1st week on keto

I don't have access to keto sticks so I can't really know for sure but here is a random collection of the things I have noticed so far:

1- keto flu. Just a few headaches the first 2 days with weakness or almost dizziness. No crippling anything.

2 - on about the third day I noticed the change in urine smell and the film like thing. I had read about it and had no idea what it was but when you see it... you know.

3 - sleep: my sleep has gotten much better. I wake up without hitting the snooze button. I don't think this is a coincidence. I am sleepy by 10pm. I was an insomniac. I like this side effect.

4 - my beloved nap is gone: I religiously took a nap for 2 years now at lunch time for 30 to 60mn in my office. I can't do it anymore. Sleep just won't come.

5 - I am always full: I have to force myself to eat everyday because if I just ate when I was hungry I may not eat anything. I was struggling with my calorie deficit before because I was so hungry all the time.

6 - I have energy when I get home after work around 6pm. I used to be really tired. This a be due to the afternoon green tea though.

7 - I am soo thirsty all the time. And I go to the bathroom every 30mn.

8 - I feel good overall. It has been easier than I expected.

Thanks for all the help guys and I hope this helps others starting off.

Replies

  • Nice! I've been on Keto since the first day of the month too. It sounds like your experience has been good. I'm still dealing with the mental fuzziness and being tired at night. I've been really sluggish, so hoping the part where I get a lot of energy comes real soon.
    Good luck!
  • I'm now in my 3rd week, and I love it.

    -I had no keto flu at all, thank heavens,
    -more energy than I know what to do with
    -I am now a morning person :)
    -I love keto foods so much, I don't even glance at the donuts anymore
    -I haven't lost much weight, but that's probably because I have been working out/lifting heavy every day (began keto and serious exercise at the same time)
    -six pack by christmas! (hopefully)
  • PatchEFog
    PatchEFog Posts: 152 Member
    Along with drinking water, be sure to get your sodium. 3000-5000 mg a day (unless contraindicated for a medical condition).
  • middleagedmeh
    middleagedmeh Posts: 104 Member
    Thank yall for the support.
    I am glad I am not the only one noticing the morning energy.
    I am very glad I can now wake up and just get going.

    Six pack by Christmas may be too ambitious for me. I would be happy with wearing a large.
  • middleagedmeh
    middleagedmeh Posts: 104 Member
    Along with drinking water, be sure to get your sodium. 3000-5000 mg a day (unless contraindicated for a medical condition).

    Pretty sure I am reaching it. I never log salt. I need to start doing that
  • middleagedmeh
    middleagedmeh Posts: 104 Member
    Nice! I've been on Keto since the first day of the month too. It sounds like your experience has been good. I'm still dealing with the mental fuzziness and being tired at night. I've been really sluggish, so hoping the part where I get a lot of energy comes real soon.
    Good luck!

    It will pass. Just hang in there.
  • joquiroz
    joquiroz Posts: 2 Member
    just a quick question, why the 3000-5000mg of sodium per day?
  • PatchEFog
    PatchEFog Posts: 152 Member
    just a quick question, why the 3000-5000mg of sodium per day?
    Some passages from The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living by Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek:

    "High carbohydrate diets make the kidneys retain salt, whereas a low carbohydrate intake increases sodium excretion by the kidney (called 'the natriuresis of fasting')."

    "3. Third, the body's metabolism of salt is uniquely different when one is adapted to a low carbohydrate diet. Salt and water are more efficiently excreted, which is a good thing as long as you maintain an adequate minimum sodium intake. Ignore this lesson and you are likely to suffer the completely avoidable problems of headache, fatigue, weakness, and constipation - maladies that any Inuit healer would have promptly resolved by giving you a bowl of blood soup, or meat broth made with sea ice of the proper age."

    "Ridding your body of this excess salt and water is a good thing, but only up to a point. After that, if you don't replace some of the ongoing sodium excretion, the associated water loss can compromise your circulation. The end result is lightheadedness when you stand up quickly or fatigue if you exercise enough to get 'warmed up'. Other common side effects of carbohydrate restriction that go away with a pinch of added salt include headache and constipation; and over the long term it also helps the body maintain its muscles.
    The best solution is to include 1 or 2 cups of bouillon or broth in your daily schedule. This adds only 1-2 grams of sodium to your daily intake, and your keto-adapted metabolism insures that you pass it right on through within a matter of hours (allaying any fears you might have of salt buildup in your system). This rapid clearance also means that on days that you exercise, take one dose of broth or bouillon within the hour before you start."
  • eatingfatbeingfat
    eatingfatbeingfat Posts: 41 Member
    edited October 2014
    euppenbe wrote: »
    Nice! I've been on Keto since the first day of the month too. It sounds like your experience has been good. I'm still dealing with the mental fuzziness and being tired at night. I've been really sluggish, so hoping the part where I get a lot of energy comes real soon.
    Good luck!

    Chicken Broth! Seriously, I assumed because I was not aggressively sick the way I was with Keto flu, everything was fine. But then I began getting mentally sluggish. I almost considered giving up because I was tired of feeling stupid and slow. I decided to try taking more salt (which was the advice for keto flu) and everything changed.

    I was bummed to find the need for extra salt after my body had adapted, but it seems to be one of those things I just have to accept.

    I drink about 3-4 cups a day to keep my energy up (regular water too, of course). It is kind of a pain in the *kitten*, with work and what not, but I swear to god it is better than coffee.

    It is important that it is not low sodium. Of all the brands I like Trader Joe's and Swanson's the best, though Trader Joe's is better, and they have an organic version.

    For whatever reason broth seems normal, while drinking salt water was a miserable chore. There are a small amount of carbs is absolutely worth the energy payoff.