Ketosis/ketogenic diet?

Is it normal to get the induction flu? I haven't gotten it (it's only been a week for me, however) and I'm worried that that means my body isn't going into ketosis.

I've been trying to keep my carbs around 30-50g (my diary says 20g so that I'm not too lenient on myself, but I usually end have around 50g. I try my hardest not to go over 50g at all). There are days where I haven't logged, but I remember what I ate those days and it's no different from say, today's meal.

Granted, it's only been a week. Do people usually begin to feel it a few more weeks in?

Replies

  • lisaw111
    lisaw111 Posts: 4
    edited October 2014
    I've felt a few things, but I'm not sure how attributed to ketosis they are. I was unnaturally cranky and snappy and stressed for two days, and I had a 5 minute feeling of nausea and dizziness and sweating before I ate and felt completely fine. I got this nanosecond headaches (and I never get headaches unless I'm about to get a fever) for the past two days. I've felt lethargic, but I'm a college student and that's completely normal. And I can say the same for my intense carb-cravings: I literally ALWAYS want to eat carbs. There has never been a minute in my life, keto or not, where I didn't want to eat some sort of carb (which is kind of what started my foray into keto. I need to become unaddicted!).
  • rainbowblu
    rainbowblu Posts: 119 Member
    Not everyone gets the 'induction flu' and/or your carbs may be too high to be in ketosis. Most people go 20 or less to reach ketosis.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    If you are doing this as a fad weight loss approach then you really should stop doing it. If you are trying Keto for health reasons (e.g. diabetic) or because you just reaaally love fats and you've had a hard time being happy without the high fat intake, then that's fine. Otherwise, restrictive diets like this are pretty well pointless for weight loss. Unless you plan on staying low carb indefinitely in order to prevent regaining any lost water-weight.
  • lisaw111
    lisaw111 Posts: 4
    edited October 2014
    Well, I did state that I think it's very unhealthy that I'm so highly addicted to carbs. It's kind of crazy, and I don't expect people to understand what I mean and to what extent. I think it has a lot to do with how I was raised. I'm already at a very healthy weight and size, so it doesn't really have anything to do with that.

    (Not to mention, I don't eat meat because I hate the taste of meat and my doctor told me I need to eat more meat LOL.) I also became allergic to drastic temperature changes around this time last year, and I've finally gotten around to my plan of checking out if I have a gluten allergy. So I'm kind of killing two birds with one stone here, you know what I'm saying? P:

    But thank you for your concern. :)
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    lisaw111 wrote: »
    Well, I did state that I think it's very unhealthy that I'm so highly addicted to carbs. It's kind of crazy, and I don't expect people to understand what I mean and to what extent. I think it has a lot to do with how I was raised. I'm already at a very healthy weight and size, so it doesn't really have anything to do with that.

    (Not to mention, I don't eat meat because I hate the taste of meat and my doctor told me I need to eat more meat LOL.) I also became allergic to drastic temperature changes around this time last year, and I've finally gotten around to my plan of checking out if I have a gluten allergy. So I'm kind of killing two birds with one stone here, you know what I'm saying? P:

    But thank you for your concern. :)

    You need to consume gluten for 6 weeks or longer prior to getting a gluten test done, and you'd probably need to be eating it (and carbs overall) in a normal fashion for your body to react to it in a way that would give the allergy test something to react to.

    If your doctor has told you that you need to eat more meat based on lab results (e.g. anemia) then this could very well be what is causing you... "allergy" to temperature changes. There is no histamine response occurring to changes in temperature. I'd guess it is either anemia-related or due to being underweight (as you have no information regarding your weight, this is just a possible suggestion). So.. not due to carbs. You can still eat a balanced diet without forcing yourself to restrict carb intake. I do so very easily every day; as long as I meet my protein needs I will eat carbs and fats as I choose, making sure I get in at least 60g of fat ideally though.
  • Aah, I see, thank you for that! :)
  • mora982
    mora982 Posts: 169 Member
    what are your macros? I set mine to 5%c, 25%p, 70%f
    I'm not exceeding 25 g net carb. you have to subtract fibers from total carb to get the net carb. Also you should consume high fat and only moderate protein as it is said itcan be broken into glucose and the low carb would be pointless!! I hope this help.
  • I'm using the Optifast (very low calorie diet), which aims for 'mild ketosis'. I've found this very effective in the past, although my BMI was a lot higher then. But following their diet very strictly still adds up to about 80g carbs per day. 25g carbs seems extraordinarily 'light' to me.
  • Angold83
    Angold83 Posts: 62 Member
    I have been doing it for 3 weeks, the first week being the hardest! Now 3.6kgs down, feeling fantastic and in ketosis. I eat between 20-50g carbs a day and I use ketostix to check ketones.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,021 Member
    ana3067 wrote: »
    If you are doing this as a fad weight loss approach then you really should stop doing it. If you are trying Keto for health reasons (e.g. diabetic) or because you just reaaally love fats and you've had a hard time being happy without the high fat intake, then that's fine. Otherwise, restrictive diets like this are pretty well pointless for weight loss. Unless you plan on staying low carb indefinitely in order to prevent regaining any lost water-weight.

    All diets require maintenance for success. And just because you lose your weight on a low-carb diet, doesn't mean you have to use the same eating plan for maintenance. All you have to do is not let your calories exceed your TDEE, right? So if you lose the weight and if you go back to eating too darn much, you will gain it back, regardless of whether or not you restricted carbs to lose in the first place.

  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,021 Member
    lisaw111 wrote: »
    Is it normal to get the induction flu? I haven't gotten it (it's only been a week for me, however) and I'm worried that that means my body isn't going into ketosis.

    I've been trying to keep my carbs around 30-50g (my diary says 20g so that I'm not too lenient on myself, but I usually end have around 50g. I try my hardest not to go over 50g at all). There are days where I haven't logged, but I remember what I ate those days and it's no different from say, today's meal.

    Granted, it's only been a week. Do people usually begin to feel it a few more weeks in?

    I had 3 days of headaches and unusual thirst and that was it. I got no induction flu other than that. That said, if you haven't experienced anything, if your goal is to achieve ketosis, you need to keep the carbs on the low-low for 1 week or more without going over. I did 20 or less for a week and I was in. After the 2 weeks, then you can go up to 50 (theoretically) and still stay in ketosis.
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
    Week one is hard for a lot of people. It gets easier and the cravings go away.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    ana3067 wrote: »
    If you are doing this as a fad weight loss approach then you really should stop doing it. If you are trying Keto for health reasons (e.g. diabetic) or because you just reaaally love fats and you've had a hard time being happy without the high fat intake, then that's fine. Otherwise, restrictive diets like this are pretty well pointless for weight loss. Unless you plan on staying low carb indefinitely in order to prevent regaining any lost water-weight.

    I would say that's a bit harsh but semi-true. Evidence suggests that a period of ketosis can improve one's metabolic flexibility in using carbs or fat as fuel. It's probably not a bad idea for most people to do this once and a while. However, long-term weight management should be something you can stick to fairly religously and a low-carb diet is challenging for many people in the long-term. If you can do it, then by all means do it; just don't do it because there's this stigma about carbs that's been fuled by Atkins and Paleo worshipers.
  • nill4me
    nill4me Posts: 682 Member
    ana3067 wrote: »
    There is no histamine response occurring to changes in temperature.

    I beg to differ. A histamine response can very well indeed be triggered via temperature....cold or hot. No doubt about it.