It could be. Add more electrolytes and see if that helps. If it does, it probably is.

Will you see weight loss soon? Maybe. There is no guarantee of when the weight loss will come. Only that, if you are consistent, it will come eventually.

If you're restricting carbs to 20g, you were ketogenic by day 2.

You're probably dumping a lot of the ketones in your urine, and they are being accompanied by sodium for cation coverage.

So, yes, you'll feel like crap and you'll lose a bunch of water weight. Do people really look forward to these effects?

@wabmester I know she does, because it means she's actually making progress she hasn't made before.

But yes, sounds almost exactly like the mild flu I had when I bumped from LC to full keto... Electrolytes like crazy!

InADarkRoom wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. @KnitOrMiss has got me totally figured out too!
Just peed on a stick and it's showing trace. And according to the scales I'm down about 3lbs. Not sure whether to believe them though!

My theory is that when the scale is down, I believe it. When it goes up, I don't

And when I went low carb to start, I didn't get much flu at all, maybe a headache here or there. But after a month of low carb, dropping to keto, I felt like I had a horrific sinus infection, congestion and all. Taking meds heavy enough to tranq a horse barely touched me. Took my electrolytes serious and ramped them up, instantly relief. So yes, for some of us, congestion and stuffiness can be Keto/Carb flu symptoms.

I haven't noticed lessening in my mucus production yet, but I am SO UP for some relief there... I have major year round allergies, and any easing there would be a miracle!

I have seen an improvement in my seasonal allergy symptoms so far. I'm curious to see what happens when Cedar Fever season starts in mud-December. I'll probably have to give up dairy to truly avoid symptoms.

I googled around a bit for any insights into the sinus / mucus thing.

A little about the structure of mucus:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucin

The dense "sugar coating" of mucins gives them considerable water-holding capacity and also makes them resistant to proteolysis, which may be important in maintaining mucosal barriers.

How much do we make?

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/1997-03/856841521.An.r.html

Mucus is by far the most abundant substance secreted by mammals, with saliva in a distant second place. Studies in rodents have shown that, in the gastrointestinal tract alone, the mucus layer ranges from 120 to 830 microns thick depending on the location (Atuma et al., 2001), and the mucus is completely regenerated about every 20 hours (Faure et al., 2002). Given the large surface area of the gastrointestinal tract, a substantial amount of mucus must be continually secreted to maintain this mucus layer: To maintain a comparable mucus layer and turnover rate in the human gastrointestinal tract would require the daily production of more than 4 liters of mucus per day, with more than 300 ml per day secreted in the large bowel alone.

We produce a LOT of mucus each day. Multiple liters of the stuff. The viscosity is a function of water content. And water binds to mucus via the hydrophilic glucose coating.

So thick mucus is a sign of too little water. Perhaps due to either dehydration or a reduction in the density of the glucose coat.

Sinus congestion is less about mucus production and more about swelling in the sinuses.

Still unknown: does carb restriction limit mucus production and/or glycosylation of mucin? This would be a great research topic!