Some people believe they have had bad reactions to dieting the ATkins way, i.e., very low carbs.
I was doing Atkins, and losing weight, feeling great, all that, but a month or more into it, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea. I don’t quite feel my normal self.
Anyone have any experience with that?
The only time I’ve felt anything but great was a few days about a week into the diet. After that passed I’ve never felt better. Plus my chronic heart burn went away (could very well have been caused by things I stopped eating, and not directly the diet)…
Hi,
I felt cranky the first three days- but not really sick. I have had moments of feeling nasuea when I’ve had too heavy a meal or overdid it, but for the most part I feel great. Ditto on the heartburn- gone. I did have some episodes where the vitamin supplement I was taking made me physically ill (which I almost never am)- had to figure out to take it after breakfast.
About a week after I started, I had a day where I felt really, really tired and weak. I felt like I had been awake 24 hours. I had a few more days where I felt like that, but not as bad. What I learned is A. Drink a lot of water, and B. Eat something - anything at least every 5-6 hours. If I am late or busy and don’t eat something, I feel that way again.
What is your feeling - are you physically sick, or is it something else?
I have never felt sick because of Atkins. I would hazzard to guess that there is something else going on there…
…maybe see your doc?
I’ve felt myself craving a few more carbs in my diet, specifically, bread (I’ve never really been one to consume much sugar or high-glycemic fruits, such as oranges). So, I’ve been eating more cheeseburgers with the bun.
Does that mean I’m still addicted to carbs?
I never felt any different than I always do.
You might be what Atkins would call “addicted”… or it might just be that you like bread! You can’t expect all your tastes and preferences to go away immediately. As long as you’re losing the unwanted weight, there’s no cause to obsess over not doing it exactly by the book.
Atkins talks about “carb-sensitivity” at some point in one of his books. If you’re lucky, you’ll find that you have a low sensitivity, and will be able to re-introduce high-carb treats into your diet without problems, as long as you don’t go crazy with them.
My mom ended up in the hospital when she was on Atkins, though the doctors could not confirm that it was Atkins. She said that she felt really light headed and strange when she woke up in the morning on Atkins. Then she collapsed after working out at an aerobics class and was sent to the hospital for an erratic heart beat. They observed for a night and determined that it wasn’t a heart attack, but really didn’t give us any information… She was okay, but shaken. She stopped Atkins and started The Zone, which was less extreme but worked just as well for her to diet. No problems like that have happened again.
I never felt sick either, but I did feel bad for the first few days of induction while my body went through withdrawal from sugar and carbs. After that I felt great.
It’s always possible that you aren’t getting enough carbs, especially if you are still at Induction levels after a month. You might want to try adding in a few more carbs a day and see if that makes a difference.
I’ve been on Atkins since January. For the first 3 weeks I was feeling really energized, almost to the point of being manic. Then I reverted to my usual lazy self.
But no illness whatsoever. In fact, my physical health is amazingly better in many respects.
I managed for about two weeks then got bored. I don’t like most vegetables, I love fruit, bread and chocolate. So I started lifting wieghts a couple times a day… didn’t lose much but was REALLY tightening up. Then got off track with summer vacation. So now I am currently working on eating more salad, less soda and candy, plus lifting on a regular schedule.
BTW, I went off of soda for awhile about a year ago… dropped TEN pounds in two weeks.
I had constant headache for the 1st 2 weeks - which leaves me wondering WHY did I continue? Did work though.
My hair started falling out after 6 months on Atkins. Also, I started bruising really easily. I’ll admit that I wasn’t taking my vitamins like i should have been though.