re: the knee, did you see my comment to yesterday's journal??? As for the carb levels - if you are 'cheating' on only Induction Approved foods between 20-40g's / day, it should not likely be an issue. As for the increasing by 5g's a week - you really need to be tracking your foods daily. There is a method to their madness...and a process to working in OWL. It's not just ANY 5g's / week... and in order to learn what affects YOUR body, and your system - you are going to need to follow the OWL guidelines correctly. a little review at atkins.com might be in order, or dig out your book if you have one. Hope you are feeling better soon. :)