Hello there!
I just started Atkins yesterday, and although I have had enough food (salads, chicken, eggs) I feel really sleepy.
Any advice on that? I work long hours so I need to have lots of energy.
Also I want to start jogging again, is there anything (shake, etc) we can have to boost our energy?
I'm a big coffee drinker, but everyone tells me not to have it - specially considering I usually use Equal and non-fat milk in it.
Can I replace the equal with splenda and the milk with heavy cream? (0% carb).

Nice to be here!

I know you're not "supposed" to have coffee, but if you read through the forums, you'll find alot of people have had success on this diet while continuing to drink it. Atkins reccomended against it because of the caffeine, of course. But it seems alot of people dont have trouble losing weight despite it.

You have to decide if its a problem for you. If its no, then its not

the reason you are feeling sleepy is due to your body switching to ketosis, you should feel better soon. make sure you take a multi vit every day, some people find a magnesium/calcium/potassium supplement as well is really beneficial. my advice is to only do low intensity exercies, otherwise you run the risk of starting to burn muscle. high intensity exercise really needs more carbs, as the muscles require glucose to cope.
as for the coffee, it's up to you if you drink it, but yes, have splenda and cream and try to have decaf instead of full caf. if you stall you know what to cut out!

Hi Pepper,

You should find your energy will pick up in a few days time. A lot of people (myself included!!) can feel pretty bad for the first few days while your body adjusts from using glucose as its primary energy source to using your body fat instead.

I am a coffee addict as well, but I have compromised by switching to decaf with no sweetener. I count one gram of carb for every cup I have. If you have cream as well you should also factor that in. I find that consuming caffine slows down my weight loss although other people do not.

As for the energy boost when jogging, I do 1/2 an hour of Tae Bo every dayand I dont supplement. Some people talk about having a protein shake when they excercise, but I dont feel the need. I would wait until you finish induction and see how you feel.

Good Luck!!

Jaddles

whoops - sambalam beat me!!