Just a few questions...

[shauna779]

First, let me apologize if this becomes a double post, when I went to preview it, it disappeared! My name is Shauna, I'm 25, married with two daughters. I had some problems with my first go-round with Atkins, and I'm hoping to pick your brains to see if anyone can give me some advice. My first time, I did a strict Induction and lost 17 pounds in those 14 days. Which was great, but I only needed to lose about 30 total, so instead of the 5-10% loss I expected, it was over 50%. Beleive me, I'm not complaining, but the rapid loss had some side effects I was not prepared for. I started having heart palpitations, and a lot of shortness of breath. It was so bad I couldn't go upstairs, it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I tried upping the potassium, but it did no good. Once I quit, palpitations went down, but you guessed it, weight gain went up. I was so disappointed, until my heart started acting up, I was looking and feeling better than I had in years! I was always full, it was wonderful. Now I'm back to tackle those 30 pounds again, but this time I want to avoid anything that may cause me problems. My new start date is tomorrow, and I can't wait. Also, a more delicate question. I know a common problem is constipation, but my body kind of decided to go the other way. If anyone knows a way to deal with that, or the palpitations, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Shauna

[Starmaker]

Re: Just a few questions...

I would definately get the heart palpitations assessed by your doctor before starting any form of weight loss regimine. I am interested to know what you ate during those 14 days. An impressive amount of weight loss for sure. If there is an underlying condition that may be affecting your weight loss journey, wouldn't you want to know about it ahead of time? Let us know how you make out with the doc.

[Finelly]

Re: Just a few questions...

Ok, let's see:

Constipation begins after the first couple of weeks, usually. Loose bowels or diarrhea often happens in the first week to two weeks. Perfectly normal. For both problems, 1-3 tablespoons of flax seed meal per day does wonders! I swear by it - it's also great for nails, skin and hair! Who knew?

The physical symptoms you had, plus that enormous weight loss sound odd. Could you post what was a typical day's menu?

Glad you found us! Stick around!

[Terry]

Re: Just a few questions...

Definately see a doctor. Did you see one last time when you were having those palpitations?

For such a large amount of weight loss..... 50% seems wonderful but maybe too much all at once for your body to handle. I would be curious to see a sample menu of what you ate too.

Welcome to STAC Shauna!!

[shauna779]

Re: Just a few questions...

This is what a typical day might have been for me:
Breakfast: 2 eggs(HB or scrambled), 1 ounce of cheese
Lunch:Turkey and cheese rollups, 2 cups cucumber and bell pepper with blue cheese or ranch dressing
Dinner:Grilled or baked chicken, 1 cup of buttered spaghetti squash or broccoli
Plus a snack or two, adjusted to whatever else I had eaten that day. And around 200 ounces of water. I really thought the loss was because it was a drastic turnaround from the way I was eating. No breakfast, no water, and I pretty much lived on soda and pasta. Plus I'm sure the bowel problems were not helping. I did talk to my dr about it, and she basically told me to stop it, and if I was concerned about my weight, to go a more "traditional" route. Not exactly an Atkins friendly person. I'm sure you all know the type. I think I'll have to look into finding one more open to the idea. For the flax seed meal, is this widely available, or should I look into a health store? Thanks for the advice, wow you guys are quick! I was thinking if I get the ok from the dr, if maybe I should start with a higher level of carbs? I didn't really want to do that because I know how important a clean Induction is, but if it keeps me healthy, I'll take the slower loss just to be able to stay on track. Again, thanks for the advice! Shauna

[Finelly]

Re: Just a few questions...

I get flax seed meal at Walgreens, but it's also available at Walmart and some Target stores.

Well, your menu looks FINE. Really good, actually. I wonder if you were just suffering from withdrawal from carbs.....but that was a **** of a weight loss in the first two weeks!

I say, try again, keep us posted about what symptoms you are having, and let's see what happens! Of course, I'm no doctor (don't even play one on tv) but if your dr didn't get upset about your symptoms other than telling you to go off Atkins if you didn't like it, see how the first few days go....

[Finelly]

Re: Just a few questions...

Oh, yah, and the reason we respond so quick is that many of us are addicted to the board and can't help ourselves! lol

[Terry]

Re: Just a few questions...

Maybe monitor that weight loss and up your carbs if you are losing that quickly again. That may be too fast for your body to keep up? Definately watch for any early signs of what you experienced before and keep us all posted.

The dr had nothing to say about your heart palpitations? I guess Im lucky. My dr follows Atkins.

[Starmaker]

Re: Just a few questions...

When I told my doc about Atkins I did it in a sneaky way, I told her I no longer eat sugars, starches, white flours or most anything white anymore. That I now eat lots of veggies, lean meats, and low glycymic fruits such as berries and melons. I told her if I do have grains its flax bread or wasa crackers once in a blue moon. She wrote it all down and said nothing. can't argue with healthy eating!

[Sarah1341]

Re: Just a few questions...

Have you ever had your thyroid tested? I have hyperthyroid (also called Graves Disease), which causes you to lose weight rapidly. Not exactly sure why I'm fat with this condition? Just recently learned I have this. It never appeared on any other tests. Anyway, in addition to rapid weight loss, some of the other symptoms are: fatigue, loose bowels, heart palpitations, loss of hair, and muscle cramps (probably some others I cannot think of too). Might be worth checking out.

If you are concerned, I would try to do a two to three day induction phase and then start in on the lower rungs of OWL to see how you feel.

Hope all goes well! Keep us posted!

[Kathi22]

Re: Just a few questions...

Hi Shauna! I too had palpatations - to the point that one morning they were so bad that my fiance (hubby now ) took me straight to the Dr. for an emergency EKG. I was fine - my body wasn't used to all the protein! My Dr. follows Atkins and loves that I do it too. He told me too much protein and not enough fat to balance it was causing my palpatations. So I started eating more meat and less chicken, boom it was gone.

If I were you I would go to a Dr. immediately if it happens again.

Good luck!

[Desertthorn]

Re: Just a few questions...

I am also the queen of heart palapatations, and so I understand how scary they are. I found out that anything can trigger palapatations. For me, it was/is caffeine, stress, sugar, and the list goes on. It got so bad they but me on beta blockers which seems to be one of the factors in my not losing weight.
What happened to me was that I would have a palapatation and that would scare me and I would go into a full blown panic attack. That might be what is happening to you also.
My suggestion would be to do Atkins to the letter, but without any junk low carb stuff cause I think those chemicals have a lot to do with our problem. Make sure each meal has some protein, some fat and some carb, even snacks.
Journal everything that you eat and see if you can figure out what the culpret might be.
And do some deep breathing, calming exercises along with your regular exercise.
We are all pulling for you and with this crowd on your side, how can you go wrong.
Lynne

[knicknack]

Re: Just a few questions...

maybe you just caught a bug at the same time as the diet. Massive diarrhea can certainly cause weight loss as well, which could explain why you lost so much maybe?

If I were you I'd probably just start a little slower - try to not go as low carb as you might otherwise, and see how you feel...