I'm on day two of induction and I feel like my whole body is just going to collapse. How long will it take for me to get my energy back??
Do I still have to count calories because i'm eating more calories than I usually do.
I usually feel like I'm going to throw up too.

Elly

I know how you feel. If you are starting induction from ground zero (hooked on cafinated sodas, no meal control whatsoever, etc.), induction is very hard - its like a drug addict going cold turkey!

Its a bit easier if you were on a diet or some kind of controlled eating plan before Atkins.

You will start to get your energy back in about three or four days - it seems like forever but KEEP IT UP! You will be so glad you did - and dont step on the scales for a week - you will be AMAZED at what will happen!

If you are tired and listless, its a sign that your body is trying to conserve energy because the fuel its used to getting (sugar) is very low - thats exactly what you want to happen - ITS WORKING!

Stick with the plan, pee on your keostrips (and watch it turn purple!), and keep your carbs below 20 - just remember, these two weeks of pain will give you a (longer) lifetime of happiness!

JGE

JGE is correct, it will get better, but maybe not for a few days. But it is definately worth it!

Dr. Atkin's book says that if you are hungry, eat! As long as it allowable foods on induction. Right now you are trying to get your body to switch from burning sugar to burning fat - that is what the induction part is designed to do, and it sounds like it is definately working for you!

I like another quote he has: "If you are hungry, you are not doing the diet correctly. Eat!"

What foods are you eating and what plan exactly are you following? During Atkins' Induction, you primarily count carbohydrates, not calories.

For most people, Day Two sucks. It's that simple. You will probably have a few more days of misery and then it will rapidly get better. About the only thing you can do to both lessen the severity and shorten the duration of the Induction Blahs is to drink lots and lots of water.

Hang in there and Keep the Faith!

wow! You guys are very supportive, thanx for all of your replies. I didn't think I would get that many

to answer your question, I am doing the Atkins diet
In the morning I eat 2 eggs, some sausage and cheese, for lunch I had some bacon and cucumbers and for dinner I'll have either a piece of chicken or beef with salad. For snacks I eat olives. Am I doing this diet correctly. I also count my carbohydrates on fitday.com and keep under 20g of carbs a day. I used to restrict calories to under 1000 a day. Now that I'm seeing much more calories than that, its kinda scaring me. Am I supposed to be consuming much calories???? How will I be losing weight if I eat so many calories??

No need to count calories (isn't that GREAT!!!?) - if they should ever become an issue eating the low carb way, then it would probably be because you may not be eating enough.

I would, however, recommend that you get Atkins book. It'll help you along the way.

What you're feeling is most likely carb withdrawal - I never went through that, but it appears to be very common during the first few days of induction.

Eating so many calories is definately a culture shock. It took me several weeks to get over the automatic "I can't eat that, it is too fattening!" Keeping your carbs at around 20 grams, not too much less, not too much more is the best. In Dr. A's book, he also allows you to subract the fiber from your carb counts to get the ECC (Effective Carbohydrate Count).

Good luck!

Elly......

I felt lousey when I started LCing too. I just kept telling myself that I needed to give it time to get to the good part. I think for some of us, the shift over from all of the carbs to so few is quite a trauma. Hang in there....I promise you it gets better!

You could read the beginning of my journal if you are interested. I believe that I recorded what was going on with me at the start and the good news is that I survived and have had good success since then.

Marlaine

The beginning of Marlaine's journal is definitely a good read for beginners - as are many of the journals.

For your weight, you probably don't want your calories to get much about 1800 to 2000, but you don't want them to drop below about 1300, either. I would urge you to track your numbers - calories, carbs, protein, and fat - for a couple of weeks so that you can calibrate your eating. After that, only spot check them occasionally. You will probably need to watch for undereating - it's real easy to do and it does NOT result in faster weight loss, it slows you down.

As for why you can take in so many calories and still lose weight:

First off, you can't eat an unlimited amount of calories. LC is not an excuse to stuff yourself to bursting. In the first couple of weeks you need to set a minimum number of calories (about 10x body weight) and be sure to consume at least that much. But above that, if you are hungry then eat. Conversely, if you are not hungry, then don't eat or take smaller portions. You do want to eat SOMETHING on a regular routine - three to six meals a day - but those meals do not have to be much more than a snack.

Second, your body's metabolism is very different when you are in ketosis versus when you are in glucosis. When you are in glucosis, your body is trying to store as much fat as it can. Your whole metabolism is geared toward creating fat and getting it into the fat cells. When you are in ketosis, your body is doing just the opposite. It is relying on your internal stores and it is set up to utilize them fully. In particular, the hormones needed to get fat into the cells are replaced with hormones needed to get fat out of the cells. Because of this set up, only about half of your dietary fat can be processed and used for energy - the body has an easier supply of energy - the ketones being released from your fat cells - ready to go and will principally opt to use that.

This is the "metabolic advantage" that Dr. A talks about at some length in his book.

HTH