Well here it is almost 2am.

Before starting Atkins in january I would have terrible insomnia. When I started atkins it went away. Every night at 10 pm like clockwork I was out like a light and slept like a rock till the next day.

Now since starting CAD on sunday I have not slept through the night once. Its difficult to fall asleep and I wake up around 1 every night wide awake. Sometimes my legs feel all restless and I cant keep them still. Im going crazy.

Does anyone have any explanation for this ? I get up at 6am and am finding myself exhausted at midday again (something that also went away on atkins probably because I was sleeping well)
It takes all my will power not to take a nap after work and seems to go away around 4 or 5. very strange.

jaden

Well I'm not having any trouble sleeping on CAD but then again I work nights and take the supplement Melatonin. It helps you sleep better
It doesn't make you sleepy like benadryl or unisomn or tylenol Pm, but is supposed to help you have better REM sleep.
It is good for people like me who work night because its to help with your circadian rythyms

well I hope you start slepping better...

Well, I think the sleeplessness and the restless legs are two different things, but I would try taking some calcium/magnesium, and some potassium at bedtime. They help with the legs, (which can be a symptom of any low-carb program, from what I understand), and also the cal/mag is supposed to promote good sleeping. That is what I do, but then I wasn't waking up to the degree that you are.

Also, look for obvious things in your RM that could be having an effect.. like large amounts of caffeine. You might even have a sensitivity or allergy to something you have added back into your diet since trying CAD. The only way to find that out would be through trial and error limitations.

I hope you figure it out, CAD is a great program if it is the one for you Good luck Jaden!

Tracy

For me, restless or "popping" legs have always been one of the first signs of having an insulin blast.

On CALP, this is generally a sign for me that my craving reducing meals have some hidden carb. The only way for me to get past it is to make sure that my craving reducing meals are toally risk free.

For example, I had some signs of insulin blast yesterday so this morning I'm having eggs only for breakfast because I can't risk cheese, ham, or bacon. Lunch is going to be similarly risk free, and reward tonight will be an apple or grapefruit. By tomorrow I should have more resistance to minor carbs and can add bacon back in.

Popping legs are NOT fun! And for me they've always been associated with low blood sugar or getting whapped with insulin.

Lynda

One more thing. My husband is thin and doesn't have carb addict problems, but usually joins me in a reward at dinner time.

I had some carb creep last week, and we had cookie dough for a reward. A well rounded , possibly over generous 1/3 of the meal sized lump of it each.

Pat had horrible insomnia that night, and has seen this happen on other nights when he has a sugar blast - even though he has no tendencies toward low blood sugar or carb cravings, and is vegetarian - not a low carber. We are sure that his insomnia was similar to my popping leg response.

Lynda

Ive been skipping most of my CM s. I just havnt been hungry. let me post a couple days menus and see if you see any hidden carbs.

Weds
breakfast - Piece of cheddar cheese
Lunch - skipped
RM Salad and 4 tacos (hamburg, seasoning, tomato , cheese, onion)

Thursday.

no breakfast
lunch hamburg patty with a slice of american cheese.
small spoonfull of cottage cheese
RM salad
Spareribs with ahso sauce
Left over tomato soup with some pasta in it.


Friday.

no breakfast
snack - couple bites of cheddar cheese . that actually filled me up
Lunch - left over spareribs seasoned with only lawrys season salt.
RM salad
Pizza (peperoni) (slice and a half. I was shocked to find it didnt taste as good as I remember!!)
couple chicken tenders.

Today will be
breakfast skipped.
small cup of coffee with half and half. (was soo tired this am)
Lunch - Hamburg patty with cheese. scoop of cottage cheese
maybe a pickle.
Dinner - Mom is cooking easter dinner tonight. Hope I dont stuff myself and ruin the weeks worth of work
(turkey, mashed potatos, corn, and whatever green vegie she ends up cooking. )


I need to go to the mall today so Ill look into some magnesium. How much do you recommend. my multivitamin has 200 mg. twice a day already.

Why are you skipping so many meals? I thought with CAD you were supposed to eat regularly. If you're skipping and then eating the carbs at night you are probably not in balance overall.

Also, perhaps your reward meal should be lunch instead of dinner so you have a chance to deal with thoes carbs better before going to bed. Just a thought.

CALP says feel free to skip CMs

Unfortunately lunch would be impossible for rm. I work straight through my lunch. if I eat at all its while Im working.

Why skipping I havnt been hungry on atkins i forced myself to eat the three meals a day because he said we had to. I never ate breakfast anyway before atkins. icky.

from the book :
Food frequency reducing option. (page 157 calp)
This option asks you to respond to your bodys need for food rather then the old rules that mayb have dictated why you should eat. stop eating by the clock. if it is time for a craving reducing meal and you are simpley not hungy put it off or skip it all together ..... in any case do not eat if you are not hungry

another paragraph .
The one exception to skipping meals relates to your reward meal . if you are not hungry when it is time for your reward meal, do not skip it all together.

later.
If you want to skip or reduce any craving reducing meals or snacks you most certaily can.

And many of our readers find that breakfast is an easy meal to skip or put off. you can have a cup of coffee or tea iwth milk instead of breakfast. You may veel very comfortable and able to hold off until lunch at that time.

Stay focused on your body and your hunger. do not push yourself , give yourself permission to skip or delay craving reducing meals. Do not demand it . it will come naturally as your cravings are reduced.

Cottage cheese is an insulin trigger for a lot of CAs. Even a little can cause trouble because that reaction causes a larger one after RM. That might be your problem. Also Lawry's seasoning salt has sugar in it. Some of it also has MSG. Taco seasoning also has MSG. Ahso sauce has MSG. Msg is a known trigger and can cause many different kinds of reactions. Also your meals could use more balance. I don't see any veggies except for salad. Unbalanced meals also cause a reaction in some people.

In CAD it can be the little unnoticed ingredients/foods that cause a problem. Why don't you read the CALP section on triggers and see if any of those foods are popping up in your menu.

Hi Jaden
I also have restless legs, that went away with atkins. I used to get up every night and walk because my legs felt so energetic. Do you take any iron? There is a condition called restless leg syndrome that affects people of European descent that is caused by iron deficiency. Taking a multivitamin with iron got rid of the problem for me.

YOu are absolutly right Jaden about skipping CMs. It is your choice. I too have had problems with cottage cheese-often it has modified food starch in it-Yuck-I wonder about you sleep problem though-I have never had such an experience so I will not advise. Hope you get a good sleep tonite!!

Ok collecting all your advice.

I went out and bought magnesium/potassium

I will add that to my supplements. I also bought melatonin to put by my bed and try to remember to take before I go to sleep.

Ill also cut out the cottage cheese for a week. Bummer. I can never think of anything quick to go with that burger patty at lunch. oh well.

I will cut out ah so and Lawrys for a while.. though the lawrys is listed as 0 carbs.

As for the balanced meals. I was shocked to see you didnt think they were balanced. I thought I was balancing them really well. The salad is a BIG salad. I hate cooked vegies so I eat it in salad raw instead ( lettuce , spinich, cuke, brocolli, tomato, a bit of onion and feta)

Next week I was plannign to make a polish dish called Kapusta. it makes a HUGE amount so I will probably end up eating it all week. Tell me how this looks for balance. (for reward meal) the biggest ingredient in this is the cabbage.

its. 1 head of cabbage,
2 cans saurkraught
1 onion
2 cans whole tomatos. (im using frozen tomatos from last summers garden not canned)
2 lbs country style spare ribs.

You cook this all up together for three hrs till its basically a cabage soup then put it over potato. I plan to go very light on the potato. just to give it the consistancy.

Is that anymore balanced? Once I make it I end up eating it most nights for a week because there is so much to get rid of.

anyway thanks for everyones advice. going to try it all and I will let you know how it goes.

Btw.. tomorrow will make a week and there has been no weight gain which is a huge relief! I heard switching from atkins you often get an initial weight gain. but YAY!!!

(hugs to everyone)

jaden

Looks like you are trying everything, good for you! You are a trooper and you will get this figured out, I'm sure

I didn't respond to you quick enough, but just for the record, I take calcium/magnesium/iron supplements (333mg/167mg/20mg) plus a seperate postassium pill which is 50mg. When I feel like my legs are getting that crampy feeling, I take extra of both at night, or anytime during the day.

Don't sweat the balance overly. I have balanced my RM about 5 times since I started

good luck, talk to you soon

OH, and girl... START A JOURNAL!

Tracy

Vel.

OK Started it!!!!!

This is the second time I have seen Melatonin mentioned for good sleep. I have an awful time getting to sleep without drinking my habitual 2 glasses of red wine (dry) this is mainly why i imbibe! Where do I buy Melatonin and how much do I take?