Light-headed... Salt and water retention...
4031isaiah
Posts: 1,253 Member
For the last few days I've been feeling light headed if I stand up too quickly. Especially in the morning.
I read that this could mean I'm low on sodium or potassium and my electrolytes may be out of whack.
To correct this, I started taking potassium (vitamin k) supplements and I've been drinking coconut water (which has more potassium than bananas), but it wasn't helping so I also upped my salt intake and the only thing that changed is now I'm up over 2lbs! So I'm retaining water and still lightheaded...
Any suggestions?
I read that this could mean I'm low on sodium or potassium and my electrolytes may be out of whack.
To correct this, I started taking potassium (vitamin k) supplements and I've been drinking coconut water (which has more potassium than bananas), but it wasn't helping so I also upped my salt intake and the only thing that changed is now I'm up over 2lbs! So I'm retaining water and still lightheaded...
Any suggestions?
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Replies
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You're gonna love this: even more salt.
If you're retaining water after increasing salt intake, that means your body is happily hanging onto the sodium.
If you're still lightheaded, your blood volume may still be too low, and more salt may help.
When you say you increased your salt intake, how much did you add? The standard recommendation is for an EXTRA 1-2g of sodium per day. That's hard to get unless you're drinking broth or eating at McDonalds.
If your level of ketones in the urine is low, you may not need that much extra sodium. I can usually get what I need with a pickle or two (300-600mg).0 -
Postural Hypotension. I've had that my whole life, but it is worse when salt and water are low. Ditto @wabmester.0
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Ok. I just went out and got myself liquid iron and salted sunflower seeds. Hopefully I will now have all of my bases covered and my body will have no use for the excess weight... Fluid or otherwise.0
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Once I got past the dizziness, it took me about 3 weeks to get rid of the water. Then, it was all good.0
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I wish I hadn't done them both at the same time because I felt quite a bit better afterwards and now I don't know if it was the extra salt in the sunflower seeds or if I was low in iron... Either way I feel better and I'm happy about that.0
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... But I'm still up in weight.0
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There's about a 4 day lag for the kidneys to adjust the sodium/water level. If you're still dumping ketones, you may need to continue the higher sodium intake to feel well. In any case, give it a couple more days.0
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When I started keto, I read that I should take a potassium supplement and drink a cup if bouillion for salt every day! I started taking magnesium when I got leg cramps. They stopped. As long as I take these three things every day, I feel great. If I don't, I feel like crap. I've lost 118.6 pounds eating this way and have never felt better.0
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So... Before I do this, I just need to make sure I understand that in order for my body to stop retaining water, I need to take in more salt?0
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When I started keto, I read that I should take a potassium supplement and drink a cup if bouillion for salt every day! I started taking magnesium when I got leg cramps. They stopped. As long as I take these three things every day, I feel great. If I don't, I feel like crap. I've lost 118.6 pounds eating this way and have never felt better.
That's amazing elize7!
So, when you say bouillon, do you mean like the cubes dissolved in water, or like, a pre-made broth?0 -
Consistency is key, I do about 2g Added NaCl to food each day. Your kidneys will eventually adapt to your sodium load & water retention will not be an issue; the things is the kidneys adapt more slowly vs. say the lungs (metabolic-kidneys vs. respiratory-pulmonary acidosis/alkalosis). 3-5 days or so should do0
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I second the salt suggestion. I thought it was kinda crazy myself, but it worked on my water retention issue I posted in the low carbers group.
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So, besides having a nice glass of salt with breakfast, what is the best way to get my sodium up consistently?0
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Salt everything. Drink broth once a day or more. Add a dash of salt to unexpected things (a dash in the morning coffee can remove some of the bitterness)... Eat pickles or drink pickle juice. Eat salted nuts (but be careful of eating too many - salt makes you want more of them). salt your water. swallow some pink himalayan crystals between water bottles, especially if outside. Make homemade electrolyte drinks. Etc. Cook with salted butter.0
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Pink salt sprinkled on a spoon full of semi-soft coconut oil0
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I had a pretty moderate case of lightheadedness my first week or so, especially first thing in the morning, between mealtimes, and standing up. What helped me was warming chicken broth, and adding a heaping amount of cream to this as well as adding enough kosher salt to be slightly salty. Within several minutes after consuming, I noticed that my lightheadedness would dissipate. I did this for roughly the first week. It seemed to help me, plus the creamy chicken broth was good.0
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »Salt everything. Drink broth once a day or more. Add a dash of salt to unexpected things (a dash in the morning coffee can remove some of the bitterness)... Eat pickles or drink pickle juice. Eat salted nuts (but be careful of eating too many - salt makes you want more of them). salt your water. swallow some pink himalayan crystals between water bottles, especially if outside. Make homemade electrolyte drinks. Etc. Cook with salted butter.
Homemade electrolyte drinks? I never thought of that. I try to drink coconut water but I'm not a big fan. Do you have some fav recipes?0 -
JENIPENNY123 wrote: »I had a pretty moderate case of lightheadedness my first week or so, especially first thing in the morning, between mealtimes, and standing up. What helped me was warming chicken broth, and adding a heaping amount of cream to this as well as adding enough kosher salt to be slightly salty. Within several minutes after consuming, I noticed that my lightheadedness would dissipate. I did this for roughly the first week. It seemed to help me, plus the creamy chicken broth was good.
I can't do dairy, but that sounds good. I will swing by the store and pick up some broth tomorrow. I tea want this to be a new way of life for me but there seems to be so many details that need to be tweaked.0 -
I'm trying to stay positive but I've been at this for over 3 weeks and all I have to show for it is lots of trips to the washroom to pee an inability to do #2 and light-headed-ness. I need to start seeing results soon to stay motivated.0
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4031isaiah wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »Salt everything. Drink broth once a day or more. Add a dash of salt to unexpected things (a dash in the morning coffee can remove some of the bitterness)... Eat pickles or drink pickle juice. Eat salted nuts (but be careful of eating too many - salt makes you want more of them). salt your water. swallow some pink himalayan crystals between water bottles, especially if outside. Make homemade electrolyte drinks. Etc. Cook with salted butter.
Homemade electrolyte drinks? I never thought of that. I try to drink coconut water but I'm not a big fan. Do you have some fav recipes?
Not really, personally, but a friend posted this in another group a while back. It has far more potassium and sodium than a SF gatorade/powerade...
My recipe is 2 T lemon juice (for potassium), 1/8 t himalayan sea salt (for sodium), 10 drops NuNatural Stevia drops (the only brand that doesn't have a bad aftertaste to me) and 8 oz water. This is essentially equal to 8 oz of a sugar free electrolyte sports drink.
There have also been a lot lately that show mixins and stuff. Essentially, something for sodium, sometihng for potassium/magnesium, something for fluids, and something to make it palatable.
You could do ghee (if you tolerate it) or coconut oil in the broth, as well, to give it a boost.
I found most of my electrolyte issues were a combo of not enough sodium, not enough water, not enough fats...0 -
4031isaiah wrote: »I'm trying to stay positive but I've been at this for over 3 weeks and all I have to show for it is lots of trips to the washroom to pee an inability to do #2 and light-headed-ness. I need to start seeing results soon to stay motivated.
It gets better. Week 3-4 was the worst for me. Scale wouldn't drop, I felt miserable, exercising was tedious at best, and I honestly was over analyzing every little thing. I took magnesium citrate for the bathroom issue and drank Propel for electrolyte balances along with putting a little extra salt onto my food. I didn't see a loss on the scale until week 5ish. Now it's a consistent 1 lb or more a week, coming in spurts. I lost inches long before that scale said I'd lost anything. It drove me batty.
I'm almost 3 months in and I no longer have to have magnesium for the bathroom issue, although I still take a smaller dose because I'm not getting enough from my diet. If I eat enough fat, things move, um, very smoothly LOL. I still have water retention issues, but I'm coming to the conclusion mine are more hormonally related these days. I no longer have the exercise problem either, unless you count general laziness as an issue. :P In fact, most days I feel better than I have in a long long time.
It'll get better. Coconut oil too always helped as well with the number 2 issue. Don't give up just yet. First month is rough, but it does get better!
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4031isaiah wrote: »JENIPENNY123 wrote: »I had a pretty moderate case of lightheadedness my first week or so, especially first thing in the morning, between mealtimes, and standing up. What helped me was warming chicken broth, and adding a heaping amount of cream to this as well as adding enough kosher salt to be slightly salty. Within several minutes after consuming, I noticed that my lightheadedness would dissipate. I did this for roughly the first week. It seemed to help me, plus the creamy chicken broth was good.
I can't do dairy, but that sounds good. I will swing by the store and pick up some broth tomorrow. I tea want this to be a new way of life for me but there seems to be so many details that need to be tweaked.
Oops I didn't even think about the whole dairy thing. Consider supplementing with raw, unsweetened almond milk. The calories are pretty equivalent to 1 tbsp of heavy (fluid) cream per 8oz serving of almond milk, but almond milk is not carb free. The Whole Foods 365 brand of organic, unsweetened almond milk has 1g net carb per serving, which isn't too bad. Plus, it tastes pretty good!
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chaoticdreams wrote: »4031isaiah wrote: »I'm trying to stay positive but I've been at this for over 3 weeks and all I have to show for it is lots of trips to the washroom to pee an inability to do #2 and light-headed-ness. I need to start seeing results soon to stay motivated.
It gets better. Week 3-4 was the worst for me. Scale wouldn't drop, I felt miserable, exercising was tedious at best, and I honestly was over analyzing every little thing. I took magnesium citrate for the bathroom issue and drank Propel for electrolyte balances along with putting a little extra salt onto my food. I didn't see a loss on the scale until week 5ish. Now it's a consistent 1 lb or more a week, coming in spurts. I lost inches long before that scale said I'd lost anything. It drove me batty.
I'm almost 3 months in and I no longer have to have magnesium for the bathroom issue, although I still take a smaller dose because I'm not getting enough from my diet. If I eat enough fat, things move, um, very smoothly LOL. I still have water retention issues, but I'm coming to the conclusion mine are more hormonally related these days. I no longer have the exercise problem either, unless you count general laziness as an issue. :P In fact, most days I feel better than I have in a long long time.
It'll get better. Coconut oil too always helped as well with the number 2 issue. Don't give up just yet. First month is rough, but it does get better!
Thanks for the encouragement. Adding extra salt and fat to my diet in order to stop retaining water and lose fat seems so counter-intuitive to me. I feel like I'm playing the trust game with my eyes closed and arms folded across my chest as I fall back in faith and hope that Keto catches me before I crash and burn!
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4031isaiah wrote: »... But I'm still up in weight.
This too shall pass (if you stay on keto).0 -
Hopefully sooner than later!0
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