Side effect of LC or IF????
cinnygirl38
Posts: 42 Member
Hello all! I've been doing IF and LC for about 3 weeks now. Aside from being REALLY hungry a couple of hours before my eating window, I'm managing okay......with one exception. I'm having an issue with feeling faint when standing up. It feels like orthostatic hypotension, but I'm not sure because it's not just feeling dizzy upon standing up.
Most times I see black and feel like I could possibly faint, but I just stand still for a minute or so and it passes. I'm also having achy arm muscles and feels like rapidly beating heart during/after this happens. Like doing very normal things is a little more difficult, I have to slow down and then rest. After my eating window opens, this all passes.
Has anyone else experienced this? I've read about dehydration and loss of electrolytes. Yesterday, I took 1/4 tsp of salt, but it was right before my eating window opened, so I'm not sure it made a difference. I also ordered some SF electrolytes.
Can anyone tell me what they've done to combat this? I really don't want to stop IF b/c it is helping me keep my calories and carbs in check, but I can't continue to have these symptoms. Through the holidays, I will be working at home, so I can manage, but in the new year, I will be traveling to locations where I will be required to be on my feet and moving for a couple hours before my eating window starts. So, I'd really like to figure this out now.
Thanks in advance for reading this book and any help that can be provided!
Most times I see black and feel like I could possibly faint, but I just stand still for a minute or so and it passes. I'm also having achy arm muscles and feels like rapidly beating heart during/after this happens. Like doing very normal things is a little more difficult, I have to slow down and then rest. After my eating window opens, this all passes.
Has anyone else experienced this? I've read about dehydration and loss of electrolytes. Yesterday, I took 1/4 tsp of salt, but it was right before my eating window opened, so I'm not sure it made a difference. I also ordered some SF electrolytes.
Can anyone tell me what they've done to combat this? I really don't want to stop IF b/c it is helping me keep my calories and carbs in check, but I can't continue to have these symptoms. Through the holidays, I will be working at home, so I can manage, but in the new year, I will be traveling to locations where I will be required to be on my feet and moving for a couple hours before my eating window starts. So, I'd really like to figure this out now.
Thanks in advance for reading this book and any help that can be provided!
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Replies
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Salt...and salt...and even more salt.
I probably have 1/4 tsp about 3 times a day...morning post-workout...noon pre-workout...and another dose while cooking dinner.
If I start to feel lightheaded or weak during any of my workouts then I will have extra.
You definitely don't need to wait for your eating window to have salt.
As for muscle aches or fatigue, 3 weeks is about where I started to feel more adapted and better during intense workouts and activity, but for some people adaptation commonly takes 6 weeks, and it can take as long as 6 months but I think that length of time is less common.4 -
Thank you so much for the reply. I wasn't necessarily waiting for my eating window for the salt, it just happened to be when I started researching and saw that lack of sodium may be the issue. I took some this morning, so we shall see.
I should have the electrolytes tomorrow, so I'm hoping they will help as well.0 -
Thanks for bringing this up, I have had a couple episodes of this, along with feeling very light-headed and dizzy for short spells. It started after I stopped eating saltier foods like beef sticks. Might have to add those back into my diet. Never considered that is was lack of salt!!1
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tcunbeliever wrote: »Salt...and salt...and even more salt.
I probably have 1/4 tsp about 3 times a day...morning post-workout...noon pre-workout...and another dose while cooking dinner.
If I start to feel lightheaded or weak during any of my workouts then I will have extra.
You definitely don't need to wait for your eating window to have salt.
As for muscle aches or fatigue, 3 weeks is about where I started to feel more adapted and better during intense workouts and activity, but for some people adaptation commonly takes 6 weeks, and it can take as long as 6 months but I think that length of time is less common.
Ketorade is a must for me, especially if I am doing a hard bike session where I know i'll be sweating a ton.1 -
Yep Salt.
I had orthostatic hypotension. You described the tunnel vision perfectly. More salt. Definitely. I still have 1/2 tsp of salt every morning with my first glass of water. It helps me.1 -
Yep Salt.
I had orthostatic hypotension. You described the tunnel vision perfectly. More salt. Definitely. I still have 1/2 tsp of salt every morning with my first glass of water. It helps me.
I was thinking either orthostatic hypotension or hypoglycemia. I have had hypoglycemia instances in the past, but it's been several years. They included really bad shaking and me absolutely having to sit down and have some food. These current episodes, for lack of a better word, are not that extreme. Just the tunnel vision, like you said and achy arms. No shaking.
Pushed salt today and only mildly felt like at one point I might have a problem, but it was so mild and passed very quickly. Tomorrow morning, salt will be on the menu first thing and second thing and probably third thing
LOL Electrolytes will be here too.
Outside of this, I'm doing pretty well with IF and LC.0 -
Low carb diets are naturally diuretic. You waste sodium so you must replace it on a daily basis. Recommendation is about 5000mg of sodium. Not 5000mg of salt... only part of salt is sodium. You need that much of just sodium.
The symptoms that are caused by low sodium when going low carb are referred to as “keto flu”... this unfortunately causes many people to not understand that it is 100% avoidable by supplementing sodium starting day 1.5 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Low carb diets are naturally diuretic. You waste sodium so you must replace it on a daily basis. Recommendation is about 5000mg of sodium. Not 5000mg of salt... only part of salt is sodium. You need that much of just sodium.
The symptoms that are caused by low sodium when going low carb are referred to as “keto flu”... this unfortunately causes many people to not understand that it is 100% avoidable by supplementing sodium starting day 1.
Thank you! I took 1/2 tsp of salt as soon as I got up this morning and I'm feeling a lot better today. No dizzy or achy at this point. Is there a certain supplement you recommend outside of just salt?0 -
cinnygirl38 wrote: »Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Low carb diets are naturally diuretic. You waste sodium so you must replace it on a daily basis. Recommendation is about 5000mg of sodium. Not 5000mg of salt... only part of salt is sodium. You need that much of just sodium.
The symptoms that are caused by low sodium when going low carb are referred to as “keto flu”... this unfortunately causes many people to not understand that it is 100% avoidable by supplementing sodium starting day 1.
Thank you! I took 1/2 tsp of salt as soon as I got up this morning and I'm feeling a lot better today. No dizzy or achy at this point. Is there a certain supplement you recommend outside of just salt?
Supplements exist but the cheapest (and quite palatable while effective) is to make yourself ketoade.
1/4 tsp salt
water flavoring (like Mio or Crystal Light)
8-12oz water
a shake of potassium chloride (like Nu Salt or Lite Salt or similar)
2 per day. More if you are more active. Some people need more; some don't.1 -
Thecinnygirl38 wrote: »Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Low carb diets are naturally diuretic. You waste sodium so you must replace it on a daily basis. Recommendation is about 5000mg of sodium. Not 5000mg of salt... only part of salt is sodium. You need that much of just sodium.
The symptoms that are caused by low sodium when going low carb are referred to as “keto flu”... this unfortunately causes many people to not understand that it is 100% avoidable by supplementing sodium starting day 1.
Thank you! I took 1/2 tsp of salt as soon as I got up this morning and I'm feeling a lot better today. No dizzy or achy at this point. Is there a certain supplement you recommend outside of just salt?
The Ketoade as mentioned above might be helpful for you. I personally prefer to just swallow coarse salt 1/4 tsp at a time throughout the day. Using coarse salt helps to make it possible to swallow like a bunch of tiny pills. Any water I drink I add salt to taste.
Even if you do buy a supplement you will find you need to take like 20 pills a day to get enough sodium as they are typically only 200-300mg each. So it’s really simplest to buy coarse salt.3 -
I add salt to everything I drink now too. Coffee especially. It took me a few months but now I prefer it that way.
Many around here really like salty broth or boullion too.
Just for reference, 1 teaspoon of salt is 2300 mg of sodium.1 -
I, too, have salt water first thing in the morning and again before bed. I also absolutely love salted plain Greek yogurt. I dip all the things in it.
I also have some pink rock sea salt and I suck on them occasionally. I treat them like candy sometimes. lol3 -
Ditto on all the salt and electrolyte recommendations. You also mentioned being hungry before your next meal, that would be my sign to know I need more fat in my meals. Most newbies struggle with adding the fats in. Make sure you are eating enough fat and keeping carbs <20 grams and see if the hunger continues or not.2
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