Atkins + Muscle Pain

Ok, I'm in pain! a lot of it all over my legs! I just Atkins two days
ago... I think I might be doing something very wrong.. here are the
facts:

1) I'm a 26 yr old male, h= 5' 11", w=195 lbs.
2) I'm not excercising
3) Drink about 1 to 1.5 liters of water MAX

I've read someplace that I might be sodium/potassium/XXXium deficient
and might need supplements. Please anyone else experience this? Please
let me know what to do!!

--Ali

When I get leg cramps, I pour Morton Lite Salt in my hand and lick it
up until it goes away. Just takes seconds. Morton Lite Salt is half
potassium and available in pretty much every grocery store.

If you use a lot of table salt, replacing it with this stuff will solve
your problem without the need for supplements.

Morton Lite Salt is also *way* cheaper than buying potassium
supplements.

I rarely use table salt myself. For me, a better solution than waiting
for cramps is to make homemade "gatorade" and drink it regularly. I
just add some lite salt to a pitcher of Crystal Light. I add vitamin C
powder to mine too.

If you add too much, it tastes icky. So just add a little.

To 2-quarts Crystal Light, I add 1 tsp calcium ascorbate powder and 1/4
tsp lite salt. The ascorbate is little enough to just add some
tartness to the drink and the salt isn't tasted at all at this
concentration.

I drink a quart of this daily, which keeps the leg cramps away, as well
as providing a full 2 grams of vitamin C daily. And it makes a nice
change from the ever-present water.

wrote:
Ok, I'm in pain! a lot of it all over my legs! I just Atkins two days
ago... I think I might be doing something very wrong.. here are the
facts:

If you are refering to leg cramps, I have found that often times I get
them when I am deficient in calcium. If I take a suplement they
usually stop happening fairly quickly.

Also, while I have never tried it, I know several people who swear by
taking a spoonfull of yellow mustard to stop cramps. They claim it
will stop them faster than anything else that they have tried.

wrote:
When I get leg cramps, I pour Morton Lite Salt in my hand and lick it
up until it goes away. Just takes seconds. Morton Lite Salt is half
potassium and available in pretty much every grocery store.

If you use a lot of table salt, replacing it with this stuff will solve
your problem without the need for supplements.

Morton Lite Salt is also *way* cheaper than buying potassium
supplements.

I rarely use table salt myself. For me, a better solution than waiting
for cramps is to make homemade "gatorade" and drink it regularly. I
just add some lite salt to a pitcher of Crystal Light. I add vitamin C
powder to mine too.

If you add too much, it tastes icky. So just add a little.

To 2-quarts Crystal Light, I add 1 tsp calcium ascorbate powder and 1/4
tsp lite salt. The ascorbate is little enough to just add some
tartness to the drink and the salt isn't tasted at all at this
concentration.

I drink a quart of this daily, which keeps the leg cramps away, as well
as providing a full 2 grams of vitamin C daily. And it makes a nice
change from the ever-present water.



I use sugar free Kool Aid instead of Crystal Light. To my taste,
Crystal Light is too addictively sweet.

Glad to see others make their own "Gatorade".

--
1) Eat Till SATISFIED, Not STUFFED... Atkins repeated 9 times in the book
2) Exercise: It's Non-Negotiable..... Chapter 22 title, Atkins book
3) Don't Diet Without Supplemental Nutrients... Chapter 23 title, Atkins
book
4) A sensible eating plan, and follow it. (Atkins, Self Made or Other)

This is a troll, people. Get the clues! Guy is in incredible pain and he
doesn't go to a doctor? He decides to rely on Usenet instead? Oh, yeah, no
need for the medical profession any more.

Pat in TX

Ok last two posters, I'm not kidding about the pain... last night (at
around midnight) after posting that message I went to Walgreens and
told the pharmacist what was happening to me, she said I should
definitely take the "carb-smart" version of One-a-day vitamin
supplements (the red box) so I got those also got the Morton Salt (I
had read in another thread that the lite version is rich in potassium)
and atkins approved energy bars (suitable for induction phase).. came
back home had the energy bar, made myself some light lemonade (3 tsp of
lemo juice) and added a half spoon of the salt... within an hour my
pain was considerably reduced.. took a single mortrin and was feeling
super in the morning.. after breakfast (scrambled eggs with cheese)
took the one-a-day vitamin pill and have focused on drinking a LOT more
water.. also had cucumbers with full fat cream cheese for lunch...
havent had any pain all day today.... i don't know why I got the pain
in the first place but I'm thinking not enough required minerals...
will continue taking one pill a day... thanks to the others with the
homemade gatorade suggesion, will definitely try that out... btw, it
might be water weight but have lost 8 pounds in 3 days... i am not
kidding... this is superb!.. after the 2 weeks end am gonna start
gyming, same high protein diet but with mroe fruits/vegetables.... will
post progress in a month.... ciao

Marengo wrote:
On Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:10:44 -0500, "Pat in TX"
wrote:

|This is a troll, people. Get the clues! Guy is in incredible pain and he
|doesn't go to a doctor? He decides to rely on Usenet instead? Oh, yeah, no
|need for the medical profession any more.
|
|Pat in TX
|
That's what I thought too. Two days of Atkins induction will not
cause muscle pain. It takes either an extended period of time of
dehydration or mineral deprivation to deplete the body's stores of
potassium, or acute dehydration from intense exercise or heat with
insufficient fluids. If this guy has incredible pain, it ain't from
Atkins.

"Pat in TX" writes:

This is a troll, people. Get the clues! Guy is in incredible pain
and he doesn't go to a doctor? He decides to rely on Usenet instead?
Oh, yeah, no need for the medical profession any more.

It's what I'd do. You aren't getting me to a doctor anymore unless
I'm clearly dying or unconscious and can't stop you from hauling me
there. A chiropractor, sure; that'd be better for muscle pain anyway.



--
Aaron -- -- 285/240/200
http://www.myspace.com/aaronbaugher

writes:

When I get leg cramps, I pour Morton Lite Salt in my hand and lick
it up until it goes away. Just takes seconds. Morton Lite Salt is
half potassium and available in pretty much every grocery store.

That works great for me. In fact, when I'm not low-carbing, I rarely
get cramps (and only in my feet), but when I *am* low-carbing, I
*never* get them, presumably because of the potassium salt.


--
Aaron -- -- 285/240/200
http://www.myspace.com/aaronbaugher

This is a troll, people. Get the clues! Guy is in incredible pain
and he doesn't go to a doctor? He decides to rely on Usenet instead?
Oh, yeah, no need for the medical profession any more.

It's what I'd do. You aren't getting me to a doctor anymore unless
I'm clearly dying or unconscious and can't stop you from hauling me
there. A chiropractor, sure; that'd be better for muscle pain anyway.
--
Aaron --

A friend of mine started having muscle pain. Turned out to be
rhabdomyolysis. Can your chiropractor figure it out? Good luck with that
one.

Pat in TX

It's what I'd do. You aren't getting me to a doctor anymore unless
I'm clearly dying or unconscious and can't stop you from hauling me
there. A chiropractor, sure; that'd be better for muscle pain anyway.
--
Aaron

Another friend of mine started a low carb diet and developed a rash...of
course she thought it had something to do with low carb because it started
right after she started the diet---but it turned out to be a drug
interaction. And, no, her chiropractor didn't diagnose that, either.

Pat in TX