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Old 07-18-2007, 12:18 PM   #1  
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Default New to Atkins and feeling sick

Hi All! I am doing Atkins/LC for the first time. Today is day 3. Since day one I have been feeling VERY light headed, tired and having slight headaches. I've been reading that alot of people experience this and that it is carb withdrawals and your body switching into fat burning mode. I'm wondering if anyone knows how to help eliminate these symptoms? I read to drink alot of water because some people tend to get dehydrated and these can be symptoms of dehydration but when I drink water it's making me naseous. I really want to stick with this in hopes that it passes and then the weight will start coming off but I feel HORRIBLE. I do notice however, that I feel much better when I'm walking around but I'm at work during the day so that limits how much I can walk around as I sit at a desk all day.

My other question is, I've read that the ketostix are a waste of money and not to buy them. How else will I know if I'm in ketosis or not?

Thank you all for any help you can offer! Have a great day!!
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Old 07-18-2007, 12:30 PM   #2  
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I'm on week 2 of induction and the first three days I felt pretty blah and I went to bed with a POUNDING headache. I attributed it to caffeine withdrawal--because before going on Atkins I was drinking probably a 2-liter of Diet Coke a DAY. I was hugely Diet Coke/caffeine addicted.

I guess I'll say "this too shall pass". Personally, my symptoms subsided after day 4 and I've felt REALLY good ever since. Not hungry, full of energy, no longer a slave to the evil soda
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Old 07-18-2007, 12:45 PM   #3  
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You're on week 2 of induction and have lost 32 lbs so far??? Or, were you doing something different before? congratulations by the way....32 lbs is a huge accomplishment!!!

I don't think it's the caffeine for me. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning (and I use the coffee that is light on the caffeine. Not completely decaf but 1/2 the caffeine of regular coffee) and will have one, maybe two cans of diet soda a day. Which I haven't eliminated since doing LC (should I?)
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Old 07-18-2007, 01:09 PM   #4  
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Hi Ebplus3,
Welcome! Happy to see you here!
Yes those feelings are a part of what are body is going through. Make sure that you are eating enough protein and veggies/salad during this stage. Don't try to skimp on it, and remember to drink water, that is very important. Another thing, take vitamins, a multi-vit is what I take.
But like Azure said, you will go through withdrawals from sugar, caffeine and whatever else our body was used to having.
It does pass! Then after a few days you see you're gonna have all kinds of energy.
If you have the Atkins book, it explains alot of what we go through.
I hope you start feeling better soon!
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Old 07-18-2007, 01:26 PM   #5  
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Protein and veggies/salad is the majority of what I am eating. I only like cheese in moderation and I'm not a big eggs person so I ate those for breakfast the first 2 day (mixed into egg salad) but today (day 3) I just couldn't do eggs again! LOL. So, it's mainly meat, salad and veggies that I'm eating with a little bit of cheese. I wish this sick feeling would pass already! LOL. Oh, also, I'm drinking some caffeine free celestial seasonings flavored tea....is this okay or is there carbs in the tea (if it's flavored apple cinnamon)? Thanks for your responses!
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Old 07-18-2007, 01:35 PM   #6  
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You're on week 2 of induction and have lost 32 lbs so far??? Or, were you doing something different before? congratulations by the way....32 lbs is a huge accomplishment!!!

I don't think it's the caffeine for me. I drink one cup of coffee in the morning (and I use the coffee that is light on the caffeine. Not completely decaf but 1/2 the caffeine of regular coffee) and will have one, maybe two cans of diet soda a day. Which I haven't eliminated since doing LC (should I?)
Oh no! I haven't lost 32 lbs since starting Atkins. I've lost 7 over the course of the last week and a half--which, to me, after a year of losing and regaining the same five pounds (from 165 to 160 and back again), is HUGE.

Since I began my weight loss journey for good, a year and a half ago, I've lost 32 pounds. I did it with SBD (a very LC SBD) for the first 20 pounds in about 4 months, and then had a VERY hard time trying to "eat healthy" (oh, what a misconception) by eating a low-fat, high-carb diet and counting calories--I was prone to binges eating that way so I basically treaded water for an entire year.

I decided to try a Ketogenic diet three weeks ago at 165--I started with 50 net carbs/day eating basically whatever I wanted and I dropped 5 pounds, then after a week and a half of that (plus some cheating...) I bought Atkins' book and I've been on Induction for a week and a half--and today I'm 153, who'd have thought it? So, 7lbs on 1.5 weeks of Induction and 12lbs total since three weeks ago when I cut carbs.

Did that make any sense?
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Old 07-18-2007, 02:11 PM   #7  
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Is a ketogenic diet a LC diet? So you were eating whatever you wanted...just staying under 50 carbs a day...and you lost 5 lbs? Well, we're about the same weight now...I keep going between 160 and 165 too (but I'm much shorter than you! LOL). I did do WW some years ago and lost 40 lbs. but I've gained 20 of those back (I was originally 180 after having my last baby). So, because WW worked for me before I would always go back to that thinking that since it worked before it'll work again. Well, I haven't been able to stick to it (always being hungry, getting the sweets cravings, etc) so I've decided, for the first time, to try a low carb diet. I'm hoping these sick feelings that I'm getting means I'm doing it right and I'll start noticing a weight loss soon! What helps me is to see people's daily menus (see what they're eating). Does anyone know where I might find a thread that posts people's menus?
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Old 07-18-2007, 02:24 PM   #8  
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We used to have a menu Thread right here in Atkins Section - think we should start one again?

I think it was like - What's For Breakfast?

What's For Lunch?

What's For Supper?

I think it went by the Week.

I remember getting a lot of inspiration and ideas from those Threads.
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Old 07-18-2007, 02:28 PM   #9  
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Oh yea....seeing what people that have actually LOST eat....that is a HUGE help and inspiration for me!
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Old 07-18-2007, 02:36 PM   #10  
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Originally Posted by ebplus3 View Post
Is a ketogenic diet a LC diet? So you were eating whatever you wanted...just staying under 50 carbs a day...and you lost 5 lbs? Well, we're about the same weight now...I keep going between 160 and 165 too (but I'm much shorter than you! LOL). I did do WW some years ago and lost 40 lbs. but I've gained 20 of those back (I was originally 180 after having my last baby). So, because WW worked for me before I would always go back to that thinking that since it worked before it'll work again. Well, I haven't been able to stick to it (always being hungry, getting the sweets cravings, etc) so I've decided, for the first time, to try a low carb diet. I'm hoping these sick feelings that I'm getting means I'm doing it right and I'll start noticing a weight loss soon! What helps me is to see people's daily menus (see what they're eating). Does anyone know where I might find a thread that posts people's menus?
I think it's one of those confusing questions. Some low carb diets are ketogenic diets, but not all of them. In fact, I'd venture to say that most LC diets aren't ketogenic--at least not after the first two weeks. South Beach Diet, for example, was probably ketogenic in the first two weeks with only vegetables, meat and cheese being "okay" (sound familliar?) But after that, fruit and whole grains come back into play immediately--I think Atkins eases you into those foods more gradually.

Just because there are so many different definitions of what "low carb" means, and people go into ketosis at different levels, what is and isn't "ketogenic" seems pretty individual. I like that Atkins gives every individual a "jump start" in induction, pretty much guaranteeing that anyone can get into ketosis during induction and then lets you add carbs back in slowly (~5 per week), to see where the person's threshold is for carbs/day so that they can still lose weight effectively. I feel safe on Induction--so I think I'll stay here until I'm almost RIGHT at goal, then go through the weaning-off processes that are OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss), Pre-Maintenance and then Maintenance. Atkins has all of them outlined in his book--and I'd definitely think about picking it up if you don't have a copy and want to do Atkins the "right" way

Well, I didn't eat quite -everything- I wanted. I definitely cut back on sugar almost completely (I say almost because I bake for my parents' restaurant and I was nibbling here and there a couple days during those first two weeks), but I was still eating things like low carb tortillas--which aren't allowed on Induction. Also, my nibbling induced a single binge on junk...which isn't a good plan. I was counting net carbs for things, but I wasn't paying much attention to where they came from before I picked up Atkins' book, if that makes any sense. Plus, I suspect that first week, much of that first 5lbs was my glycogen stores getting flushed out and water being lost. I know by my pants fitting looser that I'm definitely losing body fat now, though!

I don't know about menus elsewhere, but here's a typical day for me, for example:

Breakfast: 2 over-easy eggs, ~5oz ham steak (I like to dunk the ham in the egg yolk...rarely do I eat the egg white)

Lunch: 2 c. lettuce, 3 tbs low carb dressing (1 carb per 2 TBS), .5 oz sharp cheddar cheese, 5 oz chicken breast

Dinner: Cube steak (or boneless pork ribs or chicken breast) with baked chili-powder spiced zucchini slices or 1 cup of "Mock Mash" cauliflower (tastes JUST like mashed potatoes--yum!).

Snack: 1-2 oz sharp Wisconsin cheddar

Best part about Atkins so far? After about day 5, I stopped getting HUNGRY. I'm really only hungry first thing in the morning--after that, I eat because I should, not because I feel ravenous. It's nice
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Old 07-18-2007, 03:02 PM   #11  
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I see...so basically it's when you lose weight by being in ketosis. Right? Aside from using the ketostix, how do you know if you are in ketosis or not?

I plan on sticking with induction for a while too. Although, I must admit, I'm excited about learning what my carb/day number is to continue losing weight. That's a good thing to know about your body!

Today (day 3) is actually the first day that I've been hungry! Yesterday and the day before I was fine. Not hungry at all. Then again it is lunch time right now (it's noon where I am....Los Angeles). Time for my salad and chicken!
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Old 07-18-2007, 03:20 PM   #12  
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I see...so basically it's when you lose weight by being in ketosis. Right? Aside from using the ketostix, how do you know if you are in ketosis or not?

I plan on sticking with induction for a while too. Although, I must admit, I'm excited about learning what my carb/day number is to continue losing weight. That's a good thing to know about your body!

Today (day 3) is actually the first day that I've been hungry! Yesterday and the day before I was fine. Not hungry at all. Then again it is lunch time right now (it's noon where I am....Los Angeles). Time for my salad and chicken!
Yes, a Ketogenic diet is when you bring your body into ketosis (fat-burning metabolism instead of carb-burning metabolism) that you lose weight on Atkins.

As far as I know, the only way to know for sure if you're in ketosis is the ketostix. I bought a bottle for about $6 at WalMart, and I've been in ketosis since day 3, according to them. They're supposedly not terribly accurate, but if the stick is pink or purple, I know I'm still there. I check every day Though on induction, as long as you're following Induction to the letter, you can be fairly sure that you're in ketosis, anyway.
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Old 07-18-2007, 03:27 PM   #13  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aud View Post
We used to have a menu Thread right here in Atkins Section - think we should start one again?

I think it was like - What's For Breakfast?

What's For Lunch?

What's For Supper?

I think it went by the Week.

I remember getting a lot of inspiration and ideas from those Threads.
I think that's a good idea, then we can get ideas from each other as well.
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Old 07-18-2007, 03:48 PM   #14  
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I'm not sticking to induction to A TEE but here's what I have eaten so far. Can someone tell me if I'm at least figuring the carb count correctly? Thanks!

B: coffee (light on decaf...1/2 the caffeine of regular coffee) w/2 TBSP of sugar free flavored creamer (2 carbs)
2 sausage patties (I looked at the label and it said serving size is 2 patties=1 carb)

Snack: 5 slices of salami (label read serving size 5 slices = 1 carb)

lunch: 2 C. iceberg lettuce (1 carb) with a few chopped up green bell peppers (1 carb) and a few chopped up baby carrotts (1 carb) with chicken that had canned tomatoes cooked in it (2 carbs for the toms) with vinegarette dressing (label reads 2 TBS=3 carbs)

Then for dinner I plan on having chicken with mushrooms and onions and a green veggie (either green beans or spinach).

Does this sound okay? I am sticking to under 20 carbs/day. Can I still get into ketosis?
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Old 07-18-2007, 04:46 PM   #15  
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Hi ebplus3, Welcome! your menu sounds good, you should be able toget into ketosis, you probably already are. your carb count may be a little low on the veggies. I used fitday to calculate my carbs for the first few weeks untill I got used to the diet. as for the feeling sick it should pass in the first week. I didn't cut out the cafeine completely, just cut back, and whatch out for asprtame in diet soda, it can slow you down.
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