau is essential to your continued success. (If you seem to be getting nowhere despite following these suggestions, it's likely that you've happened upon your ACE prematurely and need to drop back 10 to 20 grams of Net Carbs to continue losing.) After all, your ultimate success in Lifetime Maintenance is achieving a permanent plateau-aka your goal weight. You may get discouraged and be tempted to revert to OWL (or even Induction) to banish those last pesky pounds ASAP. Don't do it! Pre-Maintenance is where you learn how to eat in the real world of family dinners, business lunches, holiday gatherings, vacations, and myriad other occasions in which food plays a major role.

THE BASICS OF PRE-MAINTENANCE.

Now that you're in Phase 3, you'll still follow pretty much the same drill you have until now to stay in a fat-burning mode. You must know it by heart by now: count your carbs, and be sure that 12 to 15 grams of your total daily Net Carb intake is made up of foundation vegetables. They'll continue to be the platform upon which you build as you add back new carbohydrate foods. Also, keep eating the recommended amounts of protein and sufficient natural fats to feel satisfied at the end of each meal. Continue to drink plenty of water and other acceptable beverages, consume enough salt, broth, or soy sauce (unless you take diuretics) if your Net Carb intake is 50 grams or less, and take your supplements.

So what's different? You'll slowly increase your daily Net Carb intake in 10-gram increments as long as weight loss continues and follow the Pre-Maintenance meal plans in part III part III. In effect, you're swapping the pace of your weight loss for a slightly higher CLL. But if this brings your weight loss to a grinding halt or you gain back a pound or so that remains longer than a week, simply drop back 10 grams. Stay there for a couple of weeks, and if slight weight loss resumes, try increasing your carb intake by 5 grams to see if you get the same reaction you did with a 10-gram increase. You may wind up remaining at the same CLL that you were at in OWL, even as you reintroduce some of the acceptable foods for this phase. Once you exceed 50 grams of Net Carbs, you need not continue to consume salty broth, soy sauce, or a half teaspoon of salt each day.

ACCEPTABLE FOODS FOR PRE-MAINTENANCE.

In addition to the foods you can eat in Induction and OWL, the following foods are acceptable in Pre-Maintenance-if your metabolism can tolerate them. You can also add small portions of whole milk (4 ounces contain almost 6 grams of Net Carbs) or b.u.t.termilk, but not skim, nonfat, or low-fat types. If you're lactose-intolerant, you can have lactose-free dairy products or b.u.t.termilk (also in 4-ounce portions). Eat nothing that isn't on these three lists unless you know the carb count and the ingredients (including added sugars). Follow the carb ladder (page 120), starting with legumes, unless you've already reintroduced them in OWL-as vegetarians and vegans almost certainly have.

LEGUMES.

Though legumes are relatively high in carbs, they also contain lots of fiber and contribute protein to meals. Introduce them one by one and in small portions. If you love a bowl of lentil soup on a chilly day, a side dish of steamed edamame, or a snack of hummus, this step will make you a happy camper. If beans are not your thing, simply skip this group of carbohydrate foods. (For a list of legumes with carb counts, see page 125.) OTHER FRUITS.

a.s.suming you didn't have trouble reintroducing moderate portions of berries, cherries, and melon in OWL, you can now experiment with other fruits. As you'll see below, carb counts vary significantly. Remember that all fruit is high in sugar and should be treated as a garnish. Start by introducing portions of no more than a half cup of such relatively low-carb fresh fruits as plums, peaches, apples, tangerines, and kiwis. One small ripe banana, on the other hand, packs about 21 grams of Net Carbs and its close relative, the plantain, even more. Avoid canned fruit. Even fruit packed in juice concentrate or ”lite” syrup is swimming in added sugar.

Continue to stay away from fruit juice, other than lemon and lime juice. A cup of unsweetened unsweetened apple juice, for example, racks up 29 grams of Net Carbs, and orange juice (even freshly squeezed) is a close runner-up. Without the fiber to slow its absorption, fruit juice hits your metabolism like a sledgehammer. Likewise, drying fruit, including apricots, raisins, prunes, and apple slices, concentrates the sugars, elevating their carb count. But as you can see in this table, there are lots of fruit choices that come in at less than 10 grams of Net Carbs per portion. The following carb counts are for fresh fruit. apple juice, for example, racks up 29 grams of Net Carbs, and orange juice (even freshly squeezed) is a close runner-up. Without the fiber to slow its absorption, fruit juice hits your metabolism like a sledgehammer. Likewise, drying fruit, including apricots, raisins, prunes, and apple slices, concentrates the sugars, elevating their carb count. But as you can see in this table, there are lots of fruit choices that come in at less than 10 grams of Net Carbs per portion. The following carb counts are for fresh fruit.

Fruit serving size Grams of Net Carbs Apple medium 8.7.

Apricot 3 medium 9.2.

Banana 1 small 21.2.

Carambola (Star fruit) cup sliced 2.8.

Cherimoya cup 24.3.

Figs, fresh 1 small fruit 6.4.

Grapes, green cup 13.7.

Grapes, purple Concord cup 7.4.

Grapes, red cup 13.4.

Grapefruit, red fruit 7.9.

Grapefruit, white fruit 8.6.

Guava cup 5.3.

Kiwi 1 fruit 8.7.

k.u.mquat fruits 7.5.

Loquat 10 fruits 14.2.

Lychee cup 14.5.

Mango cup 12.5.

Orange 1 medium fruit 12.9.

Orange sections cup 8.4.

Nectarine 1 medium fruit 13.8.

Papaya small fruit 6.1.

Pa.s.sion fruit cup 7.7.

Peach 1 small fruit 7.2.

Pear, Bartlett 1 medium fruit 21.1.

Pear, Bosc 1 small fruit 17.7.

Persimmon fruit 12.6.

Pineapple cup 8.7.

Plantain cup

21.0.

Plum 1 small fruit 3.3.

Pomegranate fruit 6.4.

Quince 1 fruit 12.3.

Tangerine 1 fruit 6.2.

Watermelon cup b.a.l.l.s 5.1.

STARCHY VEGETABLES.

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