Induction .. that "gotta eat" feeling ...
 

I started a committed Atkins attempt again this week (previous was in 2013). I'm on day 5 or 6, depending on when you start counting.

Feeling great .. lots of energy .. but I work from home and I find I just can't focus .. can't stay seated .. its like I have too much energy and I just want to go out and run around .. I'm all over the place .. even with my ADHD meds ..

But aside from that restlessness .. I'm constantly with that "nibbling" sensation ... where you want something .. don't know what it is .. you're not actually hungry or tired ..

I'm not sure where its coming from ...

-Is that a normal thing that comes with induction?
-Am I eating something that's triggering it?
-Is it my ADHD going bananas
-Is it just normal summer "I want to be outside not in the office" feeling?

where I am not hungry .. I just feel I want to eat. I *think* we're following the acceptable foods list (as posted on this forum) ... I've been eating chicken wings whenever it has been getting too much .. it feels like I may be eating too much though..

So is this normal with induction - am I not getting enough fats?

Dan


Here's what I've eaten so far (I've been keeping a log):

Drinks:
1) Water with small slice of cucumber and lemon in it (mostly this)
2) Club soda, plain - low sodium (one glass a day)
3) Water with flavour enhancer (sucrolose or stevia ) - 1-2 glasses a day

Sun: L: Beef stew with Green beans S: Ground Beef + Cauliflower stuffed Zucchini with Egglemon sauce

Mon: B: Cheese Omelette L: 10 Chicken Wings and Salad with Mustard Vinegrette S: Homemade meatballs in oven with brussel sprouts and Avacado

Tue: B: Cheese Omelette and Pork Scallopini L: Leftover Beef Stew (only a few Green beans) S: Chicken Wings and tossed salad (spring mix, spinach, kale) with a mayo+mustard dressing Late: 10 Chicken Wings

Wed: B: Cheese Omelette and Veal scallopini L: Chicken Wings S: Pork Ribs (mustard + spices). Late: 10 Chicken Wings

Thu: B: Cheese Omelette L: Salad Greens with horseradish + feta dressing Went swimming that afternoon. S: 13 Wings Late: Polish Sausage + Cheese .

Fri: B: Cheese Omelette L: 10 Chicken Wings

Im ADD too.

Give your body time to adjust to the new food plan.

A brisk walk is a good thing. Both before meals and after a meal. One or the other is good enough. Puts glucose derived from the meal into the muscle cell, not into fat storage.

You are adjusting to a new schedule and woe, it takes time to develop a new normal. The nervous energy will calm down, at least it did for me.

Eating a fat snack filled the need to eat, and a cold drink. Sometimes flavored crushed ice eaten with a spoon fooled my body into thinking it was eating. Took about 10-15 min to consume 4 cups.

Hang in there.

Have you read Dr Amen's books??

PS
In your food diary, there is no carb count. Maybe track that fir a while. Otherwise no obvious sugar to triiger things as your foods look homemade.

Also how much fat?? Fat stokes tge dat burning engine. Beef also helps rather than chicken
.

Good luck.

Another ADHDer here.

The adjustment period is weird and some people get twitchy and some people get lethargic. But I'm confident that if you give it a few weeks you will feel much better. I've started to tell people that eating a low carb diet should be the first line of defense for everyone with ADHD. It doesn't mean you won't need any meds, but your brain is much happier running on fat and ketones than the constant up/down sugar buzz.

I also sometimes get the can't-focus-can't-sit-still issues when my BG is really low and ketones are high. It doesn't happen lately on normal days now that I'm fat-adapted. But I've also done some intermittent fasting (IF) and on those days it occasionally hits me. It's irritating, but I try to roll with it and do something that needs to get done like some house cleaning or I go for a short walk and it usually mellows out after a while.

The constant desire to snack is common in the adjustment phase. Your body is used to running on carbs, so it's looking for that hit of energy from carbs. That desire to snack is your body telling you it's looking for that. Don't worry about it. You're doing the perfect thing by eating some protein and fat. It's pretty hard to over eat in the first few weeks, so just keep on eating!

Your diet looks good to me! Hang in there.

Thanks ..

My take away from what you said was "can last a few weeks" .. I was expecting to get past the initial withdrawal symptoms and then be better .. but if it needs a few weeks then that puts me at ease .. I'll just stay the course and not alter anything and see how it goes ...

It sounds normal to me. At a similar stage I dug out all the grass, tiered my front yard and planted a dozen large plants in my front yard, working non-stop from 7 am to 11 pm with all that energy. Like a superhero instead of the tired sloth I was while eating the standard American diet the previous week. It did calm down after that, and I am now very focused mentally and physically when I stay on Induction levels of carbs.

And I wouldn't worry about eating extra fat/protein snacks/meals at this stage; after a couple of weeks your body will get better at distinguishing real hunger. In fact, you'll probably have days when you forget to eat because you aren't hungry.

Very important to keep this in mind as you become familiar with Induction. Eat extra allowable foods when necessary, as it will pass in time and you'll wonder what all the fuss was. Get your salt, as you will be flushing fluids and you'll need replenishment. It's all good.

Thanks guys - all good things to keep in mind. Today .. for the first day .. I'm feeling pretty content... and I didn't really change anything .. Tomorrow I will be back at work - so I'll see if it continues ...

I am SOOOO looking forward to the mental clarity/focus .. something I haven't had in nearly a decade ...

try dropping ^ those.

Yeah - I was thinking the same thing. Something is giving me the runs still .. so I'm going to stop the club soda and flavor enhancer and see if it stabilizes today.

FYI - I'm at work today .. feeling pretty dang focused .. Tomorrow will be the real test.

I'm not ADHD but I am bipolar--and Induction or even going from Atkins maintenance sort of eating to a bit of fasting or to a more ketogenic form of the diet can initially make me somewhat euphoric/hyper. It generally mellows out with time.

So ... failure today ... I'm all over the map again ...
But I think I can definitively say its NOT the diet .. its just the boring work I'm doing ...
On the one hand I suppose at least its good I know its not my diet now ... but on the other hand it also means that even significant life changes won't help make something boring better ... LOL

EDIT: For those that are interested - I've been tasked with writing company policies ...