has anyone experienced lightheadedness while doing atkins?
everytime I stand up I feel like I'm going to pass out.

I do sometimes. Does anyone know how to keep this from happening?

Don't stand up? (sorry....couldn't resist)

:-)

Taking potassium stopped it for me.

Are you making sure to eat enough calories. You need more at your height and weight then a shortie like me would

Also do you feel you are losing weight too fast? While it may seem impossible to go to fast, remember slower means less saggy skin, stretch marks and a better likely hood of keeping it off. If you feel really weak slightly upping the carbs and slowing loss may help.

What suppliments are you taking? On top of the pottasium recomended a good multi vitamin is a must along with calcium and magnesium. If you keep a fitday account make sure you are getting enough iron. If not you may have to get a multi with added iron. I rarely eat red meat and get much of my protien from poultry, eggs, and occasional seafood. While I do eat spinach my daily iron intake is usually below 50% RDA I found out.

When you stand up and get dizzy, it is usually from low blood pressure. Potassium helps regulate blood pressure. I had this problem and it is completly gone now that I take a potassium supplement.

I do all these things, and still get lightheaded when I stand up sometimes. Maybe I need MORE pottasium than just one pill?

I swear by potassium - I can definately feel it even if I miss a day.

Vikki

Yup try Potassium my friend -- also dehydration plays a key role (Potassium again related) but if you are getting all your water then that is not a concern.

You could do a test depending in what phase you are in. I felt the light-headedness a few times and once when it came on I tried having some fruit... a small amount of cantaloupe. I was trying to decipher if sugar would have anything to do with it. It took care of it but generally those spells last such a short time that maybe me feeling better was only a feeling of having my favourite fruit.

One thing that is not often considered is your eyesight. I know for sure that if I spend most of my day working on the computer, which I do as it's my job, if I then get up fast or focus on something else real quick... I at rare times almost feel like the whole world is spinning. Now normally I would enjoy having the world spinning and me yelling along “weeeeeeeeee” , but lately that's not as much fun as I’d hoped or remember it to be – guess you need to be really lit up. Again it may not be diet related but eye strain, fatigue related. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between just feeling a bit dizzy or having actual light-headedness.

Hope it clears up with potassium though.. that would be the simplest solution right?

Scorpio - funny response - needed a lunch time giggle. Thanks.

Vikki

thanks for all the help
potassium sounds like the way to go

tomorrow is my first weigh in since i started atkins
i'm siked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i'm trying to get 4-500 ml bottles of water in a day, but sometimes its hard.

is this even enough?

What worked for me was adding sodium (table salt) to my food. Now that I no longer eat packaged food items that have lots of salt, I don't get much salt from my food.

Hi all,

I'm a bit of a newbie, but I have specific experience in this area. I have a chronic condition that causes that *every* time I stand up. What I can tell you is that two things are likely the culprit, and they're related:

1 - loss of electrolytes
2 - loss of fluids

Drink more water -- if you get dehydrated, it doesn't just come from your tissues, it also comes from your blood volume. Decreased blood volume = low blood pressure = dizziness. So be sure and drink.

But water alone won't increase it, you have to add electrolytes. Potassium is good because it's an electrolyte, but sodium is also a must because it helps your body hold on to the water you're drinking, instead of using it exclusively to flush out toxins.

Me, I have to consume 5800 mg of sodium a day to keep from feeling bad! Of course, I wouldn't recommend that to the average person. My blood pressure, with the sodium, stays about 100/65.

Also, if you find that it does NOT go away after a while, email me. You may have a similar chronic condition.