Back on the Atkins wagon. Same symptoms - Sleepiness.
 

I have returned to Atkins after a couple of months off.

It is day 2 of induction and I am falling asleep at my desk. I had this problem with Atkins before and never kicked it - part of the reason I quit.

Previously, I tried everything short of stopping exercise and taking Potassium supplements.

Can we eliminate Potassium from the cause? If I am only on my second day and both days have been like this after being fine the day before starting, is it even possible for Potassium to get depleted that rapidly? If not, surely that cannot be the cause?

Exercise is a possibility. I ate normally the night before starting, although I did have a few alcoholic drinks and junk food (You can tell why I needed to get back on a diet). The first morning I went in my swim squad, doing about 2.5km. This morning I lifted weights. So I could accept that the exercise is too draining without carbs.

Excuse me while I crawl up under my desk...

i think that there is a waiting period where your body is shifting from burning carbs to burning fat. sometimes it's best to wait AT LEAST a week before starting the exercise. it takes a few days to make the switch and a good ten days to really switch the body over. so, you are not yet burning fat for energy but you are also not giving your body any of the carbs it's conditioned to burn. you are actually relying on protein a bit as a glucose source (gluconeogenisis) That's why you feel wiped out. less is WAY more in this case. so, wait a week and then when you feel the energy kick in (the switch) then try to slowly incorporate exercise again. i think everyone is different. i know this is what i needed to do to. take care.....

Interesting Point
 

This does make sense.

I will bear it in mind over the coming few days. You may shake your head but I am kind of expected at the swim squad tomorrow and I know the coach is going to be tough on us (As he went easy on Wednesday). Throwing caution to the wind, I am intent upon going. However, with what you have said I will take it as easy as possible and not complain if I get lethargic as a result. Fortunately I have just finished a project so work is fairly light on at the moment - I might be able to snooze for an hour at lunch. Also, the weekend is coming up and I will not be exercising then.

I did feel the lack of carbs in my gym workout this morning, but I was expecting it. I have been doing pyramid sets over the last six weeks and as a result I know what I am normally capable of lifting. I definately ran at a deficit this morning.

The other side effect I am having is, interestingly, feeling really fat and bloated today. Perhaps it is all part of the transition. I do recall the first time I did Atkins - Towards the end of the week I thought there was no way I could have possibly have lost weight with the food I had been eating. I also felt kind of different (After the three days of hell - I got severe headaches). I have to say I was impressed at loosing 3kg (I don't look at the scales more than weekly). I have felt a mild headache this time but it may be the caffeine & carb withdrawal.

I hope Atkins still works for me the second time around.

Tornado, you really need to get some nutrition in before those workouts, especially if you are switching over to lc again. You may want to go to the general exercise forum. They have some great "gurus" who really know their stuff. And a whole lot of good info on workouts and nutrition. Best of luck to ya :)

Headaches
 

Oh, and did I mention the headaches?

It has got gradually worse over the 48 hours since I started. I had the same experience the first time. By memory it was really bad at the 2nd-3rd day. I was a coffee drinker before as well, so I have never been sure whether the headaches I got when I started Atkins were exacerbated by caffeine withdrawal as well. Both times I went cold turkey on carbs, caffeine and alcohol at the same time.

I'm a sucker for punishment.

Think I'll go update my signature so you can see me falling off the wagon...

Caffeine withdrawal does it every time to me. I have a pepsi addiction and everytime I readdict myself I have terrible headaches for a couple of days after getting back on the plan. Hopefully this time I won't make the same mistake :::rolling eyes at self:::

Its called "induction flu", btw...the lethargy, feeling sluggish and tired, etc. Dr. Atkins said that the worse you feel the more addicted you were to something in your diet (or something along those lines).


L

I second the 'Induction Flu'. You could also try adding some B complex vitamins (aka stress tabs) to your vitamin regimen. I've found they helped a lot (get lots of B vits from grains/fortified HC products). Takes a week or so to feel the difference and your pee is 'highlighter yellow', but I swear by them :)

Call me crazy, but i've started using bee-caps and my energy level is normal again. I found myself overtired for a few months and I had tried relacore, which worked for about a week but was expensive, then saw these caps while on vacation. I take one at breakfast and one at lunch and wa-la...no more sleepies. They're an all natural product put out by Nature Cure. Might want to give them a try. Here's a link:

http://www.beecaps.com/bee_caps_facts.htm

:lol: at the highlighter pee!!! When I first started my vitamins I said "what the..." then laughed and it kicked in why it was that color. :lol: ( doesn't take much to make me laugh)

Don't know if this is going to be a popular suggestion or not but when I read about the caffeine, I really heard you on that one. I have a HORRIBLE time giving up caffeine, the induction flu is NOTHING compared to the effects of laying off the caffeine for me. My gut is telling me that this may be making the headaches worse for you. As a result, I have never stopped the coffee during this WOE. A lot of other people continue to drink it as well and loose fine. Perhaps you could either slowly wean yourself off, just cut down or not quit at all? Maybe quitting everything at one time is a lot for your body right now?

Also, your workouts on top of everything else-- that may be totally pushing you over the edge. I agree with the other poster that suggested you check out the general exercise forum. You may just need to add something to your diet to compensate for your workouts too.

Hope you are feeling better very soon!

Hi

I was so energetic when I first started, but I get sleepy (not as sleepy when I was carbing) during the day, too, and I have been at it for a year.

Coffee--I drink half-caf coffee. I mix a nice coffee with some decaf in my coffeemaker, and ask for a half-caf when I order at local coffeeshops. This way, I can still drink my volumes of coffee, but reduce the caffeine, and hopefully some of the addiction.

M

The headaches for me were the worst, I too stopped coffee cold turkey during induction. But good news.......they did go away by the weeks end.

I agree with Sun on the caffeine. I gave it up for Induction the first time around and lost 10lbs, then I fell off the wagon for several months and when I did Induction again and drank coffee this time, I lost 10 lbs -- same result. It's a YMMV thing, but that may be the culprit. The only reason Dr. A wants you to cut out caffeine is that it could trigger cravings (if caffeine level is high enough causes insulin response), but if that doesn't happen to you....

Mearra: it doesn't take much to amuse me, either. Great way to go thru life :D :D :D :D

Nicole

Did you forget how tough the first 2 weeks of Atkins can be? And going off caffeine at the same time... you're asking for it! Caffeine withdrawls can be very severe causing massive headaches, tiredness and flu-like symptoms.

If I were you, I'd stay on the coffee at least until your body had gotten used to being low-carb, then gradually cut down on caffeine. But then, I'm a wimp. :)

I second (or is it third?) the don't-neccessarily-feel-that-you-have-to-give-up-caffeine thing. I've stayed drinking half-caf (same method as above) in the morning and decaf after that, and had no problems. When I tried to give it up cold turkey -- terrible headaches and yucky feeling.

You might want to check your magnesium intake, tho-- lack of magnesium can make you feel crappy too. Especially added to carb withdrawal, exercise-induced fatigue, and caffeine withdrawal. Yikes!

Good luck!
:D