Leg cramps?

[mjlanham2]

I am on my second week of Atkins and yesterday my legs were cramping so bad it hurt to walk. I haven't been excersizing much (yet) because of the end of the school year activities and stress so I am not sore because of excersize. I am taking my supplements, so I don't know what is wrong. Today I feel better, but last night I was in a lot of pain.

[*Emma*]

Re: Leg cramps?

Its a lack of potassium, are you eating your veggies?? measuring them properly?

Avocado is high in potassium as is spinach, tomatoes and squash - maybe you need an additional supplement but i would try just looking at your veggies first.

[Lamby-pie]

Re: Leg cramps?

I added a magnesium and a potassium pill when I had leg cramps, the pain stopped within minutes. I still take these supplements a few times a week, along with my daily multi-vitamin.

[db7597]

Re: Leg cramps?

Leg cramps can be caused by a multitude of things - potassium is one of them, but it can also be a calcium and magnesium shortage. I eat 1.5 oz of low salt mixed nuts almost every day. That has about 360mg of potassium. I also take a supplement that has zinc, magnesium and calcium once a day 333mg total. One other note - I never had leg cramps until I started doing Atkins and one day they started and kept going. I was drained and thought something was wrong. It turned out that it was Nexium (a stomach acid pill) that was causing the problems. Since I stopped it, my pains all went away. I have no idea why the low carb plan would cause the side effect of Nexium to trigger, but it did. The good news is, I went off the Nexium and so far - I don't need it! So, it was a good thing in disguise. Maybe it was my body's way of telling me "you don't need that any more". In any case, if the leg cramps continue - see a doc. Don't forget that your heart is a muscle just like your legs. Your heart needs balanced electrolytes to function. Also, don't forget to drink lots of water to keep everything in check. Water helps to get rid of things like sodium. If potassium and sodium are out of balance, it's usually because lack of hydration (a.k.a. goodl old H20).

[guekjian]

Re: Leg cramps?

Totally agree with the answers...the Cal-K pills did it for me though! Calcium Potassium blend...