I was wondering if anyone knew if there are problems sleeping when RE-Introducing carbs back into your body. I'm not going to debate why, but I have been on Atkins for 15 months and for the past month I have been slowly eatting carbs to ween myself off of the low carb lifestyle. I have not fully went off the wagon, but 2 to 3 days a week I usually do not restrict my carb intake. I will even eat high carb food on purpose just to get them in my body (like a baked potatoe).

I have not gained any weight and I feel great, but I have been having problems sleeping. I could be dead tired and lay down and simply not fall asleep. Sometimes when I do fall asleep, I will wake up in the middle of the night and be WIDE awake. This has been going on now for a little over 2 weeks and I cant take it anymore. I NEED SLEEP. LOL.

The only thing that I can think that is different in my life is I have begun eatting carbs again. Do you believe there is any connection and if so, what do I do? (Staying Low carb is not a valid answer, thanks!)

If I eat/drink carbs at supper time, I wake up between 2 and 3 AM and am WIDE AWAKE for a while. I think it's due to the after effects of a spike in my insulin level that results in low blood sugar. That could be an explanation for your sleeplessness. Maybe try a protein/fat snack an hour or so before bedtime?

Any other possibilities? Caffeine? Medicines?

Ed
Atkins-9/10/03
213/185/170

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Lanny

To Love is to risk not being loved in return. To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken. Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>but I have been on Atkins for 15 months and for the past month I have been slowly eatting carbs to ween myself off of the low carb lifestyle...(Staying Low carb is not a valid answer, thanks!)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm wondering...why?

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
- Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')
Start Atkins 9.1.03
225/198/130ish
Valentine's Day Goal: 180

Paulha,

WHY are you *weaning yourself* off of a low-carb lifestyle???

I do know that when I have an *extended cheat* or am not staying as strict with my carb intake, my sleep quality drops tremendously.
As long as I stay low-carb, I sleep like a baby.
The increased carbs definitely *could* be interfering with your sleep quality, but you say that continuing a low-carb lifestyle is not an option, so I don't know what else to tell you...
Sorry I can't be more help.

Summer


www.herstorygirl.com

I wrote a reply but then erased it.

I don't understand why someone has come to a LOW CARB EATING forum to ask a question yet making sure we all know they are abandoning our woe and doesn't want to discuss why.

Im not trying to be secretive, I just know how it is here. I have been a member of this forum since Nov of 2001. Im sure I would try to be talked into saying on LC and I simply did not want to debate against everyone defending Low Carb For Life. After all, this is an Atkins Forum.

Ok why. I lost 35 lbs in the first five months of Atkins. Since then I have gained back 10 of it in the last 10 months. I did not change anything. I exercised the same, ate the same foods, same amounts, etc, etc. I even tried counting calories about 2 months ago with the hope just to lose another 10 lbs but to no avail. I simply cannot justify staying on this woe and restricting myself if I am not going to lose any more weight. I have had it. I have tried and tried and tried to lose more weight doing this and it just is not happening. So, you only live once and I am not going to live on Atkins if it is not going to produce. Thats it plain and simple. I never attended this to be a life long thing and it has run its course. With exercise and eating smart, I hope to be able to maintain the somewhat fit body that Low Carb eating has given me.

Also, my doctor (who hates Atkins as most do) does not believe there is a connection between my lack of sleep and my recent addition of carbs.

Thanks for your replies everyone.

Paulha thanks for being honest with what's going on. I can understand where you are coming from as I have been there myself at one time.
That being said, in my experience when I change my eating patterns one way or another it affects my sleep. When I first started this woe I was sleeping more. Then, I stopped eating at 7pm and I started waking up in the middle of the night. I kept at it because I felt late night eating was slowing me down and now I sleep wonderfully. The other night I did eat later than usual and guess what? Yep, my sleep wasn't as good.

I am the kind of person that needs a routine. Any change seems to mess with my balance. I appreciate how crucial sleep is so hopefully this will pass for you.

I have no judgement for you if you feel the need to try another woe. If sugar didn't affect me the way it does I probably would not be willing to stick with this woe. I have chosen it because I am now healthier than I've ever been. I went from a bed-ridden, depressed, no energy slug to feeling almost normal. This is not my first go round with LC. I tried going back to 'normal' eating and let's just say I was brought to my knees and back to my bed. Everybody is different. If you decide after awhile that your body does better w/LC, I know you will find support at this site.
I'm sorry if I irritated you with my earlier post. The way my minds works I needed to understand what was going on. Thank you for explaining. Take care.

I'm with Summer. When I don't eat my low carb way, my sleep suffers. When I'm right on target with my eating, I sleep like a baby.

I'm not going to talk you into anything but I do think you should take a look at your statement about "atkins not producing" - It seems to me it was producing just fine...

1) You lost a net of 25 pounds
2) You kept it off
3) You were sleeping soundly

I would imagine there are more positives that also came out of it that you aren't even thinking of.

Atkins didn't fail you at all. Quite the contrary.

Also, please remember that the last 10-20 pounds OFTEN taken quite a while to come off. Many people on this board have had to wait for MONTHS to see just a few pounds go bye-bye. Often a year or more to lose the last 10.

If you are going back to a more "normal" way of eating, please make sure you eat enough protein and healthy fats. Also, make sure that the carbs you are eating are good ones. You will do yourself a great disservice to go back to eating highly refined white flour products, chips, rice, pasta, etc.

As for your doctor, he has some homework to do.

Member since 2001

My Sunroof