It's that "time of the month" and that combined with my recent carb binge (see previous posting) is causing me to retain quite a bit of water and I feel grossly bloated. Has anyone ever taken a diuretic pill to help reduce that bloated feeling? I saw some at the pharmacy tonight and was curious if anyone had taken them and if they made a difference. There were some pills that had caffeine and others that were caffeine free, I'm guessing for Atkins the latter would be better. I am drinking plenty of water (usually between 7-9 glasses a day) which should help but I was hoping these pills might expedite the process a little bit and make me feel less like a human water balloon.

My recommendation is to do hard-core induction for a week or two -- bet you'll see better results than with pills of any kind.

The bloated feeling and extra pounds after a binge aren't your imagination -- it's simple chemistry. It's the same effect as the 'fast' weight loss many people have when starting Atkins or other very low carb plans -- to stock carbs in your body, your body also needs water. As you lose the glucose stocks you lose the water - and that works in reverse too, so a high-carb binge brings MORE than it's fair share of weight gain. But it's easy come, easy go as long as you go back to low carb levels for a few days.

You might decrease your sodium intake too for a few days -- that can also help release bloating.

...and if it's also time of month, you just need to wait it out -- not much can be done for that - it's normal human biochemistry

Hang in there

Sarah, it has SLOWLY been coming off - thank goodness. I have been doing a very careful induction, which is helping. Thank you for the advice.

There was something in the store I saw last night...and I forgot the name but it was a pill to counteract the carbs you eat. I dont know if its safe or not or even worth the effort......just thought I would mention it... I guess it works on carbs like Alli works on fat..... I didnt pay that much attention cause I was looking for ketostix.

I saw the "carb blocker" pills as well when I was in the drugstore but didn't give much thought to it. I really don't like pills so I try to avoid them unless I am, you know, deathly ill and have no choice. I have not taken Alli since it was released as an over-the-counter pill but I took it years ago when you needed a prescription for it. It would be a nightmare for Atkins followers (with fat blocking and such)... I just didn't like it, the physical side effects were pretty gross.

yes...the "oily anal leakage" is scary lol..... I know it works for some people but I would probably be one of those people that had the leakage at the wrong time if you know what I mean lol

LeslieLou, the sad and gross part is that I know from experience that the warnings they put out with Alli are completely true! Yuck.