Becky,
Dr. Atkins does not recommend that women who are pregnant or nursing go on the induction or first phase of the Atkins. You can , however, go on the maintanence phase or phase 4,,,where you limit your carbs to veggies, nuts and a very little amount of low carb fruits like strawberries, 1/2 of an apple, blueberries, raspberries. No watermelon, cantoloupe or other high sugar fruits. The cravings are so extremely intense on the Diane and then the Yasmin, but much more on the Diane,,,and severe hunger pangs every two hours around the clock...I would get so hungry I would almost vomit, so I had to eat a little something every couple of hours. Plus, I am on 12.5 hour night shifts and eating at night when my metabolism is slower. I was a size 4/5 the last 2 two years prior to the protocol, and also ran 4 miles a day, and did weight training 4-6x a week. I know after all of this I will get back down to where I was. I just don't have the energy to jog or do my step aerobics, the medications make me so fatigued. Also, the estrogen component makes my nose so congested that I can barely breath sometimes. So, everyone is different, but I don't feel that in my case praying not to gain weight is going to help. It is an artifical pregnancy, or a chemical pregnancy. We are fooling our bodies to think we are pregnant. Some weight gain is actually beneficial to making milk later on. I would rec. just watching the carbs for now, but do not cut them out all together until you are done nursing. Take care, Cathy
