Keto diet- 1 week and counting!

Everydayimshuffin
Everydayimshuffin Posts: 2 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello there! I started Keto a week ago and it looks promising. I have lost 3kgs. The only thing bothering me is the nausea in the morning. I have stopped having rice and bread which once was a major part of my diet. I have substituted it with a bowl of mixed veggies- which I absolutely enjoy! I’m not sure the sudden lack/change of carbs in my body is what’s making me tired and nauseous. Hopefully I’m not pushing myself too hard! I’m determined to get through this though :) one baby step at a time! I wish everyone luck on their own journeys towards a healthier lifestyle!

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Are you eating enough, enough calories, fat and salt?
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    Not to hijack, does it make any sense whatsoever to "ease" into a full on Keto diet? or is it a all or nothing thing? Any benefit to cutting out a lot of carbs but maybe not so low that you are in full on ketosis?
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    The nausea may be from "keto flu" - when you first start keto, your body flushes out a lot of water weight - and with it, a lot of electrolytes. It's important to replace them by supplementing more sodium, potassium and magnesium. Potassium salt substitutes are a good option, a lot cheaper and more potent than the tablets. Magnesium citrate tablets are easy to find.

    Just as a word of warning - I did keto for a full year with good results, but it ended up being too restrictive (as a carb-lover) and I ended up quitting and returning to my original way of eating and regaining all the weight.

    Is keto going to be sustainable for you? If not, what's your plan when you return to carbs?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    T0M_K wrote: »
    Not to hijack, does it make any sense whatsoever to "ease" into a full on Keto diet? or is it a all or nothing thing? Any benefit to cutting out a lot of carbs but maybe not so low that you are in full on ketosis?

    Sure, and depending on the person you may find that the benefits of low carb come at a much higher level than ketosis and don't increase going lower. (And some people find that they do as well or better without being low carb, but I am talking about people who enjoy low carbing.)

    Ketosis, and especially extremely low carb (lower than necessary for ketosis) diets are currently very trendy, but there's no particular benefit (unless you have epilepsy and have been prescribed the diet by a doctor) to being in ketosis itself, although some find that they don't get the benefits they are seeking from low carb (reduced appetite, greater satisfaction, reduction of cravings) unless they go that low. You can also probably be in ketosis at 50 g net carbs or lower, even though the current rage seems to be for less than 20 or the lower the better.

    I experimented with carb levels and found that around 100 g (100-120) worked well for me. I tried keto and it was fine, but no greater benefit and more restrictive than I liked (I like fruit and legumes and occasional potatoes).

    The keto flu seems to be a combination of a few things: some people just don't feel that great on super low carb, no matter what; there's usually a bit of a transition period at first that might affect energy levels; and electrolytes -- eat your vegetables and maybe add some extra salt.

    Don't know about the nausea, hadn't heard of that as a symptom, and morning nausea makes me hope other causes (for OP, I mean) have been ruled out.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,420 MFP Moderator
    toxikon wrote: »
    The nausea may be from "keto flu" - when you first start keto, your body flushes out a lot of water weight - and with it, a lot of electrolytes. It's important to replace them by supplementing more sodium, potassium and magnesium. Potassium salt substitutes are a good option, a lot cheaper and more potent than the tablets. Magnesium citrate tablets are easy to find.

    Just as a word of warning - I did keto for a full year with good results, but it ended up being too restrictive (as a carb-lover) and I ended up quitting and returning to my original way of eating and regaining all the weight.

    Is keto going to be sustainable for you? If not, what's your plan when you return to carbs?

    To add, when following keto, sodium should be 3000mg to 5000mg or more day.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    edited November 2017
    Ditto the others who mentioned sodium. Low sodium is probably the problem. Have a teaspoon of salt with water, or a cup of salty broth - it will probably help. Nausea is a pretty classic symptom of low electrolytes, along with fatigue, headaches, brain fog, BM issues, muscle aches and spasms.

  • Fyreside
    Fyreside Posts: 444 Member
    Another one new to keto here.. I've read about putting salt and lemonjuice in water for the electolyte supplementation. Would anyone second that opinion as a good option?
    T0M_K wrote: »
    Not to hijack, does it make any sense whatsoever to "ease" into a full on Keto diet? or is it a all or nothing thing? Any benefit to cutting out a lot of carbs but maybe not so low that you are in full on ketosis?

    I wouldn't say I eased into it as such, but I did spend some time bringing my carb intake down to a 75g per day average before drawing the line and actually going for keto in a big way. I seem to have avoided the shock of going cold turkey on the carbs. Hmmm cold turkey.. That gives me an idea.

    @Everydayimshuffin Feel free to friend me if you want to share some recipes and compare food diarys etc..
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    Fyreside wrote: »
    Another one new to keto here.. I've read about putting salt and lemonjuice in water for the electolyte supplementation. Would anyone second that opinion as a good option?

    Vitamin C isn't an electrolyte, so I don't think the lemon juice would do much help.

    When I did keto, I would mix up my table salt, potassium salt and Mio/Crystal Lite in a blender bottle with water and drink that, then take 2 Magnesium tablets. That'll cover the 3 electrolytes you need.

    Drinking beef broth also helps as it has a decent amount of mag, potassium and sodium too.

  • juliafness
    juliafness Posts: 3 Member
    Started keto last Monday, seeing results on the scale. I'm following 5% daily carbs/ 35% protein/ 60 % fat. Some days are more difficult to eat enough calories, my appetite has decreased. I heavy lift and am noticing some days I feel weaker, but I've read that's common. Drinking lots of water, and waiting my my keto supplements to be delivered. I'm hoping that will help with energy. Keto isn't for the faint of heart or someone on the fence, in my opinion, it's difficult. But after counting my calories for months and not seeing the difference I was looking for I feel hopeful of the progress I've seen in just a couple of weeks on keto.... However, I'm going to Paris on Saturday and not planning on watching what I eat while on my honeymoon.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,420 MFP Moderator
    juliafness wrote: »
    Started keto last Monday, seeing results on the scale. I'm following 5% daily carbs/ 35% protein/ 60 % fat. Some days are more difficult to eat enough calories, my appetite has decreased. I heavy lift and am noticing some days I feel weaker, but I've read that's common. Drinking lots of water, and waiting my my keto supplements to be delivered. I'm hoping that will help with energy. Keto isn't for the faint of heart or someone on the fence, in my opinion, it's difficult. But after counting my calories for months and not seeing the difference I was looking for I feel hopeful of the progress I've seen in just a couple of weeks on keto.... However, I'm going to Paris on Saturday and not planning on watching what I eat while on my honeymoon.

    It's not uncommon to lose strength and impair heavy lifting a bit when going keto since it's an anaerobic exercise. Once you are fat adapted, it should improve, albeit, you might be sacrificing some strength.

    And unless you have some kind of IR, if you are maintain calories/protein steady between before and current, there won't be a change in fat loss. So the question comes down to what were you eating before and how consistent/accurate were you.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,420 MFP Moderator
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Ditto the others who mentioned sodium. Low sodium is probably the problem. Have a teaspoon of salt with water, or a cup of salty broth - it will probably help. Nausea is a pretty classic symptom of low electrolytes, along with fatigue, headaches, brain fog, BM issues, muscle aches and spasms.

    Come on now buddy, we all know the answer to, "how do I get more salt" is always bacon.
  • Dogmudgeon
    Dogmudgeon Posts: 2 Member
    Hi -- does anyone know how to change the macronutrient parameters? They seem to be set for a standard CICO diet.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,420 MFP Moderator
    Dogmudgeon wrote: »
    Hi -- does anyone know how to change the macronutrient parameters? They seem to be set for a standard CICO diet.

    All diets are CICO. They start with the standard USDA recommendations. Use the below link and you can change the macro split there.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    Ditto the others who mentioned sodium. Low sodium is probably the problem. Have a teaspoon of salt with water, or a cup of salty broth - it will probably help. Nausea is a pretty classic symptom of low electrolytes, along with fatigue, headaches, brain fog, BM issues, muscle aches and spasms.

    Come on now buddy, we all know the answer to, "how do I get more salt" is always bacon.

    It is truly sad that most people don't realize this. Shameful!

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