Hi everyone. I'm new to Schwarzbein (only on my 5th day). My doctor recommended the plan last week, and, after years of gaining weight with a low-fat vegetarian diet, I decided it's worth a try. The only problem so far is that I'm feeling very fatigued, especially when I'm exercising. I've been going with the recommendations for carb intake in the lower end of the "Active" category. I walk about 5-6 miles a day, and 2 weeks ago I started adding a bit of running into my walking because I have been so frustrated that I get lots of exercise and still don't lose weight and I thought, maybe I'm just not exercising intensely enough!

I've lost 5 pounds just from the running (I'm waiting to see what a week on SP does). I'm wondering if maybe I need more carbs, or if I should have a little something to eat in the morning before I run.

I also seem to want to go to bed earlier at night.

I'm not familiar with the other low-carb plans, but I have visited the Atkins web site and it just seemed a bit extreme to me. The SP diet makes a lot more sense; it's a lot like "Potatoes Not Prozac," which I tried a couple of years ago for too short of a time to make a difference, unfortunately. But in comparison to Atkins, I wouldn't call SP a "low-carb" plan, but maybe a "controlled carb" plan. Anyone agree?