side effects of low carb eating in 15 yr old

[WendyLynn]

[COLOR=Blue] Has anyone experienced negative side effects during induction in themselves or in their family memebers? My 15 year old daughter began induction last week and we are now well into week 2. She has lost 2 pound which I am very happy with. Previously trying to eat healthfully did not move her weight....well actually she gained. What is concerning me is she is complaining that for the last three days she has had periods of light headedness and difficulty concentrating (not a good thing as she sits in class). I read that some people experience negative withdrawal symptoms while detoxifying themselves but I am concerned that she is still feeling this way after 1 1/12 weeks on the program. Any suggestions? Thanks for all input.

[Sinbad]

Hiya!
Is she getting enough food? And enough supplements? (calcium, magnesium, potassium)
Drinking enough?

Cheers
S

[WendyLynn]

Thanks for the reply Sinbad. Yes, I believe she is getting plenty of food. She eats 3 meals plus two snacks (Advantage bar, cheese sticks, rolled turkey, or celery with cream cheese). I make sure she takes a multi-purpose vitamin (One-A-Day for Women) daily. As for the drinking....I would like to see her drink more but she does go through two water bottles at school every day and has several more large glasses of water while at home. I really think that it is either "withdrawal" symptoms or an insulin issue. Hopefully it is a temporary thing. We are going to see an endocrinologist in a few months so I hope I will get a fuller picture of what she is dealing with metabolically.

[2Airedales]

I take the one a day PLUS I take a calcium & magnesium, and a magnesium, and a pottasium and vitamin C (very important!). I don't think the one a day has enough for people LCing.

[LadyBelle]

THe One a Day I was using, the weight smart, had sugars in it. I switched to the Twin Labs multi vitamin and am much happier.

For a 15 year old, induction may be way to strict. Her body is still growing and developing. She'll need much more calcium then a multi will provide. It may also be good to include fruits and fresh dairy such as cottage cheese and yogurt into her diet sooner.

Educate her on how to look for hidden sugars as well. Something she is recieving at school that she is assuming is healthy may have sugars she is unaware of. Also if she was a serious soda addict before, she may be adding caffine withdrawls on top of the carb ones.

[WendyLynn]

Thanks for the input. I am looking into some better quality vitamins.The side effects seem to have gone away, thank goodness. I guess it was withdrawal. I suggested that when she feels that way we should make sure she has a snack(like a handful of nuts) available.

As for adding fruit, etc. sooner. I agree that Atkins is very strict and would not have normally started there. Last summer, we tried "healthy eating". I am very well versed on carbs, portion control, etc. and have myself eaten a low carb diet very successfully for the last 2 1/2 years. Last summer when my daughter asked if I would help her work on loosing her belly, I offered to be in charge of food and she would need to be in charge of exercise. She was taking P.E. at summer school for 4 hours a day. Twice a week she took hour long dance lessons. In addition, once or twice a week she went for a jog. For three weeks the only carbs in her diet came from fruit and a very small amount of occasional whole grain products. She ate three well portioned meals and two small snacks of either cheese or a piece of fruit. After 3 weeks she had gained one pound and her "test pants" fit just as snugly as before!She was frustrated, to say the least. We have done a number of blood tests since then to determine if there could be a physiological reason for her weight but everything so far has come back negative. That is why I decided that the best thing to do would be to cut back completely then add slowly (as in Atkins) in order to determine her personal threshold and to give her back a feeling of control over her eating and body. After the first week on Atkins she had lost 2 pounds. We will see what happens after this week is complete.

I am cooking all kinds of breakfasts and dinners and am packing lunches for her every day. Nothing like having your own personal chef to prepare gourmet low carb meals.....move over Oprah! I hope that she will see how easy this life-style is and the many benefits healthwise as a result.

Thanks again for offering advise :)

[DannysMom3]

You know, my cousin, who sad to say is severly obese, tried the Atkins diet after I told her about my success so far. She was complaining of the same symptoms - dizziness, light headedness, etc. It must be some sort of sugar-shock. Unfortunatly, my cousin gave up since my aunt wasn't very supportive of the diet (grr). Who knows, maybe when my cousin sees me at Christmas she'll be inspired. Anyhow, I wonder what causes this sugar shock?? And you said it subsided with your daughter?

[tofi]

Dizziness, light-headedness during Induction is a very clear sign that the person needs to eat more carbs!!!!!!! Choose from the Induction list or the Ongoing Weight Loss additions.

Please go to www.atkinscenter.com and look into how kids should do this.

Please tell us how much your daughter weighs and how tall she is and what age. These are all important to know before giving advice. These are not symptoms to be ignored.

[Rosebud]

First of all, I agree with Tofi that she should probably increase her carbs a bit. Dr A did say that if you are feeling so unwell, to increase your carbs.

However feeling dizzy and lightheaded can also be from dehydration or a low potassium.

Is she drinking lots of water? At least 64 oz PLUS 8 oz for every 25 pounds she needs to lose?

We lose a lot potassium when low carbing. It is suggested (by the Drs Eades of Protein Power) we supplement with 400mg daily (again in divided doses) while losing weight, reducing to 100mg when maintaining. You can buy 99mg tablets or you can use a potassium salt such as No Salt and simply sprinkle it on your food.

I hope she can continue and feels better soon.

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

[WendyLynn]

Thanks again for all of the input. It is wonderful to gain ideas and insights every time I log on!

DannysMom: Congrats on your success with low carbing! I bet your cousin will be inspired when she sees you. Having family support makes all the difference. You didn't say how old your cousin is, but if your aunt is still doing the grocery shopping and cooking the meals, support is essential. This is all new to my daughter and she often refers to me to ask if a certain food is "ok". I know that my cooking special meals that are delicious and "ok" makes it a whole lot easier to keep going.

tofi: Thank you so much for the warning and concern. I was not ignoring the symptoms at all. Just the opposite. I wrote my original post on the first day that my daughter mentioned these symptoms to me because I was concerned. If the light headedness had not disappeared within the next 24 hours I definately would have both increased her carbs and consulted the doctor. I appreciate very much that you wanted to make sure I was not taking this lightly :) As for my daughters height/weigh etc. The info. I used to log on is actually my daughters info. She is 5 feet tall and weighed 141 at our last doctors visit. We didn't weigh her the day she started induction but three days later our home scale read 138. One week later it read 136. Yes! I don't want her reading the scale more than once a week so in a few days we will update. She is feeling fine now and is being soooo good about sticking with the "plan". She even went out with friiends tonight before the homecoming dance and ate chicken ceasar salad for dinner. I can see a difference already and she keeps commenting that her pants are loose. I am so happy that we have found something that works for her. I am anxious to start adding carbs so that we can find out how high she can go and still lose one pound a week. Her goal is 120 pounds.

Rosebud: Thanks for the heads-up about potassium. I am doing research about vitamins and the best dosages for teens for a variety of vitamin and minerals. Unfortunately, my daughter is taking a med.(for the next ten days) right now that can't must be taken many hours after calcium, potassium, or zinc. So we have to juggle. Why should anything be easy?!

[catfishghj]

I second (or third) the sugestion of a potasium suplement. Work it in around the meds and it should solve the problem.