Decided to stop keto and go lo carb

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susiean437
susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
although i love this diet. And i have felt wonderful. I have had one consistent problem. I take my magnessium and pottassium daily and drink my bovril although i dont always put it in my tracker. But constant diahria has been too much. I think its all the water mixed with the high fat. I am going to add in a few more carbs and lower my fat intake. I wish everyone the best of luck. I have seen so many success stories i know this works. Keep up the great work everyone.
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  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    High fats do not trigger diarrhea. They make the process smoother, but not diarrhea. I've had that reaction from too much coconut oil, too much sodium, too much vinegar, and combinations of the before mentioned, but too much fat even mixed with water does not cause that reaction.

    Something else in your eating habits is causing that reaction, and even if you up your carbs and lower your fat it will not resolve this issue unless something you lower or remove is the problem item... If I supplement with potassium, for whatever reason, it triggers my body to dump magnesium, even though my potassium levels are considered normal and my magnesium levels are deficient. I do not have any idea what bovril is...
  • V_Keto_V
    V_Keto_V Posts: 342 Member
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    Seems atypical since most on keto lack adequate fiber. Possibilities: magnesium is dosed too high (salt form also matters..I.e citrate vs. oxide), too much oil/malabsorption (like you said, fat can literally just move through you), or you are also taking orlistat (would be a nightmare for anyone on keto...it's analogous to an alcoholic taking disulfiram).

    Calcium polycarbophil/fiber sups can help with both diarrhea (bulking/solidifidifying) and constipation (fiber/hyper osmotic effect); might be worth trying.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    That being said, Keto is not for everyone, but if you feel wonderful aside from the bathroom dramas, I would seek out the actual culprit of the problem before switching up your entire plan...
  • edellaSut
    edellaSut Posts: 22 Member
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    maybe your protein level is too high? Also, why not try good bone broth instead of bovril which is full of this and that (and VERY salty). I had much the same problem and once I really reduced protein to about 45g a day and my fat up to around the 80% mark, plus CHO under 30g, the problem just went away. Also, MFP seem to have fixed the manual macro problem (hip hip hooray!), so it would be a lot easier to keep track. Just out of curiosity, what are your current values for cal/fat/cho & protein?
  • susiean437
    susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
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    I normally go anywhere from 500 to 1300 calories / day. I truly have to force food down. My carbs can go from 5 to 25g , proteins around 80 grams, fat usually over 85. It't hard to give numbers because a lot of days i don't eat enough to calculate properly. I only had 1 tablespoon of coconut oil a day, I just cut it back to half. I am lactose intolerant, but the only things that could have possibly bothered me, didn't for the first few weeks. It'As I said. Although i love this, it's no way to live. I only take one magnesium supplement a day. Bovril is a broth which adds salt, it's like oxo. I may try the calcium. I did add some berries this morning. As yesturday I felt zoned out like something was wrong. I won't go to my dr because he has told me once before he doesn't agree with this WOE. What kind of calcium do you recommend? It's not the keto flu, because this has been happening everyday for weeks. I was hoping it would pass.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    I recently had to discontinue my LOADED TEA which is a combination of the bulletproof method and primal styles. The coconut oil began causing my a three hour window of nausea. It is either the coconut oil itself or in combination with something else, but I've been having this tea for months now, 5 days a week, with no issues. I still have not identified the culprit, but it sounds like if you are now adapted that you might cut back on the sodium, as I can tell you on days NOW that I have excess sodium, I do a bathroom diarrhea escapade for a few hours. If I had to wager a guess, my sodium needs due to long term adaption have cut in half.

    I don't see how upping your carbs will up your calories, unless you go back to eating all manner of addictive garbage that override your true hunger signals by hitting hard wired addictive reactions. 500 calories is not sustainable to keep your muscle tone or overall health. In general, your macros seem good, given the lack of consistent data. I'd consider cutting down or out the sodium and see if that helps with the bathroom issue.
  • susiean437
    susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
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    The problem with cutting out the sodium is I have a lot of days where I feel very dizzy, and out of sorts. As soon as I have the sodium I feel better.
  • susiean437
    susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
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    I had too many carbs today. I went up to 53 grams. Mostly due to a banana. After looking at what I have been eating. I am going to try to keep my carbs around 30. Eat more veggies, and a few berries, and try to eat three meals a day. This going days at 500 calories isn't healthy. I think I'm screwing up my electrolytes and who knows what else. I was also too low on my fat intake today. I think I somewhat panicked and almost threw in the towel. I am going to keep going. I appreciate all the input and advice. I will increase my fat again. But I do need some other options for my original problem. I don't think it's the sodium. Maybe after a few days of eating healthier foods(veggies), I will try to cut sodium back if Im not dizzy. I truly am hoping this running stops. I don't want to have to go to the dr with this. I am going to look for the Calcium polycarbophil/fiber sups as was also suggested. Believe me, if it's just a salt issue that would make me happy, Easy fix. Thanks
  • JessicaLCHF
    JessicaLCHF Posts: 1,265 Member
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    Are you on a probiotic?
  • susiean437
    susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
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    No im not.
  • JessicaLCHF
    JessicaLCHF Posts: 1,265 Member
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    I went on one (doc recommended a strong one) and it worked wonders. Only was on it two months. Used to have trouble all the time. Try it, it might work. I got the one with the most strains and the most live cultures. It was expensive. $60 for thirty pills. But it's been six months and no more problems at all.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    Are you possibly doing too much magnesium? It can have that effect. It is actually used in some forms and high doses to clear one's self out before a colonoscopy.

    Before I went Keto and after, my sodium and potassium stayed normal, but my mag was low. So I can't add potassium or it causes me to dump mag. So I've finally found a good dose of my chelated magnesium citrate - and it's around 300 mg daily. When I was taking 500 mg magnesium oxide, I literally messed myself in my sheets.

    There are SOOOO many factors to this... It's a case of adjusting one thing every 2 weeks until you isolate the trigger, I'd think... It can take 2-4 weeks to see the results of dietary changes...

    Btw, I don't think we asked, but are you taking Metformin or any other Rx medications?
  • susiean437
    susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
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    I went on one (doc recommended a strong one) and it worked wonders. Only was on it two months. Used to have trouble all the time. Try it, it might work. I got the one with the most strains and the most live cultures. It was expensive. $60 for thirty pills. But it's been six months and no more problems at all.
    I will go out and get a good probiotic today. Thanks
  • susiean437
    susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
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    KnitOrMiss wrote: »
    Are you possibly doing too much magnesium? It can have that effect. It is actually used in some forms and high doses to clear one's self out before a colonoscopy.

    Before I went Keto and after, my sodium and potassium stayed normal, but my mag was low. So I can't add potassium or it causes me to dump mag. So I've finally found a good dose of my chelated magnesium citrate - and it's around 300 mg daily. When I was taking 500 mg magnesium oxide, I literally messed myself in my sheets.

    There are SOOOO many factors to this... It's a case of adjusting one thing every 2 weeks until you isolate the trigger, I'd think... It can take 2-4 weeks to see the results of dietary changes...

    Btw, I don't think we asked, but are you taking Metformin or any other Rx medications?

    No meds, I did decide today to stay off of the coconut oil for a week or so to see if it makes a difference. The magnesium is only 300 mg. Thanks for helping me try to problem solve this. I really don't want to quit.
  • susiean437
    susiean437 Posts: 34 Member
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    I stopped the coconut oil. And after weeks of running. And i mean weeks things are looking up today. Wish me luck that i found the culprit and can get back on the saddle.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,104 Member
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    Crossing my fingers for you!
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 6,963 Member
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    CO and I have always had a tenuous relationship. I can't tolerate more than a half tbsp before having bathroom issues. I hope you've found what's messing you up.
  • deoxy4
    deoxy4 Posts: 197 Member
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    Magnesium chloride is known to cause issues. I had issues with magnesium chloride with coconut oil. Switched to magnesium glycinate and the problems stopped. It is also a more bioavailable form. Here is a short article describing pros and cons of different forms of magnesium. There are actually six articles in a series about magnesium worth a read, IMO.

    http://fixyourgut.com/magnesium-most-overlooked-mineral-for-improving-health-2/
  • Thurley160
    Thurley160 Posts: 21 Member
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    deoxy4 wrote: »
    Magnesium chloride is known to cause issues. I had issues with magnesium chloride with coconut oil. Switched to magnesium glycinate and the problems stopped. It is also a more bioavailable form. Here is a short article describing pros and cons of different forms of magnesium. There are actually six articles in a series about magnesium worth a read, IMO.

    http://fixyourgut.com/magnesium-most-overlooked-mineral-for-improving-health-2/

    I switched to this form of Magnesium rather than the citrate firm and it helped my digestive issues as well.
  • deoxy4
    deoxy4 Posts: 197 Member
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    Thurley160 wrote: »
    deoxy4 wrote: »
    Magnesium chloride is known to cause issues. I had issues with magnesium chloride with coconut oil. Switched to magnesium glycinate and the problems stopped. It is also a more bioavailable form. Here is a short article describing pros and cons of different forms of magnesium. There are actually six articles in a series about magnesium worth a read, IMO.

    http://fixyourgut.com/magnesium-most-overlooked-mineral-for-improving-health-2/

    I switched to this form of Magnesium rather than the citrate firm and it helped my digestive issues as well.

    Good for you. I am glad it worked.