Keto Question

DAM5412

So, I am easing back into keto and have a question for those of you are more experienced then me.

What effect does a cheat day have on weight loss? Specifically I mean most of what I have read about weight loss and ketosis state the first few weeks you experience the most weight loss, due to the body adjusting. So if you have a high carb day every few weeks, will your body have to go through the adjusting period (with accelerated weight loss) after every cheat day?

Also, I ask because I had a high carb day over the weekend and since Sunday am back to 20 - 30 carbs, and have the headache, fatigue and some body aches. I wonder if every time I (intentionally or unintentionally) over indulge in carbs, will I go through the flu (and or the accelerated drop in weight) or over time, as I become more keto adapted, will a one day cheat have less of an impact?

Oh, and another question. I've had some symptoms which I identify as being in keto (bad breath, decreased cravings and appetite, metallic mouth taste and increased thirst), but for the past 24 hours I've also had a salty taste in my mouth, more so then metallic. Is this also a side effect or possibly a sign of something related? I know I am probably not getting enough sodium (or magnesium/potassium for that matter), but wanted to see if anyone has experienced that.

And another thing...and I promise this will be my last....is there such a thing as getting too much water? I drink a lot to begin with (about 135 ozs a day), but since going low carb, I am always thirsty and have been drinking about 200 ozs a day. My husband brought up the you can drown yourself line, which is a bit dramatic. But I get to a point later in the day where I try not to drink as much, but then I feel so thirsty and if I don't drink enough, I wake up during the night parched (I frequently wake up and drink a bottle of water, sometimes 2 during the night).

Thanks for taking the time to read my rambles!

mrsfancyab

As far as I understand if you have a cheat day with high carbs it can knock you out of keto. You can jump back into low carb the next day, but your body will readjust to ketosis again, some people can get in quick others can take a days to get back into ketosis.

I know when I cheated it took me a day or two to get back to ketosis. I knew as soon as I was back in due to muscle cramps and that lovely smelling urine.

With the water... you're probably thirsty all the time because your body isn't retaining the water due to not enough sodium, like you stated. Do you take the supplements? Magnesium?

DAM5412

I take a multivitamin, but am not consistent enough. I think I may need to take magnesium specifically and will look into getting some this weekend. I hope that will help, as a few nights I wake up with leg cramps as well and I would always just eat a banana the next day to try and compensate. Of course, I knew it was dealing with the issue after the fact, and not preventing it like I should have been. I do miss bananas, I think I mentioned that already though!

radiii

DAM5412 wrote: »

What effect does a cheat day have on weight loss? Specifically I mean most of what I have read about weight loss and ketosis state the first few weeks you experience the most weight loss, due to the body adjusting. So if you have a high carb day every few weeks, will your body have to go through the adjusting period (with accelerated weight loss) after every cheat day?

A lot of that early weight loss is water weight, as your body simply needs to hold on to less water on a ketogenic diet. So if you have a cheat day, you may put on a few pounds of water weight overnight, and then take it back off, but you won't get some sort of accelerated loss of anything but that water. Actual loss of fat should be fairly consistent over time, including at the start, if you eat at a consistent calorie deficit the whole time. The bigger fluctuations are just water.

as I become more keto adapted, will a one day cheat have less of an impact?

Correct. I have a friend who started keto around the same time I did. I haven't cheated a single time, he cheats a reasonable amount due to family vacation circumstances and lunches with coworkers leading him into tempting situations (or occasionally just agreeing to go where everyone else wants to so he doesn't feel like he's a drain on his friends). He's sticking with it and always gets right back on the horse after a cheat and he's losing a lot of weight and getting healthier, though he admits he maybe could be losing a bit faster, but its working for him. After a couple months he did not really have any issues getting back into ketosis or with the keto flu repeatedly or anything like that.


Of course the general recommendation is not to cheat. Cheating will over time slow down your weight loss. But the real world isn't always that simple and sometimes things happen and you roll with it and its fine. I would definitely recommend against any sort of strategic cheating though to try to screw with numbers.

is there such a thing as getting too much water? I drink a lot to begin with (about 135 ozs a day), but since going low carb, I am always thirsty and have been drinking about 200 ozs a day.

So there is such a thing as too much water but I really don't know at what levels that becomes a concern. Are you active? If you're an active person its almost certainly not a problem. If you aren't sweating a ton and burning a lot of calories and literally have to drink 200 oz of water to not feel thirsty all the time, I'd probably mention that to a doctor and see if its a sign of something else going on.

As for keto and drinking that much water, I would say that you are probably flushing out even more electrolytes than the average person on keto as a result, so you probably need to try to get a bit more sodium/potassium than most.

Also you mentioned leg cramps, that's almost always magnesium. Magnesium is the easiest thing to supplement, look for chelated magnesium or magnesium citrate, NOT magnesium oxide. Magnesium Oxide is the most commonly sold form but it doesn't absorb as well. I can't find Magnesium Citrate at my local CVS, I get it from Amazon.

KetoGirl83

Increased thirst like you're describing is one of the most recognisable early symptoms of diabetes. I'm not sure how keto may change that, I noticed no great difference myself but I'm very new to this. I'd take a test anyway, just to be on the safe side.

mrsfancyab

i had HORRIBLE leg cramps by the way they did not stop until i started a 500mg magnesium pill. you may need more at times you tweak it to your body.

in another blog someone told me if you eat fruit, like the bananas we both love, have protein with it like a piece of cheese, or meat to help the carbs in the banana digest.

i wish they were not so high in sugar i could eat them everyday

avocado has more potassium that bananas, and a lot less carbs by the way!

aeb09

Cheat days replenish the glycogen stores you work so hard to deplete during keto. Most likely yes, you'll go through some degree of keto flu symptoms if you cheat (probably more significant symptoms the worse the cheat is). All those signs you are experiencing are normal, I'd say. I do recommend a magnesium/potassium supplement to most beginners.

Truth is you CAN drown yourself with water, though I'm not sure the amount. 200oz sound like a lot, but listen to your body. I know someone that almost drowned himself without even realizing it until it was too late, and then he lost all ability to make rational decisions/speak, plus he was in a foreign country. Just be careful, maybe do some research on that before doing any damage.

DittoDan

When I eat too much salt (I love salt) even before I started a Keto diet, at night I would wake up with a dry mouth and very salty taste. This would only happen when I ate really salty things during the day. Since every book says if your in Keto ~ that you use a lot of sodium and potassium, I probably have been eating way too much salt. So I have salty mouth every night now. I keep water next to my bed at night and when I wake up, I take a gulp, swish it around and swallow it. That helps.

On the leg cramps/magnesium. I used to get the worst leg cramps. Like others, I started taking 400mg mag. citrate at bedtime. They recommend 800 mg @day. I did ok for about three weeks, then I got another horrible cramp that woke me up about 5:00 am. So I started taking the recommended dose of 800 mg. Probably because I am 290+ lbs, I need more. I'll let you know after a month if this worked.

I hope this helps,

Dan the Man from Michigan

DAM5412

Thank you, all so helpful!! I picked up a magnesium supplement last night, but now wish I had re-read this thread for radiii's suggestion to get the citrate, because the type I bought are Oxide/400 mg. I'll look into helping absorption and double up on the dosage and see if that helps.

I also picked up electrolyte water, and will see if that helps.

Prior to keto, I was not much of a salt eater, so think since I've started this diet and upped my salt intake that is probably contributing to the salt taste. But I wondered if there was another possible reason.

I am very concerned about diabetes, as both parents (and others on both sides) have it and are insulin dependent. I will keep an eye on the water and thirst, and if it continues will reach out to my doctor. I wouldn't mind getting a blood profile as well just to see how my cholesterol is with this new diet.

Happy Friday Eve!!