I've been happily counting calories for 11 months now, but just found out my husband is in the "prediabetic" catagory of blood sugar, and his triglycerides have been waaaaaaaay too high for several years now- so he's going on Atkins, and I'm going too- to keep him company.

So, this is my first day of LOWWWWWWWW carbed-ness and I'm going to whine: My brain is slowing down and I have a headache. I can't think straight and I keep forgetting what I'm doing.

Does this clear up after a while? Or am I doomed to stupidity while in the < 20 carbs daily catagory?

Also, my husband is going to go to Judo class tonight and will burn probably 6-700 calories per hour during the 2 hour class. Will he be OK?? Does meat and fat digest slower or faster than carbs? How early should he have eaten before he goes to class? His maintenance level of calories should be around 3000 calories per day. If he eats this much, shouldn't his number of grams of carbs be greater than mine? It doesn't seem fair that he should get such a lower percentage of total diet than I do. Or am I just confused? I haven't finished reading the book yet.

*sigh*

I can't think straight.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Maria!

You've come to a great place for advice, support & encouragement!

You've also chosen a great plan to follow. Atkins is a heatlhy, effective way of life when done correctly. And don't worry. yes...the "induction flu" does go away

You CAN do this!!!

All the best to you!!!

Kim

Well, my head is clear today. And my husband apparently had sufficient energy for judo class yesterday, so all is good.

Welcome to Atkins, Maria. I hope this plan works great for you and your DH. It sure has for me. I have read the book, but don't recall men getting any higher # of carbs. I noticed you have lost 41 lbs. WTG, that is great.

Maria, Atkins is the easiest diet I've ever been on. Congratulations!!!!! for your 41 pound weightloss. I wish your DH every bit of luck in controlling his diabetes. Judy H

I've done some research, and we won't be joining you folks after all. There is a risk that the increased stress on the kidneys processing all the byproducts of increased fat and protein metabolism might lead to problems in diabetic people.

We'll probably try a typical diabetic diet, with 50% carbs or less, with calorie counting to keep weight loss continuing. Renal damage just isn't something I'm willing to risk.

Thanks for the welcome, and maybe I'll see some of you over in Support.

I think Atkins is considered GREAT for diabetic people. As long as you are drinking sufficient amounts of water there isn't that much extra stress on the kidneys. But it depends on where you get your information from, what you will read.

I know that in the Suzanne Somer's Diet book there was a foreward written by a nutritionist who worked with diabetic people. She described the diet that is "recommended" for diabetics and talked about how the diabetics would follow the diet they were told to follow and they would come back again and again worse off than before. Then their doctors would accuse them of not following the diet! Her recommendations were for low carb because she saw that it worked and worked well for diabetics.

I could swear my kidneys were hurting yesterday afternoon, and I was drinking plenty of water. I'm terribly sensitive to minute changes in my body, and I was urinating twice as much as normal the past 2 days. You could practically hear the kidneys whirring overtime! They are back to normal now that I'm out of ketosis.

I've been trying for a Zone diet percentage for the past 11 months or so: 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40 percent carbs. I usually hit 50-55% carbs with corresponding decreases in protein and fat. My husband hasn't been dieting, and eats significantly more carbs than I do. I suspect that dropping him to 40-50% will help a lot.

Besides, fiber is VERY important to people with metabolic syndrome which is what he has. We really can't afford to cut his fiber as much as Atkins would.

I want you to do what works best for you. Everybody is different - thus every diet is successful for somebody! I hope you aren't veiwing atkins as unhealthy! I knew a nurse friend with one kidney and his doctor said he could even do it - the stresses are minimal, even without adequate water. Also, on Atkins, if you eat all those yummy veggies, your fiber should be through the roof. Ever ate chili with black soy beans! More fiber than any bread. Low carb hot cereals - straight fiber.
Anyway, best wishes. Diabetes is hard. I work as a nurse, and I always hear nurses talking badly about them. Healthy people always make the assumption that the diabetics are just "doing it to themselves." I try to affect the attitude, but it's pretty hard wired. Do what works for you and DH - and truly, best wishes.

You may want to read Dr. Richard Bernstein's books. He is diabetic himself. also Atkins has an excellent book out on diabetes.

I am diabetic and have liver disease. I'm on the liver transplant list. With liver disease there is always a high risk of kidney failure. My hepatologist specifically put me on LC dieting to take care of my obesity. I am also an RN and feel that he knew best and that this is a safe and effective way for me to lose weight. My health problems have improved significantly since losing the weight.

By all means, do what you need to do for you and your DH. Just wanted to voice my opinion that this is a safe way to lose weight. Plus, it's faster and more successful than a lot of diet plans.

Kim, I agree. At one time I was on insulin, now I only take metformin for the PCOS. My blood sugars are now normal.

Maria I am not on atkins but seen this post and wanted to chime in. I calorie count for myself. I think what is important is to incorporate whole foods into his routine with plenty of fresh veggies, fruit, whole grains, low fat dairy, beans and lean meats. Your percentage plan is similiar to mine and I have been successfully losing weight. Cut out the potatoes, white rice and white breads. Cut out the processed foods as much as possible. Switch to brown rice and to 100% whole wheat/ or grain bread. Above all get him moving! Walking is a great form of exercise and does help protect the body from diabetes! There are some foods that even help lower blood sugar. Some fruits, I would have to look again as to exactly what but I do know cinamon does. Check out the diabetes forum, it can be very helpful!

World's Healthiest foods List

Good luck!! Here I found a few links for you that I have read before.

Exercise Can Reverse Pre-Diabetes

Exercise Reduces Diabetes by Reducing Insulin Resistance

Want to Stop Diabetes? Start Exercising

There was another one that was specifically "walk away from diabetes" but I can't find it at the moment. It was on his site though so click around and you may find it.

I've been "experimenting" on him for the past week. When we tried the <50% carbs route, his blood sugar shot up to 124 fasting. The highest ever! He's been keeping carbs down to 30-35% and his fasting blood sugar is staying between 112 to 118.

I should visit the diabetes forum. He may eventually go lower and lower on the carb ratios as he sees the results on the morning finger stick. The induction phase of Atkins was just too brutal for us. I can't risk constipation due to a pelvic prolapse, and he needs more fiber for lipid control than you can get in induction phase- but we might end up at the maintenance level or close to it in the end. Who knows what will work best? My nutrition computer program is keeping track of quite a few different nutrients- so it might not be as simple as carb/fat/protein ratio.

He's not terribly overweight: Only 20 lbs, and he's pretty active physically. The judo alone insures over 2 hours per week of vigorous exercise. We bought some cinnamon capsules today and are incorporating that into the daily regimen. It will be interesting to see how that affects tomorrow's blood glucose.

I hadn't looked much into diabetes yet. I'd looked up LOTS on metabolic syndrome, and was hoping we could avoid the diabetes- but that seems unlikely at this point. The difference between fasting glucose level of 124 (his highest) and 126 (official diabetes) seems academic at this point. The damage being done at those different levels can't be much different.