Critical Carbohydrate Level

When you have determined your "critical carbohydrate level for losing" in the second phase of the Atkins diet and have about 10 pounds left to lose, you can move on to the third, "pre-maintenance" phase.

The second phase, known as Ongoing Weight Loss, allows you to slightly increase your carb intake - by 5g daily for a week at a time - until you find your Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing Weight.

At this point, the diet is changed, using the Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance information gained in Phase 2, so that the final few pounds are lost more slowly than before. "The slower you lose the last 5 pounds, the better".

In the pre-maintenance phase, the dieter increases his or her carbohydrate intake by ten net grams each week until the attainment of the so-called 'Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance'.

Daily net carbohydrates intake is increased again this time by 10 grams each week from the latter groupings, and the key goal in this phase is to find the "Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance", ...

The Ongoing Weight Loss phase involves adding more fibrous vegetables (carbohydrates) until the "Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing" is reached. The small increases in carbohydrates are carefully managed on a week-by-week basis.
Phase 3 and 4 ...

You'll need to find your own Critical Carbohydrate Level for Maintenance (CCLM), meaning the level at which you neither gain nor lose weight. At this level, you will still restrict carbohydrates enough to curb some of your appetite.

"induction" period, during which the goal is to reduce carbohydrate intake to under 20 grams per day, and three periods during which carbohydrate intake is progressively raised but kept below what Atkins called "your critical carbohydrate level" for ...

In fact, one of the first goals of Atkins is to discover your unique CCL, or Critical Carbohydrate Level. This number is simply the number of net carbs that can be eaten daily to maintain a fixed weight. There are four phases to Atkins: ...

Atkins calls the "critical carbohydrate level," for at 60 grams of carbohydrate a day most people no longer are in ketosis. For majority of dieters, this level is associated with feelings of well-being. It is optimal.

See also: Atkins, Carbohydrate, Diet, Carbohydrates, Atkins Diet