My biggest problem with Atkins is that I have no energy! When I am on atkins I get stuffed easily, and by the third day of the diet I feel so sick. I can hardly walks, I feel a bit dizzy and I have no energy to do anything. It is so hard to exercise. I must be doing something really wrong!

Help!

First of all, how long have you been on Atkins, and are you in the Induction phase? Are you going exactly by his food recommendations...in other words, are you eating salad AND a green vegtable, in the amounts he says, on the recommended list? Have you eliminated coffee and soft drinks? If you are on induction, make sure you following it to the letter. If you are following it to the letter, and are taking in no fewer than 19 carbs, are taking vitamins, you need to remember that he said if you didn't feel well to add carbs. Try that and see how you feel. If you have given up coffee, it may be caffeine withdrawal.

You also should give it more than just a few days. A lot of people seem to have what they view as withdrawal symptoms when they first start, but they clear up by the end of the first week. Have you given it longer than three days?

If you've done all that, I'd try some supplements. Do you take any vitamins or minerals? You probably should, at least in the beginning, because it's very difficult to get everything you need from food when your carb level is so low. Aside from the basics, you might want to try L-Carnitine, which is an amino acid. Most of the supplements people have recommended here had no noticeable effect on me, but I had a HUGE boost in energy (but not like the jitteriness from ephedra or anything) when I started taking it.

And finally, make very sure you're drinking lots and lots of water.

The first week I was in Induction, I felt lousy, lousy, lousy. Sore muscles, no energy, headache, the works.
But now I feel great! Make sure you're getting extra potassium and magnesium, drink all your water, and keep going. After a couple of weeks you'll wonder why you ever ate any other way!

Thank you! I do notice a change with L-carnintine!

It is not an Atkins induction preferred food but try a small can-6oz of V8 juice in afternoon with a cheese stick or an egg.

It is 7carbs but has potassium and other nutrients that help lift the brain fog and the tired feeling. The sugar listed is natural to the veggies not added HFCS like you get in sports drinks.

I felt a lot better when I started taking B complex stress tabs. I was feeling really draggy and down and after less than a week of the B's I felt a thousand times better...worth a shot, anyway!

Nicole

ps - I agree that everybody has a fairly rough start but it gets better quick!

Do you find the B complex makes you sick?
I tried taking it because I feel like I have no energy and I have been doing this 3 months.
I get sick when I take the B complex.

Sandy

I was told that the B-complex ought to be taken with your food just in case or I might get an upset stomach...so should the multi be taken with food for that matter. I just started taking the B-complex a couple of days ago...I take them in the morning ...

I was wondering if there was a limit on how much B-complex a person can take? I know you have to be careful with potassium and also Vitamin A...

I'd look up the guidelines for how much to take. I'm pretty sure any excess gets flushed out in your urine (that's why it's highlighter yellow), but I would check if I were you. I'm at work and the bottle is at home so I can't tell you what I take

No, I don't find it makes me sick at all BUT I never take any of my vits on an empty stomach. I always take them after breakfast.

Nicole

You can overdose on some of the B vitamins, but I read you could take up to a maximum of 150mg. of B-complex fairly safely.

Boy... can I relate!!! I've lowered my carbs recently and increased exercise to try and put an end to my stall. many times I am sooo exhausted that I would prefer sleeping to eating. I began taking some of the over the counter fat burners for that "charge of energy" to get me through my workouts
But Im gonna check out the B-vitamins now