I don't know what to do. My problem is that after doing the induction of the Atkins plan I was sooo happy about the results after just one week. (lost 6 lbs). Then I was bad and had a cheat day. Fine I got over it and went back to the Atkins induction plan. Well, a couple of days back into it my body just felt like it was out of wack. I had chest pains(only 29 years old), bad headaches when I would eat anything sweet or with sugar( I know another cheat snack). Now it has been over 3 weeks since I did it and I still have headaches when I eat something with sugar(a good thing) also I ended up getting my TOM a week early and it lasted 2 weeks long.
Okay now I know that these things are normal, from reading different posts but here (i know finally) is my problem.. I would like to do the induction period again and get back on track but my husband thinks that since my body was sooooooo screwed up that I shouldn't do it again. A part of me agrees with him but the other part of me likes the results.

What should I do?? Should I do it anyways or can weight be lost if I don't do the induction 2 weeks and go directly to the next step?????

I hope this makes sense. I have a habitof chatting about something and just assume people understand me.

You should always do Induction again after being off of Atkins...it gets your body in fat burning mode. You can read the book for hints about how to avoid the headaches, etc. As for the chest pain, I would have that checked out.

Do you feel you gave induction a real good shot? The reason I ask is that I was great on induction except I never gave up the alcohol.I did lose but not like I could have. This way of eating will effect your body, it will change things like never before. You may be consuming things that just don't agree with you. Some people get sick with headaches after consuming aspartame. As far as starting over, please do it, but watch for signs that you may be reacting to something and then modify it to what your body tells you to. I am sure your husband just wants you to feel good and is concerned. Good Luck

Keep in mind that carbs are addictive. They really are. For this to work you must avoid carbs especially on induction. In order for induction to succeed, do not cheat for atleast 2 weeks minimum. If you were trying to beat alcoholism, you could never have a drink or you would be right back where you started from. Ridding your body of too many carbs is no different. Carbohydrates are turned into glucose when they reach the blood stream. Depending on the resistance of your body's cells, this could drive insulin levels very high which would result in a sudden drop in glucose levels. You might very well be hypoglycemic so watch those cheat days hon.

Remember this diet has more than weightloss riding from it.

I think it's a good sign, that the diet is working. You get headaches everytime you eat sugar. So don't eat it.....

The Induction does cause headaches, weakness, tiredness, flu-like feeling, tiredness etc. Some only get a couple of days, some (like me) get about 2 weeks of it. It's only your body adjusting to burning protein and fat instead of sugar and fighting all the way, as it is more complicated. If you stick through it, it will go away.

Drinking water: try and drink the recommended amount, but make sure to add Potassium to your diet. I didn't and got really ill from all the water. I am now more careful and don't actually drink so much of it. If you feel thirsty a lot, wake up hungover (without drinking the night before), then you need more. If you feel fine and well hydrated, you are doing ok. Don't forget all the extra veggies we are eating contain a lot of water too.

TOM can be a problem for some for a while. I never had any problems there, but have read some folks complaining of shorter cycles and heavier. That will happen on most diets. If you go on Low-Fat or Low-Cal, they tend to do the opposite and either stay away or get lighter for a while, as your body is trying to preserve all energy and nutrients due to starvation. Don't worry about it. It balances out eventually.

Chest Pains ? No clue. Could be serious, could be not. If it worries you, get it checked out. Doesn't sound normal at all. Did you start exercising ? Then I would definitley get it checked out.

Don't give up just yet, good luck and hope you lose all the weight you want.

Cheers
Mad

I agree with the others. It's like telling an alcoholic they had better not try to detox because they feel so crappy when they do, or if they have a drink after.

You need to sit down with yourself though and discover why you repeadidly cheat. Especially knowing how miserable it seems to make you. Was it hunger? Was there an emotional trigger involved? Is there a very tempting food still in your house or someone who is sabatoging you?

As for the TOM, that can be normal. Estrogen is stored in fat cells and that's why overweight women have higher estrogen levels then healthy weight women. As you lose weight that estrogen is released and makes it's way happily around your body before leaving. End result is less estrogen, inbetween point can be screwy though. Also just the chemical changes in your body going from fat burning instead of gluclose can make changes. Women on here have talked about missed periods, or longer ones, more spotting, heavier or lighter, more or less cramps ect. It seems most are effected, but the how is different. For women with PCOS lc could mean the first time they have regular periods.

For me I know things got back to normal when I got close to goal weight and the weight loss slowed down. I don't know if other women went back to normal, or just adjusted to thier new cycles.

I dont drink any alcohol at all. And as for the chest pains it only happened once so maybe it was just indigestion. but either way it scared me.
I think i will do the induction again and just really watch what affects me and what doesn't.
Thank you all for helping me out.
I couldn't get through all this without these posts so I thankyou all again very much. :-)

Did you have any kind of sugar free candy? For me I get horrible gas that can inclue chest pains. They also can trigger cravings in many people and make staying away from the real stuff harder. Others say it makes it easier to stay away form sugar so YMMV (you're miliage may vary)