Feeling sick from cutting carbs

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Replies

  • lleeann2001
    lleeann2001 Posts: 410 Member
    I used to eat 200+ carbs a day. From cookies, sweets, etc. never good carbs.
    The last 3 days I have managed to stay around 50 carbs a day, with a calorie deficit.
    I just feel so nauseous, constant headache, etc. is this normal?? Does my body think I’m doing the Keto diet (which I do not want to be doing)
    Any tips?

    I personally thought I was the only one experiencing this. I have in the past few days gotten nauseous, had what I thought was a sinus headache because of the pressure I felt. And when standing up in this state feel generally lousy. But, I would lay down for a good while and would feel better after getting up. In fact, I would feel great. Must ax my MD about this.





  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited March 2019
    Varies by person and many can avoid it by increasing salt. When I did it I was already somewhat low carb (100-120 g) and had no "flu" symptoms -- one day I felt a headache coming on, and managed to avoid it by drinking some salty water. I eat lots of veg and did doing keto, so my magnesium and potassium was pretty decent already, and I added more salt when cooking when I decided to do keto.

    My only symptoms were a loss of energy for intense activity for a while -- felt it when running up stairs or running in general. That took 2-3 weeks to start getting better.

    I didn't find that keto was beneficial for me and I disliked cutting out some really nutrient-dense foods I enjoy, which is why I quit, but it was an interesting experience. I lost all my weight not doing keto, however.

    Since you had WLS, you'd want to check with your dietitian before doing something super high fat -- depending on the type of WLS it could be beneficial or not, but there would be considerations different from people who have not had surgical intervention that affects digestion.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    ccrdragon wrote: »
    I have read the comments. I will research Himalayan pink salt as I have some of this and is SUPPOSED TO HAVE CERTAIN minerals. i will fjnd out though. tnank you for the comments. And. also If I personally decided to eat keto how long. does keto flu last?

    You would have to eat pounds of the pink salt daily to get any added benefit from the other minerals that are present in the salt...

    https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pink-himalayan-salt#section6

    Even sea salt, which has some minerals but is not known to have the contaminants in pink salt, has so little that you need to eat 2 cups a day to get any benefit. You will not live long enough to enjoy those benefits because 2 cups a day will kill you very quickly.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    It's Keto Flu - and it does seem to go away (or least did for me) after a few days/a week. Like your body has to get used to being in ketosis. If you want to eat carbs do - if you want to do keto - do. Just know what is happening when you do it. (I lost and kept 17# off doing keto - and although I stayed full and stuff - I just missed having things like bread/sweets/etc. so quit). Whatever works best for you!