For the first couple of days, as your body is making the metabolic switch from carbs to burning fat, you can feel kind of terrible. I was headachey, dizzy and had palpitations for a couple of days, but then felt a lot better.
Bottom line - don't count calories at least for the first few days or week. They don't matter as much as the carbs. Eventually you'll feel a lot better and be able to cut portions a bit and keep track of calories, but don't worry about that right now.
If 2 eggs and 3 oz of bacon don't feel like enough, have 3 eggs and more bacon until you feel full. Also - eating slowly helps you feel more full.
In the beginning I also did a metamucil-like fiber supplement about 15-20 minutes before breakfast. That helped me feel a little more full too.

I've heard everyone say that they felt bad on the first few days... but seriously, I feel like .. actually I don't feel anymore. i'm numb.

i'm really counting on this ketosis thingy to kick in ... gimme bad breath over a headache anyday!! Atleast when i'll have bad breath - other around me will suffer

The whole thing seems so surreal to me. i can't believe I'm eating butter. Me!! Butter!!! My God - i think hell has frozen over!!

Keep readin' and writin' and commentin'
Cheers from a depressingly hot new delhi (its 46 degrees celcius)

I had a bad headache for a few days too..it is your body detoxing and totally normal. it WILL go away soon! Stop worrying about calories or even looking at them. For this first week only count your carbs and make sure they are 20 or under. To make it simple here is what atkins induction is and it will keep you under 20. Eat as much meat and eggs as you need to feel full. Have 2 cups of salad plus one cup of cook veggies per day. Eat 3-4 ozs of cheese per day. Eat 3 TB of cream or less per day. You can have a half of an avacado and 2 TB sour cream per day. You can have 1-20 olives per day. Eat as much butter and olive oil and mayo as you need in your cooking and recipes. Do that and you will stay under the 20 carbs. Dont even look at the calories..they dont matter right now.

i hear you. I just don't believe you :-) no seriously... it's like telling someone the sky is pink! know what i mean? we have been conditioned into believing that fat free is the right way.... to eat butter again and in an unrestricted way - oh god! I really can't get over it.

One question:
If you calculate carbs on fitday.com, i i just have 1/2 cup of red peppers and some cucumber, they are so many calories... how are all of you having 2 cups of raw and one cup of cooked veggies??
thanks for writing in ...and being patient with my woes

There shouldn't be many calories in red peppers or cucumbers. There are carbs, and Fitday does NOT subtract the fiber to give you the net carb count. I think 2 cups of raw salad type vegetables is the recommendation. A green salad (spinach, iceberg, romaine, or any other greens) with cucumbers, tomato's, peppers, mushrooms, and any other LC favorites, topped with full fat, no sugar dressings.

MyPlan on this site is much better IMO than Fitday. It has a food search feature that is linked to the USDA nutrition database. You can set it up to subtract the fiber for you, so that you know what your net carb count is.

Follow this, it is right on, and drink as much water as you can. A minimum of 64oz, more is better.

You will start to feel better, just stick with it. Look in the recipe section of this forum for some great recipe ideas as well. There are induction specific sections in most of the recipe subforums.

Good luck to you.

Hey woman! So glad to see you are still trying! I can not wait for when your headache goes away and you realize you are losing weight in spite of the butter! I check every day to see how you are doing! Oh, here , this will make you laugh....I got blind sided today! I am making my Grey Goose vodka with a little light cranberry and did not realize that the FAMILY drank my diet cranberry and I was using the REAL thing!!! Oh my! The glucose will have a field day tonight! I will be stalled for days and the "digital devil" (the scale) will be laughing all the way to the fat bank!! WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!!! What is low carb girl to do?????? Kellyd

It's more like woeman I woke up this morning and felt like I was in heaven...the fog around my head certainly reminded me of what one sees in the movies
I stumbled to the bathroom and then the lower region of my huge anatomy rebelled. I've heard of constipation... but mine was cantstipation!!
I will get that fiber thing today! I can't bring myself to exercise yet… I think I'll try tomorrow… I really think my body is on strike!


I mentioned in some other post, that my cook ( and no I am NOT rich. it's very affordable and common to have help in India) looked at me while I was cooking and said " at the rate you're going, you'll resemble the pig you're frying!! " It was just hilarious! Also, all this while, my biggest fight with the cook has been "put less oil". Now that I'm ladling the oil/butter, he's got that sneer on his face! grr I hate that sneer

also, since I'm still a reluctant butter/oil user, I cringe every time I touch the fat…. my instinct is to use in drops not tablespoons!

oh well… if I put on weight I will exhume Dr. Atkins and re-kill him just to get my anger out! kidding.


Anyway, keep reading and posting – I really love hearing from you.

nuts ( please call me that – all my friends do and it suits my personality

For the constipation thing, many people say (and I find) that if I emphasize fat and go easy on meat and cheese, I have no problems. The fat kind of acts like fiber.

So - choosing bacon over lean chicken.

And maybe not trying too much cheese until you get balanced with all this.

Also, fat is the thing that will make you feel full.

Some of us (me included, trying it at least) have more than half our diets made up of fat.

So since I'm presently keeping my calories to about 1800 a day, I wind up with 100-120 grams of fat in the diet, usually about 70-90 grams of protein, and try to stay under 30 carb grams.

Do you have coconut oil readily available? That's a great thing to cook with - that or ghee. And some people say it speeds weight loss... there are other threads on coconut oil here that go into all that. (Some prefer to have cold-pressed coconut oil that they don't heat... but regular coconut oil should be fine for frying and tolerates heat better than many other oils.)

Hey Soulmia-
I agree with you on the cantstipation thing! That was a problem in the beginning - but better with metamucil. I couldn't get myself to gag down the straight psyllium - not a pleasant taste and texture.
You have such a great opportunity here. A common thing that you hear is how the first time someone was on Atkins they lost so much weight. That definitely happened for me. Big wooshes of weight loss. Then you go off of the diet, and gain some back, and then try Atkins again and the weight loss is a lot slower. Urgh.
Great to see how you're doing!!

(blushing smilie) thanks for the compliments! I am still amazed when I see my before pics next to my now ones!!
Actually I dont really have much will power in other things, but this WOE (way of eating) seems easy to me and the results keep me sticking to the plan!

Also I love the look on other people's faces when they see the meals I eat! Chicken breast wrapped in bacon and covered in melted cheese with brocolli tossed in butter is a diet???

I have been on Atkins since June 2003.

I'm tellin' you - "drinking" a glass of fibre is NOT my idea of a good start in the morning

But I think I'm getting used to this food business now.... last night, I had kept aside 8 oz of chicken for dinner but when it was time to eat, I only ate about 4 oz!!! And I was full
Also, I realised something... fitday does not remove the fibre from the carb count so i have been restrictive on my veggies as I always thought I'd reached my quota I calculated my menu from the USDA site and it was much more accurate! I can't remember which of you gave me that tip, but thank you
If you look at my menu for today, you will see that I have actually used only 13 gms of carbs and I've added a LOT of veggies!!! ( begone constipation )

I'm sorry if i'm publisizing my bowel movements but seriously... for the past few days, the kind of pressure I needed to "go" I could have been a blast off for a rocket plane!!!

I think on Day 3 I'm definately on ketosis though... my mouth feels like someone (not me) pooped in there!!!! my breath stinks and my tongue feels like sandpapaper

Life's looking up....
I dared to stand on the scale this morning... I know i know, I should weigh in after the 1st week... but i'm still a skeptic and wanted to make sure the scale was moving in the right direction... and I was shocked - I've dropped a kilo ( 2.2lbs) in 2 days!!!!!!!!

i haven't started exercising yet...it's 46 degrees (celcius!!!) outside and my energy levels are still low... I'll try tomorrow

You are hilarious! Keep up the good work. Your energy should come back soon.

I'm hilarious?? tell that to my tax guy i'm always so serious when I meet him

I made some meatballs! Did not use lamb,never had lamb. Wouldn't even know where to begin. I just used ground beef, onions, parmesian cheese, pepper, and an egg. They were good! Nice change from chicken, chicken and chicken. I had my first real cheat today. I ate two bites of a cake that I bought for my step children who are home from college for the summer and now my stomache hurts and it looks like a beach ball. It must not like the sugar anymore! Well, it kind of ruined the thrill of the initial taste of it! I guess that is a good thing! Anyway, TGIF! I need some rest! Came right home and had the hubby fire up the grill and cooked a ton of meat! Good Italian sausages, steaks, hamburgers! And I brought home steamed shrimp in old bay from the local grocery store. yummy. All would have been good if I did not eat the two bites of cake! Kelly

you win some, you lose some. The trick is to get back up again and stay focussed. In a strange way, I guess it's good you cheated with the cake.... you now know how much you body actually wants it
I am on day 4....and am already feeling the "energy" that everyone talks about!!!
I work at the Swedish Embassy in India and every friday we have something called Friday breakfast. Friday breakfast is where one Swede and one locally employed staff brings a dish for the entire staff (40 people)
The Swede ususally bring a cake ( something sweet) and the Indian bring a local snack ( something salty). There's coffee and tea to go around as well. This is seen as a major bonding exercise by all staff and it is "frowned upon" if you don't attend.
Now cake..as you know... can't be good and neither are the Indian snacks - they are usually coated, fried and sometimes served with fatty sauces.
Yesterday was friday... my first friday since i started induction...
As i sat there sipping a mug of earl grey tea, I realised how I had put on at least 10 of my 36 pounds!! Every friday for the past 2 years, I have been sitting and scoffing all this junk!!! It made me even more determined and i made a pact with myself - I would try and stay as cheat free as possible.
I know that temptation is always around the corner... i've seen it - it's been my buddy for years.
So kelly, don't beat yourself about it. Just erase the day and go back to the drawing board