Hello.
so i read the boards and did some reasearch and these are the vitamins/supplements i decided on , but to be quite honest, i am 20 and my research was about 2 hours worth online and honestly i just dont really know if this is good or what.

This is what i am taking. Thanks to everyone who reviews, your input is appreciated.

1. GNC Women's Ultra Mega® without iron and iodine

Link to Women's Ultra Mega without Iron and Iodine

2. GNC Women's Hair, Skin & Nails Formula

Link to Women's Hair, Skin and nail Formula

3. Natural Brand™ Psyllium Seed Husk

Link to Psyllium Seed Husk

4. GNC PharmAssure Omega 3-6-9
Cant Find this anywhere online, dont know why.

Overall, not bad. I like that you are using the "mega" -- that will provide proper amounts and not minimum RDA (minimum RDA levels are a joke).

There are certain vitamins that you want to stay on the low end. Synthetic Vitamin A, some B vitamins (other B vitamins you want to high amounts), etc. So you can get into trouble combining two different multivitamins.

By combining these two you are taking twice the Vitamin A and Zinc -- but half of the Vitamin A is beta carotene -- so I would not worry about that. Likewise, your Zinc is still around 30 mg so that should be okay.

The biggest problem I see is the cost. GNC has a reputation of very good quality -- but high cost. You can try one of the discounters (my favorite is Vitacost.com) and get the same quality for half price.

The only reason i got these is because it was buy 1 get one 1/2 off.
So i got the big boxes of everything... i think its a 2 month supply.. not sure really, i am not home so i cant check.

The hair, skin, one i am just taking because i realy want nice hair skin.

I spend 50 dollars on all ones above, the Mega is he big container and the oil is 1 pill a day/ 90 pill box... So that averages out to be ok? i mean , i dont realy know how much it should cost but that seemed good?, no?

(side note, do vitamins turn your pee neon yellow?)

What about chromium that i read about on here, and something that can accelerate the weight loss, those seem like a good standar multi set regardless of the desire to loose weight, i dont think any of those accelerate, any ideas for an accelerator and energy boost. Even though today, i am experiencing more energy... i think its the vitamins, but i dont know.

Typically it is the B vitamins turning your pee yellow.

Chromium is a good choice for people with metabolisms like ours. It helps to stabilize blood sugar.

Different people swear by different things as far as accelerating weight loss. And different things work / don't work for different people. Exercise is probably the best accelerator.

How long have you been on the low carb diet? The low carb diet will boost your energy. I have not found that vitamins change my energy level much -- the most important thing for me is how many carbs I eat.

not long at all, it will be two weeks next sunday, but since i was using a messed up scale , i have no idea if i even lost anything.... so i just decided that 1st day of induction was this past sunday, (thats when i got the new scale)... Anyhow, scales suck, but thats a diffrent story.


The energy maybe due to the low carb, ... that sounds possible.. but i havent been doing it long enough to know for sure. I am worried that i wont loose any weight. The new scale tells me the same thing day in and day out
it makes me sad. (its only been two days with the new scale)

THe old scale made it seem i lost 14 pounds in one week. ... so now i am just biitter with the new scale.

BTW, you were asking about additional supplements ...

http://www.vitacost.com/science/hn/...Weight_Loss.htm

Regarding the weight loss ... I started at 310 pounds and I was trying to eat zero carbs per day. I think I lost most of my weight in the first two weeks and then about 20 pounds in the first month. Then it stalled for a month or so and then took off again.

Don't expect 2 pounds every day. It will stall and then take off again. Remember that you didn't gain all that weight in one day ... have patience and faith.

If you stay very low on your carbs, take your supplements, and exercise -- you will lose weight.

0--- how did you do 0 carbs.
i am doing like 15 .. or so , i cant get under with the vegetables.

I rarely eat veggies. I *try to* eat zero carbs. In reality you hardly ever can do that for a solid week. It seems that something always has a sauce or something.

IMHO if you try for zero, you probably average 15 carbs per day. If you try for 20 per day then you probably average 40 per day. There are a lot of hidden carbs out there just waiting to get us ;-)

I just don't feel good when I eat carbs. If I eat very low glycemic carbs -- then it is not so bad.

what do you eat?????

I just do like, baked fish/chicken/beef/pork: 3 cups veggies/only green veggies from the acceptable foods list. / eggs/ cheese/ .. and thats about 15-20, But i dont subtract out the fiber if i eat broccoli or another fiberous vegetable, i keep the fiber in the count because this way i am getting less "actual" carbs, but i trick myself into thinking its the same.


So do you just eat meats ?


btw. is it weird that its getting harder for me to eat the same amount of food. Like breakfast, i started with like 2 eggs and 2hot dogs(dont like sausage)...now i am like super full when i eat half of that. Is that normaL.. i dont even want to eat my dinner today, .. i dont know if thats ok, or if i should eat something.

I eat nine eggs for breakfast, about 2/3 to 3/4 pound of meat for lunch and then about 1 pound of steak for dinner. I keep pork rinds around for when I get hungry or feel that I am going to cheat.

There is nothing wrong with eating more veggies -- IMHO the more carbs you eat -- the less fat your body has to burn. But if you exercise and your metabolism is good -- 20 carbs per day is nothing. I have slow metablism and bad knee so it would be hard to me to burn an extra 20 carbs per day.

Your appetite decreasing is a good sign that your body is adapting well to this diet. You will find that high glycemic carbs will make you hungry (more like huge hunger cravings). Staying with your diet suppresses your appetite.

If you think what I eat now is a lot -- I started out eating a whole lot more. BTW that is when I lost the most weight! It's not how much you eat but how many carbs.

Your body burns carbs and alcohol first, then it starts burning fat.

IMHO, the fiber does not count when eating carbs. However, I would not exclude the sugar alcohols and other things that the "net carb" people usually omit. I do count all carbs other than fiber.

How do you feel? What medical conditions are you no longer having problems with?

I slept better, had better mental clarity (focus), acid indegestion went away (as long as I did not cheat - then acid indigestion was 10X worse for about six months), chronic bronchitis went away, had a lot more energy, anxiety went away, blood pressure dropped, ...

I do this way of life for my health -- not just to lose weight.

You are doing good. If you feel better after two weeks -- I would give it at least two months. If you feel better after two months -- then give it another 4 months.

ByTheWay -- for exercise you don't need to go jogging. I can't remember the exact figures but something like walking at 300 pounds burns as many calories as jogging at 150 pounds. So just go walk and climb a couple of flights (not many) stairs. Nothing too strenuous at this point. As you lose the weight then you can start doing more strenuous exercise.

But don't think you have to have to do anything strenuous, hurt yourself, and then stop exercising. It is better (at 300 pounds) to simply walk and slowly build up (as the weight goes down) than to hurt yourself.

Keep up the good work! This is the best chance you have to improve your health and your life!

That is the reason that I started Atkins. The weight loss was simply a beneficial side effect.

Wow.. thats a whole lot of meat, i couldnt even afford that if i wanted to.. meat is like 10 dollars a pound for a good cut.. which is pricey for someone with no job. I have to live off of financial aid, but if i was in some other place where meet was cheap, i probably would buy it more often. I rarely get to have beef.. usually fish or chicken.

I am only 20, so no health conditions really. I have high blood preassure, but i stopped taking the meds for it b/c this should lower it. And, i was reading on the atkins website and i guess i was expeirencing something like pre-diabet (sp?) ... but thats going away. I am feeling more energized.

I am doing this too more of a way of life, but... i dont plan on never eating fruits again.. or dairy.. Ideally i want to stay on induction until i reach my goal weight, which i am sure is actually too low, even for my heigh of 5-7, but i am sure i wiill gain about 10 pounds if not more if i get that low.
After induction i would ideally like to eat low carb but with fruits and some milk products. ... something like 50 carbs and 1200 cal.. .. and i want to incorporate atleast 3 times exercise.

Right now, i am doing aerobics videos,.. about 50 mintues, twice on sat and sun, and maybe two times during the week.
I am joining a gym on sunday.

I have never in my life remeber weighing under 217. You know the time when you become aware of yoru weight, like 13-14 years old, thats the lowest i EVER remember.


Regarding food, if your not hungy at all, should u not eat, or still try to eat some protein in order to not put yourself in starvation mode.

For example, for breakfast i have an egg and a hotdog. Then for lunch around 130, i might not want anything, .. should i still eat ? I am not really too sure, so far i have been trying to just keep it to 3 small meals... its been all under 20 grams carbs and under 900cal.
How do you cound sugar alcahols? I dont think i eat anything that has that. I only eat vegetables, which i think have no sugar alcahol, and then protein... i avoid all "fake" foods, like processed foods, or not natrually occuring.
The only processed things, are hot dogs, and cheese, and i try to aim for the orgainic ones.

i lost 2% bodyfat and 4.5 pounds since SUNDAY!!!!.. and i am thrilled. this is my 1st true attempt to loose thi sweight i have been gaining for 20 years.

First, congrats on your weight loss. This way of life is much better for your health.

I buy meat at Sam's Club in bulk and it is about half the price as my grocery store. Wal-mart puts some type of "solution" (read the fine print on their meat packages) that makes their meat taste bad.

Eggs are like ten cents a piece when you buy them them in bulk. I smoke my own pork. I buy top loin pork (good pork) at about $2.35 per pound and smoke about 20 to 30 pounds at a time. When it is done, chop it up, put it in bags, freeze it, and I have lunch everyday for a month.

Whole ribeyes cost around $6 a pound now. So I buy the whole ribeye, cut it up into steaks and freeze them also. Somtimes I get greedy and start cutting them too big :-)))

Regarding your blood pressure medicine -- I would not just stop taking it. I would at least (if they are tablets like I was on) start cutting them in half and taking half. I am suppose to tell you to consult with your doctor. But most people can "feel" their blood pressure so they know if they are okay or not.

What is funny is my blood pressure is so low now I usually do not see any viens in my arms and such. But after I cheat (my wife and kids do not support this WOL so there are bad foods all over my house) -- my viens are bulging out -- my blood pressure goes up that much.

Sugar alcohols are sweetners that they put in a lot of the "low carb" foods. Manufactures claim sugar alcohols do not count as carbs so they tell you that the food has like 2 net carbs where they have subtracted the carbs in the sugar alcohols. My digestive track has a fit with sugar alcohols and I do think they effect your blood sugar / carb intake somewhat (but not as much as regular sugar).

Do you know about potassium? It will help a lot with the blood pressure and cramps.

Remember the "expert health advice" you've probably gotten over the years to cut down on salt? Truth is -- you don't cut down on salt -- you eat more potassium. And you don't eat bananas to get potassium -- way too many carbs and calories.

And don't buy Potassium supplements. By law they can only sell 99mg potassium tablets -- so you have to take like 30 tablets per day.

The secret is to go to most any grocery store and ask for "salt substitute". Most grocery stores have them. Brand names are "NoSalt", "nu salt", etc. Look at the ingredients. The primary ingredient should be "potassium chloride". Examples are:

http://www.nusalt.com/

http://www.alsosalt.com/alsosalt.html

This stuff is strong -- so start out using very little -- just as you would salt. You don't want to eat too little potassium or too much. If your blood pressure is up then add a little more at your next meal. If you start feeling light headed then stop taking for a day or two. I started sprinkling it heavy on two meals a day -- and got light headed after about a week. So now I typically sprinkle it on my eggs in the morning 5 out of 7 days per week -- and that seems like a proper amount.

The US RDA is like 3,500 mg. 1/4 of a teaspoon is like 650 mg. Which (if my math is right) about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons per day -- which sounds like a lot more than what I use.

But this diet will certainly lower your blood pressure. It took me about six months to slowly get off the blood pressure medicine. I had tablets, cut them in half , and eventually only took half when I felt I needed one.

On this WOL I've learned to listen to my body a lot more.

Regarding the fruits and veggies. Once I reach my goal weight -- I plan to eat a lot more fruit and veggies. Also, men and women have different bodies. I think it is more natural for men to eat high protein & fat ( and low carb) whereas I think it is more natural for women to eat more fruit and veggies. So eating more fruit and veggies may be better for you than me. People that are trying to eat a variety of foods for nutritional content are IMHO sadly mistaken and need to read Dr Ray Strand book "What your doctor doesn't know".

The important thing is to eat as low glycemic as possible:

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes...cemic_index.php

and my favorite site on glycemic index:
http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm

We got a little off the supplements path with this post -- but you are well worth it. Congrats again on your weight loss. It works and most importantly -- it is more for your health -- not just your weight.

I forgot to mention -- yes -- you should eat at least every 4 to 5 hours. Even if it is only a small amount like some cheese or a handful of almonds.

My understanding is this (probably not 100% correct but I assume someone else will correct it). The reason that most of us are over weight is the roller coaster that our glucose levels go on. High glycemic foods make our glucose spike up, and then they come crashing down and we feel hungry and get cravings for carbs. The cravings are your body's way of saying it wants to start the roller coaster all over again. In a wierd way, when your glucose crashes, your body thinks it is starving, even though we are fat. And when your glucose goes way up, your body thinks it is starving and is trying to convert all glucose to fat.

Until you cut your blood glucose and insulin levels -- it is an ugly cycle. The low carb diet cuts your glucose and insluin, plus lowers your cortisal(?) levels. Now your body chemistry can get back to normal (it was out of wack) and you feel much better.

Chromium is so effective because it helps to regulate your glucose and insulin. Low glycemic feeds are effective because they do not release a huge burst of glucose into your body, it is more of a continuous feed of glucose.

so if you have not eaten for four or so hours -- make yourself eat, even if just something small, so that your glucose will not crash.

Soon you will learn all about your body and be able to feel when your glucose crashes. For example, caffeine usually will make your glucose crash -- which is why "experts" suggest you not drink caffeine. But if you plan for it, manage it, caffeine can boost your metabolism.

Have fun learning about your body!