Guest guest Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 I am nursing a 4.5 month old and am thinking of doing the Atkins diet. I don't know why but i'm not losing weight this time around and do not wish to be 50 pounds overweight!!! Currently i'm eating a very low carb/no grain diet. The Atkins starts off at zero carb for one week. Any ideas if this is safe during lactation? Is ketosis safe? Any possibility of my baby going into ketosis Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Hi Elaine The atkins diet is not zero carb. It is 20g carb for 2 weeks. His old diet (zero carb) was replaced by the 20g carb diet in the 90s. His website is www.atinscenter.com. I've pasted some information from it below: " Can I follow the Atkins Nutritional Approach while I'm pregnant? Weight loss is not recommended while you are pregnant or breastfeeding, so the Atkins Lifetime Maintenance phase is ideal during this time. As with all phases of Atkins, build your eating program around protein, including meat, poultry and seafood, and healthy natural fats such as olive and flaxseed oil and avocados. Eat plenty of vegetables and one serving of fruit such as strawberries, blueberries or grapefruit daily. Instead of hydrogenated oils, consume healthy fats, seeds and nuts. Cook meat well but don't burn it-heavily charred meats can be unhealthy. Be sure to drink plenty of water. Try to walk 30 minutes a day at a comfortable pace. Avoid getting overheated during exercise and be sure to get plenty of rest. And have fun, this is a very special time! " The advice is generally, don't do induction level carbs while nursing. HTH Jo --- Elaine <itchyink@...> wrote: > I am nursing a 4.5 month old and am thinking of > doing the Atkins diet. I > don't know why but i'm not losing weight this time > around and do not wish to > be 50 pounds overweight!!! Currently i'm eating a > very low carb/no grain > diet. The Atkins starts off at zero carb for one > week. > > Any ideas if this is safe during lactation? Is > ketosis safe? Any possibility > of my baby going into ketosis > Elaine > ________________________________________________________________________ Want to chat instantly with your online friends? Get the FREE Messenger http://uk.messenger./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 I think the ketosis issue is irrelevant however I would not recommend severe carbohydrate restriction for a nursing mother. Demands on nursing mothers are somewhat comparable to high end athletes in training and you will find no pro or olympic level athlete training on severely restricted carbs. Some carb restriction is just fine. 75 -100g per day from some high quality fruits and veg would be fine. Restricting grains is an excellent idea. You are not going to be nursing for very long and the potential for short changing your child is high. If you really want to do severe carbohydrate restriction just wait until you are done nursing. Invariably someone will say severe carb restriction is no problem and site the eskimo, etc... and while such may be true I've yet to meet someone who was able to do this with certainty. If you could go through a severe carb restriction regimen and insure with complete and total absolution that your diet was perfect and your child wasn't missing anything then it'd be fine. But I doubt you could do that. Meaning we all experiment with our diets and dietary changes to determine what " works " best for us. Experimenting while giving a child its fundamental foundation in life in my opinion is simply a bad idea. DMM --- In , " Elaine " <itchyink@s...> wrote: > I am nursing a 4.5 month old and am thinking of doing the Atkins diet. I > don't know why but i'm not losing weight this time around and do not wish to > be 50 pounds overweight!!! Currently i'm eating a very low carb/no grain > diet. The Atkins starts off at zero carb for one week. > > Any ideas if this is safe during lactation? Is ketosis safe? Any possibility > of my baby going into ketosis > Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Are you sure you start at zero carbs? I thought it was 20 or less for induction? The Atkins starts off at zero carb for one week. Any ideas if this is safe during lactation? Is ketosis safe? Any possibility of my baby going into ketosis Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Thank you Jo, i could kiss you! I am borrowing the first Atkins book which promotes the zero carb and didn't know things had changed. It felt unsafe to me. I am convinced nevertheless that low carb is the way to go for someone like me. Being freed of sugar cravings is like being let out of prison. Sounds like i need to get a newer atkins book. I'm just curious 'why' the very low carb is not advised for lactating women. I am printing out what you sent me to refer to. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Thanks Dr. M! thanks also for posting the 75-100 gram amounts as that gives me an idea of what to work with. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 >> Are you sure you start at zero carbs? I thought it was 20 or less for induction? The Atkins starts off at zero carb for one week. Any ideas if this is safe during lactation? Is ketosis safe? Any possibility of my baby going into ketosis << I think someone already addressed this, but since email has been weird lately, I'll just restate: Atkins is NOT zero carbs, ever - induction is the lowest level and it's 20 grams a day. The whole way Atkins works is that, after the two week induction period, you determine your personal carb intake level that supports weight loss, and when you get near goal, you determine the level that supports maintaining your desired weight. This level will vary from individual to indivual. There is no set number of carbs. Atkins is also quite clear that the weight loss phases of the plan are NOT ok for pregnancy or lactation, but that the " Atkins for Life " or maintanance plan is fine. Christie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Kasandra, that was the old atkins that starts off at 0. I think it is 20 or 25 now. I did a few days at 20 and felt pretty spaced out. Today i had some beans and rice and feel great now. I did some research on the net and learned, among other things, that the average caloric intake for someone on the very low carb diet is 1700 -- too low for lactating women. Elaine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Well give yourself some time to lose that weight, Elaine. You seem to have a good handle on your diet. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. When I nursed both of my sons, I could never get the weight off until after they weaned...then it all just fell off of me. This was especially true with my second child. " Kasandra, that was the old atkins that starts off at 0. I think it is 20 or 25 now. I did a few days at 20 and felt pretty spaced out. Today i had some beans and rice and feel great now. I did some research on the net and learned, among other things, that the average caloric intake for someone on the very low carb diet is 1700 -- too low for lactating women. Elaine " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 > Well give yourself some time to lose that weight, Elaine. You seem to > have a good handle on your diet. Don't put so much pressure on > yourself. And I've seen you, Elaine--you just ain't that big! Lynn S. who IS that big. ----- Lynn Siprelle * Writer, Mother, Programmer, Fiber Artisan The New Homemaker: http://www.newhomemaker.com/ Siprelle & Associates: http://www.siprelle.com/ People-Powered ! http://www.deanforamerica.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Thanks Kasandra. I guess i'll have to be patient (my first weaned at 2.5). I'm vowed i would never diet again and was disappointed in myself for almost going that route. Better to follow a 'diet' you can follow the rest of your life. Low carb makes a lot of sense though, based on what i've read. Elaine -- Natural parenting products for conception through weaning: www.uniquebabyboutique.com/?elainefawcett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Thanks Lynn, LOL! The diet is easy to change. It's the mind that's screwed for life i guess. Elaine -- Natural parenting products for conception through weaning: www.uniquebabyboutique.com/?elainefawcett > From: Lynn Siprelle <lynn@...> > Reply- > Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2003 11:30:32 -0700 > > Subject: Re: atkins and lactating? > >> Well give yourself some time to lose that weight, Elaine. You seem to >> have a good handle on your diet. Don't put so much pressure on >> yourself. > > And I've seen you, Elaine--you just ain't that big! > > Lynn S. > who IS that big. > > ----- > Lynn Siprelle * Writer, Mother, Programmer, Fiber Artisan > The New Homemaker: http://www.newhomemaker.com/ > Siprelle & Associates: http://www.siprelle.com/ > People-Powered ! http://www.deanforamerica.com/ > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 3, 2003 Report Share Posted September 3, 2003 On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 12:31:47 +0100 (BST) Joanne Pollack <jopollack2001@...> wrote: > Hi Elaine > > The atkins diet is not zero carb. It is 20g carb for > 2 weeks. His old diet (zero carb) was replaced by the > 20g carb diet in the 90s. > > It is not even that really. The 20 carbs recommendation is designed to get you into ketosis immediately and see some quick results. He mentions that you might be able to eat a little higher ration than that. When I was low carbing, I found that I could be in ketosis at about 37 grams a day without exercise. I further found that I could maintain my weight on about 70 grams a day, without exercise. When I exercised, these numbers were *quite* a bit higher. Why I'm Not A Conservative http://www.lewrockwell.com/tucker/tucker30.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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