Any Advice on Keto Flu from those who have had it?
Replies
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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.
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.2 -
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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