Anyone Have Muscle Cramping?

[Jeff T.]

Hello, this is week 5 of Atkins and a couple days ago I started having painful muscle cramps. Mostly in my legs but some in my chest area. I drink plenty of fluids a day. And I take a multivitamin. Any suggestions pertaining to food I can eat to avoid these? Thanks!

Jeff T.

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[RY's mom]

broccoli for potassium or any potassium rich foods. If the chest muscles gets to bad. Make sure your heart beat is normal.Look for a postasium supplement. I am a nurse. You can have low potassium. If it gets to low it can change your heartbeat. I wouldn't worry unless your heartbeat is off and I would just eat something with potassium.

[Jeff T.]

I heard that potassium like in bananas can make you fatter. I don't know if this is true or just heresay. Thank you for your advice. I will add some fresh broccoli to my salads.

[blueberrylady]

When I get leg cramps at night, I take a potassium tablet and a multi, and the cramps stop in minutes.

[soon2bslim]

A few sips of sugar free tonic water help my leg cramps. PLEASE discuss the chest pains w/ your doc...sounds scary...not really Atkins related!

Make sure that you are well hydrated, if you are taking any medication, esp diuretics which are often prescribed for high blood pressure, be aware that this will accelerate your fluid loss and take along essential minerals like potassium and magnesium which can lead to leg cramps. DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING with meds you may or may not be taking, (and you don't have to post this info either) just be aware that they have an influence and at some point you may want to ask your doc to revaluate and suggest alternatives to reduce the cramping. Also some people get overzealous with the water (ithink more people struggle w/ the opposite tho) anyway, sometimes too much water will deplete your minerals since it acts as a diuretic. This is dependendent on your overall kidney function, even if it is in normal range, so try having the amount of water that you should according to Atkins and not too much more than that and see if you notice a change.

[skyy]

i had the leg cramping for a few days about a month agao and it passed. it must have been due to adding a multivitamin and broccoli twice a week. follow the previous tips and i hope everything subsides.

[LauraJ]

I have to take calcium, magnesium (400mg) and potassium (99mg) each and every day (along with a lot of water) to avoid those leg cramps. If any one of those factors is missing, I will have cramps. Also, there is no substitute for water. Filling up on another liquid will still produce the cramps.

[liv]

Magnestium and potassium help me
I do use salt substitutes because they have a lot more potassium that the tablets.

[Jeff T.]

Thanks for all the advice! I will try them all out. I took magnesium pills last nite and it seems to have helped. I will get potassium pills and substitute salt too

Jeff T.

[ediesbeads]

If you track your food in a program like fitday, check out your nutrient tabs. I found I was WAY low on magnesium, so started taking a supplement. I don't even take it every day, but a few times a week. It has helped my leg cramps MUCH!