The First Week

When you transition from eating a lot of carbohydrates to the Atkins way of eating, you may briefly experience some side effects as your body adapts to this new lifestyle. Some people experience the following:

• Hunger
• Cravings for carbohydrate foods
• Constipation
• Leg cramps
• Headaches
• Low energy
• Ketosis breath

Here's what is happening and what you can do about it:

• If you were hungry, you weren't following the recommendation to eat as much as you needed to feel satisfied. Remember: If you have a tendency to become hungry between meals, pop a few olives, an ounce of cheese, a scoop of tuna salad, a slice of pot roast or a low carbohydrate bar or shake.
• If cravings continue, are you eating adequately and not skipping meals? Is there a hidden source of sugar in something you are eating? This may prompt cravings for more sugary foods. If none of the above applies, and you are just looking for a taste of something, consider a snack sweetened with sucralose or saccharin. Cravings should disappear within a week.
• A certain amount of constipation is not uncommon during the first week. As you progress to later phases, where you increase your carb consumption and thus your fiber intake, constipation should not be a problem. However, if necessary, try a tablespoon of wheat bran sprinkled on your salad. If you are sensitive to grain products, add ground flaxseed to a shake or psyllium husks to a glass of water instead. (None of these fibers contain the kind of carbohydrate that impacts on your blood-sugar levels.) Most important: Be absolutely sure to consume a minimum of eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
• If you have leg cramps, it probably means you are losing too many electrolytes, which are full of minerals. Starting any weight-loss program has a diuretic effect, which is one of the reasons it is so important to stay hydrated. Supplement with potassium, magnesium and calcium in addition to your multivitamin, and the cramps should disappear. They usually disappear after a few days.
• Headaches are the result of withdrawal from either sugar or caffeine, or both. Feel free to take an analgesic and they should pass within a day or two.
• On the fourth day the body switches from relying on carbohydrates for energy to relying primarily on fat for energy. At that point, you should find that your energy returns and often improves over your previous energy level.
• Ketones (the byproduct of burning fat) are part of a perfectly natural process, known as lipolysis/ketosis. Ketones are released in the urine and in the breath. Some people may find it undesirable; others are not affected. Not everyone experiences the taste on Ketones on their breath. This is easily corrected with a sugarless breath mint and drinking lots of water.