Antidepresants compatible with success at Atkins?

[Agnes]

I am on week 5 of induction, exercising regularly even if it is fairly low impact (my legs have trouble carrying my 155 lb) and haven't lost a gram in 3 weeks. I am sticking to induction. I read that there were carbs in AD medication. Does anybody have a success story despite their meds? Should I head for a lower than 20g induction stage? Does anybody have any pointers in terms of just how much I should reduce? I will send (or post) what I take to have an idea, if need be.

Agnes

P.S.: for anyone willing to help, you can e-mail me...:help:

[RoseTattoo]

Hi Agnes. I'm taking Paxil (which isn't working very well right now...GRRR), but it hasn't stalled me at all. I take 15 mg a day, and have been at that dosage for many years.

Don't eat fewer than 20 carbs a day--it won't make any difference to weight loss. What you need to do is double check everything you eat--it might be a good idea to keep a tally on a computerized account like fitday.com--and make sure that you're getting enough fat and protein, and eating enough calories.

There are tons of threads on the Atkins and general low carb forums about how much is a good amount to eat, etc., so why don't you do a search?

Good luck! Feel free to write back itemizing what meds you take, and maybe someone will know specifically about those meds.

[cs_carver]

I had a long slow no-progress zone, but for me, I had to reduce calories. A bag of pork rinds is 16 servings? That was news to me!!!

And maybe some other form of strengthening exercise? 10# shouldn't be that much of a problem...

[Agnes]

Ahem, I WILL post what I actually ingest for posterity and also for whoever is in the same bag o'beans as me:read2:...

So here goes my pillmeal for 1 day, divided (thank God) into several takes:

1250 mg depakote - also known as valproate or valproic acid
300 mg neurontin - also known as gabapentin
250 mg trazodone
60 mg celexa
0.5mg clonazepam.

There I said it:blush:... You might now understand why I am concerned about my stall!!!

Agnes

[Agnes]

Hi Agnes. I'm taking Paxil (which isn't working very well right now...GRRR), but it hasn't stalled me at all. I take 15 mg a day, and have been at that dosage for many years.

I took that a long time ago. I was quiet as a mouse... so much so that I would fall asleep in the middle of a conversation (no kidding)! However I sympathise with how you might feel when meds aren't doing their job. It's the pits!

Don't eat fewer than 20 carbs a day--it won't make any difference to weight loss. What you need to do is double check everything you eat--it might be a good idea to keep a tally on a computerized account like fitday.com--and make sure that you're getting enough fat and protein, and eating enough calories.

Thanks for the tip. I'll go there. I am actually unsure whether I eat enough fat.

There are tons of threads on the Atkins and general low carb forums about how much is a good amount to eat, etc., so why don't you do a search?


Will do.:agree:

Good luck! Feel free to write back itemizing what meds you take, and maybe someone will know specifically about those meds.

I did and I feel really exposed but what the hey, you can't save your face and save your booty at the same time!!!:rolleyes:

Thanks a lot for your prompt reply.

Agnes

[Agnes]

I had a long slow no-progress zone, but for me, I had to reduce calories. A bag of pork rinds is 16 servings? That was news to me!!!

And maybe some other form of strengthening exercise? 10# shouldn't be that much of a problem...

I actually went to a site called workoutplan and got a personalised (and free) plan taking into account my fitness and the means I have in order to exercise. Great site (find ithere (http://www.workoutplan.com)).

Thanks a lot.

Agnes

[RoseTattoo]

Agnes, I hope I didn't embarrass you by asking you to post your meds! I really, really didn't mean to do that. Now I feel awful, because I hope I didn't pressure you into anything. :(

Having said that, though, the meds you're taking might well be interacting with each other to cause a stall. Do you have a local pharmacist whom you can talk to? I've found that pharmacists frequently know much more about meds than doctors do, and they are glad to let you know about side effects (unlike doctors, who tend to keep that info to themselves!). That way, if you find out that there is a strong possibility that the combination of drugs is causing a stall, you can take that info to your doctor and ask whether something can be changed.

Good luck! Keep us posted! And do up the amount of fat you eat--that may be the whole problem. :)

[Agnes]

Thank you so much for your kind reply, Rosetattoo. You did not pressure me into anything. I decided I had to make the difference between what is real and what is not, and the reality is I do have to take all these meds. I suspect the culprit might be the Neurontin (gabapentin) as it is the one after which I put on the extra 20 lb. I started taking it 3 years ago, and shortly after I started gaining about 2 lb a month. It did do wonders for my condition, though so I will have to examine this carefully with my doc.

Thank you again. You cannot imagine how lonely I was feeling with these questions and doubts. I feel all better now that you have taken the trouble to look at my posts. And really, if people have to laugh about the amount of meds I take, then at least on a forum like this I do not have to worry about seeing their reaction. And it is important for me to laugh at myself... Otherwise I'd be miserable!!!:lol:

Agnes

Hopeful at 155 lb.

[Agnes]

So here it is, calculated per the info I entered (although some of the quantities were tricky - pieces for shrooms, I couldn't enter the amount of spinach- 100g):

Calories Eaten Today Total: 1583
source grams cals %total
Fat: 112 1008 64%
Sat: 35 319 20%
Poly: 18 164 10%
Mono: 48 428 27%
Carbs: 47 147 9%
Fiber: 10 0 0%
Protein: 106 425 27%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%


It seems to me the carb is way too high, although I kept the count inferior or equal to 20 g in my menu planning today..

TIA.

[skeeweeaka]

I actually went to a site called workoutplan and got a personalised (and free) plan taking into account my fitness and the means I have in order to exercise. Great site (find ithere (http://www.workoutplan.com)).

Thanks a lot.

Agnes

Thanks for the workout site info....it has been very useful...

[Agnes]

Hiskeeweeaka,


1. Drink 6 glasses of water prior to each meal. 2. Use 1 T. of Olive Oil with each meal. 3. Use 2 T. of Flax Seed Oil with Breakfast or 2 snacks. 4. Step Aerobics 3 X week.

Is this a method for slow bowels or is it generally good for Atkins?

Agnes

[RoseTattoo]

Hello agan, Agnes. Let's see if I can answer some of your questions. I don't tknow about drinking 6 glasses of water BEFORE a meal, but you should drink at least 8 glasses a day--good for regularity, for flushing waste products of ketosis out of the system, and for making you generally healthier.

The olive oil is a great idea, although you don't have to have it with each meal (breakfast might be tough, unless you're panfrying eggs). It's very good for you, will fill you up, and will keep you regular. Ditto the flax seed, although I'm not sure you need quite that much.

Now as for the food information you posted, I do think the carbs are high for induction--you have 37 net carbs (remember that you can subtract fiber) and on induction it should be about 20. But everything else looks super--you're right on track with the amount of fat, although you could stand to up that a little bit to substitute for some of the carbs.

I know exactly what you mean about the reality check and the meds. If I had the patience to find a good psychiatrist instead of depending on my family GP, I'd be on more, and more effective, meds in place of the iffy Paxil.

Good luck talking to your doctor! Atkins should make a difference anyway, no matter how the meds are affecting you. It might just take time, so be patient. I think a lot of people here expect miracles, and that Atkins will work like magic. But persistence is the order of the day. :)

[Agnes]

Is it possible that their count is erroneous. When I planned my menu for the day I counted a total of about 17g ECC?

I have been using the carb counter on this site, always considering the ECC and not the count before fiber. Ihave been averaging 18 g per day with this method.

Agnes.

[AzureMoon]

Hi, Agnes.

Have you been watching the portions that fitday assigns to items? That may be where the excess carbs come from. For instance, if you select a salad dressing, fitday's default portion for that may be a cup. If you don't reset the amount back to 2 tablespoons you will be waaay out of bounds at the end of the day.

I love fitday, but you have to watch 'em like a hawk on those portions.

Best of luck to you , hon, you're doing wonderful.

[Agnes]

You are absolutely right :agree:. I just went to double check and found that I was assigned a whopping 27g carbs for the veal chops alone, plus 4 g for 3 eggs. Apart from that I was never able to enter the 100 g avocado (half of the fruit), or the actual amount of spinach I ate. Couldn't count the leaves and I knew it was under 1 cup (100g) so I chose "unspecified amount. I just hope that in terms of the percentage of fat/protein, fitday is giving a more accurate result!!!!

[AzureMoon]

I just entered half an avocado on my fitday, so perhaps I can help you. I'll just run through it step by step, so I won't forget anything. Pardon me if I'm rambling on about things you already know. :)

Enter "avocado" in the Search box, and select the appropriate one. I selected "Avocado, California, raw" (these are the Hass/black ones.) When the nutritional facts come up, enter ".5" or "0.5" (or, 0.25 for a quarter, 0.125 for an eighth) in the box next to Serving. Next, click on the arrow to the right of the box that says "cup, pureed" and select "fruit, without skin and seeds". Now click on "Add to Foods Eaten" button and your done!

You can change the quantity and measurement of things that are already in your food list the same way. You can go back to previous days and update them, too. Just click on the "<<" to the left or ">>" to the right of the current date at the top of the page.

Hope this helps you. :)

[skeeweeaka]

Hiskeeweeaka,



Is this a method for slow bowels or is it generally good for Atkins?

Agnes

Hey Agnes...definitely not for slow bowels...because I'm still trying to get regular.... I have only been doing these goals for a week....

Water....trying to drink more because of irregularity...

Olive Oil....trying to add better fats to my diet... Eliminating others...

Flax Oil...trying to get more omega 3's into my diet... I add 2 T. to my protein shake in the morning for breakfast sometimes...other times I split my shake up for snacks and have it then... I've read that it should help increase my serotonin levels...that's the dosage the holistic physician suggested... Haven't noticed a change yet though...also added 5HTP...

Fitday portions...I also noticed that we must watch the fitday portions carefully....couldn't figure out one day why I had 86 carbs lol... Also I have tried to add some items in fitday, custom items, and it wouldn't allow me too...such as low carb beer... Some items I just add to my journal and keep track of that way... Also, I'm not sure if they subtract the carbs automatically, although I read somewhere that they do... But on my custom items they don't subtract...


Hope that answers your questions....Have a Good Day...

[Agnes]

[...]
Enter "avocado" in the Search box, and select the appropriate one. I selected "Avocado, California, raw" (these are the Hass/black ones.) When the nutritional facts come up, enter ".5" or "0.5" (or, 0.25 for a quarter, 0.125 for an eighth) in the box next to Serving. Next, click on the arrow to the right of the box that says "cup, pureed" and select "fruit, without skin and seeds". Now click on "Add to Foods Eaten" button and your done!

[...]
Hope this helps you. :)

Thank you!!! It never occurred to me to do that :doah: :).

Agnes

[RoseTattoo]

How are you doing, Agnes? You can pm me if you'd like to talk. :)

[Agnes]

Hey Agnes...definitely not for slow bowels...because I'm still trying to get regular.... I have only been doing these goals for a week....

Water....trying to drink more because of irregularity...


Olive Oil....trying to add better fats to my diet... Eliminating others...

Oli

Flax Oil...trying to get more omega 3's into my diet... I add 2 T. to my protein shake in the morning for breakfast sometimes...other times I split my shake up for snacks and have it then... I've read that it should help increase my serotonin levels...that's the dosage the holistic physician suggested... Haven't noticed a change yet though...also added 5HTP...

Fitday portions...I also noticed that we must watch the fitday portions carefully....couldn't figure out one day why I had 86 carbs lol... Also I have tried to add some items in fitday, custom items, and it wouldn't allow me too...such as low carb beer... Some items I just add to my journal and keep track of that way... Also, I'm not sure if they subtract the carbs automatically, although I read somewhere that they do... But on my custom items they don't subtract...


Hope that answers your questions....Have a Good Day...

The flaxmeal has done miracles for me. I take right after my dinner "veggies" with a 10 oz glass of water (the Duralex ones you can buy in packs of six 12 oz glasses at wal-mart!!!) and no more problem in the loo. And it gives me the omega 3 to boot - good for my mental state!!!

:agree:right about the portions at Fitday!!! It count a LOT of carb for one medium egg, just as an example, and I had to break down the caesar dressing I get, home-made, at a local trattoria, which contains no sugar added:rolleyes:

What is 5 htp? Something to boost your metabolism into assimilating the omega-3 for your serotonin?

Have the good one !!!

Agnes