LOW CARB / NO CARB / ATKINS DIET WARNING FOR WOMEN ON BIRTH CONTROL!

Just thought I would share my experience on Atkins. My Mother went on Atkins and I thought I would join her and lose a few pounds while being supportive of her efforts to lose weight. I hardly made it past the induction phase before I got my period. MIND YOU, I have been on Depo Provera (progestogen based) for many years and it had been a few years since my last period. This was not break through bleeding. This was a period... PERIOD. I could not figure out why all of a sudden I got my period, it was one of the worst periods I have ever had. Like clockwork every three months I go and get my shot of Depo. So I went researching online to find out why and seriously considered getting off of Depo. Then I thought, what has changed recently for my body to screw me over this way? Depo has always been good to me. ATKINS! So I went searching for a correlation between birth control, progestogen, menstruation and low/no carb diets. There are forums and posts about other women/girls getting their periods when they are not supposed to (because of certain birth controls they are taking) when they get on Atkins.

So here's why:

Estrogen is stored in fat cells. On a low/no carb diet you lose fat at an accelerated rate because your body is going through ketosis and is now using fat for energy as opposed to glucose (sugar/carbs). As you are losing the fat the estrogen is also being released into your body. Which affects your birth control in such a way as to induce a period.

There is no doubt in my mind that you could get pregnant if this happens to you. Also, if your not on birth control because of the excess estrogen you can have worse periods than your normally would off the diet. After I figured this out, I got off the diet. I would notice that I would have my period during the day and at night it would virtually go away. My best guess was that I was eating carbs during the day so at night my estrogen level was low, and that during the night while sleeping and not eating my body's ketosis would kick in so in the mornings my period would come back. Awfully strange, I know. Never again will I be on a low carb diet.

I just wanted to share my experience, as I was kinda freaking out when it happened to me. Maybe a little TMI but whatever. I am a sharer. lol Hope this helps someone.