I posted a little while ago about feeling bad while on Atkins and I got some good info from several members. However, after eating more veggies, drinking more water, and taking my vitamins and more calories total I was still feeling really bad. I made the decision after being on LC for 6 weeks and being down 25 pounds that I wanted to go off and give my body a chance to relax.

After being off of the LC lifestyle for only three days I feel great, have no stomach problems or head ache, and have returned to a normal bathroom cycle. I also think that I miss LC and the weight I was losing as a result of it. I want to go back on LC but I need help to do it better this time so as not to encounter this same problem that I ran in to last time.

Here's info about me:

Gender: Male
Age: 22
Height: 6'3"
Weight: Currently 211 with carb/water weight, without: 206

The other thing I want to make very clear is that I am not an Atkins for life person. I have for several years been very involved in lifting weights and working out and there is not way to remain a heavy lifter without eating carbohydrates (please don't tell me I can unless you know something the rest of the world doesn't.) In addition to my fitness lifestyle I also am very strict about what I eat. I try and avoid all white flour and sugar and eat moderate a moderate amount of carbs coming only from healthy natural sources.

That being said, I would love some advice on what people might think was causing my horrible upset stomach and/or how I can prevent the bloated gassy feeling I had for almost a WEEK straight. The best way I can describe it would be a horrible upset stomach and pressure build up made worse by taking fiber supplements and not really being able to go to the bathroom for almost 2-3 days at a time. Really a bad feeling let me tell you.

I plan to go back this coming weekend or the Monday following it and would really like to keep this from happening again. Thanks so much for your help.

Your body may like the weight it is. You are very tall and that is a good weight for that height. Weightlifting builds muscle and it weighs more than fat, you may be perfect. If you are unhappy.. you may just need to tone. Which you probably already know.
As far as what caused such horrible side effects.. I'm not sure. Why don't you post what you ate on most days and we can see if we can help you more.
About low-carb and athletic training.. im still reading and learning about that. When I get to goal weight I will be long distance cycling and also do not want to bonk. There are some very good threads on this forum by people who cycle that have some great info on carbs and training.

Instead of trying to do induction, why not get the book "Atkins for Life" It starts you out at 60g of carbs and teaches low GI foods versus high. It has easy tables listing foods to eat often, in moderation, and as rare treats.

This could be much more liveable for you and your lifestyle. Another option would be to check out body for life, or one of the plans specially geared tword body builders such as CDK. There is information on this site about both plans. The CDK bored is in the exercise area and would have more information for you.

At your height why do you need to lose more weight? Induction is not for everyone. I've never done it. You are active lifting weights etc . You probably need more carbs! Could you just avoid the junk and fill up on veggies, protein, berries , flax, nuts etc.

Losing 25 pounds is 6 weeks if a really rapid loss so it sounds like you were on a very low carb diet. Everyone is not alike and perhaps you were too low carb for your body and exercise routine. I agree with the poster who suggested you LC at about 60 grams per day including plenty of veggies, some fruit, and some whole grains.

Most people end up modifying their LC plan based on what works for them. Losing weight is not the total goal--being healthy and feeling good is.

Aysiama:

My average daily diet would be something like eggs for breakfast (4 scrambled with olive oil or 3 with a couple pieces of bacon)

Lunch would be tuna with a table spoon of mayo and an egg fried (I call it the tuna pancake)
also for lunch I might half a half pound ground beef hamburger with a dab of ketchup and table spoon of mayo sometimes with either some Tillamook cheddar or some fresh water packed mozzarella

Dinner would either be BBQ chicken marinated in soy with some broccoli and cheese, I made the low carb chicken broccoli casserole a few times, or possibly a hamburger, red meat, or salmon/sea bass.

LadyBelle:

I have read Body for Life and am very familiar with the ckd (cyclical ketogenic diet). Unfortunately, it is my and many others belief that a ckd is not an effective mass building program for an active bodybuilder. In fact, it is very difficult to gain any muscle mass while lifting around a ckd because of the simple fact that you carb ups only allow you the ability to effectively lift for two days. Bodybuilders use the CKD as an effective "cutting" diet in order to drop body fat before a competition because of its muscle sparing properties but it is not effective for increasing muscle mass.

rodmick:

I am not actually lifting weights right now due to the fact that I have not been consuming any carbohydrates and lifting without proper carb stores will cause your body to become catabolic on its own muscle tissue as a source of energy. While I have been low carbing I have stopped lifting simple because I want to spare as much muscle mass as possible. I will resume lifting after I have reached my goal weight and am able to consume more carbohydrates.

asalvato:

Again, I am not actually lifting right now so I don't want to up my carbs to 60 with my current activity level. I will eventually raise my carbs up to 60+ after I have reached my goal weight.


Overall I would have thought that by the time I reached 210 from my original 260 that I would have been very happy but it seems like I have lost all the weight from my arms, legs, and upper body and the stubborn part that remains is my stomach. I want to punch through that and for the first time in 10 years I might be able to have some stomach definition.

One thing that stands out in your daily food list is the lack of veggies---no salad or anything. Atkins induction is supposed to include 3 cups a day total (with 2 cups being salad). Did you forget to include it on your list, or did you not eat it?

You can continue to lift while on Atkins, you just need to find a carb level at which you can continue to lift weights.

If you stop lifting, you will lose some muscle mass simply by not using it.

I agree about making sure you eat enough vegetables. You could also try adding in some berries or steel cut oats.

There is a sticky at the top of the Body For Life forum with many helpful threads about combining weight lifting and low carb.

Perhaps all the fiber supplements made gas pains worse. Adding in fiber should happen gradually to allow your body to get used to it. Magnesium can help ease things where fiber seems to make it worse sometimes.

Beth

I really don't like most veggies. Things that i do like are carrots (cooked), brocolli, corn, peas, celery (with peanut butter or cream cheese), but that's about it. I wish i liked salad but i don't really have any way to force myself to eat it because i can't really stomache it.

That is a shame that you don't like veggies because that is what keeps my bathroom visits regular. If I start to get bloatey and constipated I up my veggies, sometimes add a fiber supplement and everything seems to work out fine.
I am also doing a modified BFL. I don't don't lify my weights in the pyramid method, I use the same weight through-out each exercise. I do use the 12,10,8,6,12,12 for reps. On cardio I do use the pyramid method. I eat 5 times a day and eat 10 extra carbs on the meal before my workout and that seems to work for me. I would guess that I am eating between 25 and 40 carbs a day. I tried just eating 20 carbs on a workout day and I bonk, even on the treadmill.

Don't you think that if you stop lifting weights you weight will go down, but your body composition will be worse? When I first started this WOE I didn't workout at all, lost 9 lbs in 4 weeks but felt very flabby, I have always worked out whether it be just caridio, circuit classes, aerobics or working out at home. I gained 7 of the 9 back being semi off the program. In 2 weeks I have lost 4 of the 7. So I am up 3lbs from the original 9 I lost, but feel better than I did when I had lost 9. I hope this makes sense. It just doesn't make sense to me to quit lifting weights, you will have to start all over again. It makes more sense to me to just up your carbs to a decent level that you can lift.

Wee

The reason I quit lifting weights was also to give my body a break from heavy sets. I don't know what type of lifts you do or what weights you lift at but i lift compound and isolation movements at very heavy reps which puts a lot of strain on my joints and cartalidge. The reason i take time of lifting when i diet is to give my body a chance to heal and rest from all of the heavy work i put it through. If i was simply lifting weights as a way of life and maintaining my muscle mass BFL might not be a bad option for me but BFL, CKD, and the atkins WOL are not viable options for a weightlifter who is looking to put on any substantial amount of mass or gain strength.

I think that what i am going to do is start back on induction but really make sure to eat a little more frequently and include some more of the simple veggies that i can eat. I'll do my same breakfast but include some veggies with my afternoon snack as well as with my dinner. Someone on here suggested to me to try celery with cream cheese so i may do that or even try celery with some natural peanut butter as a way to take in a few more carbs. As far as the fiber suppliment goes, i'm thinking maybe start with no fiber and then slowly add in a half a pill a day or something instead of moving from none to 2 pills a day?

Have you tried the Mock Mashed potatoes? It is a good way to get in a veggie and tastes really good. I make mine with real bacon bits, sour cream and cheese. They don't really taste like mashed potatoes but they are really good. I know you said that you don't like too many veggies, neither does my DH but he really likes this and cabbage stir fried with cut up bacon.

Good luck!

I wouldn't worry about the sallads. You like broccoli and that is one of the most nutrient dense veggies there is. Full of good fibres too. Sallad/lettuce doesn't contain much nutrition in comparison. If you like broccoli, don't you like cauliflower too? Since they're so closely related. Or the mix of them two, romanesco. Try a mix of all of these three with lots of melted butter on top. Or ovenbake them after boiling them, with cheese and cream on top. Yumsters.

If you stirfry food, you could always sneak in veggies if you chop them really thinly and stirfry with the meat and spices. Even some sallad greens are good for that - baby spinach for instance and pe-tsai/Chinese cabbage.

Getting hungry now...

/gil

You might also check out the ab bootcamp. If you do a search on the BFL forum it has links to that page. It is for focusing on toning and shaping the ab region.