Exhausted

[sfyd31]

Hey guys,

I'm on the third week of Atkins, and from a weight perspective it is going great. I am dropping the lbs really well. I've almost hit the 20 lb mark. However, I feel exhausted and even light headed quite a bit of the time. I'm not really a hungry a lot, but my body just feels so out of sync. I have brief stretches where I do things but most of the time its a no go.

I feel very odd about this because I read his book and he said I should feel an upward change in about three days to a week.

Possible causes I could think of:

1-Had a sore throat and used cough drops about a week and a half ago. Didn't realize they would mess up the diet. Or didn't think it through. Anyway, may have been a reset button moment.

2- lack of veggies. I am eating some, but admittedly not very much.

3- lack of excercise. Once a twice a week I go out and play basketball with a couple friends for an hour or so, but that is the majority of my excercise. By the time I'm done, I'm very dizzy (although that might be dehydration as well)


Thanks!
Josh

[jennbeingme]

Re: Exhausted

There could be many things going on.
1- maybe you aren't eating enough? 20 lbs in three weeks sounds pretty drastic- increase your vegetables!
2- are you taking any multivitamins?
3- are you drinking enough water?

other than that- I can't help you much unless you post a sample menu, let us know how much weight you want to lose, do you have any other medical conditions etc....?

Being relatively new to this myself ( Jan 09) I'm sure the others will have more to contribute.

[sfyd31]

Re: Exhausted

Thanks for answreing! Hopefully this will help.

Sample menu would be something like this:

Morning: 4 slices melted american cheese
Afternoon: .5-1 lbs of smoked sausage (dickey's bbq)
Evening: .5-1 lbs of smoked sausage

Some days I might have just regular sausage. Other days I mayhave 1 or 2 small hamburger patties wrapped up in lettuce with mustard and heinz 1 carb ketchup. That's where my veggies come in. I'm a little scared of veggies.

So far, I haven't taken a multivitamin, but I plan on doing that.

Water consumption seems to be pretty good, although I sweat a lot when I play sports, so its hard to keep up with. I used to drink propell. Today I tried smart water, which is water with some electrolytes mixed in... no sugar or carbs. Hopefully that helps. If so I will start drinking more of that. But I drink at least 8 glasses a day, soemtimes more.

Thanks again,
Josh

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Exhausted

You are eating way too much processed foods. American cheese is not allowed on induction. All that sausage is loaded with bad for you chemicals, plus it has sugar or corn syrup--betcha. Since you are not eating many healthy foods, you are probably low on potassium and magnesium and what you describe feeling is symptomatic of potassium and magnesium deficiency.

You are not eating the way Dr. Atkins said to eat to get that surge of energy after a few days. You are supposed to be eating eggs, meats, poultry, fish, butter, mayo, olive oil, aged cheeses and 3 cups of veggies a day.

You are supposed to be taking supplements. When you lose that much water weight in three weeks, you lose so many electrolytes (potassium, magnesium and sodium) that can cause you to be dizzy, exhausted, have muscle cramps and kidney pain.

Don't be afraid of veggies. You need the nutrients and fiber from them.

[chinadoll]

Re: Exhausted

No wonder you are exhausted. NO VEGGIES? PROCESSED MEATS WITH NO REAL FOOD? Sorry, but you are doing yourself no favors with this stuff. Follow Sunny's advice and start doing this properly if you want to lose healthily and permanently and feel good. What you are doing is not even Atkins, at least not the way the good doctor intended it. Drink your water, eat real food including your veggies every day, and I guarantee wou will feel better and still lose weight. Get the to a copy of DANDR and read it so you will know how to do things right. You owe it to yourself.

[kibskix]

Re: Exhausted

....4 pieces of processed cheese for breakfast?? Next to no veggies at all??
Honey I don't even know how you got the energy to write this post! That isn't atkins, thats starving your body of the calories, the fats, the veggies, and the nutrients it needs to do the simplest things, like give you enough energy to get through the day.
pretty please read the book, read all the stickies here on the site, and for the love of god, throw away the processed food and EAT LOTS OF VEGGIES! Why are you afraid of veggies? They are there for a reason. Atkins isn't "the less carbs, the more weight you lose" Thats a MYTH MYTH MYTH. 3 cups a day, 20carbs a day. If I eat too little carbs in a day, I won't lose an ounce. If I eat too little fats, I will -gain-. keeping track of everything you eat is paramount in the beginning, until you can eyeball it and get into a routine. fitday.com. fats-65%. protein-35%. carbs-5%

[SunnySmile501]

Re: Exhausted

Sample menu would be something like this:

Morning: 4 slices melted american cheese
Afternoon: .5-1 lbs of smoked sausage (dickey's bbq)
Evening: .5-1 lbs of smoked sausage

Some days I might have just regular sausage. Other days I mayhave 1 or 2 small hamburger patties wrapped up in lettuce with mustard and heinz 1 carb ketchup. That's where my veggies come in. I'm a little scared of veggies.

Josh

You are eating 1 to 2 pounds of smoked sausage. A 6 ounce serving has 2 grams carbs and 2 grams sugars--that means all the carbs comes from sugar.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit's Meats: Smoked Sausage has 580 calories, 52.0g of fat, 2.0g of carbs, and 2.0g of sugars in each serving (6 oz).

[msanjelpie]

Re: Exhausted

Without a multi vitamin/multi mineral daily tablet, you aren't going to feel very energetic... in fact you might have body aches and muscle spasms to hit soon without the supplements. There is a large section in DANDR about taking supplements along with the diet... find a good one with no iron...

[sfyd31]

Re: Exhausted

Hey guys,

Thanks. Guess I misunderstood the process. I'll adjust accordingly. I'm not sure the best way to get fat into a diet. maybe butter on my veggies? My fear of veggies was that I didn't want to over-indulge, but obviously I went too far. I saw the sugar carbs from the bbq meat too, and I was disappointed. :/. Oh well. I've started taking a vitamin, and I'll go get some other supplements as well. I thought as long as I was losing weight I was doing what he had in mind. But by re-reading and talking wtih people, I see that was wrong.

If you don't mind me asking, my wife and I have little time right now. We try to do food quickly. What are some nice quick recipes for the diet? Is there a good way to keep it quick and easy?

Thanks for the help everyone. I'm tired of feeling that way, so now that I know what I'm doing wrong, hopefully I can turn the corner quick!

In Him,
Josh

[imagood1]

Re: Exhausted

Here are some links to get you on the right track as far as being on Atkins and a few recipe sites --- I hope you will listen to the people who have posted to help you and follow the program as it was written. You need AT LEAST 64 oz of water everyday and some form of exercise each day - how about walking?

Rules of Induction:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=6782 (What are the Rules of Induction?)
Induction Acceptable Foods:
http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...ead.php?t=6781 (What foods can be eaten on Induction?)

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Daily Menus
Sheila's Low Carb, Atkins & Induction Friendly *ORIGINAL* Recipes Page!

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/58513-never-ending-induction-recipes.html

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/6807-induction-recipe-basics-more-recipes-added.html

Good luck

[stephbob]

Re: Exhausted

You're hardly eating anything! Shocking!

My time fix for cooking is the steam fresh bags from Walmart or other grocery stores. I stick all my veggies in there, throw it in the microwave, then when it comes out, I cover most veggies in butter (makes them so tasty!)

[sfyd31]

Re: Exhausted

The weird part is that I'm not hungry at all. Sometimes I have to make myself eat. Which again I viewed as a positive sign. Thanks for the steamed vegetables idea! I'll definitely be using that one.

[pagliaccia]

Re: Exhausted

Definitely echoing the steamed veggies idea. Also, do you have a slow cooker? If not, look into getting one. You put the meat in, leave it to cook a bit (hour or so, totally depends on meat), then throw the veggies and the seasonings in at some point, and go on about your day. Slow cookers yield the most tender meat ever, and can make extremely healthy and Atkins-friendly meals. Good luck!

[kibskix]

Re: Exhausted

hah steph bob thats exactly what I do! It keeps for a couple days too since the broccoli/green beans etc are only allowed as 1 cup a day, so the next day all you have to do is re-heat and go, nice and quick