Welcome to the Atkins Support Forum

[ConnieD53]

I was having leg cramps and my doctor told me to add magnesium to my diet. That helped!!!

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks! I will try that out!

[Nicola]

Just thought I would pop in and share my experience. I've had my share of leg cramps. I take calcium with magnesium 3 times a day and still had severe cramps at night. The only thing that works for me is potassium.

[kitkat09]

Hi everyone!
I have a question. I've been doing LC for about two weeks. I did Atkins years ago and i'm going by memory. I'm picking up the book this weekend. I've lost 7 lbs wt loss, which is fine. But I notice more that my stomach is getting smaller and things fit just a tad better. Is it possible to loose inches before weight on the scale?

Thank you

Kelly

[QueenMama]

Absolutely! Everyone is different, and some lose inches first, some lose weight first, some fluctuate between the two, depending on what their body is doing at the time.

Congrats on those 7 lbs gone!

[kitkat09]

Thanks, QueenMama
My tummy is going down a bit. Feels much better. Less, bloating like when I was eating so much sugar. It's a rough week, though. I'm somewhat pms'ing. Usually a big sugar week for me. Anyone menopausal or am I the eldest here? LOL. I have had two cycles since May. But it seems the mental cycle still rolls on. Argh.

[Nicola]

Don't know your age but being menopausal could be a wide range of age, doubt if you are the eldest here. I've been long through it but then I went through it when I was 40, now in my 50's I am just glad it's gone.

[QueenMama]

Kitkat, we have quite of few people here who aren't young chicks anymore. I am 56, through menopause, and healthier than I've been in years. Still have a lot of weight to lose, and it's slowed to a crawl in the past couple of years, but I judge my success by my health, not my weight. My weight doesn't define who I am, it's just a number on the scales. The fact that I can do a big shopping trip now without my legs feeling like they are going to fall off is a major accomplishment. Used to be that when we got to the checkout, dh would check out the groceries while I found a place to sit. Now I can wait in line like anybody else. And I haven't lost that much weight since this happened, but the change in my health has been phenomenal. I have more stamina now. And I was doing low carb through menopause, and had an extremely easy time (no hot flashes or night sweats, although I did have sleep disruptions and nightmares, which are happily gone.)

It's nice having some more "mature" people around!

[Happy1]

I have gout in my finger and was wondering if Atkins way of eating might contribute to that since that protein can cause that to flare up. I am hoping you are going to tell me no to that question.

Take vitamin D and E for the cramps in the hamstrings. I also take potassium and calcium. I am on feet a lot on concrete so this doesn't help matters.

[carmenelena]

I like a bread that is called Ezequiel bread. It is made of sprouts and has no flour at all. Can I use it in the first weeks?

[Maggie]

I would save Ezequiel bread for maintenance. (Phase 4 of Atkins.) It is certainly better than "Wonder Bread", but probably too carby for earlier phases of Atkins.