Hello All! Well, I started Atkins 2 years ago before my wedding to lose a few pounds...needless to say it didn't last past the wedding...I did lose the needed pounds tho! So now, my wife and I had our first child...and as she gained during pregnancy...so did I! So we have both decided to stick to the Atkins program and make it part of our lifestyle. We both began Thursday (4 days ago). I have lost 6 pounds and she has lost 4. We take the GNC Ultra Mega Gold multi, Chromium 200mcg and plan on grabbing L-Glutimine.

Now for the questions:

1. During Induction...is Diet Soda that bad...I drink the water...but like to have one a day to treat my taste buds.
2. Have been experiencing cramps in my joints and fatigue in the afternoon...any ideas?
3. My wife's urine is flourescent yellow after her vitiamin...is that okay or an indication of something...

Any suggestions for some newbies..feel fre to let me know.

Thanks!

An occasional diet soda isn't going to kill you. If you drink it in PLACE of water, it becomes a problem. I personally lose faster if I don't overdo it, but for an occasional treat, they're fine. Diet Rite is good, and sweetened with Splenda.

"Vitamin Pee" is harmless as long as she's getting adequate water. 100 oz a day is a good, round number.

Cramps in joints and fatigue are fairly routine during induction. Extra calcium/magnesium will help with muscle cramps, and a small high-protein snack will help the afternoon "slump".

Hang in there!

Hi there!
Welcome to the board! You'll find tons of useful information here and good support. There is also an excellent search function on top of the page, where you can find lots of useful reading.

As for your questions:

1. As long as you drink your water (I'd recommend about a gallon a day) and don't substitute it for any other drinks, an occational Soda might be okay, IMO. Now, some people recommend against it, but I've had Diet Coke now and then without a problem. Maybe you would like to cut it out during Induction though, as this period is supposed to help weaning your tastebuds out of sweet things and stabilise your blood sugar (which for some people seem to be affected even by sugarfree stuff - as their bodies "expects" sugar carbs merely by feeling the sweet taste.)

2. Magnesium, potassium and calcium supplements are recommended. Magnesium deficiency, especially, lead to fatigue and muscle cramps.

3. That urine colour seems to be quite common while eating certain vitamins, according to lots of threads in this forum. I wouldn't worry about it.

Cheers!

/gil

EDIT: Taters beat me to it...

Great..thanks for the response...

In reference to the supplements...without taking a thousand pills a day..haha...any recommendations on levels of magnesium,potassium,calcium?..is there a pill with 2 or all?

Thanks

I believe there is a cal/mag pill combo you can buy. However I live in Sweden, so I can't give advice on Canadian brands.

You should get about 1000mg calcium and 300-400mg magnesium a day. I double that magnesium dosage when I have calf cramps. As for potassium, I have 750mg pills that I pop now and then, not everyday though.

If you use www.fitday.com you can keep an eye on your daily nutrition under "reports", but since we drink so much water, the electrolytes (minerals and salts) are easily flushed out of the system. Hence the recommendations on extra cal/mag/potas.

If you search for "cramps" you will find many threads about it. Also try a search for "magnesium" etc.