4th day and feel awful
 

:help: I posted in the main forum yesterday and mentioned that it was my third day. Well its my fourth day today and been feeling quite ill, lethargic, headaches, hungry. Will this pass, i hope so because i dont feel like doing anything. Just so tired, also under my eyes look blackish (they have never looked this bad before). I am hanging on in there though. Just need a bit of support though. I am doing a moderated, veggie version of Atkin's. Keeping to 20 carbs a day and 1,000 cals if possible.

Hang in! What you are desciribing is very common for the first few days as your body says goodbye to the oreos and chips of the past. You body is cleansing itself, in a few days you should feel great. If a week or so passes and you still feel this way I would talk it over with a doc.

I feel great but, I have had a few headaches. A friend of mine that is also doing Atkins felt horrible for about a week but, she feels great now. I guess everyone is different. I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks
I will try and stay the course. Just hope it is all worth it.

I'm sure it will be. Good Luck.

STAY !!! keep up with it and you will be fine. First few days are tough (really tough-depending on your carb addiction), but by the end of 5-6th day you start feeling great. Meanwhile keep yourself filled ,don't let yourself be hungry, attack hunger before it attacks you.
I'm not aware how one does Atkins the veggie way, but if you follow all the rules and drink lots and lots of water, you'll thank your self for being patient with your body and hanging in there.
Just keep your spirits up, read around how others managed and stay motivated

Best of luck

Pigeon, you CAN do Atkins as a vegetarian, but for heaven's sake, why are you trying to keep your calories at 1,000/day?

Even on Weight Watchers, when calorie counting was the thing, they didn't want me to ever go under 1400 calories--and I'm only five feet tall! Yes, I'm active, but still...

Unless you are very small, 1000 calories is way too low. You need to EAT for this to work, and you won't feel better at too low calories for what your body needs. When you first start, it's important to NOT get hungry...and if that means eating more calories and fat than you're used to eating, it's still vital to the success of your low carb efforts that you EAT. So don't try to limit your calories to 1000/day. I wouldn't try to limit them AT ALL! "A calorie is not a calorie' when it comes to low carb, so don't fall into that old diet trap that if smaller portions are good, even less is better--it's NOT, and you won't stick to the plan if you feel like blech for too long.

Gaelen

I just went back to induction, after having put on a few pounds last month.Even though I gained on too much good food and and never ate high carb stuff, I felt awful during the first week of induction..it does pass and you will feel great.
DON'T try to limit your calories in the initial phases. It won't help and you will be miserable. Instead eat mini meals and make sure that you get lots of protien. I as a vegetarian for years, but added back poultry and fish, as I seem to do better with these in my diet. I also eat lots of tofu and other soy products. You can do this. Hang in there and increase your calories!!

Thanks very much for all your support.

I am starting to feel a little better now. But, i am worried about increasing calories because i really do want to lose weight. I am non active at the moment because it hurts my hips and back to walk much at this weight and i just thought that decreasing the calories would counteract the non activity.

Believe me (from someone who has been at the weight you are at now) you could easily increse your cals to 1500 without making any kind of difference to your weight loss. I agree, keeping them at 1000 a day is far too low and probably accounting for you feeling terrible, remember, this is not a starvation diet, it's a way of life, and in order to make it so, you have to eat!! :)
Eating too little will make you stall out.
Up those cals and you'll start to feel better! I have lost over 80lbs without any excersise at all.....so don't worry, keep eating!

How quickly did you lose it foxgluvs? The main thing is that i am impatient, and I dont want to stall yet because i know it will stop me from getting to goal.

Pigeon, your first post was on Jan 27 and it was your fourth day on plan. It's now the 31st, so you've been on plan a week. You're not going to stall out at this point unless you don't pay attention to the fundamentals and you cut your calories too low, don't get enough fats and don't get enough protein!

As for impatience...you didn't gain it all in a month, and you're not going to lose it all in a month. Cut yourself some slack, relax and do this right--and if you pay attention to the fundamentals of low carbing right from the beginning, it WILL work. However, it's going to work at its own pace, not at yours--so you need to accept that and resolve to do the best you can for yourself every day, rather than be thinking ahead to your long-term goals every second.

Take a deep breath, okay? How many calories did you eat yesterday; have you increased them as I and Halfpass and Foxgluvs suggested?

Gaelen

I'm not a good guide to go by to be honest, I have been doing LC for almost two years, but I have severe metabolism problems stemmed from PCOS and also insulin resistence.

However, when I first went LC I lost 50lbs in the first 6 months. It was only after the initial 50lbs that I found it tough going. I was on 2000 cals a day for the first 6 months, and it was only really when I dropped the cals right down that my weight stalled out.

I have swapped over plans now to South Beach, and at the weight i am now I can still eat 1500 cals and lose weight.

You won't win at this weight loss thing if you are impatient, you will succeed and lose the weight and most importantly keep it off if you get into the mindset you need to be in, which is lose it in an even way, a few lbs a week, and it will stay off for good. If you crash diet because you are impatient, you will simply get bored or fed up and not stick with it. I'm talking from past experience here.

Believe me, I wanted to lose 120lbs overnight, but it don't work like that sadly.

Patience in the key to losing weight successfully, and a lesson I have spent many years trying to learn!!
Best of luck to you!

Gaelen, foxgluvs

Thanks for the advice, you will be happy to know that I have increased my daily calories to 1500 now. I got weighed today (only like to do it once a week) and I lost 6 pounds. I was jumping for joy. Still feel a bit tired though.
Good luck to everyone else too, when I get the hang of all this I will have a look at your journals.

Hang in the Pigeon, it is MORE than worth it!!!
You are in a detox phase and it can be really brutal. But when you wake up, and you are all clear of the "crap" that was in your system you are going to be stunned!!!
I like to look at the before & in progress pictures in the forum. You can see such a change in people's faces & expressions. Even after just a few pounds. Lights seem to turn on in their faces!!!
My thoughts are with you... You can do this!!!