Keto Flu & Craving Carbs Like Crazy

CountryMom03

Hey Guys:)...and Gals:) Well this makes my 3rd or 4th day into Keto where I have kept my carbs at 20 or under. About 2 weeks of keeping them between 70 and 100 before that. I am almost positive that my body is in detox from the carbs, especially after today. Yesterday I felt sluggish and just kinda blah all day long but it wasnt that bad. Then today I made breakfast and after only eating half of it I started feeling SO full to the point of being sick. I forced myself to finish it though cause I knew I always have a hard enough time making it to 1200 a day anyway. Lunch time came and just the mere thought of food made me wanna puke lol. I felt so tired and sluggish while at the same time a little sick to my stomach. After doing some reading on the symptoms of Keto Flu I realized this is probably what I am experiencing. I know it varies on how long it lasts from person to person, I just REALLY hope that I am one who it only lasts a day or two:) I dont like feeling this way and all day today I was SO tempted to just go into the kitchen and fix me a big bowl of oatmeal thats loaded with carbs:) But I didnt!

My second complaint is that I am REALLY REALLY missing my tortilla wraps and buns!!! We make alot of our dinners with wraps, they were one of my favorites. Its almost near impossible though to work one meal in to be able to have at least one wrap without going over some on carbs. I have checked every style of wrap in all our stores and the lowest one which claims to be carb friendly is still like 30g per wrap:( Just one wrap takes the whole days allowance up just in that which doesnt leave any for veggies or anything like that:( We had steak fajitas tonight for supper and it KILLED me to make everyones and then have mine plain without a wrap:( Im just feeling very very discouraged and weak when it comes to wondering if I can keep this up and I am sure that me having the detox keto flu isnt helping any and probably is compounding it.

I also wonder if I could go up some on my carbs, like up to 40 or 50 maybe and still stay in ketosis? I dont have the money right now to buy any sticks so I feel its kinda impossible for me to know what my bodys limit is and when it switches and I dont want to loose it, at least not for right now because since starting going lower carb I have seen amazing results! So that makes me scared to try and up it.

*Sigh* Im sorry, I guess Im just really down in the dumps right now and I guess I was hoping for some advice maybe and maybe some hopeful words of encouragment from those who have been through it:) Thanks for listening to me whine;)

~Carrie~

tcmc11

I can relate to how you're feeling and am going through it too. I'm on day 6 of keto, and did low-carb for a week before that. I have to say that the ketostix were worth getting simply because I am seeing that I can go up to 34 carbs/day (so far) without leaving ketosis, and that has been really helpful when I have felt like maybe I overate at a meal or "triggered" something psychologically w/ fake sugar or too much diet coke. At Walgreens I saw they have a generic Ketostix for $11.99 and you get 50 of 'em (if you decide to get 'em).

I've been low-energy and thirsty as well. I haven't been chugging water but tonight I will be, just to see if it helps. The keto flu is easing up, no headache, so I'm guessing this will end soon. About the only thing I can say is that I have noticed that if I can plan and prepare a nice meal instead of just grabbing whatever will do, I've done better. Time to read more recipes and do some baking / kitchen time. Let me know how you do. Hang in there.

CountryMom03

Thank you!:) One question though...you mentioned diet coke? Is that bad for Ketosis? Because I drink ruffly 12 glasses of water a day, but just to break it up some and have something diff that I enjoy, I do drink 1 to 2, 12oz cherry coke zeros a day.

tcmc11

I've read that sometimes some people do have a reaction to diet coke, or some keto-friendly desserts. It comes from the artificial sweeteners "tricking" your brain into thinking it's going to get real sugar, therefore it starts releasing certain chemicals/hormones to get ready to break down the incoming sugar. But it's only a theory that some people get psychologically triggered, it is not something that happens consistently w/ people across the board.... more on a sporadic basis as far as I can interpret. I have several diet cokes a day too and so far I haven't noticed any problem. My thought is that we're probably fine w/ the fake treats and diet sodas.

caraiselite

for 2 weeks you should really JUST eat clean.
no artificial sugar. no low carb bready things like josephs products.
definitely NO sugar alcohols.
you want to get your body used to ketosis before you start adding in weird stuff!

eating clean even for a week, then maybe adding in one diet soda a day would even help (because i know its hard, i looooove my crystal light and diet soda, ahah)

personally i don't even get carb flu anymore, my body is so used to it!

caraiselite

also for a wrap, use a lettuce or cabbage leaf.

i just dump my fajita/sammich/burger whatever ingredients on a salad.

SnugNuts

After a few weeks of keto, start experimenting with the low carb(30g) tortillas, eat one, test your keto, I know i can go about 50-60g of carbs a day, and still be in keto, just don't do it everyday. I had pizza a few weeks ago, my first real cheat meal. I was craving it since I started, ate the bread of the first slice, killed my cravings and then just at the toppings on two more slices. Haven't craved it since. I'm pretty sure in a few months it will happen again. I will do the same thing. This doesn't work for everyone, you have to do some experimenting. Same with last night, it was my bday, I had every intention to go all out, had two enchiladas, and a mango margarita, for my birthday, had a good time, out of keto, but now I know I can't do that if I want to stay in keto, but those cravings are gone, and now I need to get back in it.

CountryMom03

Thanks everyone for all your advice!:) Really appreciate it:)

bacitracin

You're subtracting fiber from the carb count, right? Because I have low-carb wraps that are like 6g NET carbs each. The lettuce is a fantastic suggestion, as well.

As far as the diet coke goes, I don't have a reaction to artificial sweeteners, but my girlfriend does. It's weird.

maremare312

You're subtracting fiber from the carb count, right? Because I have low-carb wraps that are like 6g NET carbs each. The lettuce is a fantastic suggestion, as well.

As far as the diet coke goes, I don't have a reaction to artificial sweeteners, but my girlfriend does. It's weird.

Yeah, I was going to say the MIssion Carb Balance are super yummy and the ones I get (soft taco size, I think?) are 8g net carb. I usually still skip it, but last night made steak pizza on it and it rocked.