Anyone on keto?

I recently started a keto diet and I heard of this thing called 'keto flu' and well, I have the most horrible headache and earache, aches in my neck and an upset stomach. Would this be keto flu and how long will it last? Thanks guys!
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Replies

  • Gramps251
    Gramps251 Posts: 738 Member
    I've never put myself into keto but those are the symptoms I've read about.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    A week or so, I think.

    But some people can't do keto, because they never come out of it.
  • Juliejustsaying
    Juliejustsaying Posts: 2,332 Member
    are you talking about ketoacidosis? cause that is fatal....

    eat whole foods, consume 20% less than TDEE and exercise..that really is all you need not fads. This sounds scarey as hell.. youre body is telling you it is bad for you...listen.
  • are you talking about ketoacidosis? cause that is fatal....

    eat whole foods, consume 20% less than TDEE and exercise..that really is all you need not fads. This sounds scarey as hell.. youre body is telling you it is bad for you...listen.

    Ketosis! Just a super low carb diet, I wouldn't do anything that could really harm me :)
  • Itzli
    Itzli Posts: 78 Member
    If its making you sick, stop doing it! Try something else..
  • Google for body recomposition they have info and blogs about it
  • Bumbeen
    Bumbeen Posts: 263 Member
    I am doing lyles rfl
  • soldierbot
    soldierbot Posts: 12 Member
    Copied this from r/keto sidebar

    "You may experience nausea, headaches, dizziness, mental fog and other flu-like symptoms. This phenomenon is often called ‘keto-flu’ or ‘carb-flu. Many times this is the result of your electrolytes being flushed out along with water weight. If you drink some traditional chicken or beef broth you can replenish your electrolytes and ease your symptoms. It is also incredibly important to drink plenty of water! Your water intake will keep you hydrated and it will help flush out excess ketones."

    Congrats on taking the steps to make a change.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Eat carbs... or maybe stop the diet...
  • belizsera
    belizsera Posts: 82 Member
    Keto flu can last a day or even a few hours. I hit deep keto today and it gave me a headache. I just drank more water.
  • lvtruu1
    lvtruu1 Posts: 211 Member
    Why would you want to suffer doing an unsustainable "diet"? Keto is a waste of time. Calories are calories when it comes to weight loss. Severely restricting carbs will probably lead to greater initial weight loss as your body stops holding water. Once you go off the low carb diet you water weight will rebound.
  • Gentyl
    Gentyl Posts: 184 Member
    I've been doing keto successfully for 4 months with amazing results. There is a keto support group on MFP. Do a search in the group section.
  • Jay_Jay_
    Jay_Jay_ Posts: 194 Member
    Why would you want to suffer doing an unsustainable "diet"? Keto is a waste of time. Calories are calories when it comes to weight loss. Severely restricting carbs will probably lead to greater initial weight loss as your body stops holding water. Once you go off the low carb diet you water weight will rebound.

    YEA, YOU GO! SO BRAVE! This diet is just totally unsustainable! Just ignore my progress bar please!
  • IreneAdler221
    IreneAdler221 Posts: 185 Member
    Copied this from r/keto sidebar

    "You may experience nausea, headaches, dizziness, mental fog and other flu-like symptoms. This phenomenon is often called ‘keto-flu’ or ‘carb-flu. Many times this is the result of your electrolytes being flushed out along with water weight. If you drink some traditional chicken or beef broth you can replenish your electrolytes and ease your symptoms. It is also incredibly important to drink plenty of water! Your water intake will keep you hydrated and it will help flush out excess ketones."

    Congrats on taking the steps to make a change.

    I second this. It usually takes me three days to get through keto flu. Hope you feel better soon.
  • CGPrincessWarrior
    CGPrincessWarrior Posts: 76 Member
    I just got put on a low carb diet and I love it! I felt weak for about a day but now I'm doing a lot better. I am finding that I don't crave sweats or breads like I thought I would. What I love abou it is that I will eventually be able to add some of those things back into the diet, it just won't be as much as it used to be. I don't think my body processes sugar and carbs very well and that is why I couldn't lose weight. Like everyone has said, calories are calories and it doesn't really matter where they come from (carbs or protein or fat, the good kinds of fat of course), so for me and for some people our bodies just don't process them very well. I had been at a standstill for a year and a half. I was eating the proper amount of calories and working out religiously. I was just stuck. Now that I am doing low carb I am finally getting some weight off. It's still a slow process but it's at least moving in the right direction. So I say that whatever works, do it.
  • jsuaccounting
    jsuaccounting Posts: 189 Member
    Chicken broth. Salty foods. Your body will dump salt on ketosis so you need to ingest more.
  • supbanana
    supbanana Posts: 37 Member
    Everyone is different. Some people never get the flu, I had it for six weeks (two days of which I could not even get out of bed). Getting broth in you does help!

    Also, ketosis and ketoacidosis are two entirely separate things. KetoACIDosis is a serious diabetic complication. Ketosis is a harmless dietary state in which your body is producing ketones.
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
    Yeah I never had this. Maybe mild headaches but that could be caffeine withdrawal. I think my body just operates very well on low carb to begin with.
  • Lite salt helps a lot - I use Morton's (more potassium in it than in supplements!). Hang in there!
  • andyisandy
    andyisandy Posts: 433 Member
    are you talking about ketoacidosis? cause that is fatal....

    eat whole foods, consume 20% less than TDEE and exercise..that really is all you need not fads. This sounds scarey as hell.. youre body is telling you it is bad for you...listen.
    besides being hot your awesome logic is why we are friends
  • shilomatic
    shilomatic Posts: 7 Member
    Why would you want to suffer doing an unsustainable "diet"? Keto is a waste of time. Calories are calories when it comes to weight loss. Severely restricting carbs will probably lead to greater initial weight loss as your body stops holding water. Once you go off the low carb diet you water weight will rebound.

    YEA, YOU GO! SO BRAVE! This diet is just totally unsustainable! Just ignore my progress bar please!

    I'm so glad you posted this, you and your progress are admirable, and it's hilarious that your progress bar is bacon. lol

    I'm amazed by the ignorance in this thread. You guys, if you don't know anything about keto or eating low carb, spare the comments. It's a perfectly healthy and sustainable method for weight loss and stabilizing insulin levels ( and preventing diabetes.) If you've found something that works well for you, then that's great but please understand that different things work for different people.

    Now, with that said... Keto flu is a ***** and shouldn't last more than a couple days. Drink LOTS of water (you're likely dehydrated) and try your best to get some sodium/magnesium/potassium into you. A multivitamin or even some broth should do the trick. Once your body adapts, the symptoms will subside and you'll experience an amazing energy boost. Hang in there!
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
    When we are built to function on carbs, and suddenly take carbs away, all our tissue begins to wonder where the carbs are.

    That includes the brain. What you are experiencing the brain looking for its preferred energy source (carbs) and not getting it. It will take 3-4 days for the average person to enter full keto. To produce ketones as the primary energy source can take a week or more.

    I must say, I don't agree with ketosis for long term weight loss, but if you have to do it, you better commit to it long term. The second you go out and carb binge you will feel absolutely awful!
  • lvtruu1
    lvtruu1 Posts: 211 Member
    Why would you want to suffer doing an unsustainable "diet"? Keto is a waste of time. Calories are calories when it comes to weight loss. Severely restricting carbs will probably lead to greater initial weight loss as your body stops holding water. Once you go off the low carb diet you water weight will rebound.

    YEA, YOU GO! SO BRAVE! This diet is just totally unsustainable! Just ignore my progress bar please!

    I'm so glad you posted this, you and your progress are admirable, and it's hilarious that your progress bar is bacon. lol

    I'm amazed by the ignorance in this thread. You guys, if you don't know anything about keto or eating low carb, spare the comments. It's a perfectly healthy and sustainable method for weight loss and stabilizing insulin levels ( and preventing diabetes.) If you've found something that works well for you, then that's great but please understand that different things work for different people.

    Now, with that said... Keto flu is a ***** and shouldn't last more than a couple days. Drink LOTS of water (you're likely dehydrated) and try your best to get some sodium/magnesium/potassium into you. A multivitamin or even some broth should do the trick. Once your body adapts, the symptoms will subside and you'll experience an amazing energy boost. Hang in there!

    My point was and still is that Keto is a waste of time and energy and is not a long term life style. Dieting to lose weight, and making a lifestyle change are two different things. Anyone can lose weight, only those that change what and how they eat will keep the weight off long term. Search Lyle McDonald's site and read about Insulin. It isn't a bad thing. Spiked or not :)
    Most things like Insulin spiking, Keto, LeanGains, are all a waste of energy. Yes you may lose a tad more weight with a given diet and that diet may fit your lifestyle better in short term but not of them are necessary.

    When I started this is what I knew. I knew 25 years ago I wrote diets in the Army. Those diets, for restricted calories where either 2000 or 1500. So when I got fat enough and decided to lose weight I aimed for 1500 knowing full well that it was insanely low in calories. Didn't know my TDEE, didn't know this site even existed. As I went along I learned about those things. I took up exercising and cut calories. Nothing special. Most would think my diet was clean. It was as a function of calories. At 1600 calories, the lowest I did for a few months, you simply do not have room for a lot of crap. So I went along, learning but eating less than my body desired. Oh sometimes the hunger was physically painful. Insanely painful. But I sucked it up. After losing 40-50 pounds I upped my calories a bit. From 1600 or so to 1750 or so and to 1800+ and last month all the way up to 2100 calories. This month will be a bit less than 2100 calories. The weight came off. Yes in the middle I had a month that I lost 1 pound. But after reading everything I could, I knew that I was in a deficit and that the weight would either come off or that my calories had reached equilibrium. It also happened the same month I started lifting heavy things all the time. So some might have been muscle gain.

    Not once did I consider any diet scheme. What was the point. I eat in a deficit religiously. I exercised regularly and the weight loss progressed. I was pre diabetic at some point, (a few years back and likely when I started my weight loss journey) I got blood work done and not one marker was even remotely bad. Oh and I quit a 1.5 pack, 25 year addiction to cigarettes as well.

    So like I said, Keto, Adkins, or Dr. so and so's diet plans will work but they aren't necessary.

    Didn't know mine was bacon. Funny haven't have the stuff in ages... 5 days to Vegas, so I'll "double down" on some then.
  • lvtruu1
    lvtruu1 Posts: 211 Member
    Why would you want to suffer doing an unsustainable "diet"? Keto is a waste of time. Calories are calories when it comes to weight loss. Severely restricting carbs will probably lead to greater initial weight loss as your body stops holding water. Once you go off the low carb diet you water weight will rebound.

    YEA, YOU GO! SO BRAVE! This diet is just totally unsustainable! Just ignore my progress bar please!

    Great progress. You going to try Keto for the rest of your life?

    Interesting that you think that the Keto was the reason you lost the weight.... That is naive. You lost the weight because you where in a caloric deficit. Calories in vs. Calories out.
  • shilomatic
    shilomatic Posts: 7 Member

    My point was and still is that Keto is a waste of time and energy and is not a long term life style. Dieting to lose weight, and making a lifestyle change are two different things. Anyone can lose weight, only those that change what and how they eat will keep the weight off long term. Search Lyle McDonald's site and read about Insulin. It isn't a bad thing. Spiked or not :)
    Most things like Insulin spiking, Keto, LeanGains, are all a waste of energy. Yes you may lose a tad more weight with a given diet and that diet may fit your lifestyle better in short term but not of them are necessary.

    When I started this is what I knew. I knew 25 years ago I wrote diets in the Army. Those diets, for restricted calories where either 2000 or 1500. So when I got fat enough and decided to lose weight I aimed for 1500 knowing full well that it was insanely low in calories. Didn't know my TDEE, didn't know this site even existed. As I went along I learned about those things. I took up exercising and cut calories. Nothing special. Most would think my diet was clean. It was as a function of calories. At 1600 calories, the lowest I did for a few months, you simply do not have room for a lot of crap. So I went along, learning but eating less than my body desired. Oh sometimes the hunger was physically painful. Insanely painful. But I sucked it up. After losing 40-50 pounds I upped my calories a bit. From 1600 or so to 1750 or so and to 1800+ and last month all the way up to 2100 calories. This month will be a bit less than 2100 calories. The weight came off. Yes in the middle I had a month that I lost 1 pound. But after reading everything I could, I knew that I was in a deficit and that the weight would either come off or that my calories had reached equilibrium. It also happened the same month I started lifting heavy things all the time. So some might have been muscle gain.

    Not once did I consider any diet scheme. What was the point. I eat in a deficit religiously. I exercised regularly and the weight loss progressed. I was pre diabetic at some point, (a few years back and likely when I started my weight loss journey) I got blood work done and not one marker was even remotely bad. Oh and I quit a 1.5 pack, 25 year addiction to cigarettes as well.

    So like I said, Keto, Adkins, or Dr. so and so's diet plans will work but they aren't necessary.

    Didn't know mine was bacon. Funny haven't have the stuff in ages... 5 days to Vegas, so I'll "double down" on some then.


    Firstly, you're wrong. Keto is a lifestyle change, not a "diet." You are effectively changing your eating patterns and what your body uses as a fuel source.

    The fact that you 'wrote diets in the army' is nearly irrelevant to this conversation, as nutrituonal science has greatly evolved since 25 years ago and if you were that flunent in nutrition, you wouldn't have found yourself in a position to lose 95lbs. A calorie deficit IS an effective way to lose weight, but it's not constrcuted by ballparking a number that sounds good and hoping the weight falls off. Your deficit must be catered to your personal BMI and activity level. The fact that you went with 1500cals a day and still lost weight is merely coincidence and anyone that "wrote diets for the army" would know that. You need to face a 500 calorie deficit to lose a pound one week, as one pound is 3500 calories.

    Majority of what you said didn't even mention keto, which suggests that you actually know nothing about it whatsoever, so let's break it down, shall we?

    Ketosis is the state in which your body burns fat for fuel. The human body isn’t stupid, it will burn what it has in most abundance that yields the most energy for its volume. Carbs (most) burn up quick but are packed with a ton of fuel that yields huge bursts of energy. It's meant to be consumed in small amounts, it's how your body properly digests and processes them and it's how your maintain your energy levels throughout the day. People don't eat like that though, they eat plates of pasta or slices of pizza or whatever. Your body freaks the F out, it's partly why you get that "Oh god I'm so full, what the hell?!" feeling after a large meal.

    Compare that style of eating to an energy drink. When you're overweight, you body has fat stores because you're consuming too much energy, it isn't burned off, and you have no where else to put it. It makes more sense to tap into those fat stores for energy prior to consuming more. When you consume fat, and protein, they burn slowly and allow a steady stream of energy - your energy levels won’t soon crash because your body can’t get rid of it near as fast as carbs. Eating excess carbs also causes your body to produce insulin, since high blood sugar is flagged as toxic by your body. Insulin regulates your blood sugar. When the insulin can't keep up with regulation because you're ingesting too many carbs, your body converts them to fat and insulin stores it in it's cells. It takes 22 flights of stairs to burn off the energy consumed in a piece of bread.

    You know what my diet consists of? Tons of fresh vegetables, healthy fats and protein. You know what it doesn't consist of? Processed food, sugar, or refined flours. I have loads of energy, I sleep like a baby, and I'm steadily losing weight. Sorry lady, but you have absolutely NO idea what you're talking about.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    Ah, the traditional MFP keto kock fight ... we need carbs! the brain is starving for fuel! And that old chestnut ... ketoacidosis!!

    The humanity, the humanity.

    I did it for a few months, recalibrated my taste buds, got a sense of what hunger is (not a blood sugar crash) then realised I didn't have to do it long term, switched back to balanced and am losing weight just as well by concentrating on the energy gap.

    I think low carbing and keto is a valuable tool but I wouldn't do it long-term because I like a bit more variety and lot less rules in my nutritional life.

    On topic (I get there eventually) - The effects you describe can last weeks in extreme cases (maybe a sign it is not for you? Like some other low carb side-effects worth watching out for ... muscle cramping, sleeplessness, dry eyes/mouth) ... keep the sodium up (broth is tradition to fight the "Atkins Flu") and keep hydrated.

    Good luck to all whatever path you choose, listen to your bodies and if it is telling you to change it up then do it.

    I'll book in my low-carb/keto-themed post for this time next week again.

    See y'all then, enjoy the lively debate :)
  • lvtruu1
    lvtruu1 Posts: 211 Member

    My point was and still is that Keto is a waste of time and energy and is not a long term life style. Dieting to lose weight, and making a lifestyle change are two different things. Anyone can lose weight, only those that change what and how they eat will keep the weight off long term. Search Lyle McDonald's site and read about Insulin. It isn't a bad thing. Spiked or not :)
    Most things like Insulin spiking, Keto, LeanGains, are all a waste of energy. Yes you may lose a tad more weight with a given diet and that diet may fit your lifestyle better in short term but not of them are necessary.

    When I started this is what I knew. I knew 25 years ago I wrote diets in the Army. Those diets, for restricted calories where either 2000 or 1500. So when I got fat enough and decided to lose weight I aimed for 1500 knowing full well that it was insanely low in calories. Didn't know my TDEE, didn't know this site even existed. As I went along I learned about those things. I took up exercising and cut calories. Nothing special. Most would think my diet was clean. It was as a function of calories. At 1600 calories, the lowest I did for a few months, you simply do not have room for a lot of crap. So I went along, learning but eating less than my body desired. Oh sometimes the hunger was physically painful. Insanely painful. But I sucked it up. After losing 40-50 pounds I upped my calories a bit. From 1600 or so to 1750 or so and to 1800+ and last month all the way up to 2100 calories. This month will be a bit less than 2100 calories. The weight came off. Yes in the middle I had a month that I lost 1 pound. But after reading everything I could, I knew that I was in a deficit and that the weight would either come off or that my calories had reached equilibrium. It also happened the same month I started lifting heavy things all the time. So some might have been muscle gain.

    Not once did I consider any diet scheme. What was the point. I eat in a deficit religiously. I exercised regularly and the weight loss progressed. I was pre diabetic at some point, (a few years back and likely when I started my weight loss journey) I got blood work done and not one marker was even remotely bad. Oh and I quit a 1.5 pack, 25 year addiction to cigarettes as well.

    So like I said, Keto, Adkins, or Dr. so and so's diet plans will work but they aren't necessary.

    Didn't know mine was bacon. Funny haven't have the stuff in ages... 5 days to Vegas, so I'll "double down" on some then.


    Firstly, you're wrong. Keto is a lifestyle change, not a "diet." You are effectively changing your eating patterns and what your body uses as a fuel source.

    The fact that you 'wrote diets in the army' is nearly irrelevant to this conversation, as nutrituonal science has greatly evolved since 25 years ago and if you were that flunent in nutrition, you wouldn't have found yourself in a position to lose 95lbs. A calorie deficit IS an effective way to lose weight, but it's not constrcuted by ballparking a number that sounds good and hoping the weight falls off. Your deficit must be catered to your personal BMI and activity level. The fact that you went with 1500cals a day and still lost weight is merely coincidence and anyone that "wrote diets for the army" would know that. You need to face a 500 calorie deficit to lose a pound one week, as one pound is 3500 calories.

    Majority of what you said didn't even mention keto, which suggests that you actually know nothing about it whatsoever, so let's break it down, shall we?

    Ketosis is the state in which your body burns fat for fuel. The human body isn’t stupid, it will burn what it has in most abundance that yields the most energy for its volume. Carbs (most) burn up quick but are packed with a ton of fuel that yields huge bursts of energy. It's meant to be consumed in small amounts, it's how your body properly digests and processes them and it's how your maintain your energy levels throughout the day. People don't eat like that though, they eat plates of pasta or slices of pizza or whatever. Your body freaks the F out, it's partly why you get that "Oh god I'm so full, what the hell?!" feeling after a large meal.

    Compare that style of eating to an energy drink. When you're overweight, you body has fat stores because you're consuming too much energy, it isn't burned off, and you have no where else to put it. It makes more sense to tap into those fat stores for energy prior to consuming more. When you consume fat, and protein, they burn slowly and allow a steady stream of energy - your energy levels won’t soon crash because your body can’t get rid of it near as fast as carbs. Eating excess carbs also causes your body to produce insulin, since high blood sugar is flagged as toxic by your body. Insulin regulates your blood sugar. When the insulin can't keep up with regulation because you're ingesting too many carbs, your body converts them to fat and insulin stores it in it's cells. It takes 22 flights of stairs to burn off the energy consumed in a piece of bread.

    You know what my diet consists of? Tons of fresh vegetables, healthy fats and protein. You know what it doesn't consist of? Processed food, sugar, or refined flours. I have loads of energy, I sleep like a baby, and I'm steadily losing weight. Sorry lady, but you have absolutely NO idea what you're talking about.

    Pretty much without fail, every decade seems to see the resurgence of the idea that extremely low-carbohydrate diets have a ‘metabolic advantage’ over carb-based diets; that is the claim is made that the very low-carbohydrate diet will generate more weight or fat loss at the same (or sometimes even a higher calorie level).
    Now, before I continue let me say that I have nothing against low-carbohydrate diets. My first book The Ketogenic Diet was about nothing but and many of my dietary approaches often have low- or at least lowered carbohydrate phases to them as they tend to generate certain biological effects that I’m seeking.
    As well, research clearly shows that, for some people, lowering carbohydrates can have profound health benefits and in some cases a near removal of dietary carbohydrates (except for things like fruits and vegetables) may be profoundly beneficial.
    However, the weight and fat loss claims are a bit trickier. There is certainly an element of truth to the idea that low-carb diets generate more total weight loss but this issue is confounded by the issue of water loss. Between a drop in insulin (insulin causes the kidney to resorb water) and a dehydrating effect of ketones themselves, very-low carbohydrate diets can cause significant water loss.
    As I discussed at length in The Ketogenic Diet, water loss can range from 1-15 pounds depending on size (even small individual may lose a rapid 3-4 pounds, of primarily water, in the first days of carbohydrate restriction). This tends to make comparisons of weight loss pretty meaningless. This is even more true when you consider that the difference in total weight loss between low- and high-carb diets is usually only a few pounds anyhow.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/ketogenic-low-carbohydrate-diets-have-no-metabolic-advantage-over-nonketogenic-low-carbohydrate-diets-research-review.html

    I left the article for all to read.
    The last line, you'll note, sums up our argument well.
    Everyone should read Lyle McDonald's stuff, he's written more about Keto and dieting in general then almost anyone out there.

    Like I said, Keto isn't necessary for weight loss. This cannot even be argued. If you enjoy it, do it. But the vast majority of the world shouldn't waste their time or energy for what is best a marginal gain if it doesn't fit their lifestyle.
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    and u have only lost 5 pounds? Why don't u stick to the calorie plan this site has set for you?? EVERYONE is losing weight on this site following that super simple plan. Why complicate it further with extra added bs?
  • lvtruu1
    lvtruu1 Posts: 211 Member
    and u have only lost 5 pounds? Why don't u stick to the calorie plan this site has set for you?? EVERYONE is losing weight on this site following that super simple plan. Why complicate it further with extra added bs?

    As for calories the numbers this site projects are fine, as for macros, this site is a joke.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Yep. Took me a day or two to get over it. But once a week I eat SOME carbs.
    I'm not doing keto on purpose... But with trying to get 180/190 protein in my calorie goal, it leaves no room for carbs.