Hello. I was just wondering around the boards and stumbled into this one. I am currently on Atkins, have been for almost 2 months and have only lost 2 stinkin pounds! I feel tired all the time and sluggish during my workouts. I constantly have a headache and feel like I need to take naps. This is not good, I have a nine month old! I gained 80 pounds with my third baby born in March. I've lost all but 10 pounds of it. I can't seem to get the scale to budge. I have never been so diciplined (sp?) in my whole life and can't understand why I feel so crappy. I've come to realize, something is lacking in my diet. I do take my daily supplements, so I thought I was getting everthing I needed to function properly.
Another thing is, I'm not real comfortable with all the fat on Atkins. It must be unhealthy. I've never been a fat-free person either, but excessive amounts seem dangerous to me.
Should I switch to PP? Is it easy to follow? I need something that's easy, my house is hectic with 3 boys and a husband.
Could someone please explain this diet to me, no need to go into great detail, just looking for some basics.
Thanks.

Hi mplayer,

There's a summary of Protein Power here: http://www.lowcarb.ca/atkins-diet-a...tein-power.html

Actually the Authors of Protein power do a good job of explaining why fat is NOT unhealthy.

You can also find information on this site explaining why fat is not harmful. It is quite long, but worth the effort.

Cheers,

Rosebud

Read the post SB verses PP

No, all that fat is NOT unhealthy. You said you're on Atkins. May I ask if you've read the book? Dr. Atkins does a good job (as do the authors of Protein Power) explaining why you NEED fat in order to burn fat.

You say you're disciplined. Post some menus and let's see where you might need improvement. This is the Protein Power forum, but I have studied the Atkins approach and have used it successfully.

What supplements are you taking? Potassium? Magnesium? Both these help with fatigue. There are tons of reasons why you've only lost 2 pounds. But to help you, we need more info.

PS: We're both the same height (5'7"). We're both the same weight, or theresabouts. We're both close to goal. The last item in and of itself may be the reason you're not dropping the pounds quickly. I'm not either. The closer you get to goal, the harder it becomes. Don't know why, just know it is.

I'm pretty sure I figured out why I wasn't losing. I was eating too many calories in one day. I calculated it, and was eating 2800 a day w/all the fat. I've been maintaining this whole time. So, I have been trying to stick to 1300 calories w/20-30 carbs to see if that will jolt me. I have only been doing it for a few days (cheated on X-mas). I'm doing a clean induction for 3 days then on to OWL. I hope to see at least a one pound loss next week.

Yes, I do take my supplements:
Potassium
Calcium, Magnesium, w/Zinc
One A Day
B-6

Here is a sample menu:

Breakfast:
2 eggs
3 slices bacon
1 cup coffee w/splenda and heavy whipping cream

Lunch:
1 can of water packed tuna
1 tbsp Mayo
1 ounce cheese

Dinner:
2 cheeseburger patties w/ 1 tbsp mayo
1 can of green beans (about 2 cups) w/1tbsp butter

The menu looks good. Some people can lose well on 2800 calories and mostly fat, believe it or not. We're all different, though, so the trick is to determine what works for us.

I'm concerned about the fatigue, though. How much potassium are you taking? The reason I ask is that when my calories are low and I'm at Induction-level carbs (20 or fewer) I get terrible leg cramps and fatigue. I have to take 2 tablets in the morning and another 2 tablets in the evening. The Eades (authors of Protein Power) recommend these levels, especially if you're working out. You can always taper off after a couple weeks to see how you feel. That's what I do.

PS: Where are your veggies? How in the world are you getting 20 to 30 grams of carbs on only 1 can of green beans a day? A lot of people find they do better when they eat more carbs (in the range of 50 to 60 -- not me, though). From the menu you posted, you're getting virtually NO carbs at all.

Add at least one salad and another serving of veggeis each day for a week and see if that makes any difference.

That was just a sample menu, most of the time, I have a salad for lunch with tuna. Remember, I'm just now trying to adjust the calories/carbs. I find it difficult to get in 20 carbs with 1300 calories. On the days when I don't have enough carbs, I'll sneak a teaspoon of peanut butter. It calms my cravings too.

As far as the Potassium, I am taking one a day. I just had some blood work done last week to see why I am so fatigued. I'm still waiting on the results.

Thanks, and I'll gladly eat more veggies today.

I would try more carbs before cutting your calories because if you are feeling tired all the time, cutting cals would probably be the last thing I'd try. I don't lose at all if I don't eat ATLEAST 20g of carbs a day. I usually stay at about 20-25g a day (I am on Atkins, slightly modified, induction) and eat LOTS of cals and I lose on average about 8-10lbs a month - up your carbs a lil and see if that helps!

I am taking in around 1300-1500 calories a day, and averaging between 30-35 carbs per day.

I agree about the veggies, maybe even throw in a couple of fruit servings?

For example, here is my menu for today (I'm on Day 12 of PP):

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs in 1/2 T of butter. 1 slice of LC toast with butter, 2 slices of bacon

Snack: 1/2 kiwi

Lunch: 5 oz. steak, 1/2 cup cantaloupe, 1 cup baby lettuce/greens with 1 T of olive oil based dressing

Snack: 1 Slim Jim

Dinner: 5 oz. chicken breast, 1 cup of steamed broccoli, 1 cup of baby lettuce/greens with 1 T of olive oil based dressing

Total calories: 1335
Total fat: 73
Total carbs: 33
Total protein: 129

Hello, I was lurking and are you saying that according to Protein Power for every pound I should consume 1 gram of protein... So for my weight of 200 lbs. I should consume 9.5 ounces of protein a day???

TJ

Hi TJ,

Being a 5'3 female at 200 pounds, you should be consuming a minimum of 34 grams of protein per meal (102 total). Your protein requirement will stay this way until you reach 165 pounds -- then will go down to 27 g. per meal.

I don't do the calculations from the first book, PPLP gives you a chart.

Thanks for answering that helps me a great deal... But that is a lot of protein...isn't one ounce of protein 7 grams...??? So that would be almost 5 ounces of protein at each sitting.. Or actually if I have 5 meals that would 3 ounces at each meals.... TY

What's wrong with 5 ounces of meat at a sitting? That's smaller than an average chicken breast. Weigh out 5 ounces. It's ain't much.

Will the anti-inflammatory and tylenol/codeine medicines I have been taking for 2 months and still make my metabolism slow down? This is what I think is happening and I had to stop my 5 days of Tennis per week too. I feel so bloated and drink a lot of water and take vitamins. Should I expect to lose with this problem?