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Impact of staying hydrated

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zanyterp
zanyterp Posts: 291 Member
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In aiming for the "awkward question of the day" award, I wanted to see if anyone else has noticed an increase in water evacuation after starting keto. I have been drinking 1.0 - 1.5 gal of water for years and have not been to the bathroom as often as I am now and have not increased my water; still drinking because I am thirsty. Before I embarked on this venture, I did some reading and it looks like this _may_ be an expected outcome since water is stored in fat cells and keto helps the body use said cells for fuel; by reducing the amount of fat cells, there is less room to store all the water I am (have been) imbibing. If I hadn't already been drinking that much, I don't know if I would have thought it odd…so figured I would cheat and ask if others have seen similar. And if not, if the reasoning seems sound.

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  • Everyonelies
    Everyonelies Posts: 225 Member
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    I don't drink as much as you do...but I had also noticed this recently. Sometime last week I had only had a L of water...and I went to the bathroom more than I had when I was drinking 3L pre-keto.
  • zanyterp
    zanyterp Posts: 291 Member
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    i don't blame you for not drinking that much :)
    thank you for your comment that you have seen a similar phenomenon
  • chelletackett
    chelletackett Posts: 14 Member
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    I don't drink that much water (I'm a 64-72 oz normally kind of girl), but yeah, I feel more thirsty than I used to. I've been drinking between 84-96 ounces, but I still only drink to thirst (only when I feel thirsty). Maybe it has to do with the new way of burning fuel in your body, or the inevitable increase in sodium? But I'm honestly okay with it - and (TMI) I'm less and less dehydrated knowing this only because of the color of what has been... vacated lol.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    Keto will cause you to shed retained water - so even if you keep consumption steady you are going to see water loss.

    Glycogen (aka glucose from carbs) gets stored with water in your muscles and liver (glycogen in it's hydrated form is 3 or 4 parts water for every part glycogen). When you aren't consuming new carbs then this storage is used and the water is shed, but not replaced.

    If you are one of the unlucky gals that retains a bunch of water as part of PMS, then you are probably already familiar with the "take 3 sips, go pee a gallon" concept, but it applies to both genders when switching away from a carby diet.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    By the sound of it, you are unaware that keto is a naturally diuretic diet. All low carb diets are. The lower carb you go the more water you take to lose. This also means you lose sodium. Low sodium and the dehydration it causes because it helps you retain proper fluid balance is the cause of the keto flu you may have heard about. Most people don’t know that keto flu is just low sodium and therefore don’t supplement sodium like they should. You may have heard stories from prison saying keto made them sick and they had to eat more carbs to feel better. That’s because carbs stop the diuretic effect and help the person become hydrated again. It helps them retain sodium and stop losing it.
    You need to supplement sodium every single day when you cut carbs. At keto levels you need about 5000mg of sodium a day. This is about 2tsp coarse salt in ADDITION to salting all food to taste.
    The more water you drink the more sodium you need.
    I’d be surprised if you aren’t having cramps or headaches or feeling lightheaded especially upon standing. Maybe even have a racing heart??? The common complaint of constipation you may hear about from people not long into keto is also usually due to this problem.
  • zanyterp
    zanyterp Posts: 291 Member
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    @Sunny_Bunny_ thank you for the confirmation of the diuretic nature of the diet and that, while my guess on the reason was wrong, it was in the right direction. i initially had been adding salt to my water; but decided to jump the gun and go straight to taking it straight, with a water chaser, as you had mentioned on another thread. i have been lucky enough to miss out on the keto flu since i started in August (all descriptions I have heard of it sound like how I feel off keto). my guess is that i am doing ok with it because my salted-to-taste levels are generally considered too salty for many people i meet. i have noticed that i have less energy when i miss my salt & water chaser; but, thankfully, nothing in the racing heart, cramps, and light-headed response

    thank you @tcunbeliever & @chelletackett

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