Paleo question

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amy1612
amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I started eating a paleo based diet at the weekend, and have found that Ive been REALLY thirsty the past couple of days. I am drinking a lot of water, and Im not ingesting ridiculous amounts of sodium (Im eating nuts, meat veg, fruit) etc, which arent processed. Ive also had a niggly headache come and go.

Has anyone else had the same issue? Do you know why/what causes it and will it stop eventually?

Cheers in advance :)

Replies

  • itgeekwoman
    itgeekwoman Posts: 804 Member
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    You are feeling totally on track. Give yourself a couple of days and things will start to even out for you. No more headaches and you'll feel more energy than you have had in years.

    If you want something to replace coffee or tea, just cut a slice of fresh ginger and the juice of half of a lemon and add boiling water to it for a tea of sorts in the morning. I have this every day and it kick starts my metabolism! Great way to start the day!

    Good luck. You are going to feel great!

    note: If you do have cheats, be careful what you choose as your tummy might not respond as well as it used to when you eat processed foods.
  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
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    If you've drastically lowered your carb intake with paleo, those symptoms make a lot of sense. They call it "carb flu." It never happened to me, but I'm not doing low-carb with my paleo -- I like fruit. If it hasn't gone away in a few days, there may be something else going on.
  • Anonymou5
    Anonymou5 Posts: 92
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    I disagree with itgeekwoman I went strict paleo for over one month, never been so lethargic in my life! Too much exercise and not enough carbs or something.

    I did get extremely light headed when standing up almost to the point of blackout, could of been low sodium.

    Give it a blast though might work for ya!
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    :) Thanks. Ive still been drinking tea, just having it with almond milk, but I love lemon and ginger! May give that a go.

    I am planning on Saturdays being more of a 'free day', but as Ive got IBS I know what to expect. I wasnt eating a lot of grain before as it caused upset, so for now Paleo seems like a logical step.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    If you've drastically lowered your carb intake with paleo, those symptoms make a lot of sense. They call it "carb flu." It never happened to me, but I'm not doing low-carb with my paleo -- I like fruit. If it hasn't gone away in a few days, there may be something else going on.

    Im not eating low carb :), lots of fruit and veg, sweet potatos
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    I disagree with itgeekwoman I went strict paleo for over one month, never been so lethargic in my life! Too much exercise and not enough carbs or something.

    I did get extremely light headed when standing up almost to the point of blackout, could of been low sodium.

    Give it a blast though might work for ya!

    Thanks, I had the same issue before when I decided to do Tim Ferris '4 hour' eating, but I realise it was probably due to not eating very much and not very good quality food (not a lot of fresh fruit and veg).

    I dont do a lot of cardio at the moment and am focusing on strength gains, but Im making sure I eat plenty of veg for carbs :)
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    Just make sure you also have a balance of electrolytes such as magnesium and potassium. I also am told that its part of the rewiring process which affects the part of the brain that controls thirst when in ketosis. There are several causes, which have already been brought up already. I follow the Primal diet moreso than I do Paleo (gotta have my greek yogurt, cottage cheese, bread, and hazelnut butter).

    Speaking of bread, Julian Bakery is coming out with The Paleo bread the 29 of this month. Check it out:
    http://www.facebook.com/ThePaleoBread
  • Anonymou5
    Anonymou5 Posts: 92
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    Veg didnt work for me as I was eating over 2.5kg of veg a day to no avail!! I'm talking dinner where one plate was sky high of veg and the other had the meat on cos it wouldnt all fit!!
  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
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    How's your fat intake?
  • Anonymou5
    Anonymou5 Posts: 92
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    I was having about 8 eggs per day. Steaks, 10 olives, virgin olive oil, tuna.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    I think fat is fine, eating lots of nuts and had avocado with lunch :)
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    Amy, with everything you stated, I think its just your brain going thru the process of being rewired and it should get better as time goes on. But, that's just my guess unless there is something else.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    Thanks. Looking at the difference between paleo and primal I suppose Im doing a mixture of both, but no dairy at the moment.

    Thanks for help everyone. I think the most important thing for me is Im trying to eat as clean as possible most of the time :). Hopefully I'll start feeling better very soon. I dont have low energy, so its not too much of an issue
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    I had the same thirst issue as you but got in the habit of drinking a 1 1/2 cups every hour if not more. You're always going to be drinking lots of water even when everything gets balanced, though. My carbs typically go to 100g; protein is about 240g or so with fat around 80g (2050 daily calories being the goal). Still trying to lose the final 2% BF then I'll start bulking up to gain a lot of the muscle mass I've lost over the years (approximately 50 lbs).

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