Last year I tried atkins and stayed on it for 5 months, loved it although I lost no weight! Eventually I found out I was hypothyroid. After a year of taking thyroid I have tried every diet and all of them make me feel awful around the 3rd day. A few weeks ago I finally got out of denial and went to the dr to find out what the problem is. I told him atkins is my favorite diet and he agreed to help me get on with doing it, starting at 30 carbs per day and a 1500 calorie meal plan. I started last week but had to quit day 6 because of some blood tests I need to be carbed up for. I'm restarting Monday after the tests and wanted to feel better this time around.

I had headaches, tiredness, constipation and diarrhea. How long does this last? What are the best remedies?

Hi there,

I am sorry to hear about your challenges and wish you the very best.

Now I had the headaches, tiredness and constipation as well. The headaches and tiredness which were an indication of carb & caffeine withdrawals went away after day 4-6. The constipation is an ongoing battle and I usually just take a mild senna laxative twice a week and that helps me out. Good Luck to you hun, I hope everything goes great for you and keep us posted

Hey glad to hear your Dr. is helping you. Try to make sure you have 2 tbsp of ground flax seed each day, as well, use some spinach in place of lettuce. Swiss chard is great for fibre also.

Cheers Kathy

thanks for your replies. I will definitely be looking forward to day 7! I'm glad to know these are normal feelings, as I didn't go through any of this when I was hypothyroid.

I made my grocery list and am heading out to the store,
senna laxative, flax seed, spinach and swiss chard, got it.

Nawchem,
My doctor recommended this way of eating to me. I experienced all those things you describe and more! When I talked to my Doctor about it he told me to continue and my body would work it out. I had days when everything I ate ran right through me. Then the other extreme. Now I am leveling out. If you get a bout where you need something to keep things moving try a couple pieces of Hershey's sugar free candy! Make sure you don't eat too much. In a couple of hours My guess is you will NOT have that problem! Good Luck!

A magnesium supplement (take it at night!) will help with the constipation problem. Although Atkins says to give up caffeine, many of us haven't and it hasn't had an effect on weight loss.

Hey There

Caffeine definitely gets things moving for me- also foods with sugar alcohols (after induction) are good for that too.

For me, I was fine after the first week- it really is an adjustment for your body. The first few days are hard but after that- I have SOOOOO much energy right now .

Welcome back and here's to success!

I can't wait to get to the higher energy point! Thanks so much for your tips, I think there all really good. I don't usually have caffeine but if I get desperate maybe a hot cup of tea would help things. My body was acting very strange last week and I didn't think I could take it on a long term basis, so knowing it will right itself is a huge relief.
Nancy