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  #1   ^
Old Mon, Apr-15-02, 12:18
rgarlough's Avatar
rgarlough rgarlough is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 215
 
Plan: Atkins OWL + PP Phase II
Stats: 160/142/130
BF:?%/25.6%/20%
Progress: 60%
Location: St Paul, MN
Lightbulb RE: OWL & Reflections... LONG (seeking advice from long-term LCer's)

Since I've converted to Atkins on 1/14/2002, I've really learned a lot about how foods make me feel, whether healthy and alive or sickly and tired.

Well, after I finished Induction (a quick 2 weeks after a couple days of carb withdrawls ) I was soon on OWL and trying to find my CCL. I started to add more complex carbs into my WOE and quicky realized that the weight loss slowed down for me. I accepted that and moved on. I didn't expect everything to come off as quickly as in Induction.

Then, I started to measure myself monthly to help myself understand that scales DO lie. I've steadily been losing inches (all be it not as fast as in the begining) and I've been overall very happy with my transition to low carb living.

However, I find myself getting a bit ill (tummy aches, headaches & a general feeling of fogginess) when I have more than 50 carbs (after substracting fiber) on one day and then go down to 20-30. I've been all over the place with my carbs on a daily/weekly basis to keep my body thinking I've read my Atkins book twice (as well as another one on LC for life).

It's almost like the Induction withdrawls all over again only I'm much more in-tune with how carbs effect my body and how I feel.

So far I've been able to get out of ketosis and get back in within 24-48 hours. I don't do ketostix so to be honest I don't really know if I'm in or out of ketosis. I used to have the keto breath but I got used to it after a while and with all the water I drink (120 ounces/day), it's hard to notice unless I eat really fatty foods like cheeses.

I've tried to figure out if it's my body going back through carb withdrawl or if I've just become so sensitive to higher amounts of carbs. I've noticed that it's really bad if I come off of a higher carb (50-70 grams/day) which is usually from eating less-than-desirable ("bad") foods like breaded chicken or white rice. I'm able to eat small amounts of things like rice, without going overboard and I'm certain that if I just go to a whole, brown rice, that I'd feel better. However, I've even noticed this "phenominon" when I consume a bit of popcorn (<2 cups, loaded with butter = 3 T). The next day, I had a splitting headache.

On the days that I have 50-70 carbs, I don't feel ill at all. I still notice all the normal LC things like I can pick up on the smallest amount of sugar in something (like when I ordered chicken salad at a restaurant). It isn't until the next day that I feel ill when I go back down to 20-30 final carbs.

My basic reasoning behind moving my carbs all around is when I was doing my research for my CCL, I noticed that I can go up to 50-70 and still lose. But I didn't want my body to get used to a specific amount of carb grams so I decided to try to do like every 3rd day as a 50 gram day, then go back to 20-30 for a few days. Now, I've basically got myself doing 20-30 during the week, and on the Sat & Sun I eat around 50 and very occasionally I jump up ot 70.

I've been added some fruits (I love fresh melons and berries) which has been raising my carbs for those higher carb days. I also eat 1 slice of "Health Max" bread with tons of butter and 1 T all-natural peanut butter (guess what's in it... PEANUTS, that's it, no trans fatty acids for me ). I've also added back some starchier veggies and more nuts.

After all this chatter, what I'm trying to find out (from long time LCer's) is "Is this a "Normal" thing?" Or do I just have a huge hang up on "How do I feel right now?" Do I pay too much attention to how I'm feeling? Am I overanalyzing?

Thanks to all for all the support I've received!!!


Annie G.
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, Apr-16-02, 09:14
jobun jobun is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 44
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 150/145/130 Female 5'3"
BF:
Progress: 25%
Location: New York
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Hi Ann

As a low carber presently on maintainence, yes, this is normal.
You do need to experiment and find out what you can have and what you are sensitive to.
I have been able to incorporate small amounts of rice, potato and even pasta back into my diet, and I've managed to keep my goal
weight. I fluctuate with 3 to 4 lbs per month, mostly TOM water gain. I've found that for me, eating meals as if they were a CAD meal really works well for me. I eat protien, veggies and small amount of carbs (2 spoonful of rice, pasta or potato) and I do ok.
If I go overboard, I do feel like crap, I get that sleepy, sluggish feeling and usually fall asleep within 1/2 hour. (not a good thing).
I also drink a ton of water. I feel that I'm eating a lot less too.
I use a small plate, and rarely go for refills. I even find myself giving a portion to the dog.

It can be done in moderation. You seem to know what works for you. Keep up the great work.

Good Luck
Jo
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, Apr-16-02, 10:36
razzle razzle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,193
 
Plan: mostly paleo
Stats: //
BF:also don't care
Progress: 100%
Location: West Coast, USA
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I don't think you're overanalyzing, no. All carbs are not the same for you (or for me, but my worst carbs may be different than yours). Apparently you're encountering not only the problems with carbs in general (raised insulin and all the downstream effects) but also food sensitivity issues.

It sounds like you should avoid grains altogether--if rice bothers you, it's not just a gluten intolerance you're dealing with but probably something in the leaky gut syndrome area. Trying some specific food rotations would be interesting. Try to stay at 50 grams eating only veggies and fruit for a few days. Then try it eating only veggies and legumes. Then try it eating only veggies and a half a potato...since you're good at noticing how you feel, you'll start seeing which carb-laden foods are also among your food sensitivities. My guess is that it isn't the carb levels so much as the particular foods that are bothering you.

Hope that helps (and hope it made sense!)
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, Apr-16-02, 11:10
rgarlough's Avatar
rgarlough rgarlough is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 215
 
Plan: Atkins OWL + PP Phase II
Stats: 160/142/130
BF:?%/25.6%/20%
Progress: 60%
Location: St Paul, MN
Smile Thank you

Thanks for the suggestions. I've already decided to find out when the Farmer's Market opens up in my area. I ran to the grocery store and piled various lettuces, a few peppers, tons of celery and some strawberries and melon into the fridge. Because of the weird heat, I've just knocked my meals down to (smaller portions of) meat, fat, and cold veggies with some fruit for dessert. I've had a harder time eating since it was so warm yesterday. But a delicious grilled burger hit the spot.

I'm going to go without any grains for a couple weeks and see if I feel alright on just the carbs from veggies and fruit. I'm thinking that the rice may just be the culprit. If my 2 weeks w/o grains goes alright, I'll try some whole brown rice (just a T or 2) and see how I feel the next day.

I already know that baking potatoes make me feel really ill the next day and I can't really stand them anymore. DF made some twice baked potatoes one night and I asked him to make them with lc items (cream, whole fat sour cream, cheese bacon... etc.) I tried 2 bites and although it was kind of tasty (didn't care for the mushy texture, however) I had the worst headache the next day. I found it totally weird since I used to LOVE McD's fries uke: Now I can't even stand watching people eat them.

If the brown rice is ok, great. Otherwise, I'll have to stick with the fake fried rice made with cauliflower.

I was diagnosed with IBS in college (stress related) and it went away with the addition of fiber as well as a slight change in my binge drinking habits And I had a yeast issue that needed to be dealt with as well. I'm thinking my yeast may still be in there and it acts up when it gets the "right" food.

As much as I love experimenting, I don't like the results I sometimes find.

Annie G
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Apr-16-02, 14:44
momsbroke1 momsbroke1 is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 63
 
Plan: Dr. Atkins
Stats: 195/131/120
BF:
Progress: 85%
Location: Pass Christian, MS
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I don't know if you'd consider me to be a "long term LCer" (been on this WOE since 07/01/2001), but I too notice reactions to foods/addition of carbs. Whenever I have gone off the WOE (only 3 or 4 times since I started), I immediately get sluggish, gassy, tired, irritable, and usually promptly get a yeast infection. Now, for me, this is not a reaction to the WOE, but to the carbs, because I feel that way right after eating the carbs. I, too, am on OWL, but I only take in 35-45 carbs a day so far, and have not added any complex carbs, because the more complex carbs trigger cravings for me - as well as some of the above symptoms. I think that our bodies have gotten so used to "good food", that they rebel when we take in something we are sensitive to. Maybe we never noticed it on our old WOE because we felt so crappy in general!!

Anna
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, Aug-24-06, 05:42
sondacop's Avatar
sondacop sondacop is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 302
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 149.6/143/130 Female 170cm
BF:Stats not updated
Progress: 34%
Location: Israel
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This is true for me too: everytime I went from a higher carb rate to a lower carb rate I felt like the first days of induction. Maybe this is the way you are supposed to feel when you flip the ketosis swich. I have done this twice and I happend each time. Why do you change your carb rate daily. I read of no such recommendation in any of the Atkins books. You are supposed to keep the carbs constant and spread them out throuout the day. You should try the ketons stick as an indicator to see if the symptoms happen when you flip the swich. I think the symptoms are normal but you shouln't induce them every couple of days - you certainly want to do this and feel good!
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, Aug-24-06, 07:31
FrecklFluf's Avatar
FrecklFluf FrecklFluf is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,125
 
Plan: SB (formerly Atkins)
Stats: 196.5/167/140 Female 5' 4
BF:
Progress: 52%
Location: Kansas City, MO USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgarlough
I already know that baking potatoes make me feel really ill the next day and I can't really stand them anymore.
I don't know if there's a connection, but baked is the worst way you can have potatoes from a glycemic index/load perspective. They really raise your blood sugar (although having all that fat with it helped some, I'm sure).

I used to LIVE on the blood sugar roller coaster, but now that mine is regulated, if I splurge occasionally without making sure I have something else in my stomach to slow the blood sugar spike, the aftereffects--headache, generally feeling crappy--are very unpleasant.
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, Aug-24-06, 16:32
LilHellion LilHellion is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 352
 
Plan: Lo-carb. IF 20/4. CKD
Stats: 195/145/155 Female 63 inches
BF:
Progress: 125%
Location: North Carolina
Default

I recently had a day when I ate pizza and dessert. I felt very ill and then got sick to my stomach later in the evening. I felt much better after that but now am very careful about too many carbs/sugar at once when having a planned cheat. It was NOT worth it!
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Aug-24-06, 16:57
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
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The original post was dated 2002! I am assuming tha the OP has been gone for quite a long time.

still a good topic though!!
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  #10   ^
Old Fri, Aug-25-06, 08:38
sondacop's Avatar
sondacop sondacop is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 302
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 149.6/143/130 Female 170cm
BF:Stats not updated
Progress: 34%
Location: Israel
Default

What is op?
Most topics discussed here are always relevant. L/c is an ongoing process and those that might be at one stage now should find answers where every they can. The discussions are not time based and the collective information is always useful.
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