Day 2 and feeling aweful...

[jonneve]

Hi all,

I started induction phase yesterday noon (in the morning, I had a piece of chocolate, so I figured I'd start at noon). I simply got rid of all starches and sugars, which I didn't find very difficult, as I don't eat a huge amount of them anyway.

However, after the very first meal, I started feeling a bit weird, and during the afternoon I had to try to find an allowable snack fast because I was feeling weak (all I found was a bit of raw cabbage, and it didn't help much...). By the evening, I was feeling terrible, and the evening meal didn't help at all. On the contrary, it just made me feel heavy and yet unsatisfied, and still weak, tired, and overall just very strange. The symptoms reminded me a bit of hypoglycemia, but that might just be my imagination and logic more than actual fact.

Anyway, I went to bed figuring a good night's sleep would help, but I found that this morning, it was just as bad, if not worse. I was so drowsy and weak this morning at work that I had to go home early to try to get some sleep...

Now, upon reflexion, it's true that yesterday I had almost NO carbohydrates of any kind. We didn't happen to even have any vegetables (practically) in the frigde, and nothing to make a salad with (except a cucumber, which I had in the evening), so, apart from a very small amount of tomato sauce (which happened to have a few bits of carrot) that I took because I figured it might help, I had nothing sweet or starchy.

This morning on the other hand, I was feeling so bad that I took a little bunch of grapes, a small slice of whole-wheat bread, and a bit later, a banana, and even a tiny taste of honey. Nothing made any noticeable difference though...

What I don't understand, is that I can fast completely without any problem, and in fact, I do so from time to time. Last week I had nothing at all for nearly 3 days, and I was barely hungry, and certainly not weak or nauseous and drowsy like I am now... So there's something I defintely don't understand going on...

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? I can't continue like this, but on the other hand, nothing I do to try to fix it seems to make any difference any way, so...

Thanks in advance!
Jonathan.

[shari_dawn]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

You need to eat your vegetables but what your feeling is what is known here as induction flu. It sucks I know but when your body finally switches from buring carbs for energy to burning your own stores of fat your energy level will go through the roof.

You are not following the book. You need to get the Doctor Atkins New Diet Revolution, and Follow it religiously. Right now you are not doing the atkins diet. If you just started you should not be eating grapes, bread, banana, carrots, or honey.

There really is not much I can tell you if you don't take the time to read the book.


I'm sorry if I sound Harsh but the people on this board are following this diet very closely and seeing some huge results but you are not doing the Atkins right now. You are doing the Jonneve diet.

If you want to do the atkins get the book and specifically read the section on induction. Have the willpower and intestinal fortitude to follow it then post again.

[jonneve]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

You need to eat your vegetables but what your feeling is what is known here as induction flu. It sucks I know but when your body finally switches from buring carbs for energy to burning your own stores of fat your energy level will go through the roof.

You are not following the book. You need to get the Doctor Atkins New Diet Revolution, and Follow it religiously. Right now you are not doing the atkins diet. If you just started you should not be eating grapes, bread, banana, carrots, or honey.

There really is not much I can tell you if you don't take the time to read the book.


I'm sorry if I sound Harsh but the people on this board are following this diet very closely and seeing some huge results but you are not doing the Atkins right now. You are doing the Jonneve diet.

If you want to do the atkins get the book and specifically read the section on induction. Have the willpower and intestinal fortitude to follow it then post again.

I know I shouldn't have eaten those things, it's just that I was feeling so bad I figured I needed to do something or I couldn't work... Though as I said, it didn't work anyway...

I haven't read the book, because I don't have the book, but I read a lot from the atkins.com website, and I think I know enough to be able to do it properly, except that I wasn't expecting the transition to be so difficult.

I guess I need to continue to avoid carbs and just ignore the nausea then, and wait for it to get better...? I suppose having eaten those sweet things this morning might set me back a bit, but anyway, I'll try to keep going.

By the way, I read that it could be acceptable in some cases to eat a very small amount of high-fiber bread. Is that right? Will doing that sort of thing slow me down, or will it ease the transition?

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that my situation is something normal when beginning Atkins rather than a result of doing things wrong. Also, please realize that I wasn't criticizing the diet (I know that it works for many people), I was just asking for help because I feel terrible, and the things I ate were also just out of desperation, not temptation nor deliberate choice.

Thanks,
Jonathan.

[DuchessOfDork]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

Wah? Honey? What diet were you following?? XD And no! No bread on induction! You gotta get the book!

[jonneve]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

Wah? Honey? What diet were you following?? XD And no! No bread on induction! You gotta get the book!

I just explained that the honey was because I was feeling very bad (still am actually) and thought it would help. I realize I'm not supposed to have honey on induction, but I wasn't sure what I was going through was quite normal, and since I don't think I had the recommended 20g of carbs the first day, I started worrying that I had overdone it and was having hypoglycemia.

So, I'll start doing it strictly again, now that I know that "induction flu" is to be expected. Can anyone explain though, why this doesn't happen during fasting? As I said, I can fast for several days with no problem whatsoever. But it feels like eating plenty of everything except carbs is much harder to take. Does anyone know why?

Thanks,
Jonathan.

P.S.: Please, there's no need for everyone to get so aggressive. If I thought I was doing it right, I wouldn't be asking for help...

[sungju]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

Hi there.
I am a newbie here. I started last week and quit due to the induction flu.

I just started again this week after reading more and asking alot of questions. If I were you I would have a good understanding of the diet before starting. I am not one to talk because I don't have the book. I have to order it soon. Silly me.
I just read the entire Atkins.com site.

Induction seems a little simple. Anyone feel free to correct me.
I think you should eat at least 3 meals a day. I think you should eat your protein(meat, cheese, poultry, eggs etc.) and the low carb veggies, lots of lettuce, maybe some broccolli, mushrooms etc. about 3 cups a day. Veggies are important. I would stay away from most other things because veggie carbs are important now. It just 2 weeks then you can add about 5 more grams per week of carbs going through the ladder.
Grains are the last thing to add according to the wonderful people here.
It sounds like you were not ready to start. You need to go grocery shopping.
Drink lots and lots and lots of water. That I think has really helped me this time around
with the terrible nausea I had last week.
I would take a multivitamin, calcium and possibly a fibre supplement just to be safe.
I mostly ate carbs before this diet so it's really hard to get used to eating alot of meat.
Not a big meat eater. I think if your a meat eater this diet is certainly for you.
This is how I felt this time around. I have found others having these symptoms.
I made it through the first 2 days with no real symptoms, just not very hungry.
The third day I was a little shaky, feverish, headachy, little weak and a tiny bit nauseated. I also had bright yellow pee(possibly due to the vitamin pills)?? and I had green poop (possibly due to eating so much lettuce and alot of fat). Sorry to tell you this.
I know a lot of people feel terrible for several days during induction. I think it's like shock or withdrawl.
It's not fun but if you can get through a few days of it, after you should be fine..so I hear. I am feeling much better today(4th day). I actually got my appetite back which I think is a good sign.
Try to follow the diet strictly and don't worry its just a few days of symptoms..hopefully.
Sorry to hear you are feeling so bad. I know how you feel.
Take care..

[Katie_1985]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

Hi Jonathan,

Eating bread would definitely slow you down! I lost 10 pounds in my first nine days, following the book and if you slip up...you've come to the right place for sure! Good for you for turning to the right direction. Drink your water, too. I find that it helps with the nausea or create a fun little snack. It's hard but it only lasts a couple of days and then you reap the rewards! YAY! It's just so worth it, my friend!

No one's trying to be agressive at all! I don't think it was meant to be that way. They were reminders and and encouragement from your team!

Just set your mind to it and it'll get done!

I don't know about the fasting idea except that your body would be in starvation mode and holding on to everything it's got!! If you're eating...it knows that you're not in survival mode and it doesn't need to hold onto that fat!

[sungju]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

also just going outside for a walk or some light exercise may make you feel a little better at least it did for me.
oh yeah. 20 net carbs per day
One more thing. People on this site are really helpful and supportive.

[misplaced southerner]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

no aggressiveness here with me but i have to ask...did you read the book? sorry but i just scanned thru these posts. nothing you ate in the morning is atkins/induction friendly. i have never suffered induction flu but many here have and i understand it can be terrible. please read the book and understand the concept behind the plan. i made a copy of the allowed foods for induction and kept them on my fridge. when you are feeling rotten drink lots of water and move your body....exercise really seems to help. we are ALL here to help you. the best help you can give yourself is to read a lot, ask lots of questions and UNDERSTAND the plan....when you do that, wou WILL succeed...good luck!

and...your carb should all be coming from veggies in induction...

[jonneve]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

Thanks a lot Sungju and Katie for your helpful replies!

Just a question: could getting LESS than 20 carbs a day make things harder? Would it also slow down the weight loss?

I'm not terribly overweight (I'm about 150 pounds), I just want to lose about 10 to 20 pounds so as to get back to where I was about six months ago, and I was getting worried because I've been gaining pretty fast, so I figured I needed to change my eating habits. I don't eat a lot of carbs (except that I do have a lot of whole-wheat bread), but I do drink a goodly amount of coffee and/or tea, which probably doesn't help. Actually, I had a good deal of coffee yesterday morning, so perhaps that didn't help (yes, I know it's not allowed, and so I'm stopping it now...).

Don't know if all that makes any difference to the "flu" I'm going through, but anyway, just figured I'd give a bit more background information.

Thanks again for your help!
Jonathan.

[jonneve]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

no aggressiveness here with me but i have to ask...did you read the book? sorry but i just scanned thru these posts. nothing you ate in the morning is atkins/induction friendly. i have never suffered induction flu but many here have and i understand it can be terrible. please read the book and understand the concept behind the plan. i made a copy of the allowed foods for induction and kept them on my fridge. when you are feeling rotten drink lots of water and move your body....exercise really seems to help. we are ALL here to help you. the best help you can give yourself is to read a lot, ask lots of questions and UNDERSTAND the plan....when you do that, wou WILL succeed...good luck!

and...your carb should all be coming from veggies in induction...

Hi,

No, I haven't read the book, but I did read most of the instructions on the atkin.com site. Yes, I know I didn't eat the right things... The rest of the time I did though (mostly eggs) but I was getting desperate because I wasn't expecting it to get this bad and I was feeling too weak to work, so I needed something. The trouble was also that I started at a time when we happened to have very little appropriate food in the house, so that didn't help.

I'll give it another try.

Thanks,
Jonathan.

[sungju]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

I would stay close to 20. 20 is so low. I can't imagine going lower. Remember weight loss takes time and you don't have a whole lot to lose. Try to be patient.
My guess is that is you went lower you might have even more symptoms and likely some constapation. I really think veggies are important at this stage
and water water and more water.
You need veggies for nutrition.
Coffee is dehydrating and it I think it makes you have cravings. I would try to quit.
Some teas are quite soothing for your digestion..like camomile and maybe perpermint.
I am trying to do this a day a time.
Do take care...

[sungju]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

Maybe you could start on a Thursday or Friday so that the worst days are during the weekend when you are not working.
You ate mostly eggs? I wouldn't last a day if I only ate eggs.

[kate58]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

The book and the Atkins site are very different things. Very. This forum follows the 2002 edition of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, which was the last book that Dr A wrote before he died. None of Dr A's family or former colleagues have anything to do with the Atkins company now, and they are primarily a food manufacturer these days, so you need to take what you read on the site with a pinch of salt.

This diet works. But for it to work you have to do it exactly as in the book - so you really do need to get hold of the book. You also need to plan, it is impossible to over emphasise the importance of planning, it's absolutely vital as you have already discovered. You need to stock your fridge with low-carb food, so that you are never in a position where there is nothing to eat.

Eating less than 20 carbs daily is not a good idea. You may fall below that now and again on induction, but you should be aiming to get a minimum of 10 carbs a day from veg, more if possible. I realise that your eating all that sugary stuff was because you felt rotten, but you feel rotten because you are not eating right, not eating according to the induction rules. This isn't mostly eggs, and doesn't include any bread of any kind, wholemeal or otherwise, either.

You need to eat balanced, regular meals of good fresh food, including all your allowed vegetables, fresh meat, cheese etc.

[Sus25]

Re: Day 2 and feeling aweful...

I am on day 5 of induction. Let me tell you...after being a HIGH carb binge eater for the last 4 years this is the hardest thing I have done. Day 2 and 3 were the hardest for me. I craved everything I could think of. I felt sick to my stomach and had trouble sleeping. But the one thing that kept me going is knowing what I am doing for my health. I am FAT and I think I have sort of ignored mirrors and in my head didnt believe how big I had gotten. When I woke up today on Day 5 I had this whole new energy. You just really have to stick with it. It is so hard, but coming to this board is so wonderful and people here want you to succeed. If you need support I am here for you. I honestly believe if you can get through the first few days you will be ok!

Susan