High protein (Atkins) diets

dudara

I want to hear other people's serious opinions on high-protein, low-carb diets, such as Atkins. I've been following such a diet for a while now with immense success. I've dropped from 75 kg to 66 kg, and I'm aiming for 60 kg. I don't follow the diet rigourously, as in I have a bag of chips every so often. But there is no doubt that a high-protein diet works for me.

I want to hear other peoples opinions, and no scare mongering, such as the story that Dr. Atkins was himself overweight when he died.

Nuttzz

dropped a stone in a fortnight with atkins, but i find it hard to avoid the hi carb stuff, i just love my spuds, pasta and chips

rs

Personally, I think a pure atkins diet goes too far.

I do believe that high protein, low carb does work for weight loss. I just don't believe that high protein, zero carb is the best way to go.

I do think that putting your body in ketosis (the purpose of the atkins diet) does result in your body rapidly using up your fat reserves. I'm not convinced that it's the best solution to long term weight control.

Ketosis seems to me to be an emergancy system within your body to help you survive if you can't get any carbohydrates. I'm not convinced that keeping your body in ketosis for long periods of time is very healthy. Only time will tell though.

Personally, while I was losing weight on an atkins type diet, I noticed very quickly that my training suffered. I didn't have nearly as much energy, and I certainly wasn't gaining any strength.

If I want to lose a few pounds, I just limit my carbohydrates a bit and increase my cardio a bit and the weight comes off without much hassle.

tunney

Its a quick fix for a deeper more serious problem.

I think that they are terrible. And a terrible reflection on todays society when people have to do things like this to lose the "few extra stone" they are carrying.

dudara

The reason why I chose to go such a route as a high-protein, low-carb diet was that despite my training, (both strength and TKD, which is fairly active) weight wasn't shifting, it was actually still going on. And for a 5"1 woman, 75 kg is more than enough. (I was never light anyway, but I suspected that might be a bit too much).

Low-carb (not no carb) seems to work for me, and my appetite has definitely decreased in the last while. Which is probably a good thing.

Looking back, all I have done is cut processed foods and sugars out of my diet. That's all I had to do to start losing weight, and I feel immensely better and healthier than I did. More energy as well.

Genghis

I would always be suspicious of a diet that encourages you to limit fresh fruit, vegetables, etc. I think that for people in training the Atkins diet is only appropriate over a very short time-frame, say you need to lose a few pounds to help you run faster, etc, but would not be sustainable / comptible with long-term CV training.

I found that the Zone diet, by Barry Sears has a much more balanced approach, and can be adapted to people who train heavily. His basic idea is that we need all three major food groups, and that getting the balance correct between all three is the key. He basically advocates getting calories in equal proportion from Protein and Carbs, with a smaller amount coming from Fats. He does not advocate favouring one food group over another, and he does not advocate avoiding fats.

dudara

I never eat a lot of fruit anyway, as I don't particularly like sweet things. But I eat all the vegetables I want. There is no limit imposed there, with the obvious exception of spuds. I love green veg, and in particular spinach.

Yoda

I've been doing Atkins fairly successfully over the last while. At the beginning of November I weighed 205 lbs / 14 stone 9 / 93 kg, and now I'm at 190 lbs / 13 stone 8 / 86 kg. I work at home and don't get a great deal of exercise, and it's nice to have dropped a stone so effortlessly.

I find the "way of eating" fairly easy. Some food preferences go in cycles; I haven't had a taste for eggs lately. I'm not fanatical about it; I had a little rice tonight. I don't crave bread or spuds, or really anything.

I'm still (41) fairly skinny pretty much everywhere but for the belly that crept up on me from too much beer. Being off the beer as I am since the New Year is doubtless a help.

I wouldn't classify Atkins as a "fad". It's been around too long for that. It's an unbalanced diet designed to correct an unbalanced body; it's based on fairly sound metabolic principles. Some people with extreme weight problems and addictions may need to stay on it forever; for my part, once I reach my goal weight I'll reintroduce some of the carbs I stay away from now. But frankly, I'm pretty happy with a "way of eating" that includes plenty of fresh protein and fat, and no pre-packaged starchy carbs. That's what my body's evolved to subsist on, after all.

Easygainer

I'm dieting down at the moment using a fairly easy to keep to diet I read in a book called Ultimate Nutrition. It basically advocates a good low carb diet that is sustainable and comfortable and that will eventually change the appestat.

In a normal day I will have as much as 400g protein from meats and protein shakes (bber/pler here!) not many carbs maybe 100 - 200g from potatoes, pasta or rice - I've cut out bread - and then I just leave the fat on foods. I've also cut out salt, sugar and alcohol as these are killers to any diet. The main reason for leaving out the salt is that I also wanna flush out any excess water to really bring out the definition in the summer.

Another thing I think is largely ignored when dieting is supplementation. In the morning I take a centrum (multi-vit), 1500mg vit c, vit b complex (incl panothenic acid), vit e, chromium picolinate and dessicated liver tabs. I also have a couple of tablespoons of cider vinegar in a glass of cold water (yeuch) and as much as possible take vit b with meals to help digest carbs.

My workout poundages have remained around the same so far I suppose in a couple more weeks I'll really know but so far it's going well and easy to stick to and most importantly I feel great!

tunney

Removing "excess water" can lead to dehydrate, which can lead to injury, false hunger and many more problems.

Wolff

The only reason that atkins works is that you are actually eating a less than you normally

High protein levels cause appetite suppression

Ketosis is a myth and has been scientifically proven as such

Personally these diets should only be used to lose small ammounts of excess weight
and eveyone I know who has been on them have put the weight on again.

Yoda

Wolff, I think you're continuing anti-Atkins myths here. I don't eat less than I normally would. It is true that protein and fat satisfy the appetite, but it is also true that overweight and obesity is caused by a superabundance of carbs in the diet. These are not myths. Ketosis is not a myth, and saying that it is "scientifically" proven to be so doesn't make it so. The evidence I have read (which includes references to scientific papers) suggests otherwise. Lastly, the anecdotal evidence I have heard is that weight-gain after any loss is a result of the person returning to old high-carb eating habits. Small wonder.

Wolff

Sadly you are mistaken

You may have missed a Horizon documentary a couple of months back that detailed the clinical trials to put the atkins diet to the test

It conviced me as usual with these things they tested every aspect of the diet thouroughly

a) To test Ketosis they had two volanteers remain in the same room that monitored all energy the two burned off resting excercising etc the only diffence between the two was the diet they had - one was on the atkins the other wasnt

No effects were observed in either case as they both burned off equal amounts of energy

b) A study in Denmark in a University basically gave a sample of people from all social backgrounds free food for a year in return for detailed information on what they ate
it showed that all the respondents on the atikins diet ate less than they would normally ie reduced their total calorie intake just like normal calorie controlled diet because the increase in protein in the diet suppressed the appetite

c) a basic law of physics is that matter cannot be destroyed it justs converts from one form to another
so if you increase the amont of calories you eat you will turn the excess into fat
if you decrease the amount of calories you eat you do the opposite

Ketosis basically says you can eats as much as you want on the atkins diet of the right foods and still lose weight which is crap
Fair play to Atkins he actually seems to have found a very important link between protein and appetite

Also saying something is scientifically proven usually does means its so

As in the earth is round not flat as it has been scientifically proven to be !

commuterised

I just want to clarify a point made above,
atkins is not no carb.
You do eat carbs but you get them from better sources such as vegetables, salad, berries, nuts and seeds.

Low carb is definitely the way to go.
I would advise anyone with a weight problem who is knocking it to try it first then see how they feel about it.


http://www.low-carbdiet.co.uk/forum/default.asp
very useful low carb forum full of information, recipes and support as well as articles from doctors and the media.

tunney

a basic law of physics is that matter cannot be destroyed it justs converts from one form to another

Off topic but eh thats energy.

Yoda

Atkins, in his book, refers to a number of properly published scientific studies; I would consider that rather different kind of evidence to be compared to the results of a television documentary. But your arguments are all about "quantity of calories" eaten; all "calories" are not created equal – the body metabolizes different substances differently. Your arguments about weight loss show assumptions about weight gain: you imply that fat people are fat because of how much they eat, rather than what they eat, since you assume that Atkins works only because people eat less.

That's not credible.

I'm eating plenty – I'm just not eating very many carbs. I'm happy, and healthy; I'm intelligent and well-informed about what I'm doing. Ketone strips show me to be in ketosis, and the scale says I am losing weight, while eating plenty of food, and while doing a minumum exercise (walking).

tunney

I'm happy, and healthy;

I'll accept that your happy, I'll accept that your losing weight but there is no way I'll accept that you are healthy. You're on a diet that is high in fat and by your own admission you're getting very little exercise. You're not healthy you're just not as fat as you used to be.

Stark

One of the problems with the Atkin's diet is that you do not produce serotonin. This can be counteracted by having a carbhoydrate(no protein) snack 3 hours after your last meal before you go to bed. (preferably a complex carbohydrate).

Having protein with every meal is a good idea, you feel fuller for longer. Also refined carbohydrates can have an addictive effect if you're sensitive, so cutting these out can drastically effect your mood and weight if you fall into this category.

Wolff

Atkins in his book referred to a number of studies that are out of date and probably paid for by the atkins research institute - I know know this cause atkins is dead.

The documentary only reported on the studies carried out by the top universities aound the world it did not commission them

ketone strips are what exactly nothing but a test of ketones in your urine



Fat people are fat because of how much they eat and what type of food they consume2

How else do they get fat ?

Yoda

I'm sorry, Wolff, your arguments aren't very credible – you're just rubbishing what I've tried to say to Dudara, who started the thread. Gainsaying is not convincing. But if you feel happier being right, go ahead. It's fairly easy to find discussions of ketosis and ketosys/lipolysis on the web; here for instance is a summary of the findings of Maria C. Linder, who is on the faculty at California State University
Fullerton, California in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; the citations are taken from her book Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism: with clinical applications. Yes, that website supports low-carb dieting. But it does so with arguments about human metaboliosm with regard to the production of fuel from fat via ketone production.

Dudara, at the end of the day it's easy to see that Euro-American society is experiencing a health crisis which is not just caused by people stuffing themselves and sitting on their butts. It's caused by what they stuffed themselves with while sitting ontheir butts. Evidence suggests that by sharply reducing carbohydrates, particularly those found in processed foods, excess weight can be lost far more quickly, painlessly, and effectively than on "low-fat" diets. Of course, barring allergies and addictions which some people may have, some of those carbs can be reintroduced once weight has stabilized at a desired level. Read the book and decide for yourself, that's what I'd suggest. Apparently it has worked for millions of people who did not all drop dead from lack of potatoes.

Wolff

Im not interested in rubishing your opinion Im only interested in the facts

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4373345/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2004/atkinstrans.shtml

both of these links are to neutral news gathering organisations the second being to the transcript of the horizon program

they are not links to a low carb website summarising a book written 13 years ago

I would suggest reading the book and balancing it with other articles I myself have done the diet but only for a short period of time as I found the effects on l my kidneys to be too much

Remember Dr Atkins died a very rich man

(with heart disease)

Sorry I couldnt resist

dudara

Wolff, I watched that Horizon show with great interest as I wanted to hear some real scientific evidence on Atkins. God, but was I ever disappointed. They showed clinical trials that were carried out on two people. If I tried to present evidence from any of my experiments based on two pieces of statistics, I'd be laughed at, and my degree taken away from me in shame. That was a sham. You cannot prove, or disprove anything based on two pieces of evidence.

That program did absolutely nothing to advance understanding of high-protein diets, and as far as I can, completely ignored one of the main points Atkins tries to make in his books. Whether he was right or not remains to be seen, but one of his main theories was that by lowering carb intake, blood sugar remains more stable and fluctuates less, thus regulating the appetite. He repeats this ad nauseum in his book, and yet the Horizon show failed to mention it. Objective reporting, my Irish arse.

Wolff

Only the first test was performed on two people 2 identical twins rather scientific in fact

maybe you missed the other two larger experiments thath were carried out

the next test was performed on a large sample on people doing 5 different types of diets who kept detailed diaries of what they were eating

and the University study in Denmark had over 1000 wanting to join and lasted for a year !

based on scientific evidence like this am I wrong to be swayed

NARRATOR: At last the mystery of how the Atkins diet works may have been solved. It might have nothing to do with calories being lost. Probably nothing to do with ketosis. And apparently nothing to do with burning more calories. Neither does it seem to be due to gorging on fats. The secret to the diets success may be down to something completely different. Protein makes you feel full. Increasing the amount of protein in the diet may control appetite and make people eat less than they would normally. If this research goes on to be confirmed it will be a major advance for science

Yoda

We don't "gorge on fats", Wolff.

I saw the programme. It ended up with sensationalism "ooh now we know how Atkins works, it makes you eat less". Well, Atkins knew how protein and fat work on the appetite, and made no secret about it. But that doesn't mean that fat isn't burned in ketosis and that low-carb eating is how that process gets started and proceeds.

I don't think that the Horizon programme was either "scientific" or "balanced".

Wolff

Well Ive watched Horizon for a long time and its the first time its been accused of sensationalism

But that doesn't mean that fat isn't burned in ketosis and that low-carb eating is how that process gets started and proceeds.


Well yes it does when its been proven that ketosis does not cause weight loss also if Ketosis works why have the atkins institute commissioned their own tests to disprove the studies ?


High Fat diets are bad news, its common sense really just look at Northern Ireland who have one of the largest rates of heart disease in europe

Ill stick to my opinion that the atkins is good in small bursts but bad long term

dudara

Where do people get this idea that Atkins is a high-fat diet?

It's a normal diet, reverting back in form to what our ancestors would have eaten. I consider atkins to be a low-sugar (and hence, low intake of porcessed foods) diet, which makes far more sense.


that horizon program was unbalanced, and did nothing to advance the general public's understanding of Atkins type diets.

2 identical twins rather scientific in fact

Genetic twins are identical genetically speaking. However, they are not identical environmentally, and for a fair trial, you either start with two exactly identical samples, or a large basis set of samples in order to iron out any irregularities. I did watch that program, and I do remember the other trials conducted. I had issues with those too at the time, but I do not recall why.

I'll reiterate what I said earlier, and what they failed to address in the program, which is that high-protein diets regulate your blood sugar. This is why Atkins, as a respected cardiologist, was so interested in them. Many of his patients were diabetic, and this form of eating produced great results.

Wolff

Our ancestors being when we swang from the trees and lived to our late 20s and early 30s


Oh and we get the idea of it being a high fat diet from I dont know

Cooking in butter
Eating sausages Steak cream nuts etc etc etc etc

And being a member of the general public I thought it advanced my understanding quite well

dudara

Yeah, but they didn't stuff their faces full of over-processed ****e either. They had a more hazardous lifestyle, trying to escape the local predator and all that. We should have a far healthier lifestyle, but in all reality we don't.

and if you don't like cooking in butter, then grill, are you so susceptible to what you are told! The body will use animals fats for energy if it can. What gets stored in fat cells tends to be excess sugar and carbs from dietary intake.

Yoda

When we swung from trees we weren't humans. The lifespan of early humans was curtailed by poor medicine and harsh environment more than anything else. You can't get away from the fact that our bodies evolved to eat a variety of foods, principally meat, and that the development of agriculture, while it made civilization as we know it possible, happened a mere 8000 years ago, and has not affected our physical evolution. From generation to generation, we can observe the effect diet has on us: and it seems certain that high quantities of carbohydrates, including refined flour and sugar, and potatoes, causes health problems on a vast scale, particularly given a fairly sedentary lifestyle.

dudara

Yoda, exactly what I was trying to say, but in a much better fashion.

Wolff

Well we still live longer today than we have ever done before

Our ancestors ate nothing else but potatoes for a long time

no one knows the long term effects of what the atkins diet will have

and I for one dont fancy being a guinea pig so mr atkins widow can go on livin in the style she has become accustom to

maybe you dont mind but a balanced diet and plenty of exercise is the only way to lose weight

And I should know having gone from a 46 inch waist to 34 when I left school

Yoda

Your evolutionary ancestors never touched a potato. Potatoes were introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century.

Wolff

how do you know Im not south american ?

Stark

Potatoes are compex carbohydrates (and high in fibre if you eat the skin) so the carbohydrate impact isn't that high. It's all the **** like alchohol, sugar and white flour that we eat that's harming us.

yop

I have been on the atkins for 8 days now and am down 8lbs.
I have been training along with this and have found a definate increase in energy.

All the people I have come across who seem to know so much about the atkins have never tried it so until they do I prefer not to take much heed of their opinions because until you try something it is very hard for a person to have an objective view.
This is not a no carb diet, as was said there are carbs in the foods we still eat but we do not eat as much carbs as we used to.
Everyone seems to have the opinion that this will be bad for you, no one has yet produced any evidence that this diet is bad, just speculated that it willl be, bit like the argument that TV will make us all blind....

Also the load of Fat is not true either, IF you wish to fry you steak or bacon then fair enough but I for one and the 2 other guys I know either grill or use the George Foreman. BTW on the diet we also eat fish and chicken, where is all the fat in these??

Also as for not eating fruit the diet also allows you to eat Watermelon, Strawberries, raspberries, pineapple. These to me are fruits so rubbishes another argument.

All I will say is do not knock it until you try it, I know a growing amount of people who are on the atkins or who have tried it, none have any negative views, only those people who have not tried it so really cannot comment fully.

tunney

I prefer not to take much heed of their opinions

My all means ignore our opinions because you feel that we shuold not comment because we never tried it.

But for advice on diet, eating and general well being I know I would always prefer the advice of a person that does not need to lose so much weight that they need the atkins diet (whether it is good or bad).

Fatty vs fitty? Who you going to listen to for advice?

Yoda

Originally posted by Wolff
how do you know Im not south american ?

The potato does not appear to have been cultivated for more than 3,000 years in South America, so even then it's not an evolutionary timescale.

Yoda

Originally posted by tunney
But for advice on diet, eating and general well being I know I would always prefer the advice of a person that does not need to lose so much weight that they need the atkins diet (whether it is good or bad).

Well whoop-dee-doo, Tunney. Could you be less snotty?

Not everyone grew up interested or skilled in athletics, nor had the opportunity or motivation to "work out" from their teens to their thirties or whenever. Sometimes age creeps up on you too. I've always been lean, but found that a couple of stone had settled themselves around my middle. It's probable that much of that was Smithwicks. I've lost one of the stones already.

Atkins is based on sound facts about human metabolism. Indeed, Atkins reminds us that it is the facts about human metabolism that lay on the fat stores in the first place – and this is an evolutionary survival mechanism to store energy for bad times. No longer relevant, or rather problematic, today, given the way food is produced and made available. The initial stages of Atkins tips the scales, as it were, to get the body to use the stored fat efficiently. And it comes off. And, yes, Atkins says it will come off faster if you exercise more. But it comes off anyway, because the metabolic functions make that happen. And it's not just "eating less".

Dudare and Yop have asked sensible questions about the Atkins diet, and I, a sensible and intelligent person with some experience with it, have tried to answer them. So how about easing up on the kick-sand-in-your-face "fitty" arrogance, hm?

Stark

Are there any Atkins friendly restaurants in Ireland?

tunney

Not everyone grew up interested or skilled in athletics, nor had the opportunity or motivation to "work out" from their teens to their thirties or whenever.

Check out my webpage for photos of my 3 years ago - I wasn't interested in sports till recently and it shows. I how ever did a series of gradual changes to my lifestyle and diet. I never intended on losing as much weight as I have, or getting as into sports as I have, but I found that after making alot of these little changes running, cycling swimming, whatever, all were fun and easy because for the first time in my life I was not overweight and I was relatively fit.

So how about easing up on the kick-sand-in-your-face "fitty" arrogance, hm?

I tried rational comments aimed at pointing out that a healthy, gradual approach to losing weight, one that involves will power is the healthiest and best apporach. Why bother being nice about weight lose to people looking for short term fixes? You stick to your lifestyle and diet if you want. I'll stick to mine and I'll over advice to anyone who wants it. My advice however might actually do some good for people in the long term.

The initial stages of Atkins tips the scales, as it were, to get the body to use the stored fat efficiently. And it comes off.

If this was the case and the Atkins diet causes the body tio store fat efficiently then tell me this - why do elite endurance athletes not do it? After all the goal of their training(well one of them) is to increase the bodies ability to burn fat. They do it with 20 mile runs, 200 mile cycles and the like - you think you can do it by eating lwo-carb foods? Please.

Stark

Not everyone's an elite athlete. I excercise regularly myself, but still gain weight, as many people do, when I drink alchohol or eat sugar. Reducing my refined carbohydrate intake (I don't advocate cutting out all carbohydrate) enables me to lose weight at a steady pace while retaining my energy levels and improving my mood.

tunney

k.oriordan, you're suggesting a healthy diet with the right amount of carbs in conjunction with regular exercise. I don't disaggree with you in the slightest.

Wolff

how do you know Im not a potato ?

dudara

But for advice on diet, eating and general well being I know I would always prefer the advice of a person that does not need to lose so much weight that they need the atkins diet (whether it is good or bad).

Tunney, normaly I enjoy reading your comments, but this one bugged me.

I didn't need to lost so much weight, only about a stone and a half in fact, and I've lost a stone of that. For many years prior to that I'd been active, and healthy, but still weight was catching up on me. I read Atkins book out of curiosity, and I found nuggets of information in it. Cut out refined processed carbs and watch the weight drop off. It's a healthy attitude to eating.

I agree with the poster who made the comment regarding people who have never tried an Atkins-type diet. Don't knock it until you've tried it, or until you know more about than what you are just told in the media. For the first time in years, I can really feel my ribs without a layer of blubber. I'm really pleased, I have more energy for training due to a better diet and being lighter means I can train harder which only benefits me more.

I still eat carbs, so don't anyone tell me I'm not eating a healthy diet, I'm just carefully choosing which types I eat. A paper was publiched recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology called "The Heart-Diet Hypothesis: A Critique" by Sylvan Lee Weinberg. This man is a leading well-respected cardiologist, and in this paper he comes out against the traditional high-carb, low-fat diet. This movement is gaining momentum, but just rememeber it's not anti- all carbs. It's anti bad sugary carbs.

If you have access to Science Direct, you'll be able to get a copy of this paper. If not, PM me, and I'll send you a copy.

koneko

I tried the Atkins diet for a while and didn't like what I was feeling. Headaches, tired, generally unwell. I personally didn't find the menu/choice that varied either. I'd heard great things so I was a bit disappointed. My mother started it at the same time and found the same results (except with worse breath aswell!).

I switched to eating healthy and exercising (love love swimming) and it's done wonders. I feel much better too.

tunney

Cut out refined processed carbs

But thats just common sense!!!! Thats not the atkins diet is it? Does the atkins diet not say "no carbs" or at least "ultra low carbs"? It doesn't distinguish between good and bad carbs? (generalising here) By cutting out refined processed carbs you end up eating carbs with a low glycemic index. Eating sensibly. What you did dudora is read an atkins book not go on the atkins diet!!!!! Surely yuo see the difference between avoinding carbs with a high GI and the atkins diet?!?!?!?!?

I'm not pushing a high-carb, low fat diet - all I'm saying is carbs are needed, and that at least 50% of your daily calories shuold come from carbs. (personally I end up closer to 70%)

Stark

I tried the Atkins diet for a while and didn't like what I was feeling. Headaches, tired, generally unwell. I personally didn't find the menu/choice that varied either. I'd heard great things so I was a bit disappointed. My mother started it at the same time and found the same results (except with worse breath aswell!).

You were probably experiencing sugar withdrawl, it was likely you inherited a tendency towards sugar addiction from your mother. I'm the same way, have given up sugar (despite a few relapses). I suggest you read "Potatoes not prozac" by Kathleen DesMaisons as an alternative to the Dr. Atkin's book.

dudara

That is exactly what the Atkins diet promotes. Low GI carbs.

At the start, no carbs, or less that 20 g, are allowed. Afterwards though, the rules relax. Why are people so anti-Atkins, when actually it makes perfect sense.

tunney

That is exactly what the Atkins diet promotes. Low GI carbs.

Emmmm if the Atkins diet only promoted low GI carbs then no one would complain about it. Me thinks there has to be more?

tunney

And if thats all it promotes then you can throw that "ketosis" crap right out the window

dudara

Koneko, there is actually another theory for the bad feelings that people experience at the start of the diet.

As fat is stored in fat cells, any toxins that are not flushed from the body also get stored along with the fat. As fat storage continues, the toxin buildup gets higher and higher. As you start an Atkins diet, you're aiming to burn off these fats cells in order to kick start weight loss and reprogram your body. As a result, all the toxins stored in these cells are released along with the fat causing all the usual symptoms. Combine that with a strong desire for sugar, which I definitely felt at the start, and you can feel pretty miserable.

Having said that, the first two weeks were fairly easy for me, I had no nausea, bad breath, etc, once I ignored the craving for sugar of any type.