Week one of Induction and I feel so weak
Author
Message
kitty71
New Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 6
Setting: Ireland
Lock Jul 23, 2008 11: 26 am    Post subject: Week one of Induction and I feel so weak
Hi all,
Can anyone explain why I feel so weak, Ive been on Induction for a week now and doing everything by the book. I have about 15lbs to loose. I was motile 3 miles a day to keep fit but have certainly no energy to go ambulatory now...
Can anyone help.
Thanks
Kitty71
Tril
Senior Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 1325
Seat: ( very ) Northeastern USA
Coalesce Jul 23, 2008 12: 54 pm    Post subject:
Yeah, that ' s normal the first week. Your body is alteration to using ketones for energy instead of glucose. You also need to start wicked enzymes necessary for lypolysis ( fat based metabolism )... which you don ' t produce when you ' re in glycolysis ( glucose based metabolism ). Give your body time to adjust and the energy should come back. Are you taking a multivitamin every day? Getting enough water to regain for the diuretic effect of a low carb diet? Eating ALL 20 of the allowed carbs, most of them from veggies?
With only 15# to lose you ' ll need to move right into the second phase, OWL, as soon as you can... don ' t stay on Induction more than two weeks. When you have 5 - 10# to lose, go to Phase 3 Pre - Maintenance. If you still feel very fatigued, skip the 2nd wk of Induction and go to OWL early. Atkins actually recommends starting in OWL for some people... those with less to lose, for example.
Good luck and I hope you feel energetic soon!
Tril
Last edited by Tril on Link Jul 23, 2008 12: 57 pm; edited 1 time in total
kdlizcole
Conscious Member
Joined: 19 Jul 2008
Posts: 34
Seat: Bentonville, Arkansas
Combine Jul 23, 2008 12: 55 pm    Post subject:
wealth -
no suggestions here... but I will say that I am going throught the same thing. I am starting week two of induction today and I have noticed that my energy levels while I am at the gym have been terrible. Sunny to find some anwers just like you are!!
Katie
KypDurron
Senior Member
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 427
Locale: Wisconsin
Put together Jul 23, 2008 1: 13 pm    Post subject:
You ' re going to feel a bit of an energy level decrease when you first start Atkins, but this is the part where I become unpopular.
You can push through it. Your energy is not really lower, you just don ' t have the easy energy, your body has to search for it.
How do I know this? Because I ate 1, 000 calories for the first 2 months of my Atkins while strictly following it, while maintaining a 1 & 1 / 2 hour heavy weightlifting routine, plus 2 hours of high intensity cardio workout afterwards, and 1 hour of warmup cardio at 6AM before work.
So unless there are people in here arbiter pressing 300 lbs on that sort of energy level, I can confidently say that you are largely experiencing a slight change in metabolic energy banal with hitting the mental wall.
You ' re going to FEEL tired for a couple of weeks when doing the Atkins, but it ' s the same as holding your breath. When most people give up and gasp in that breath, they had at least 50 to 60 percent of their oxygen reserve left still to use.
Long story short, you feel tired, but you aren ' t starving your body of energy. It has it, if you have fat to lose, there is energy for your body to find. A regular workout at the gym for a person burns at most 1, 000 calories, and in one pound of body fat there is an average of 3, 500 calories of energy to be used. Your body is more than capable of burning that energy to fuel your daily and exercise needs, it just needs to learn how. Push through the tired and you will not only feel your energy level come back, but you will have taken charge of your health and well being in a way you may have never done before.
kitty71
New Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2008
Posts: 6
Location: Ireland
Wed Jul 23, 2008 1: 38 pm    Post subject:
Thanks for the tips, I ' ll keep going, I tried low fat diets that didnt work thats why I decided to give Atkins a try. I was just suprised to be feeling so weak when the diet promised a great boost in energy levels.
Kitty
Tril
Senior Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 1325
Location: ( very ) Northeastern USA
Wed Jul 23, 2008 1: 50 pm    Post subject:
Well... I don ' t think it promises it will happen in the first week. [ / icon_wink. gif]
KypDurron
Senior Member
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 427
Location: Wisconsin
Wed Jul 23, 2008 2: 05 pm    Post subject:
Yeah to basically break it down to the absolute laymans terms.
Before you start Atkins Induction, you are burning sugar ( Glucose ) for energy from carbohydrates.
Imagine that is Fuel A.
Once you are in Ketosis from Atkins Induction, you are burning Ketones ( Fat Energy ) for energy from your stored body fat
Imagine that is Fuel B.
It takes a few days for your body to start using Fuel B, and those days are the days in which your body is burning up all of the Fuel A it has left. So your body will burn all your Fuel A ( glucose ) even if it starts getting low, before it starts manufacturing Fuel B ( Ketones ) in larger amounts. It ' s during that process that you ' re going to feel a bit tired and a bit funky. It absolutely does not mean anything is wrong, It ' s just your body going through a chemical process.
It ' s this chemical process that is the best part of atkins, as a matter of fact. It ' s by actively making your body eat your fat instead of just watching your calories that gives the extensive fat burning weight loss that gives Atkins its advantage.
Tril
Senior Member
Joined: 27 May 2008
Posts: 1325
Location: ( very ) Northeastern USA
Wed Jul 23, 2008 3: 15 pm    Post subject:
"... you are burning Ketones ( Fat Energy ) for energy from your stored body fat "
And you ' re burning dietary fat. Actually, during Induction, dietary fat ( the fat you ' re eating ) is very important... you need this until your body begins to metabolize body fat for energy. It will help make the transition easier, even possible... so if you ' re watching your fat intake ( limiting it in any way ) you ' re actually slowing the process down. That could also be contributing to your fatigue. Are you eating plenty of fat? When carbs are reduced to 10 % of your calories, you need to have a bigger percent from fat than you might be used to! At least 30 % - 50 %. Add EVOO to your salads, cook with it, eat the chicken skin... full fat cheeses and cream. Later on, in Pre - M and M it will be necessary to reduce your fat intake as you increase your carbs... but for now, ENJOY it!
[ / icon_smile. gif] Tril
KypDurron
Senior Member
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 427
Location: Wisconsin
Wed Jul 23, 2008 3: 42 pm    Post subject:
Yup, that means don ' t be afraid of a bit of mayo, or some heavy cream... etc etc.
Fat is not bad on Atkins, because it ' s being burnt at such a high rate.