I have been babystepping into low carb, starting with the Insulin Resistance Diet and Life Without Bread. Now I think I am going to move on to Protein Power.

I am about halfway through the book (the earlier one from the mid-'90s) and I have a couple questions about supplementation. Should I expect to need a potassium supplement at the 55 carb level or only if I drop to the full 30 carb limit? If I need it, what is the best source of potassium?

I suspect I will need to use some sort of protein powder or other supplement to reach 65 grams a day, especially since I eat two meals a day at my desk. What do you recommend? I like the Atkins shakes just fine, but am open to other, simpler things. Does anyone use spirulina?

Thanks for any help.

I would use a potassium supplement even at 55 carbs per day at least for the first couple of weeks.

I use Designer Whey French vanilla protein powder to make up shakes and like it a lot. It is widely distributed and lower in price than competitors.

it will probably depend on how you feel as far as potassium goes. i don't take any.

it is probably easier than you think to get your minimum protein requirements. i also eat 2 meals a day at my desk. do you have access to a microwave? i make my breakfast and lunch the night before and a lot of times take stuff i can heat up at work. i usually am way over the minimum protein requirement.

do you use fitday? or any other kind of program that tracks your food intake. plug in what you think will be a typical day and you can see if you will need protein suplimentation or not.

when i do make a shake i use designer whey also.

So how did I miss this post?

I'm with Acipenser on the potassium. If you feel good, don't take it. If you start getting leg cramps or restless legs at night, or feel dragged out and lousy, take some potassium. When I'm at the very lowest carb levels, I definitely need potassium. I'll take 2 tablets (99 mg each) morning and night. I'll do this for a while, and then stop it for a while.

And it's very easy to get 65 grams of protein a day. Since meat (virtually any kind, including beef, pork, poultry, and fish) has 7 grams of protein per ounce, you would need a mere 3 ounces of meat three times a day. That's not much. Or, 3/4 cup of cottage cheese is equivalent to the 3 ounces of meat. Or 2 eggs and a slice or two of bacon or ham is good.

An occasional shake is fine. I tend to be a purist and try to eat only natural foods, except in an emergency or as an occasional treat. When I'm rushed in the morning, I sometimes have a Carb Solutions vanilla shake (mix the powder with water and a little cream).

Good luck! Feel free to join us on the daily thread called "Protein Power Pals."

Thanks for the responses.

You are probably right that I won't have trouble hitting my protein levels. Yesterday I ended up at 79 grams without jumping through any particular hoops (although I did have a shake). I try not to use them too much, but I keep them on hand for times when I need a fast meal.

I probably will start checking in on the daily posts. I don't have much to lose, but that can be frustrating, too, since I never see any dramatic results no matter what I try. Just tiny, tiny steps in one direction or the other. A little water retention or dehydration can make a huge difference in how I look and feel that day. Sigh.

I am trying to stay away from the scale (it is not my friend) but a little bloat can make the tape measure and/or my jeans indicate a phony weight gain just as easily as the scale can. (But fat doesn't hurt the way bloat does.)

When is my body going to actually use up that pad of fat on my belly and hips??!

It'll happen! I went down a shoe size before a pants size. Go figure.

Me, too, on the shoe size. Weird.

Don't hang all your hopes on a flat tummy, though. Even when you get down to goal weight, you can still have pooches of fat here and there. The only way to reshape your body is through weight training. Without regimented weight training, you'll lose pounds, but you'll end up simply a smaller version of the shape you were in before. If you had flabby arms before, you'll have them after. If you were a pear shape with hips and thighs disproportionately larger than your waist and shoulders, you'll have the same shape after losing pounds, just smaller.

I don't mean to discourage you. If you're interested, Body For Life is a great program. There's a whole forum on it in the Exercise area of this board.

I have been doing a cycle of yoga, pilates, resistance, weight lifting, cycling, and aerobics, 5-6 hours a week for the past 12 years ! It's not like I just crawled off the couch!

In fact, long ago I decided to stop dieting and put my energy into exercise. It has paid off to the extent that my body fat % is around 25% and I only have a few pounds to lose (even though I am 51 years old and in menopause). The up side of that is that I have been eating a healthy diet and am not dealing with the metabolic effects of years of yo-yo dieting. But I have also seen a gradual, two-pound-per-year weight gain for the past 5 years, and I am surprised at how hard it is to reverse the trend at my age.

Nope, you're definitely not a couch potato! Way to go on the exercise. If I had half (make that even a fraction) of the motivation toward exercise that you do, I'd be in a whole lot better shape than I am!

Sounds like you're doing everything right. Good luck!