Low carb diet = MASSIVE HEADACHE?!?! Need advice please!

At the time of the change in your diet, did you also give up caffine? I know if I go without it, after a few days I develop a massive headache.

This is a 1.5 year old post. So probably most people have moved on. But, it did get my attention and for those who land here...

This is a 1.5 year old post. So probably most people have moved on. But, it did get my attention and for those who land here...

^^Ugh! I need to learn to check the time/date stamp on the OP. haha!

OK, I know this is an old post but maybe this will help a current reader. I have a master's in biology with a specialty in biochemistry so if I may...

To clear up the "calorie concept" of dieting, a person on a low carb diet doesn't have to worry about calories. A person ONLY need worry about calories when on a low fat, moderate protein, high carb diet which is most diets like weight watchers, nutrisystem etc.

Here's the reason: Your body has two basic metabolic pathways that it uses depending on what you feed it:

1. If you eat predominantly carbs, your glycolytic (aka glycolysis) pathway (the carbohydrate burning pathway) is the default and beta oxydation (the fat burning pathway) is the reserve.

2. If you cut out carbs to 50 or less, beta oxydation becomes the default pathway and glycolysis becomes pretty much shut down.

When you cut out carbs you force your body to use beta oxydation (the pathway that burns fat) predominantly, and fat loss is the ONLY macromolecule lost. You do NOT lose muscle on a low carb diet because it is metabolically impossible to lose muscle on a low carb diet. The pathway that burns protein for energy is the DING DING DING...glycolytic pathway. Sooooo if the glycolytic pathway is shut down it CANNOT breakdown muscle to burn for energy. This is absolutely a solid truth. Current studies show that low carb diets preserve muscle while low fat, high carb diets lose on the average about 25% muscle and 75% fat across the board no matter which low fat diet is chosen.

Bottom line is this: the reason people's metabolisms slow down when on a low fat diet is because they lose muscle on these diets, (roughly 25% EACH time they go on one of these diets) and the amount of muscle you have determines your metabolism. The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism. The only diet that will preserve 100% muscle is the low carb diet.

Regarding headaches:

Two reasons actually:

1. fluid loss, and electrolyte loss. Get at least 3000 - 4000 mg of potassium and sodium per day. Make sure you eat potassium foods like avocados and sunflower seeds. I eat sun seeds like they're going out of style and it took care of my headaches which were a sodium potassium problem. The diet is very diuretic so if you don't eat high potassium foods and high sodium foods AND take a calcium supplement you will get headaches. TAKE A CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT when on a low carb diet.

2. Your 900 calories per day is causing you to burn a TON of fat and that produces ketones. What could also be happening, and this also happened to me, is that the ketones are building up in your head faster than your brain is adapting to them, and it's kinda like sniffing fingernail polish remover. LOL! One of the ketones IS acetone which is harmless if diluted. You WILL pee and breathe out excess ketones, but make sure if you're only eating 900 calories that you DRINK A LOT OF FLUIDS to get those "nail polish fumes" out of your head. You may not be drinking enough to flush out the incredible amount of ketones you are producing. Harmless...but most likely an additional source of your headaches.


Sooooooo....1. your increased ketone production combined with 2. not enough fluids combined with 3. the dehydrating component of the diet flushing out electrolytes, you need to either 1. up your calories so you stop producing so many ketones at one time which will make your head think it's sniffing paint thinner, or 2. drink a LOT more fluids that contain electrolytes.

I DO NOT recommend straight water as this only flushes out more electrolytes. I recommend BOTH water and either low cal gatorade or Vitamin Water Zero Fruit punch which has 800 mg of potassium in it in one large bottle and does not use aspartame as the sweetener...OR I make a protein drink and add 1/6 tsp of NuSalt to it which is 550 mg of potassium. NOTE: the vitamin water states it has carbs in it. Ignore this number...they are not metabolizable carbs, and produce no energy. Notice the calories on the bottle say "zero." The carbs listed should really not be listed and I am trying to get this corrected with the company.

Hope I've helped.

OK, I know this is an old post but maybe this will help a current reader. I have a master's in biology with a specialty in biochemistry so if I may...

To clear up the "calorie concept" of dieting, a person on a low carb diet doesn't have to worry about calories. A person ONLY need worry about calories when on a low fat, moderate protein, high carb diet which is most diets like weight watchers, nutrisystem etc.

Here's the reason: Your body has two basic metabolic pathways that it uses depending on what you feed it:

1. If you eat predominantly carbs, your glycolytic (aka glycolysis) pathway (the carbohydrate burning pathway) is the default and beta oxydation (the fat burning pathway) is the reserve.

2. If you cut out carbs to 50 or less, beta oxydation becomes the default pathway and glycolysis becomes pretty much shut down.

When you cut out carbs you force your body to use beta oxydation (the pathway that burns fat) predominantly, and fat loss is the ONLY macromolecule lost. You do NOT lose muscle on a low carb diet because it is metabolically impossible to lose muscle on a low carb diet. The pathway that burns protein for energy is the DING DING DING...glycolytic pathway. Sooooo if the glycolytic pathway is shut down it CANNOT breakdown muscle to burn for energy. This is absolutely a solid truth. Current studies show that low carb diets preserve muscle while low fat, high carb diets lose on the average about 25% muscle and 75% fat across the board no matter which low fat diet is chosen.

Bottom line is this: the reason people's metabolisms slow down when on a low fat diet is because they lose muscle on these diets, (roughly 25% EACH time they go on one of these diets) and the amount of muscle you have determines your metabolism. The more muscle you have the higher your metabolism. The only diet that will preserve 100% muscle is the low carb diet.

Regarding headaches:

Two reasons actually:

1. fluid loss, and electrolyte loss. Get at least 3000 - 4000 mg of potassium and sodium per day. Make sure you eat potassium foods like avocados and sunflower seeds. I eat sun seeds like they're going out of style and it took care of my headaches which were a sodium potassium problem. The diet is very diuretic so if you don't eat high potassium foods and high sodium foods AND take a calcium supplement you will get headaches. TAKE A CALCIUM SUPPLEMENT when on a low carb diet.

2. Your 900 calories per day is causing you to burn a TON of fat and that produces ketones. What could also be happening, and this also happened to me, is that the ketones are building up in your head faster than your brain is adapting to them, and it's kinda like sniffing fingernail polish remover. LOL! One of the ketones IS acetone which is harmless if diluted. You WILL pee and breathe out excess ketones, but make sure if you're only eating 900 calories that you DRINK A LOT OF FLUIDS to get those "nail polish fumes" out of your head. You may not be drinking enough to flush out the incredible amount of ketones you are producing. Harmless...but most likely an additional source of your headaches.


Sooooooo....1. your increased ketone production combined with 2. not enough fluids combined with 3. the dehydrating component of the diet flushing out electrolytes, you need to either 1. up your calories so you stop producing so many ketones at one time which will make your head think it's sniffing paint thinner, or 2. drink a LOT more fluids that contain electrolytes.

I DO NOT recommend straight water as this only flushes out more electrolytes. I recommend BOTH water and either low cal gatorade or Vitamin Water Zero Fruit punch which has 800 mg of potassium in it in one large bottle and does not use aspartame as the sweetener...OR I make a protein drink and add 1/6 tsp of NuSalt to it which is 550 mg of potassium. NOTE: the vitamin water states it has carbs in it. Ignore this number...they are not metabolizable carbs, and produce no energy. Notice the calories on the bottle say "zero." The carbs listed should really not be listed and I am trying to get this corrected with the company.

Hope I've helped.