Atkins: The Diet I Never Thought I'd Try

[Canadian]

Looking back over my food log from when I was tracking what I ate, the sugar I'm getting is from things like lettuce, cabbage, dill pickles, olives and so on. The only one that concerns me is my Kraft salad dressing because the label definitely says 0 sugar and yet MFP is registering it differently. My sugar intake while I was tracking (the two weeks when I dropped 9lbs) was between 4-17, but usually clocked in somewhere around 10.

I'm thinking the salsa shouldn't make much difference. In fact, maybe I can even keep eating it if I have it occasionally in small quantities and am mindful of sugar intake from other sources. I suppose even if I made my own there would still be some natural sugars from onions, hot peppers and so on.

Feeling better now! I ate a ton of food last night but as I've been having trouble even hitting 1500 calories lately I doubt one high calorie day will matter. In fact, it might be a good thing. I didn't weigh in this morning but will try to remember to do it tomorrow to see where I'm at. As for today, I've eaten caesar salad and the remaining little egg muffins I made the other night. And I've got chicken legs cooking. Speaking of which, I'd better go check on them!

 

[Canadian]

Bad heartburn again tonight! I ate quite a lot of fat today and since I've been trying to eat low fat for years I guess my body just isn't used to it. It's a bit scary because I've never had heartburn like this before and it automatically makes me think heart attack! I'm sitting up as straight as I can and sipping a water and cream concoction. If it doesn't soon go away I'll try a glass of water with baking soda mixed in.

 

[Sam_Dodd]

Hows the heartburn?

 

[Canadian]

All better now - I think the cream helped.

I'm UP 1.5lbs this morning. I sure wasn't expecting that. I know I'm still in ketosis because I can smell it on my breath (yuck), so all I can come up with is that maybe my calories have been too low. I was coming in around 1100 most days when I was tracking on MFP. I think I'd better go back to tracking everything obsessively for a bit to make sure I'm not overlooking anything.

 

[Canadian]

So I've been reading some conflicting advice. Some people swear that a cheat meal or cheat day followed by a 24 hour fast gets the weight coming off again after a stall. Others say it isn't worth it to knock yourself out of ketosis. There's only one way to find out if it works, so I'm thinking I may give it a shot tomorrow. Since I didn't have the carb flu at all during induction I'm hopeful I won't feel awful if I eat higher carbs tomorrow. I think for me the biggest risk is reawakening cravings, but dealing with that will just be a matter of willpower. If I do go ahead with the higher carbs tomorrow it will be one single meal, not a day-long binge. I'm still undecided so I think some more reading might be in order...once again, I'm sure I'm overthinking it!

 

[Canadian]

I haven't had a loss in a week. It seems like ages and is frustrating but I know weight loss isn't linear. In the big scheme of things a week isn't that long. The more I think about it the more reservations I have about cheating tomorrow. I think I haven't been patient enough. I'm going to try to stay on induction until at least the end of May like I originally planned. That should be long enough for either more weight to come off or to confirm I need to be doing something differently. I'm also going to try upping my water intake by a couple glasses a day.

 

[coffeelover]

So I've been reading some conflicting advice. Some people swear that a cheat meal or cheat day followed by a 24 hour fast gets the weight coming off again after a stall. Others say it isn't worth it to knock yourself out of ketosis.

I'm not sure you'd go into ketosis on carb cycling as every other days you'd be eating higher amounts of carbs? Someone else may know better as I'm the Lance Armstrong of the carb cycling lol.

Maybe try a cheat day and see how you go and adjust next week? x

 

[Canadian]

I'm not sure you'd go into ketosis on carb cycling as every other days you'd be eating higher amounts of carbs? Someone else may know better as I'm the Lance Armstrong of the carb cycling lol.

Maybe try a cheat day and see how you go and adjust next week? x

I think you're probably right. I meant a one time cheat day to break a stall, not a regular thing.

[Edited the rest out due to excessive whininess!]

 

[Canadian]

Feeling a bit better now that I've gotten some food. Atkins aside it was just an all around lousy day so that's why I overreacted. Good thing it's almost over!

 

[Goldilukes]

Morning Canadian, as for heartburn why not try some milk of magnesia, it's great and helps with moving things down there too.
your measurements are going in the right direction and yes you probably held the tape too loose. I've been there and it's annoying.
as for cheat day...I'd hold off if I was you, it's only been a week with no loss for you and Atkins says to wait 4 weeks without budging before trying anything to outsmart metabolism. You are in a good place right now( fat burning mode ketosis) start dabbling with carbs or sugars again and it may knock you out and could trigger cravings again so unless you are strong willed stay clear until ready. I'm kinda done now so can dabble a bit more bit mostly watching cals is my problem now. Your in a good place and I'm envious because your body will be burning fat.....mine because of carbs is probably just chugging along with no real direction other than maintaining if anything which is ok for me but if you want to lose lost and get nearer to goal, stay with what you know because it does work...but yes I don't think you are eating enough. I'd struggle on 1100 cals and my weight is lower. Get the low carb high fat foods down your neck and plenty of it to get things moving, leave the carb or treat day messing around for when you are right down and need to use your last cards.

 

[Canadian]

Hi Lauren, thanks for the advice! I do remember reading in the book that a real stall is 4+ weeks of no progress. I know I'm being impatient. I didn't do a cheat day today and I agree I'd be wise to hold off until I'm closer to goal. I'm going to pay closer attention to my calories for the next little while to see if it helps.

 

[Canadian]

204.8lbs this morning. I'm still not back to 203 where I was last week, but at least I'm not gaining. I can tell I'm still very much in ketosis so now I've just got to wait for it to do its thing. Maybe what I lost and then regained was water and now my body is beginning to switch over to burning fat for fuel, I don't know.

I've started tracking my food again to make sure I'm hitting my targets. It's a bit of a pain sometimes but it does help me feel more in control. This past week or so when I wasn't tracking I actually felt guilty for eating the way I'm supposed to, like I was pigging out or cheating somehow. It helps to look at all those graphs and charts in MFP to remind myself I'm doing okay.

Lately I've been buying avocado. I'm not usually crazy about it, but I tried a simple guacamole recipe the other night and it was soooo good! So I think going forward it will be pretty easy to incorporate more avocado in my diet. It seems like a good way to get more healthy fat and up my calories.

A few nights ago I also made a pizza recipe that was absolutely delicious! The "crust" was just a few eggs and shredded cheddar cheese, which I browned in the frying pan. Then I added some salsa, plenty of oregano, pepperoni and more cheese. It was tasty that night but for some reason the cold leftovers were even better the next day - the crust had fluffed up and it really didn't seem like I was eating eggs at all.

I'm going to have to be careful with the pizza recipe and only eat it once in a while. It's best if I don't make an entire meal of it because of the high cheese content - having a salad along with it wouldn't be a bad idea. Next time I make the pizza I think I will substitute liquid egg whites for an egg or two. I also need to try to find a healthier (nitrate-free) kind of pepperoni. If I can't find a better type of salsa than what I've been using, I will try making my own - at least that way I'll be able to control exactly what's in it!

 

[Canadian]

I felt strange all day and it has me a bit concerned. There was a pain right where my heart is. It bothered me to bend, lift groceries into the car and so on. Taking a deep breath caused a sort of stabbing pain and lying down made it unbearable. It didn't feel like acid reflux this time...there was no indigestion, only pain and a sensation of tightness. There is so much controversy surrounding Atkins that I'm worried I could be harming my health.

The pain started a while after I ate. I had two chicken legs with salsa, sour cream and cheese. (I typically eat a ton of spicy food with no problems whatsoever, plus this salsa isn't very hot so I doubt it was the culprit.) It started improving this evening after I drank a big shake with almond milk, coconut oil, avocado and Da Vinci sugar free syrup.

I'm not looking to give up on Atkins. Induction is really quite bearable most of the time and I don't mind following the rules. But anything potentially heart-related scares me. Maybe it's tied to what I'm eating. Maybe it was just really bad heartburn? (I wouldn't know because prior to going on Induction I had never suffered from heartburn.) Has anyone else experienced anything similar? I'm going to keep going but if this happens again then I may have to rethink what I'm doing.

Calories for the day: 1,109, so I'll have a snack before bed to bring it closer to 1,500.

Net carbs: 20g

Fiber: Only 8g so far, but I ate a bunch of raw veggies yesterday. I guess my snack tonight should involve fiber!

Protein: 61g

Fat: 86g

Sugar: 15g

I've read conflicting reports on whether the cholesterol we eat is actually dangerous. One article said the body produces its own cholesterol so dietary cholesterol has a rather insignificant impact. (Even so, I try to limit the number of eggs I eat by using liquid egg whites. If anything, it helps give me peace of mind.) It also sounds like eating saturated fat is only dangerous if you're not in ketosis. Otherwise your body will use the fat as fuel and burn it off, so it isn't harmful. Is that more or less correct?

 

[Canadian]

Feeling alright now. The tightness in my chest is still there but I only notice it when I move or bend, and I can breathe deeply without pain. Still concerned, but at least I'm comfortable now. Today was scary and all I could think about was heart attacks. I've got age on my side and was probably overreacting, but it's all the more reason to exercise more often as soon as I'm back to normal. I don't know what today was about but I didn't like it one bit.

Today I accidentally went over on my net carbs. I came in at 25g for the day - not horrible but a bit much. Calories were 1345 or so. It was the dill pickles that put me over...8g net carbs if MFP is accurate! I will have to watch out for them next time.

I'm trying to eat no more than 2 portions of meat per day as I read that the excess is converted into glucose. If I'm understanding the 2002 book, I'm supposed to limit vegetables to either 3 cups of salad veggies or 2 cups along with 1 cup of other allowed veggies. (Some days I've adhered to that better than others.) At the same time, one shouldn't overdo the meat. I guess all that's really left is fat? After all, that's what the body is supposed to be running off of since it isn't getting many carbs...but willfully putting fat I'm not even craving into my body when I have so much of my own to get rid of seems all kinds of wrong!

 

[Canadian]

Since I have an annoying habit of trying to self-diagnose, off to Google I went! Usually searching my symptoms brings back absurd results, but this time it actually reassured me instead of doing the opposite. It sounds like I have Costochondritis (inflammation) if not acid reflux or some such thing. Likely not a big deal at all.

By now I'm sure it's obvious I've done a lot of reading up on the Atkins diet. I wouldn't have tried it if I thought it was dangerous but all the negative attention it's gotten is still always in the back of my mind and I'm a bit anxious about it negatively impacting my health. Because of that I think I'm being hypervigilant and unfairly blaming everything out of the ordinary on the diet. The bottom line is my energy level is good and I don't have any weakness or irritability the way I sometimes did when limiting calories. (Instead I only have my usual irritability, LOL!) Now I just need to learn to relax - easier said than done!

 

[PogMoma]

Gosh that must have been scary. I'm glad you're feeling better now!

 

[coffeelover]

I used to get that at night when doing Atkins too. It always scared me and I usually gave up. Also palpitations at night . Always seems worse when I'm in bed at night and worrying about it. Maybe some are more susceptible than others to these things? Hope it passes x

 

[Canadian]

It is scary. Today I'm okay when I'm sitting perfectly still and unlike last night I can lie down without feeling it, but even just getting up and walking to the washroom made it start up again. I think it must be inflammation of some sort? I might try taking an anti-inflammatory painkiller to see if it helps. That's interesting that you had something similar, coffeelover. I wonder if Atkins does have something to do with it after all? If it doesn't stop soon I'm not going to be continuing with Induction...it's so not worth it to have this kind of worry and not even be able to move without feeling weird.

 

[Canadian]

Still at 204.8lbs this morning. I'm going to do my damnedest to hit my calorie target, stay under 20g net carbs and drink plenty of water today.

 

[Canadian]

The good news is I'm no longer concerned about a heart attack since the pain is inconsistent and improving somewhat. I don't feel like I need to go running off to my doctor just yet, but I don't want to ignore this either. The last time I ignored what my body was trying to tell me and pushed onward was very bad news and a hard-learned lesson.

I tried searching for Atkins + chest pain and read that low potassium or low iron can sometimes cause chest pains. There's no way my iron can be low considering the way I'm eating, but I know I'm not getting nearly enough potassium. I occasionally take supplements but they're only a miniscule amount and though I try to eat foods rich in potassium, MFP says I'm not getting anywhere near the recommended level. So today I'm going to focus on boosting my potassium. Hopefully it will make a difference.

Just to update, the problem seems to be clearing up on its own. I took some potassium anyway and am sipping club soda, which has potassium added to it.