Keto Beginner

Good morning! Have you heard of the "Keto Flu"? It is when your body starts moving from Carbs to Ketones for energy. You loose a lot of fluids and you also loose "electrolytes" (Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium).

The Keto Flu sucks. I missed it - or, maybe better stated - mitigated it because I consumed a lot of sodium in the beginning. That (the Keto Flu) is one of the things that makes people think twice about doing Keto - but it is so easy to mitigate (and, since everyone is different, that might mean something different for you).

I did look at your Food Diary. I will look again and comment...I just saw the amount of Sodium and wanted to address the Keto Flu and how to mitigate | avoid it!

My husband and I are considering the keto diet but we or I have tried Atkins in the past with no results. Atkins gave me alot of stomach issues I might add. What do you mean by balanced macro's diet, considering it.

Ive started Keto three weeks ago down one stone already. Another five to go. Any tips

I agree the easier to follow, the better. My choice of foods were/are different but I basically set up a balanced I tried and mostly did so meal planning. And to make it easier I would pretty much eat the same thing for two-three days in a row. It also helped set the pattern for me. And helped me know what to put on my grocery list each time. I did go through Keto-Flu mostly because I really do not like salt and have always used sparingly so did not stop to think = sodium you need for this diet type. Plus the real big monster I did not even think of was with being a type 2 diabetic on Insulin how fast my readings for Blood Sugar would go haywire along with my Electrolyte numbers for my kidneys in blood tests. So now I am being asked to have blood tests every 10 days to check all the kidney numbers. Why? Well with all water input/output I need to make sure daily I am drinking some type of sports drink sugar free loaded with Electrolytes. So a word to others who are diabetic. Watch out for this. I knew to watch for the Blood Sugar reading to swing around but not kidney blood test readings based on input/output. Been doing for a month now, kind of have the hang of it, but take time every day to read more on Keto from all the topics and learn.

I’m strict keto since January. I was fortunate enough to avoid the keto flu. However I made sure to eat spinach everyday, drink chicken broth/pickle juice and Powerade zero. I’m down 20lbs.

First full day today on Keto for me, so I'm here for the suggestions as well.
I'm not big on almonds/nuts. What's an easier way to enjoy them? I got sea salt almonds but it's still not tasty to me.

First full day of keto for me too. Fighting a pretty harsh headache right now. Been binging on carbs and sugar for the last month or so - I don’t expect a smooth transition.

Oh, I'm still a relative newbie (4 months and 27lbs in) but here are my experiences:

1. You'll lose a lot in the first two weeks. A lot of that is water weight, so don't freak out when weight loss slows or even stops a month or two in - your body is undergoing a major change, particularly if you were on a very high carb/sugar diet, and it'd going to take a while to find a new level.
2. I am yet to find an upper limit on salt. I often hit 5000mg salt.
3. I drink >2L of water a day (with a squeeze of lemon). This is vital. Your poor liver and kidneys are going to have quite to job ahead of you whilst you're losing. Look after them.
4. Keep it to basics for a while.
5. https://www.pinterest.com.au/coolchick207/ketogenic/ <--- when you're wanting a change from simple, there are hundreds of keto compliant or adjustable recipes here.
6. When I got on keto, I presumed I'd lose all the weight quickly. That hasn't happened and, with the benefit of hindsight, I'm really grateful. I lose, on average, 0.7kg (1.5lbs) a week and that's allowing my body to keep up.
7. Just like any diet, there are weeks you either won't lose or will go up a little. Keep calm and keto on. It'll adjust itself within the week. If it doesn't, ensure you're tracking correctly and staying below your chosen carbs (for me, that's 30g)
8. If you can afford good butter, invest in it. Kerrygold is the standard in the keto community, but any grass fed butter is better that the cheap stuff.
9. Don't forget your veg. Fibre is your friend.

Overall, I love it. I'm never hungry, my headaches have decreased, as has my problem with inflammation. My mood swings are significantly fewer (I have bipolar II) and I sleep an average of 7.5-8hrs a night, which is amazing for me who used to struggle to get into the 6hr mark.

EternityEyes wrote: »

First full day of keto for me too. Fighting a pretty harsh headache right now. Been binging on carbs and sugar for the last month or so - I don’t expect a smooth transition.

That's the low electrolytes. Eat a few cups of salty broth or a teaspoon of salt with some water. It will do the trick.