And I have a headache!! It started this morning, and I sure hope it goes away soon.
My hubby and I decided to go Atkins AND quit smoking at the same time (hopefully the withdrawal will all be over at the same time). I am registered on the low-carb friends website/BB, but I still love my Dopers best.
I know I’ve got some fellow AtkinsDopers out there - I may need some help here in a couple of days!
FYI: I’m 5’7" and 186lbs. I want to get down to 140, hopefully by July 26. Is that a reasonable goal, or am I just dreaming?
No more Shapiro’s for you, young lady! Man, I miss that place.
46 pounds in about 90 days? I am afraid you are dreaming. That sounds way too fast to be healthy. IMHO, most folks would tell you a pound or two a week is healthy.
Good Luck. I agree with Brynda that you shouldn’t expect to average more than a pound or two a week, though. The first couple weeks will probably be signficiantly more, but I wouldn’t expect to keep the rate off.
I lost about 60 lbs on the Atkins plan in 1999. I gained back about 10 last year (lots of stress made me go off the plan) and I’m working on losing it now.
I found that I ended up not caring about my end weight so much as my end size - I ended up having more muscle tone on Atkins then I did years earlier on a low-fat plan, even without exercising. So you may want to pay more attention to the tape measure and inches lost rather than the scale.
Wow - I didn’t think about 46lb is 90 days!! Well, the 46lb is what I want to lose - July 27 is just a semi-important date. I know it’s more important to lose carefully - but you’ve gotta have a goal, right.
Brynda, THANKFULLY, I no longer work downtown, so I’m not tempted like that.
Sheesh-giving up smoking and carbs all at once? That’s a hell of a challenge-good luck!
The first 3 days will be your hardest. Take some asprin for the headache (which I firmly believe is nicotine withdrawl, not carb withdrawl), wash them down with more water than you ever wanted to drink in your whole life, and try to not think about food. Bear in mind, you’ll be cooking a lot more on this diet than you’re probably used to, but i’s worth it. I’ve been on it a month, and I’ve lost 15 pounds. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s 15 less than I had a month ago, and hopefully I can keep up that rate for a few more months. Exercise would help, but it’s not something I can pull off just now.
Drink lots of water! That will help with the headache, as well as help your liver which is going to go through some stress on the Atkins diet. The first 3 days do suck, but to counter any cravings go out and buy a bottle of cream and drink it! I wolfed down bacon and eggs my first few days too, so I wasn’t really hungry.
I’ve lost 25 lbs since Jan. 10, only a few more to go. I also haven’t been too strict for the past month or so, so I’m down to a pound a week. Don’t get too stressed if you hit a plateau, I did for 3 weeks, then started losing again fast.
But drink lots of water, really. Keep your pee clear and you’ll be doing fine.
I have to say you civilized folk have it easy on the Atkins diet. You can get all types of foods and supplements and things that I can’t get here. No stevia, no splenda, no low-carb pre-made snacks or anything. I even have a hard time finding soy flour or vegetable juice.
If you can just make it through the first 3-4 days, it’ll be smooth sailing from then on. Your cravings should decrease dramatically as should your appetite.
Thanks guys. Right about now, my head is feeling better, but I think my tummy would like me better if I could just throw up. UGH. I’m sure it’s just trying to adjust to the new proportions of food, but DAMN!!
(I’m sure it doesn’t help that I’m ragging right now, either. TRIPLE whammy!!)
I think I’m gonna do a taco-less salad for dinner tonight in honor of Cinco de Mayo.
I’ve lost 24 lbs, my husband has lost 31 since the beginning of the year. Wait’ll you get that super zoom of energy. It’s the coolest feeling. Not being hungry is cool, too, though it can be a pain if you forget to eat and then are at a place where you can’t.
“Not being hungry”??? How about “Only being able to eat a few bites before you get nauseous”? Is this feeling gonna last, 'cause if it is, I don’t think I can stick it out. Feeling nauseous for nine hours straight (minus a nap) is NOT my idea of a good time!!
Are you also cutting out a considerable amount of caffeine?
That was what hurt me my first two days on Atkins. I decided to taper off, from four cups of coffee on down to the one I drink now. I can’t kick that first cup o the day.
Other than that, I can’t think of any reason why lowcarbing would effect you so violently so soon. I quit smoking and never had any headaches, but I didn’t do it all at once. You’re a tough one!
And like they always say on the LC BB…
DON’T FORGET TO DRINK YOUR WATER!
I did have a cup of hot tea this AM as opposed to my usual coffee. It still has some caffeine, but I guess I am doing a lot all at one time. Can I pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease puke now???
Avarie, what are you eating? I never felt like I was going to puke. You can eat some ‘normal’ meals that are really low-carb: bacon and eggs for breakfast, cottage cheese and a salad for lunch (no carrots or celery for Induction, but many other veggies and ham or chicken are OK. Plus creamy ranch or blue cheese dressing is ok.), and a steak/chicken breast/filet of fish with a side of butter grilled mushrooms for dinner (or other low-carb side like cauliflower or broccoli). You’ve probably had those meals before, so your stomach will be fine on them. If you are only trying to eat steak 3 times a day, you could have a problem.
The only discomfort I had in the beginning was constipation…so go buy some psyllium husks and drink that twice a day.
Yes, you do lose your hunger after the first week or so, it is sorta strange. You’ll skip lunch without noticing it if you have a busy schedule. My energy levels didn’t increase dramatically, but they sure as heck levelled out. I used to get the mid-afternoon sleepy periods, but now I’m fairly even throughout the whole day.
Avarie, if you are having carb cravings, try L-Glutamine (an amino acid supplement, cheaply available at Wal-Mart in the vitamin section). Take 2 with each meal (not one per day as the bottle says). IANAD, but I got this tip from Atkins’ latest (last) book, and the beginning of the year when I gave up refined sugar and flour, it really helped me a lot!
When you’re on the Atkins diet you generally lose some minerals at first, especially if you’re drinking enough water. Magnesium and Potassium supplements get rid of the headachy, tired feeling you get in the first couple days while you body transitions from burning carbs for fuel to burning fat for fuel.
I checked what I ate on Fitday.com, and it looks like I ate WAY too much fat yesterday (cheese). I feel much better this morning, and I’m going to be more careful about what I have for lunch.
I’m not really craving anything - my body did not want any type of food last night, but it’s fine with breakfast (2 hardboiled eggs, 1 slice bacon, 6 marinated artichoke heart quarters), and I’m going to have a caesar salad w/chicken - NO CROUTONS - for lunch.
I went through the same nauseousness at the beginning too. It only lasted about a day. After I got through the third “OMG-I-can’t-do-this” day, I was okay. After that I pretty much lost my appettite (except during PMS, which is a totally different story in itself)
Your breakfast and lunch sounds great, btw. Just make sure to get all your veggies in and drink water, water and more water. It’s amazing what a huge effect all that water can have on your body.
Don’t worry so much about the fat content. As long as you are staying under 20 carbs a day, you are doing fine.
Oh, and I have to second that comment above about the burst of energy–you’ll know it when it hits you and after it does, you will wonder how on earth you lived before it. Don’t forget to take a good multi-vitamin every day too. That can help combat fatigue if you are experiencing that, and also contributes to the huge burst of energy.
