Any Advice on Keto Flu from those who have had it?
TheOldBallCoach43420
Posts: 119 Member
Today is my third full day on the Atkins 20, and prior to this evening the only side effect I have had was lacking sleep and an occasional headache. Tonight I am feeling nauseous as ever, and I dread it is the above mentioned keto flu. I will preface this by saying I am close to 400 pounds and have stayed under 12 g of carbohydrates all three days to this point. I am drinking water like it is going out of style, in fact no less than 10 cups per day. Any advice here as this is the one symptom I did not want to have, the nausea and/or vomiting.
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Replies
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Perhaps it is a 24-hour bug that you may have come down with. I know it's not any help, but just a thought. Hope you start feeling better.2
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Are you getting 5,000-ish mg of sodium and have you upped your magnesium at all? Have you tried sports drinks to get your electrolytes up?
I didn't think vomiting was usually a part of keto flu. If you've tried all the usual things and still have symptoms, you may have an actual illness that just happens to coincide with the diet changes.6 -
Mix 1/4 tsp salt/pink salt and 1/4 tsp cream of tartar into 12 oz of water. Sip it slowly over an hour. Cream of tartar has potassium, salt has sodium. This might balance your electrolytes. See if that helps the nausea. You can add a bit more salt if you need it. Check with a doctor before having more than 1 dose of 1/4 tsp cream of tartar per day as too much potassium can also be an issue!
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Just in case it is not the KF. Are you feeling shaky at all? Do you have any idea how many calories you have consumed? Any cramping? Loose stool?1
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Sunday:
2,615 calories ... 7,070mg sodium
Monday:
2,748 calories... 7,042mg sodium
Today:
1,485 calories... 3,632mg sodium
The only reason this number is lower is because I did not feel well this evening so I did not eat her dinner tonight.
I do feel we need a few more carbs as I have only had 12 Sunday, 16 Monday, and 10 today.
Somebody asked above if I drink a sports drink, we can’t! That wound be through the roof!!! A Gatorade has 34g carbs, we are doing 20 per day!
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Also, I have had some looser than normal stools. Nothing “solid” (for lack of better word) in the 3 days.
I should also clarify, I am NOT vomiting, just felt nauseous earlier. A tad better after a bit cup of hot water with bouillon cube.0 -
It is probably just the KF then. I am fairly certain when the sport drink was mentioned they meant to drink the diet version with the artificial sweetener.
A few more carbs probably won't help the symptoms you are experiencing. You need electrolytes.
This is one of the reasons I suggest that people taper off their carbs instead of going cold turkey but what is done is done now. Feel better.4 -
I've done keto for 10 weeks now. It's a known side effect.it passes after a couple of days. Your body is adjusting.get through it and you will be fine, there's no "cure" some get it some don't.. I didn't.plenty of electrolytes and you will be ok.1
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Us Keto'ers drink keto-ade which is water, 1 tsp of lite salt and mio....you can drink pickle juice....bone broth...FYI when having keto flu you aren't nausea.....wishing you the very best...hope you feel better soon1
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That sounds awful. Are you sure low carb is a suitable approach for you to create a calorie deficit?
If you don't feel better in a day or two it might be time to look for a new tactic.4 -
Megan_smartiepants1970 wrote: »Us Keto'ers drink keto-ade which is water, 1 tsp of lite salt and mio....you can drink pickle juice....bone broth...FYI when having keto flu you aren't nausea.....wishing you the very best...hope you feel better soon
Nausea actually can be a part of the keto flu
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto/flu-side-effects#ketoflu2 -
I had keto flu that last about a week. Could literally feel very sharp chest pain as though my heart is not getting enough energy to pump blood round my body. The sensation was very worrying but I preservere. I had Gaviscon to help me off excessive stomach acid. And I drown myself with no less than 8 Litres of water a day. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day and literally on liquid diet only. I lost 4 kilo in the first week. Continued to lose about 2 kilo every week thereafter. I am less strict with myself these days as I needed some fibres in my diet. Happy dieting8
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I had keto flu that last about a week. Could literally feel very sharp chest pain as though my heart is not getting enough energy to pump blood round my body. The sensation was very worrying but I preservere. I had Gaviscon to help me off excessive stomach acid. And I drown myself with no less than 8 Litres of water a day. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day and literally on liquid diet only. I lost 4 kilo in the first week. Continued to lose about 2 kilo every week thereafter. I am less strict with myself these days as I needed some fibres in my diet. Happy dieting
Why would you do this to yourself? Keto flu is down to not getting enough electrolytes, flushing the body with excessive amounts of water is going to amplify the problem not prevent it.
2kg per week is also an excessive amount of weight to lose every week, that's almost 5lbs per week, which unless you have a start weight of 500lb is very unhealthy.14 -
stick it out. it won't take long to become adapted. depending on your stores...its around 5 days for most people. just don't introduce carbs or you will continue to go in and out of it. vomiting is not one of the symptoms. keto by nature flushes tons of salt out of you system and you should be adding salt to everything. if you are feeling shaky or really terrible, have a few sips of pickle juice, eat some olives or drink some bone broth. it doesn't last and once you are out of it, you will feel amazing.1
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I had keto flu that last about a week. Could literally feel very sharp chest pain as though my heart is not getting enough energy to pump blood round my body. The sensation was very worrying but I preservere. I had Gaviscon to help me off excessive stomach acid. And I drown myself with no less than 8 Litres of water a day. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day and literally on liquid diet only. I lost 4 kilo in the first week. Continued to lose about 2 kilo every week thereafter. I am less strict with myself these days as I needed some fibres in my diet. Happy dieting
Why would you do this to yourself? Keto flu is down to not getting enough electrolytes, flushing the body with excessive amounts of water is going to amplify the problem not prevent it.
2kg per week is also an excessive amount of weight to lose every week, that's almost 5lbs per week, which unless you have a start weight of 500lb is very unhealthy.
no, its a result of your body adapting to using fat as its energy source. once you are fat adapted, you are fine. 5 days to 2 weeks tops depending upon your glycogen stores...as long as you stay under your carb grams. he will be fine. don't discourage him.8 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I had keto flu that last about a week. Could literally feel very sharp chest pain as though my heart is not getting enough energy to pump blood round my body. The sensation was very worrying but I preservere. I had Gaviscon to help me off excessive stomach acid. And I drown myself with no less than 8 Litres of water a day. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day and literally on liquid diet only. I lost 4 kilo in the first week. Continued to lose about 2 kilo every week thereafter. I am less strict with myself these days as I needed some fibres in my diet. Happy dieting
Why would you do this to yourself? Keto flu is down to not getting enough electrolytes, flushing the body with excessive amounts of water is going to amplify the problem not prevent it.
2kg per week is also an excessive amount of weight to lose every week, that's almost 5lbs per week, which unless you have a start weight of 500lb is very unhealthy.
Agree. 8 liters of water a day is insane. Heard of hyponatremia? It isn't pretty and can kill you.9 -
I'm just really curious as to why anyone would purposely put themselves on a diet that is going to make themselves feel this sick.
You're suppose to feel better as you lose weight, not feel so crappy.
Just my opinion of course.10 -
I'm just really curious as to why anyone would purposely put themselves on a diet that is going to make themselves feel this sick.
You're suppose to feel better as you lose weight, not feel so crappy.
Just my opinion of course.
Well to be fair it's a short term, preventable issue. And really, anyone starting a weight loss phase may run into issues initially, no matter what plan they're following. Lack of planning/knowledge is a big hurdle many new dieters face.4 -
I'm just really curious as to why anyone would purposely put themselves on a diet that is going to make themselves feel this sick.
You're suppose to feel better as you lose weight, not feel so crappy.
Just my opinion of course.
Not everyone gets side effects and plenty of people feel a little different when they begin a deficit
I did it knowing I might run into short term side effects as I couldn't take the hypoglycemic attacks any more (not self diagnosed, even a moderate carb meal was leaving me with blood sugars in the 1's an hour later while in hospital)
Oddly for me staying keto levels my blood sugars out
I don't agree with the poster saying drink 8 litres and drop 2kg a week is fine. It's really not
I drink about 3 litres a day, maybe a tad more if it's hot out and I aim for 0.5- 1kg a week as I'm over 200lb currently
There are no prizes for getting to the weight loss finish line first but sickly3 -
OP are you looking at 20 carb total or net carb?
Most go with net carb (carbs minus fibre) at the 20g so yes your likely a little low on the carbs
If in doubt though check with your doctor1 -
peggy_polenta wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I had keto flu that last about a week. Could literally feel very sharp chest pain as though my heart is not getting enough energy to pump blood round my body. The sensation was very worrying but I preservere. I had Gaviscon to help me off excessive stomach acid. And I drown myself with no less than 8 Litres of water a day. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day and literally on liquid diet only. I lost 4 kilo in the first week. Continued to lose about 2 kilo every week thereafter. I am less strict with myself these days as I needed some fibres in my diet. Happy dieting
Why would you do this to yourself? Keto flu is down to not getting enough electrolytes, flushing the body with excessive amounts of water is going to amplify the problem not prevent it.
2kg per week is also an excessive amount of weight to lose every week, that's almost 5lbs per week, which unless you have a start weight of 500lb is very unhealthy.
no, its a result of your body adapting to using fat as its energy source. once you are fat adapted, you are fine. 5 days to 2 weeks tops depending upon your glycogen stores...as long as you stay under your carb grams. he will be fine. don't discourage him.
In you previous post you said exactly the same are you contradicting yourself now? To quote you:peggy_polenta wrote: »keto by nature flushes tons of salt out of you system and you should be adding salt to everything.
Salt is electrolytes. The Keto Flu is the body's response to being low on electrolytes.
Drinking 8 litres of water could be dangerous for anyone, no point in salting your food (however that poster said he was on a liquid diet - so what is he salting) if you're flushing it all out with unnecessary water. Also losing 5lb per week long term is not healthy - it will likely result in the loss of muscle and malnutrition.
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peggy_polenta wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I had keto flu that last about a week. Could literally feel very sharp chest pain as though my heart is not getting enough energy to pump blood round my body. The sensation was very worrying but I preservere. I had Gaviscon to help me off excessive stomach acid. And I drown myself with no less than 8 Litres of water a day. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day and literally on liquid diet only. I lost 4 kilo in the first week. Continued to lose about 2 kilo every week thereafter. I am less strict with myself these days as I needed some fibres in my diet. Happy dieting
Why would you do this to yourself? Keto flu is down to not getting enough electrolytes, flushing the body with excessive amounts of water is going to amplify the problem not prevent it.
2kg per week is also an excessive amount of weight to lose every week, that's almost 5lbs per week, which unless you have a start weight of 500lb is very unhealthy.
no, its a result of your body adapting to using fat as its energy source. once you are fat adapted, you are fine. 5 days to 2 weeks tops depending upon your glycogen stores...as long as you stay under your carb grams. he will be fine. don't discourage him.
No it isn't. It is a result of an electrolyte imbalance caused by all of the water that the body drops at the start of the diet. When you flush a lot of water out of your system, the body naturally tosses a lot of salt as well. When salt levels dip, other electrolytes dip as well (think magnesium, potassium, calcium) since salt is what the body uses to help keep all of the electrolytes in balance. People who are doing keto need to consume AT LEAST 3000 mg of salt a day and some experts recommend levels as high as 5000 mg a day to replace what the body is losing.
Just as an added fyi - your body uses fat as an energy source every day even when you are not eating a keto diet.7 -
OP, you need electrolytes. Drink pickle juice or PowerAde Zero/Gatorade Zero.5
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TheOldBallCoach43420 wrote: »Sunday:
2,615 calories ... 7,070mg sodium
Monday:
2,748 calories... 7,042mg sodium
Today:
1,485 calories... 3,632mg sodium
The only reason this number is lower is because I did not feel well this evening so I did not eat her dinner tonight.
I do feel we need a few more carbs as I have only had 12 Sunday, 16 Monday, and 10 today.
Somebody asked above if I drink a sports drink, we can’t! That wound be through the roof!!! A Gatorade has 34g carbs, we are doing 20 per day!
Gatorade Zero has like 2 carbs per bottle. Also Powerade Zero is a thing and I'm pretty sure it's less than 1 carb per bottle.3 -
I’m doing lazy keto, and at first I was having major vertigo and muscle cramps because when my doctor told me to go low-carb she failed to mention that meant I could stop the low-sodium diet she had me on before. Mea culpa, I should have researched more before diving right in.
Once I got used to the taste of salt again I became quite gleeful with the salt grinder. And cheese! You know how much salt is in cheese?? I can eat all the cheese now! I don’t even miss sweets because I have cheese!
Anyway, I take magnesium and potassium supplements because leg cramps in the middle of the night are the devil. I also carry a bottle of Mio Sport in my purse to help me top up electrolytes. Not that there’s a lot in the Mio but it’s better than plain water.3 -
peggy_polenta wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »I had keto flu that last about a week. Could literally feel very sharp chest pain as though my heart is not getting enough energy to pump blood round my body. The sensation was very worrying but I preservere. I had Gaviscon to help me off excessive stomach acid. And I drown myself with no less than 8 Litres of water a day. I ate no more than 1500 calories a day and literally on liquid diet only. I lost 4 kilo in the first week. Continued to lose about 2 kilo every week thereafter. I am less strict with myself these days as I needed some fibres in my diet. Happy dieting
Why would you do this to yourself? Keto flu is down to not getting enough electrolytes, flushing the body with excessive amounts of water is going to amplify the problem not prevent it.
2kg per week is also an excessive amount of weight to lose every week, that's almost 5lbs per week, which unless you have a start weight of 500lb is very unhealthy.
no, its a result of your body adapting to using fat as its energy source. once you are fat adapted, you are fine. 5 days to 2 weeks tops depending upon your glycogen stores...as long as you stay under your carb grams. he will be fine. don't discourage him.
It really is usually just a lack of electrolytes for most people. When you lower carbs your lower insulin, and insulin is responsible for water and electrolyte retention. That's why people lose so much water weight at first (beyond what is lost with glycogen).
Most keto'ers need 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day. 1 tsp salt= 2300 mg sodium. To combat the symptoms of keto flu (nausea, BM issues, headache, moodiness, fatigue, muscle weakness or pain) salting your food and then getting extra sodium as a cup of salty broth or just eating 1/2-1 tsp of salt throughout the day with water will usually help within hours.
Over four years into keto and I still have an extra 1/2 tsp of salt with water when I feel a headache coming on.
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Take a chicken boullion cube and dissolve it in some warm water, then bottoms up. Or you can Google Keto Aid and whip up a batch.2
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I'm just really curious as to why anyone would purposely put themselves on a diet that is going to make themselves feel this sick.
You're suppose to feel better as you lose weight, not feel so crappy.
I kind of agree with you, the more I learn about it, the less appealing it seems! (Keto Flu!?!?) But to each her/his own I suppose. I know many many people who swear by it, so who am I to judge?
OP I hope you’re feeling better soon.0
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