Metabolic / body changes & Atkins

[BirdBrain]

First, I'd like to thank you for agreeing to be here and help us understand some things about doing Atkins. It's such a change from the way we were all raised that the knee-jerk dietary assumptions are being hard-learned now, instead of bred into us.

My question involves the changes that this WOE makes in our bodies.

First, I want to clarify that the changes I'm about to describe are from my and my husband's experiences only. Not everyone has experienced these changes!

When I started Atkins, on January 4th, I was having severe symptoms of an unrelated disorder, including very high heart rates. After a few weeks on induction, my heart rate problems were somewhat relieved -- that is to say they were still existent, but lessened. I came to realize that my blood sugar roller coaster was probably exacerbating the existing problems that caused my heart rate to be so high. In any case, for several months I had little to no symptoms from my heart rate.

However, the heart rate issues are back (and the heat of the summer does make them worse).

Second, I used to live in a state of constant fatigue. Every day like clockwork, at 3:30 pm, I'd fall into a dazed condition and sometimes fall asleep at my desk. I "got my second wind" around 9 pm at night, and could not get to sleep until 1 or 2 am, which caused me to wake up late, and the vicious cycle would begin anew. My husband was very much the same.

However, about a month into Atkins, we both found ourselves becoming sleepy around 10 pm, which righted our entire sleeping schedule. We both had more energy and weren't tired in the afternoon. We actually ended up getting less sleep than before, since we were waking up very early for us (6 am).

(We never cut out coffee, incidentally, so that wasn't a factor.)

Now that we've been on Atkins for 8 months, neither of us is experiencing the same sleep-related benefits and our old sleeping habits have surfaced again.

Third, I was in dark ketosis -- both by the sticks and evidenced by an almost extreme state of appetite suppression -- for the first three months on the plan. At times, I had to FORCE myself to eat because I was consuming less than 1000 calories a day for weeks at a time.

However, I quit smoking at the end of March, and POOF! There went my ketosis and weight loss at the same time. I didn't change my diet, so I don't know what happened. I stayed quit for 10 weeks, and not only didn't lose, but gained 8 lbs, and never could get back into ketosis. When I quit, I put my priority on my weight loss in the short term. I knew that if it was a choice between smoking and losing weight, that I'd go back to smoking until I reached my goal. So, after 10 weeks of no weight loss, no inch loss, and no ketosis -- even after following the plan to the letter, trying the fat fast, and riding 25-30 miles a day on my bike -- I went back to smoking.

I immediately lost 13 pounds (in about 10 days) and am losing again, albeit more slowly. I was 168 when I quit smoking, and 176 when I went back to smoking again about 2 months ago. I'm not as concerned about the rate of weight loss now... I'm just sticking to the plan and exercising normally. I plan to quit smoking again when I reach my goal.

Lastly, I noticed that I would get mouth sores -- canker sores -- the longer I was in deep ketosis. Not many other people have had this problem, but a fellow LC'er and I did a bit of research and came up with the theory that since ketosis makes the body more acidic, and an acidic state is theorized to cause canker sores, that the ketosis itself was causing canker sores. I had further evidence of this when I fell out of ketosis and the sores went away and haven't returned.

Now that you have the info, here's a summary of my questions:

1) Overall, is there any understanding of these particular changes and how the Atkins approach brings them on?

2) Why would the first two issues come back after Atkins made them go away?

3) What about quitting smoking would knock me out of ketosis?

4) Is there any evidence that deep ketosis can cause canker sores? Has there been any research on this?

I'd like to add one more thing -- DH and I are very thankful for this approach and truly have changed our diets permanently. He's lost over 40 pounds and I'm almost to 40 pounds now. Neither of us have been this slim in 15-20 years.

Thanks in advance for your time and expertise.

[Atkins_Nutritionist]

First let me say congrats on your and your hubby's weight loss!

In a way, you already answered your questions in your first statement, "the changes that this WOE makes in our bodies". Because lowering carbs will help balance blood sugar and lower insulin levels, other aspects of your well being will be effected.

For example, energy levels, hormones, fat storage are all effected by carbs/insulin and a complex interrelated network of body systems. A low carb WOE is a very powerful and versatile tool to use in weight loss/maintenance, disease prevention and good health.


When you describe your issues with your heart and sleeping I wonder why you attribute the reocurrence with your WOE? If your WOE has been consistent, might it be due to a diiferent cause, like climate or lifestyle (stress, caffeine, smoking, decreased immune system)? You may have been able to get away with continuing your caffeine/smoking for awhile but your body is now telling you that the "honeymoon" is over and you must take the next step towards a healthier lifestyle.

I suggest you continue with your WOE and re-visit the other issues. Although eating healthy is an important aspect of how you feel, if you are doing other things to inhibit these benefits or there is an underlying medical condition interefering, your health and weight loss will be compromised.

Both you and your husband got a small taste of what it felt like to be well and to have achieved adequate sleep. See all me suggestions below:

Try cutting down on the coffee (ie 1/2 decaf,1/2 reg) and the cutting it out , to get that experience/feeling back.

I commend you for your efforts in quitting smoking. However, starting to smoke again is not the answer.

Smoking may have affected your metabolism. Speak with your doctor about trying the Accel supplement. It might help. It does have small amounts of caffeine which may help with withdrawals if you decrease the coffee but because of your heart issues, I would not use it unless your doctor approves it.

There are other supplements that might benefit you, such as CoQ10, essential oils... that you should discuss with your doctor as a substitute for smoking and a way to help you lose weight/help your metabolism. It is important to discuss alternatives with your doctor because if you get to your weight goal and then stop smoking, you may put the weight back on and use smoking as an excuse or a "cure
all" for your weight.

Also, if your doctor approved exercise for you this is great, keep up the biking. Do you have a heart rate monitor? If you keep your heart rate in the fat burning zone, it may help your weight loss efforts.

Eating well, smoking cessation, exercise are all important lifestyle behaviors that only provide benefit. You must continue on this track. I think this is more important than focusing on weight alone. Did any of your medical parameters improve?

A plateau sometimes occurs after a significant amount of weight loss so that the body can adjust to a new set point. How much more weight do you have to lose.

Ten weeks of no weight loss is frustrating but some people (who never have never smoked) plateau for 3-6 months. Preserverence and dedication to a healthyt lifestyle kept them on track. Without changing a thing and maintaining their WOE, weight loss resumed on its own.

As far as the sores in your mouth, have you given any thought to the fact that weight loss may have stopped because of yeast overgrowth? Why not visit www.atkins.com and search yeast overgrowth or candida. See if you have any of the typical symptoms of yeast or ask your doctor to do a candida antibody test or just avoid the foods listed on the Atkins website that cause yeast (vinegar, cheese, mushrooms) anything that is considered moldy or fermented and use acidophilus to build up the good bacteria in your intestine.

Your sores are unlikely due to ketosis. However, they can be caused by a decreased immune system. The same underlying cause for yeast overgrowth.

So, you have a lot to think about. I hope this helps put things into perspective. I wish you both the best. Please keep us updated on your progress and your health!

[Atkins_Nutritionist]

I hope you are at least taking a multi-vitamin/mineral and extra vitamin C (extra vitamin C is recommended for smokers)

[Peri]

Hey Bb -- can't bring myself to actually call you by your nickname. Sorry.

Like you, I am one of those smokers who had to make a decision about where to start. Like you, I started by taking on weight loss first. And, I too plan to tackle smoking once I feel I have better control of my weight.

I am quite fearless about the smoking challenge but I am just not willing to put my on going weight loss in jeopardy yet. And, there is just no way I can stand the thought of trying to do both at once and failing in both -- so i'm with you on the one step at a time approach. Maybe 6 months or a year from now, you and I can start a "smoke free goal maintenance challenge".

Meanwhile, I'm picking my battles.

About the mouth sores. I personally think they may be related to the smoking and to coffee. I seem to get them most often when I have smoked more than usual and they are often preceded by dry mouth -- like when a person drinks too much coffee and/or smokes to much. And, if I am sitting around drinking coffee and smoking more than usual, it is pretty likely I'm not drinking enough water.

This certainly isn't a sound theory -- maybe conjecture at best; but , I am interested in hearing the experience of other coffee- drinking smokers.

And to those of you who have been able to start losing weight and quit smoking at the same time, my hat is off to you. Keep up the good work.