I feel so weak!

[Katie0413]

I have been exercising for months. I was able to do Jillian Micheals 30day Shred any level every day. Some days I would do 2 levels back to back. Plus I run, lift, yoga, ect... Since starting Atkins 7 days ago I have almost zero energy to do those things. I still walk for 45mins a day but when I try to do a shred level by the last circuit I am dying. I do it through tears...lol. Pushups are now killers where before I had zero problems. I haven't attempted to run again because my legs feel like lead. Is this normal? Will my strength/endurance come back????

Thanks for any advice!

[blueberrylady]

Re: I feel so weak!

Your body is probably adjusting to your change in eating habits, the fact that's it's burning fat now instead of carbs and withdrawal from sugar. You should be feeling better soon so don't give up. But if it persists, I would suggest seeing a doctor. Good luck!

[poobears1972]

Re: I feel so weak!

Most of us have had the same experience. Your body has to learn to burn different fuel for energy. Can take a bit for it to adjust. Make sure you are getting in all your veggies and lots of water. You'll be back on track soon with your endurance but don't push yourself too hard until you are, you could injure yourself.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: I feel so weak!

Very few people on Induction can keep up the same level of work out they were on before starting Induction.

Give your body a chance to adjust ... maybe cut back on the intensity for a week or two.

[liv]

Re: I feel so weak!

I do all those things now. So once you have adjusted to fat burning you can introduce these things again

[poobears1972]

Re: I feel so weak!

I remember seeing a study once that said for the first 30 days exercisers are stronger eating carbs than low carbing. After that endurance started to increase dramatically for low carbers and continued to move up above the carbers. It's been a couple of years but you may be able to find something about it on the net.

[imagood1]

Re: I feel so weak!

Welcome .... are you getting enough fat daily and are you drinking enough pure water? Those were 2 areas that helped me when I went through induction and felt weak. I do agree to give your body time to adjust to this way of eating...good luck ot you

[daione]

Re: I feel so weak!

Your feeling weak right now because you are not eating any surgar. Read Dr. Atkins book and he has some supplements to help with that. It will pass but at first you always feel a little weak. Well at least i do.

[jake1970]

Re: I feel so weak!

yes it will pass ,i felt the same in the first 2 -3 weeks ,i was exercising before atkins and was still doing the same when i first started induction ,just drop the exercise down a little then start to build it back up dont worry it shouldnt last long and before you know it youll be feeling ok and probally doing more than you were (i know i am ) good luck

[ziggy]

Re: I feel so weak!

give your body time to produce more insulin receptors

atkins = in short natural insulin senseitive muscles

high carb = in short unaturally insulin resistant muscles

this is due to insulin receptors too many on a high carb diet = over flood which is bad so your body takes lots away when you eat high carb but now that you eat healthy amounts of carbs your body needs to produce more insulin receptors on your muscles which takes along time so many gym people think they NEED carbs but they don't they just need to wait it out till there body produces more insulin receptors on there muscles but this adaption does take along time id say atleast 1 month or longer

[Katie0413]

Re: I feel so weak!

Thanks everyone! I was able to run 2 miles last night and walk an additional 4. So maybe it is coming back. =) The weights and everything are much harder for me to do. I will take my time.

Ziggy-I have PCOS and my labs always show that I produce too much insulin. I wonder how that affects me. I know low carb is good for PCOS. That is why I have decided to follow Atkins. THanks for the info!

[Ms.Yoyoqueen]

Re: I feel so weak!

I am reading the NEW book...just wanted to add that they recommend NO exercise for the first two weeks and also to add 1/2 teaspoon total of salt to your daily intake or 2 cups of regular salted chicken broth a day to prevent the "Atkin's Flu" symptoms of weakness. If you are following the 2002 book, then nevermind this advice....but just wanted to help ya a bit!

[2big4mysize]

Re: I feel so weak!

Thanks everyone! I was able to run 2 miles last night and walk an additional 4. So maybe it is coming back. =) The weights and everything are much harder for me to do. I will take my time.

Ziggy-I have PCOS and my labs always show that I produce too much insulin. I wonder how that affects me. I know low carb is good for PCOS. That is why I have decided to follow Atkins. THanks for the info!

glad you are seeing improvement. it is important as your body is gowing new powerplants to make more energy using the TAC system as your primary system ofr reenergizing that you are eating enough foods and you are making wise choices about them so you are not defieicnt in any vit or mineral.
there are some Dr Atkins recommends in DANDR you can take if you are not a fan of beef since beef is the highest source of food for those fatty acid carrier molecules we need to move the fats around in those powerplants. Once you get them built and all the transporters lined up you will be going like gangbusters.


in shape world class bikers didn't have any issues changing to a high fat diet and did better on endurance tests in several published studies, but they were not eating weight loss levels.

[Katie0413]

Re: I feel so weak!

Thanks yoyoqueen. I may try to add more salt. I never add salt to things and I was wondering about that the other day. That is very interesting because my husband said last night that he feels like he has the flu. He was doing the induction for support for me. I told him to stop and made him eggs and whole wheat toast for breakfast and added a piece of fruit to his lunch. He plays basketball 3 times a week for 2 hours hard and he said he could barely make it down the court.

I am able to run but I just crash afterwards. I no longer have the exercise high and I take naps now. I just feel so stinking tired. I know that I am not eating enough but the food is starting to gag me.

Is it against the rules to start on the rungs early? And maybe introduce 2 rungs at the same time. For the past 3 days I have lost a pound a day. That is starting to freak me out.

[miller98b]

Re: I feel so weak!

Katie, I was a college football player and three sport athlete and for the first few weeks of Atkins I could barely do anything. As I lost weight and my body adjusted its fuel expectations, I started to get back on track. I still can't do exactly what I was doing before, probably around 90%, but remember, your body does not need to burn through excess carbs before it gets to burn fat as it would if you were on a low-fat diet. So, on Atkins, 75% of your usual exercise should work just as well as 100% exercise pre-atkins.

Keep it up!