There are lots of people here doing low carb but not keto. I am carb cycling so my carb limit is either 50g or 164g depending on the day. Definitely not keto levels.

what side effects are you concerned about? but yes you can do low carb without striving for ketosis. low carb has a wide range definition of 0-100 grams per day.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I'm doing 50-100 g. I've been closer to 50 and suspect that's enough for ketosis for me, but I don't care if I'm in ketosis or not.

Yep - so many people number one dont understand Ketosis and think you have to be in it to be low carb. No the case. Funny this obsession with Ketosis. Simply be a low carber and see how it goes. If your not getting the results you expect/want. Go lower on the carbs to see if that works for ya.

I am with @Lemucart12 dont worry about it.

My hubby is lower carb. I say "lower" because he is a carb junkie! He loves everything carbs. I make his lunch and dinner for him everyday and it's predominantly low carb. He doesn't track, but I would say he eats anywhere between 100g-150g carbs per day.
He won't give up his McDonald's coffee with 5 creams and 5 sugars...
He won't give us his nightly sweet craving of Reese's Puffs cereal with sugar free chocolate chip cookies thrown in...
As of right now, he is maintaining his weight without exercise and eating lower carb.
But, fortunately for him, he drops weight so quickly when he does decide to lower his carb intake for a few days.
He cannot and will not do keto. More bacon and peanut butter for me

ann900mfp wrote: »

Thanks everyone going to go low carb but not two low at first then see if I'm OK with going lower not ready to give up my chips just yet

At any level of low carb under 150g you'll likely still need to increase sodium. Even without the nateuresis of ketosis your body will not retain sodium at the same level it does on a high carb diet and keeping sodium levels right is very important to total health.
When you eat fewer carbs, your body makes less insulin. Insulin plays a role in sodium retention. With the lower insulin levels you'll lose sodium more easily. You just lose it even more easily with ketosis because of the even lower insulin level and the diuretic effect of keto. So, basically the lower carb you go, the more sodium you need.
For some reason though, going completely zero carb seems to have less of need for specific supplementation in most people. I still specifically seek out extra sodium on zero carb but I have found my needs were actually higher on 20-30g total keto levels. I don't fully understand that but it seems common among ZC folks.

Anyway, sodium deficiency is the cause of all the terrible side effects youngear about keto. It's not the ketones that are responsible. It's low sodium and the fact that most people either don't know you need it or don't accept this as a fact.

https://www.jonnybowden.com/salt-and-the-low-carb-diet/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WNV0GJcrqp4

https://chriskresser.com/shaking-up-the-salt-myth-the-dangers-of-salt-restriction/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=share&utm_term=salt-restriction-danger&utm_content=&utm_campaign=blog

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4546722/Salt-won-t-heart-attack-says-scientist.html#ixzz4iEj2j6tZ

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4546722/Salt-won-t-heart-attack-says-scientist.html#ixzz4iEj2j6tZ


But, regardless, keto isn't necessary for weight loss. Many people choose it because they actually find they feel best at that level.

For me, the bad symptoms kept coming and going, even though i ate a lot of salt. Taking Keto Core supplements has really made me feel normal. I highly recommend.

collectable99 wrote: »

Great info, but I have a question, I am supposed to be on the dash sodium level, after a mini stroke in April, tried that and conventional low fat 1200 cal , exercise aqua therapy minimum of 3 days a week. Lost 3 pounds in a month. Then decided to go on Atkins induction and still try to watch my sodium but it is double what dash calls for. But I have been getting leg cramps at the end of my water workouts. And I lost 11 pounds in the first 14 days which I realize is some water weight also. How do I safely increase my sodium to prevent the leg cramps ? is that possible. TIA

So nobody can tell you it's safe to have more sodium than your doctor ha recommended. I'm not going to say for you to do that either.
All I can say is that you should read up on the diuretic effect of ketosis and understand how sodium retention is different in a reduced insulin situation.
If I were having your symptoms, I would have more sodium for sure. But I'm comfortable in my knowledge on the subject to say that.
You could try taking magnesium first and see if that does it. Normally, I would say sodium is primary then magnesium then potassium. But that's a call you have to make for yourself considering your previous advice.
Just know that eating low carb has a diuretic effect that may have changed your needs for sodium. Because it just works that way.

I'm experimenting with 70g carbs and much higher fats this week. Even on a 'regular' day I am @ 130g carbs so still considered low (I think) I'm also not terribly interested in ketosis since I'd have a hell of a time getting potassium and some other micros in so just trying to find a satiety balance... carbs are pretty much the only macro I can afford to ditch so by default they're low.

Dragonwolf wrote: »

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

I'm experimenting with 70g carbs and much higher fats this week. Even on a 'regular' day I am @ 130g carbs so still considered low (I think) I'm also not terribly interested in ketosis since I'd have a hell of a time getting potassium and some other micros in so just trying to find a satiety balance... carbs are pretty much the only macro I can afford to ditch so by default they're low.

Keep in mind that potassium isn't required on labels, so there's a very high chance you're getting a sufficient amount. The RDI is also more or less pulled out of the air for most people.

I specifically track mine as one of my '5' and i cross reference the USDA database and create custom foods if I have to, so I have a pretty good idea of what I'm actually getting and I struggle to get 3500 on a good day

While I am eating @ around 50 grams of carbs a day the amount of food I can consume drops to less than half what I consume if I were to eat 150 carbs a day. I quickly find myself in ketosis by eating below my maintenance calories and limiting myself to around 50 grams of carbs a day. So this is a big boost for weight loss for me as I am one who suffers from nearly chronic hunger on a medium to high carbohydrate woe even if I eat maintenance or above maintenance calorie amounts. I haven't used the sticks in a long time, its just the effects of low carb on my hunger levels that I seek. Other benefits are less bloating, fewer aches and pains. I wish I had known years ago about the salt intake when I tried low carb, I'm sure I could have stuck with it much longer had I understood that my ideas on salt being a demon were all wrong on lower carbs.

My doctor told me to eat 100 or fewer g of carbs a day to decrease my triglycerides. I have settled in at between 60 and 70 a day and I already feel so much better! I'm only 10 days in and have lost 5 lbs (I'm sure water is a lot of that, but that's still ok). My ankles no longer swell and I'm not hungry. In fact, not being hungry has almost gotten to be a problem. I have managed it by going to 2 meals a day some days or two regular meals and a snack.