[chilichick]

I was watching the news last night and they were talking about side effects of low carb living:
Constipation
Cramps
Severe mood swings
Bad breath


Have any of you experienced any adverse side effects?
I have had headaches in phase one, but otherwise the only gastro-intestinal effect is diahreah when I use sugar alcohol product. ( which I find are not worth it)

[Ruthxxx]

SBD is not a low carb plan. Even in Phase I, good carbs are allowed. I've not had any side effects fromthe plan.

[wendyjo]

Well, I peed ALOT the first few days and I had some pretty bad pain for a day or two that I thought was from my left kidney. I was also pretty consitpated at first so I'm not sure if the pain I had was from my kidneys, or from the constipation, or maybe a combo of both. DH & I was also both feeling pretty lethargic during Phase 1 but it got better after the first week.

[Pennywise]

The only side effect I noticed was that during Phase 1, some of my teeth got coated during the day, and I had to scrub like mad to remove it. It doesn't happen since I've added some carbs. Weird, huh??

Jo

[lizziness]

Hrm. That is weird, but now that I think about it, I have experienced the teeth thing as well. Stomach problems I always just figured were me with ibs. but i have noticed less diarhea and more constipation and gas. (oooh, loverly conversation *LOL* )
But on the upside - did i mention less diarhea! And I have more energy. And my hair and skin is better. And when I crave foods that I can't have, I know if i eat them it will make me sick - which i suppose could be a side effect but i think it's a good thing because it makes me wonder - do i REALLY want to get sick over this? There is also the leg cramp thing that is on another thread. I also saw someone post that they had worse cramps when they were in phase one, I noticed that a bit but in phase two it has eased.
Overall I feel better though, and that makes it worth the side effects.

[chick_on_the_beach]

I have friends who did Dr Atkins and experienced all these symptoms but we eat a lot of healthy carbs through the veges, beans and nuts we eat. I find if I eat less that 2-3 cups of vegies per day I feel a little blocked up. I would imagine if I wasn't eat many vegies at all I would get constipated.

[Natter]

Combining Phase I and all the travel I did, I thought I was never going to "offload." But I added fibercon before each meal, and all is well. Yes, it is a delightful subject, isn't it? But I find that since passing 50, everyone in my house finds bowels more fascinating by the day. Now that DS (Darling Sister) has had intestinal surgery, we have even more "innards" to discuss -- we're so thrilled . BTW, SB really prepped her well for her operation. The doctor said he rarely sees anyone in such great shape post-op as she was. Hooray for the Beach!

[JKJ618]

The only thing I've noticed is that I have severe cottonmouth. It gets so bad that I can't talk at all. I've also noticed that it's more bothersome in the morning than later in the day.

[chicky]

In Phase 1 I dealt with constipation, gas and the tooth coating, I think its the cheese.
Taking a fiber supplement does help alot!

[chick_on_the_beach]

Nuts seem to do it too. Although if I restricted myself to my 'allowed' quantity this probably wouldn't happen.

[lostsoulhelpmejebus]

I notice if I do not eat enough veggies it causes a backup, if you will. The thing that is most annoying is that every morning when I wake my mouth feels like a desert, I end up drinking several glasses of water; maybe I am just weird?

[fireflynova]

Mood swings over here - (could just be me but I feel better blaming it on SBD )

I have the bad breath thing, in the morning only usually.. and I'm not talking morning breath lol, it's gotten worse since I started SBD.. a small price to pay to get healthy.

[Amyjo01]

Compared to Atkins- which I did for many moons before switching over to something I can actually live with, I experienced all of the above but SoBeD hasn't had any of those affects on me except for the thirst thing.

[Tone]

I've had the backed up thing & the bad breath thing. Both of which I attribute to the cheese. I also have a hard time with a lot of veggies, so I try my best to make sure and get the beans in. Now in Phase II I have noticed that the constipation seems to be taking care of itself. Like FireFlyNova said, a small price to pay to get healthy!

[beachgal]

I agree with Ruth, this isn't a low carb plan. After a week of cheating in Europe, I can say that eating "normally" gives me terrible gas and diarrehea and/or constipation (IBS), terrible mood swings, fatigue, cravings, and more. On SBD, the only side effect I experience is constipation. I eat tons of veggies, take five metamucil capsules a day, and eat flaxseed, and it's still an issue. But I think it's much better than the way I feel off SBD!

If you have a lot of cotton-mouth...are you drinking enough?