I've been low-carbing since mid-December... but for a little over a week now I've been having bad headaches (the lights in my office even hurt my eyes) and feeling hungry and weak all day long. I haven't changed my eating habits... I tend to eat the same things all the time (breakfast: bacon & eggs w/cheese, Lunch: chicken with salad, ranch dressing, Dinner: steak or chicken with cauliflower or broccoli with butter, salad with olive oil red wine vinegar). When I get hungry I snack on some mac nuts, cheese or beef jerky.... but the hunger never really goes away. I take a vitamin/mineral supplement and essential oils daily. I drink caffeine free green tea and at least 10 x 8oz glasses of water a day. Is there an additional supplement I should be taking to up my energy level and hopefully rid myself of this exaggerated headachy hunger & "hyper-sensitivity" I'm experiencing?? I'm even becoming absent-minded at work.. and that's a major no-no.

I feel like a broken record cause I always recommend this, but are you taking an addictional calcium, magnesium, and potassium supplement? I find that this can help with brain fog, weakness, etc.

It is also possible that maybe it's time to up your carbs a bit. Or maybe up your calories. It's hard to tell. You're not doing anything differently? No new exercise, medication, etc.? Hmm... it may also be allergies that are emerging as spring pokes it nose in.

I don't really have an answer, I'm just tossing around some ideas for you. Hope you can figure it out and start to feel better.

I just started taking extra calcium today, even though my RDA % appears to be right on target (according to Fit Day).... the vitamin/mineral supplement I'm taking is supposed to be really good, and I even entered it into Fit-Day to see if I was meeting my daily nutrient requirements. I did find the Magnesium & Phosphorus low. Could these be the culprits? Not sure what part they play in all this... guess I'll have to do some research.

Thank you, Skamito. I know there's no "miracle" answer.. it's all a matter of trial and error. But I do appreciate your suggestions.

Happy low-carbing!

Have you been losing lately? Minerals can be quickly depleted on Akins during periods of weight loss, so even if they appear on track in terms of percentages... I dunno.

I also have to mention that I just peeked at your profile and can NOT believe that you are 32. You have such a young beautiful face. I bet you're going to look 40 when you're in your 70's you lucky gal.

Hi Rose,

I started researching supplements before I started Atkins. I'm not taking his vitamins, but my own supplements in fairly equal amounts.

I noticed right away that the RDA amounts are a lot lower than what Atkins recommends. Remember these numbers are conservative and also for someone eating according to the food pyramid. The way we're eating is a lot different. I quickly realized that the amounts of things like calcium, Vit D, magnesium, pottasium, etc in my multivitamin were no where near enough.

You may wish to up your intake, as Angela suggests. I food www.supplementwatch.com to be a good reliable site for dosage info. Replacing electroyltes is critical when eating as we are.

I'm only in week 4 but have been takign supplements since day 1 and I feel better than I have in years.

When deciding what and how much to take I checked DANDR for the amounts in his vitamin mixes and then bought similar supplements keeping in mind the amount of certain things already in my mulit so as not to over dose on anything.

Thank you, Skamito. I do hear that a lot. My boyfriend is 25, and his friends all think I'm about 26. I just love shocking people!

As for losing weight... I'm losing about 2lbs a week on average. I was losing more before... but had no trace of headaches or lack of energy. I've made a note to pick up some magnesium, phosphorus and folic acid supplements since those seem to be the ones my daily supplement is lacking in.

Thank you for the site, Kaillean. I also started looking up info on the web and quite surprised to find that Magnesium deficiency causes confusion, disorientation (in other words.. my brain fog). That Phosphorus deficiency causes weakness (me again) and that Folic Acid deficiency causes weakness, headaches, heart palpitations, irritability (me, me me) I'm anxious to see if I notice a difference. I'm sure I will!!