why do my muscles in my legs ache? and is 1 to 2 pounds a week normal? and I don't seem to have the energy that Im suppose to have.

I sneaked a peek at your profile, and see that you've been on Atkins since March. Congrats on the lbs. lost so far!

Are you taking any kind of vitamin & mineral supplements? It would be a good idea to do that. No need to buy Atkins special brand, although they are fine ... but any good quality brand you can buy at a pharmacy are great.

Fatigue and lack of energy at the beginning of Induction would be due to your body de-carbing itself, and switching to ketosis mode. But by now, you should be at OWL level, so this isn't the likely culprit. Most common cause of fatigue and headaches for lowcarbers is low POTAASSIUM levels. You can take it as a supplement, or easiest way is to buy a salt-substitute product such as NoSalt or HalfSalt ... they contain potassium .. obviously one is half 'n' half with regular salt. You just sprinkle it on your food like regular salt. You need to replace your potassium stores every day, since it's washed out in the urine, and being in ketosis and fat-burning will cause you to lose more urine than usual.

Leg cramps are often caused by lack of calciium mostly, but also magnesium. Take a good quality Cal-Mag supplement ... pre-menopause you need 1000 mg per day of calcium, post-menopause that goes up to 1500 mg per day. You're likely getting SOME in your diet, but a supplement is a good idea. Make sure it contains magnesium in a 2:1 ratio (ie, twice as much Cal as Mag). Take the last dose of the day at bedtime, for relaxed muscles.

Hope this helps. I see your location is ca. Is that Canada, or California?? Just being nosey ..

Look forward to more posts from you

Doreen

thank you doreen for your reply last night. I like the low carb eating but if I have to have eggs for breakfast often I get burned out on them, I have found some low carb bars that I like to eat for breakfast thier called Carb Salution they have 2 carbs per bar and they really do curb my app. for several hours and thier not bad tasting. I do take a supplement, plus potassium, this morning I up my potassium to 2 tablets so I will see if my muscles will feel better today. I have notice that my urine is foamy, and after your reply Im assuming that its carbs being flushed from my system? I have hard time on some weekends if we go out to dinner. Somewhere in the back of my mind I think that a piece of cheese cake is ok, but after I eat it I feel so full, its that feeling we all get on Thanksgiving eve. But let me tell you it sure taste good going down, and especially with a strong cup of coffee. Im thinking maybe if I want to get anywhere with this woe I might have to change this habit, oh well, I think at this point my mental state is worth more than a piece a cheese cake. Oh speaking of states I live in Northern California.

hi cheryl,

Not sure about the urine problem ... if you're sticking pretty close to Atkins lowcarb, there won't be any carbs to flush out, and especially since you're a couple months into it. Are you drinking lots and lots of water?? That will help keep the kidneys flushed out ..

If the potassium doesn't help with the muscle fatigue problem, do consider taking extra Calcium & Magnesium as I mentioned. There usually isn't enough in the daily multiple vitamin tablet. A lot of folks really find that it helps a lot.

Cheesecake is ok, as long as it's a lowcarb cheesecake, and not made with sugar. If you click on Recipes on the red menu bar at the top, you'll find several lowcarb cheesecake recipes in the Desserts section. Oh, and check out the Breakfast recipes while you're there .. might give you more ideas than just plain old eggs ..

All the best, and do explore the whole forum! Lots of info. and good fun. The members are really terrific and supportive.

Doreen