Cutting carbs and I feel so dizzy...

S_U_M_M_E_R

The reason you are dizzy is because some of the candida in your body is dying off. It feeds off of carbs and sugar. When you reduce carbs, candida dies and releases toxins into your system. During "die off" 79 toxins are released including ethanol and acetaldehyde. This is what people mean when they say they got, "carb flu". It will pass in a few days. That is why it is a good idea to cut carbs slowly, decreasing a little each day. Soon you'll feel amazing.

To get "carb flu" as you call it, you have to be eating very "low carb". She isn't.

There is a difference between good carbs and bad carbs. Not all carbs are equal. That said, she has cut out and significantly reduced the processed sugar and processed carbs. She is getting her carbs from natural sources which react quite differently in the body. This can be a shock to her body, because those foods which she cut out were poison to her. She is going to suffer a bit, but it is for a good cause. I viewed her food diary and she is eating natural foods that contain natural carbs. She WILL get "carb flu" from this because her body is detoxing from the bad carbs. Additionally if she went from 250 carbs a day to 161 a day that IS low carb for what HER body is accustomed to. And if the 250 carbs were bad carbs and she has basically went to zero bad carbs, but kept her good carbs, she is low carb on the bad carbs. Any reduction is going to cause a reaction in the body. She is detoxing from the bad carbs. Her body was used to them and it isn't getting them any longer.

Also, think of like an alcoholic or drug addict. They get sick when they stop feeding their body poison. Same thing is happening here. She is NOT SICK, she is detoxing. And this will get better with each passing day. Hang in there girlie!

S_U_M_M_E_R

The reason you are dizzy is because some of the candida in your body is dying off. It feeds off of carbs and sugar. When you reduce carbs, candida dies and releases toxins into your system. During "die off" 79 toxins are released including ethanol and acetaldehyde. This is what people mean when they say they got, "carb flu". It will pass in a few days. That is why it is a good idea to cut carbs slowly, decreasing a little each day. Soon you'll feel amazing.

To get "carb flu" as you call it, you have to be eating very "low carb". She isn't.

P.S. I don't call it "carb flu" as you stated. I called it, "die off". I said in my post that the OTHERS here are calling it "carb flu". Please go back and re-read what I wrote. The term "carb flu" is the slang term for something which many do understand the process of, but are explaining the "feelings it causes".

jmkmomm

When I first started this and had to cut my carbs I had severe headaches until my body got used to having lesser carbs such as ice cream, chocolate, a full box of wheat thins at a time or a full box of Cheerios at a time, the list goes on. But the headache was really bad. Now there is none. Also I have had to realize that by losing 1 pound a week I am not going to be smokin hot until summer of 2014. I was looking forward to being a lot less this summer but it ain't going to happen. Rome wasn't built in a day and my weight won't go off that way either.

RMNPHike

OK, so if your cholesterol is elevated, you should be working with a doctor on the right way to get it down. The wrong thing to do, in my opinion, is load up on fats (especially saturated fats) and/or sugars. I have had elevated cholesterol - it happened when I went on Atkins: VERY low carb, very high protein and fat. Don't get your fat from animal sources. Don't eat much sugar at all - even too much fruit can throw your cholesterol and triglycerides off because of too much sugar. What has worked for me is loads of vegetables, oats, garlic, grapefruit, and nutritious nuts and seeds, like almond and flax. I have been told to cut down on the peanut butter because of saturated fat. Eat enough calories and keep things in balance, don't try to cut out one whole food group or another. Also, moderate cardio every day, like hiking or jogging, works wonders on elevated cholesterol, with the added benefit of slow, steady weight loss. That has been my experience.

emergencytennis

I looked at your last three days. You are aiming for 1200 cals a day and are eating much less than that. I reckon you are feeling woozy because you are not eating.

Eating at such an extreme deficit will lose you weight. It will also suck the health out of you, as well as causing you to faint on the bus ride home.

The MFP goals are realistic and they work. Stick to the little green numbers.

Elleinnz

I suspect most of the people giving "low carb" and "carb flu" advice has not actually looked at your diary..... your issue is not carbs - I am not doing "low carb" and you are eating more carbs than I am ....... BUT you are netting under a 1000 calories most days - so if you are logging correctly you are not eating enough - you need to fuel your body....

MyChocolateDiet

Make sure you are eating enough fat; that is by far the main issue with feeling like crap when you are eating low carb. It's not low FAT and low carb...that would be a mess!

^ this. i did a low carb diet years ago and it worked. HOWEVER, it was not NO carb. Also it was really hard for the first 3 days everytime, and i would start and stop over an over until i got up and running. kind of like turning on an old crank up jalopy or lawnmower. several starts before complete turnover and humming along. that being said. after 3 full days of no carbs and no sugars in any form not even potatoes etc. i'd be fine and then could incorporate healthy carbs basically whole wheat and brown rice, etc. I'm not doing that diet this time, but I remember that experience quite well. Good luck and make sure you have a thorough understanding of whatever plan you are on and that it has explanations for whatever you are feeling as well as fixes. (Mine was cheese one ounce when dying for carbs.) Otherwise if they aren't even able to predict what you may feel and prepare you for it with solutions, you have to wonder if it's a sound plan, right?

simplynaturalfarm

I don't think your dizziness has anything to do with carbs - more with just lower intake and you are not eating enough, especially if you do cardio and other things a lot.
Do some research into healthy fats - and that includes animal fat! To drop your cholesterol (or those that have bp problems) drop the carbs and increase your intake of good saturated fats - there is a lot of good information out there, and traditional pyramid diets have had enough years to prove that they suck in decreasing the supposed effects of high cholesterol OR blood pressure (as do modern meds). Sure you have "good" cholesterol numbers or proper bp numbers, but they are still dying of heart attacks, strokes and other things they believed were due to bad numbers alone.
My husband's blood pressure goes up when he eats carbs and gains even 10lbs. His Dad's does, his Mom's does. His grandpa and grandma died of side effects they say are related to high cholesterol and they kept theirs under control with medication all the time, but continued to eat the traditional diet.
My husband tried to do what his university nutritionist suggested and nothing was helping and he was put on meds at 17. After 2 years of eating the way he was supposed to (including gaining an insane amount of weight!) he went on his own low carb, high fat and high protein diet and lost all the weight in 4 months (without trying) and was able to go off his meds with doctor approval.
Now if he doesn't exercise, and gains some weight his bp will go up and down. If he eats lots of carbs it makes it worse.
Then you have me - in shape and fit living off fruit for breakfast, a wholewheat bread with skinless chicken breast, no cheese, no mayo, no nothing/dry sandwich for lunch and a bowl of rice and broccoli for supper who then marries a man living on butter, eggs and steak and tries to kindly incorporate some of his suggestions into my diet (you need to eat more fat woman!) and gains weight because I was eating MEGA amounts of carbs and for many of us it is hard to do both. I learned I can count calories and fat and be hungry and a good weight, or I can watch carbs, eat tons of veggies, tons of healthy meat, fat, dairy, and good salad dressings and lose weight but I can't do high fat and high carb. To me, over 80 carbs is on the high side and when I want to lose weight I go down to 30.
But then you have my SIL who eats like a horse, very slender (she doesn't know what exercise is) and HAS to have lots of good complex carbs or she can't stay alive and loses insane amounts of weight, so I am aware there are lots of different body types out there.
I dislike MFP intensely for it's restriction on fat. They balance things to encourage bad eating habits *G*
It is impossible to eat low carb and fill yourself up on good veg, protein (not lean) and fat and not go over ridiculous amounts in fat which are VITAL. So I ignore the fat anyway as I also consume lots of coconut oil besides my lard and tallow (from my own pastured critters).

wagonblaster

My suggestion would be, and I am not an expert, to watch your sugars instead of fiber. You're carbs, although low, are fine. However, with the fruits and snacks you are eating, I think you may be getting too much sugar, which would make you feel shaky.

emergencytennis

I suspect most of the people giving "low carb" and "carb flu" advice has not actually looked at your diary..... your issue is not carbs - I am not doing "low carb" and you are eating more carbs than I am ....... BUT you are netting under a 1000 calories most days - so if you are logging correctly you are not eating enough - you need to fuel your body....

Agree

S_U_M_M_E_R

You can feel dizzy and sick when you aren't expelling your waste adequately too. I used to feel dizzy and flu like for years until someone talked with me about detoxing. I have sense done two cleanses and the last time I felt dizzy and sick was when I went to my parent's for a week for Christmas and ate a ton of junk. You are doing a semi-cleanse now with reducing carbs. A different type of cleanse and more thorough cleanse may be in order. Just a thought.

cgarand

I suspect most of the people giving "low carb" and "carb flu" advice has not actually looked at your diary..... your issue is not carbs - I am not doing "low carb" and you are eating more carbs than I am ....... BUT you are netting under a 1000 calories most days - so if you are logging correctly you are not eating enough - you need to fuel your body....

I'm eating between 1200-1600 calories a day. I'm not sure what you mean by netting under 1000. I guess I should have been clearer in that I am trying to limit processed carbs. I'm getting my carbs from fruits and veggies but really limiting bread, pasta, granola bars etc.

SanteMulberry

I don't see why you're attempting low carb though if your diet is relatively clean already.

I am trying to lose weight and someone suggested trying to reduce my carbs. But, I love my fruit. I also do regular cardio and am a newbie at weight training (doing Jaime Eason's 12 week LiveFit program)

You're not supposed to eat a lot of fruit on a low-carb diet.

You can eat too much fruit. High fructose consumption is associated with pancreatic cancer--among other ailments. The biggest source of fructose is, of course, our sugar habit. Sugar (that is sucrose) is 50% fructose. Our bodies don't handle fructose in large quantities very well and more recent research indicates that fructose has "anti-satiety" effects. The fructose in fruit is more benign than that of sugar (because most fruit is relatively low in fructose and it is encased in fiber) but it can still be a problem in eating large quantities of fruit. Vegetables have the same kinds of nutrients but you don't take the fructose hit in most of them. The only exceptions would likely be carrots and tomatoes, which is technically, a fruit, but even carrots and tomatoes are low when compared with raisins. We likely weren't meant to eat large quantities of fruit the year round since we don't have the ability to make uricase (the enzyme that lowers uric acid levels that are elevated from dietary fructose). We have the gene for making uricase but it is non-functional. Virtually all other animals have the ability to make uricase. Recently, researchers noted that consuming high fructose corn syrup is associated with pancreatic cancer. But even "fruitarians" may be at risk. Steve Jobs was a "fruitarian" for many years (he even named his company Apple Inc. after his favorite fruit). Eating more than a couple of servings of fruit per day is probably not a great idea. Researchers studying the link between high fructose consumption and disease, recommend that we limit our consumption to 25 grams or less per day. Until we know more about it, that is probably a safe thing to do.

SanteMulberry

Make sure you are eating enough fat; that is by far the main issue with feeling like crap when you are eating low carb. It's not low FAT and low carb...that would be a mess!

THIS

I eat very low carb and very high fat and I'm feeling awesome. But some people get a "carb flu" when they first lower carbs. Nevermind all the people saying "don't do it"; it's the only way of eating that makes me healthy. Maybe not for everyone, but certainly for many people.

Edit: best health in years and losing lots of fat and I eat 70-80% of calories from fat.

I have elevated cholesterol, so I'm trying not to eat a lot of fat. I do have raw almonds and occasional peanut butter. I don't know, I'm just going to try to stay conscious about what I put in my mouth but I can't go lower carb than I have. I need my fruit.

Your cholesterol may be elevated because of all the sugar in your diet. Certainly blood triglycerides are raised by sugar consumption and cholesterol and triglycerides are linked. Besides, eating cholesterol DOES NOT raise cholesterol levels---that has been known for a long time. It is bizarre that the medical establishment is still preaching this. The liver makes far more cholesterol than can possibly be eaten by most people. Here is an excerpt from this website called "The Cholesterol Myths" by an M.D. Ph.D by the name of Ravnskov, a specialist in nephrology: http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm#a A number of nephrologists are coming to the conclusion that sugar consumption is causing a number of diseases, among them, high blood pressure, heart disease, Type II diabetes, gouty arthritis progressing to kidney disease and failure.

"In the early 1950's the Framingham study included dietary analyses. Almost one thousand individuals were questioned in detail about their eating habits. No connection was found between the composition of the food and the cholesterol level of the blood. Wrote Drs. William Kannel and Tavia Gordon, authors of the report: 'These findings suggest a cautionary note with respect to hypotheses relating diet to serum cholesterol levels. There is a considerable range of serum cholesterol levels within the Framingham Study Group. Something explains this inter-individual variation, BUT IT IS NOT DIET.' For unknown reasons, their results were never published. The manuscript is still lying in a basement in Washington."

Sabine_Stroehm

I suspect most of the people giving "low carb" and "carb flu" advice has not actually looked at your diary..... your issue is not carbs - I am not doing "low carb" and you are eating more carbs than I am ....... BUT you are netting under a 1000 calories most days - so if you are logging correctly you are not eating enough - you need to fuel your body....

I'm eating between 1200-1600 calories a day. I'm not sure what you mean by netting under 1000. I guess I should have been clearer in that I am trying to limit processed carbs. I'm getting my carbs from fruits and veggies but really limiting bread, pasta, granola bars etc.

"Netting under 1000" means that although you consume more than that, you then exercise, which leaves you with a "net" that's pretty low.
Not eating processed carbs as you call them shouldn't make you dizzy. You're not low carb. I think it's calories you need.

emergencytennis

edited because I am stupid

missmegan831

You need to eat more and you probably need some more sodium, low carb diets tend to be lower in sodium since you dont eat a bunch of processed/package foods, when I first started Keto Lifestyle I had to drink some broth to up my sodium intake.. but as the others have mentioned you need more food

karenhray7

WARNING: This could get a little long and sciency.

After looking at your diary, your carbs are fairly under control. You're getting almost all of them from complex sources like veggies.

(Have you calculated your BMR? There are tons of sites online to help you get a better idea of your specific caloric needs. I know that MFP tries to do that when you set your profile, but I found that this site http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ did get closer to my actual BMR (I had a body comp done with a bariatric specialist for the exact numbers). MFP was off (low) by about 300 cal/day. And don't forget to complete the Harris-Benedict equation that takes activity into consideration.)

HOWEVER, you seem pretty low on protein at most of your meals and breakfast seems pretty carb heavy. Try for 0.5 - 1.0g of protein per pound ideal weight. The dizziness is from blood sugar fluctuations, which you probably already know. So a couple of things about blood sugar... An average adult has approx. 5qts of blood in his/her body. Normal blood sugar is 60-100mg/dl which is roughly 1/2-1 teaspoon of sugar per quart of blood. Still with me? If your bg (blood glucose/sugar) goes above that magic 1tsp/quart, insulin is released to remove the excess sugars. In order to figure out your sugar intake, subtract fiber from carbs and divide by five. Never go above 5tsp of sugar (total carbs-fiber/5) at any one meal and try to keep your total daily tsp. under 15. If you are a carb craver (like me) try and have a protein packed breakfast (30g) and avoid all carbs at that meal (or at least keep it to less than 1 tsp sugar). And remember, if it's not fiber it's sugar. Simplistic, I know, but it works. If you can keep your sugars low, your proteins high, and eat as close to your daily calories as possible, the weight does just start to fall off; 3lbs/week for me is average when I stick to the plan.

Good luck!

Sabine_Stroehm

You need to eat more and you probably need some more sodium, low carb diets tend to be lower in sodium since you dont eat a bunch of processed/package foods, when I first started Keto Lifestyle I had to drink some broth to up my sodium intake.. but as the others have mentioned you need more food

She's not in keto. She's not low carb at all. Have a glance at her diary.

Elleinnz

I suspect most of the people giving "low carb" and "carb flu" advice has not actually looked at your diary..... your issue is not carbs - I am not doing "low carb" and you are eating more carbs than I am ....... BUT you are netting under a 1000 calories most days - so if you are logging correctly you are not eating enough - you need to fuel your body....

I'm eating between 1200-1600 calories a day. I'm not sure what you mean by netting under 1000. I guess I should have been clearer in that I am trying to limit processed carbs. I'm getting my carbs from fruits and veggies but really limiting bread, pasta, granola bars etc.

Friday you ate 1240 - you burned 509 - your net = 731 calories
Thu you ate 1392 - you burned 357 - your net = 1035

You are supposed to be eating back a decent portion of your exercise calories, and unless you are tiny try and net at least 1200 (if not more)