Hi everyone! I'm glad to have found a site with loads of useful information, and helpful people. I'll give you a bit of background info.
My name is Tara, and I am orinally from St. Louis, Missouri. I moved to England in October of 2005 to be with my British husband. I've always had trouble maintaining my weight, and eating for comfort (especially carbs!) I was about 235 at my heaviest, and have been able to maintain my weight between 140-154 in the past three years just by controlling what I eat and getting exercise. I'm proud to say that I've had two children in the past two years, and managed to control my cravings even then.
I wanted to start the Atkins diet because I'm having trouble moving the last 25 pounds I'd like to lose. I'm still self concious, and unhappy with the flab. People tell me to exercise more, but it's not the easiest thing to do when I have two children under two to look after every waking moment of my day! So here I am at day 3, and lets just say I'm miserable at this point. I know it's meant to get better after the first week, but man is this excrutiating. I woke up this morning feeling like I was going to blackout! Yikes. So I ran downstairs and ate an apple. Not a cookie, not a bag of chips, not a gallon of ice cream, but an apple. lol. As I was sitting here ravenously eating that apple with my heart racing in my chest, it came to mind that I'm breastfeeding. The baby is taking in all of the carbs and nutirients that will help her grow, and leaving me with no energy. I'm thinking I should probably eat a bit more than the 20g of carbs "allowed." Wouldn't you think? I'm more worried about her health and wellbeing than the weight I'd like to lose. Even if it does go a bit slower. I'd like some opinions on that if anyone knows anything about breastfeeding and doing the Atkins diet! I'm a bit undecided at the moment, and could use some advice.
Ah well, here's to hoping I have the willpower to get through this week of hell.

Tara. Have you discussed this with your doctor? Dr. Atkins had the following quote in his book Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution "Also, pregnant women and nursing mothers may do the Lifetime Maintenance phase but should not do any of the weight loss phases of Atkins." Here is a link to a thread that may have some useful information for you. http://lowcarbeating.com/low-carb-di...ifestyles.html Good luck.

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Henry

Welcome, Tara.

Henry is correct. The effects of a ketogenic diet in connection with pregnancy and nursing have not been well studied, so you should not reduce your carb count sufficiently to enter ketosis.

The maintenance stage is generally safe, and a good way to cut out all the empty carbs while your baby is still nursing.

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Focus on eating only nutritious foods, not the amount of carbs in them, until you stop nursing. Then you can focus on losing those last 25 pounds.

Running after 2 babies is lots of exercise! You might want to peek at Jonny Bowden's latest blog about strength training, and how easy it is to get in a good workout without a lot of equipment or going to a gym.

Dr. Jonny's Blog

Keep coming back, we enjoy visiting with newbies, sharing advice & encouragement.

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Nita

Welcome, Tara. Sorry to hear you're having a hard time.

Others have already well-advised you on pregnancy and LCing, so I can't add much there. I would add, though, that if you are "ravenous" at ANY point in LCing, then eat. One of the blessings of a LC lifestyle is eating when one is hungry.

I would say, however, regardless of what you're eating, if you feel you're going to black out or your heart is racing or you have other significant symptoms, please talk to your doctor. These are NOT typical symptoms of sugar detoxing, which is where the "induction flu" comes from. It's normal for people going through sugar withdrawals to feel tired and listless for a usually 3-5 days or so until they their body adjusts. Most people do not describe it as "excruciating," but more like having a case of the flu. If what your feeling is beyond that, and particularly if you have not been ingesting massive amounts of sugar prior, then you need to look elsewhere for the root of your symptoms.

Good luck to you.

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Thank you all for the excellent advice. I got my book off of ebay, so I think it might be an older version. There isn't anything about nursing in there, only that pregnant women shouldn't be on the induction diet. I think I should and will add some fruit to my diet, but still stay away from the white stuff. I don't want to take any chances with the little one. I am feeling much better today, thank goodness. I *think* part of my misery is a cold I got from my eldest.
Queenmama, running after two babies is defintely how I think I've managed to keep my weight down to a reasonable level. It sure as heck hasn't been all of the nasty crap I've been eating because it's convenient! I must go up and down the stairs 50 times a day! Hey, it's something! lol
Anyway, thank you so much for the advice and encouragement.