The majority of people get those symptoms on Atkins induction? Do you have documentation for this?

Anyway, in answer to your question... I'm new to Dr. Schwarzbein's writings, but I just finished reading a couple of her books, so this is pretty fresh in my mind. She has you do some questionnaires so that you can figure out your insulin status (sensitive vs. resistant), and your adrenal status (healthy vs. burned out). This puts you into one of four groups, each of which has a different recommended carb intake. You can read about these in the sticky on this board.

In my case -- Insulin Sensitive, Burned Out Adrenals -- the carbs are supposed to be on the higher end: 20-25 g x 5 (3 meals, 2 snacks), for a total of 100+. This was hard for me to accept, as I've found that I actually feel happier and more energetic when I keep the carbs very low, but she says that this is an illusion. She believes that ketosis, which forces the release of adrenaline and cortisol, is just perpetuating the "adrenaline addiction" that's ultimately continuing to fry my adrenal glands. If eating a slightly larger amount of carbs makes me sleepier, that's not a sign that I can't handle the carbs themselves (which makes sense, as my blood sugar has always been fine); it's a sign that I need to make some lifestyle changes, rest more and take it easy. I hate to admit it, but I think she might be right.

There are other reasons behind the various carb recommendations, so this is just a partial answer -- maybe someone more knowledgeable will chime in -- but I hope it's somewhat helpful.


I have no plans to stop following Dr. Kwasniewski's Optimal Diet, but Dr. Schwarzbein has given me some new insight into the endocrine aspect of things. She also understands the negative health effects of the modern American lifestyle and mindset (and she writes about it in English, which is a big help ). So I'd like to take whatever I can of value from her ideas. In addition to the suggestions for stress reduction, I'm trying to follow her advice for getting off coffee. She's absolutely right in one thing: going "cold turkey" makes me very ill, practically unable to function. And I only drink one cup a day!

According to Dr. K, 50 g carbohydrate is a typical recommendation for someone my size, but there's flexibility; he acknowledges that some people do best with 30, while others might need as much as 100. In addition, he uses net carbs, and I've read that Dr. Schwarzbein uses total carbs. If that's true, I don't think it would be too hard for me to meet her numbers, given that most of my carbs come from nuts, fruits, and vegetables. We'll see how it goes.

(As for the high-fat issue, Dr. Schwarzbein says there's "no limit on natural fats," and "my patients who eat the most fat recover the fastest." But her recipes and suggested menus are nowhere near Dr. K's recommended fat levels of 75-80%. Maybe she's just being a wuss. )