Greetings,

This is all very new and weird for me. My brother got me started on Atkins few week ago, in a very abnormal way. He's being doing it for a few months, lost about 25 pounds, and decided to try a fat fast to get through a plateau. I was visiting him in Texas at the time, so I said "me too!" and away we went.

I would probably be considered to be an advanced fitness freak - body building, swimming, running, biking; 5 - 8 workouts/week. Problem is, I became obese starting in Junior High (Middle School), and have fought all my life to drive my weight down, mainly with excercise. Even now, my weight will cycle between 180 and 215, up and down, constant swings. Mom died from type II diabetes, so I think we have a family problem going. I'm 44, and tired of my weight cycling, and don't think I can keep this excercise routine going forever

Anyway, 4 day fat fast and I drop 17 pounds, OUCH! Glad I didn't do a whole week!

So, now I'm trying Atkins, trying to see how it affects my ability to work out, etc.

I'm new to forums (my brother hooked me up to this one), but I really like what I've seen so far. I'm so new, I don't even know if this thing will post

Wildwest, I'm pretty sure I read about you in the fat fast forum - your brother posted earlier this week. Welcome to the forum

At this time I would like to suggest that you stop the fat fast if you have not done so already! Doing this when you are not metabolically challenged can be dangerous. 17 lbs, albiet a lot of it was water, leads me to believe you're not metabolically challenged

What I would suggest secondly is to get out your copy of DANDR and re-read the parts on Induction. You'll probably find the menu choices are a lot more varied than your previous low carb experience. Just a word of warning; you will probably not record as great a loss during Induction as most do, because of the fat fast. Losses in Induction are typically mostly water. When you restrict carbs you force your body to use those which it has stored for fuel before it switches to fat. As someone who worksout a lot you're going to have a lot of stored carbs in the form of muscle glycogen (more muscles = more glycogen = more of an initial loss). YOu may also notice that on less than 20g of carbs you have less energy and working out at your previous intensity is not possible. Dr. A recommends raising carbs to 60-90g a day for athletes. IMHO, running, cycling and BB put you in that category.

We have a great Exercise forum where you can get more info on working out while LCing if you're interested - I highly recommend it. I also think you should have a look through the "Newbies' Questions" forum - at the top of that one you'll find a thread called "Hot Links!", it's a good place to get the basics.

LCing is a great way to control insulin, weight and your health. Congrats on taking the next step in improving your future

Nat

Thanks for the info. Yes, I did stop the fat fast, and yes, I am feeling short on energy. I've added in some carbs, but I'm really slow in the mornings now (more so than usual).

I discovered the excercise forums last night. Thanks for the info. I'll be spending more time in them and in the newbie faq.

What Is A Fat Fast And Why Should One Do It?

Welcome to the forum. Good luck with the new eating plan. I have never heard of fat fast before. So, repeating the words of Gemma- 'what is it'.

If you look in your copy of Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution, you can read all about the Fat Fast.

It is a low calorie, high fat diet, meant to only be undertaken for a few days by severely metabolically resistant people who are unable to lose weight any other way. It can kick start these folk into ketosis, so that they can begin losing weight.

Dr A specifically spells out that it is dangerous to do if you do not have severe metabolic resistance.

Rosebud

Hi Wild Wester!

Lo-carb and exercise can work well together. I am not a fitness freak, but I do run and eat lo-carb. I am new to Atkins, but I read and did the Paleo Diet for some time while running. I think after you give your body time to adjust, you will feel better and have more energy.

Best of luck!
Patti

Welcome to the fourm, WildWester...

...and thanks for sharing so openly.

Donald

Thanks for the many responses. I agree, a fat fast was probably not for me - too extreme since I don't appear to be "metabolically challenged" at this time. Also, I believe that about 7 of the 17 pounds I dropped were from water loss and "intestinal mass".

Sooooo much info in these forums! Soooo many experienced people! It feels like it will take forever to take it all in.