Advice please as feel rubbish!
freckleston
Posts: 36 Member
Hi im after some advice please. I was keto last year for 4 months and it was all positive so i dont know what wrong this time. 
Started Keto 16 days ago.
First 12 days were great! Better energy, better mental alertness. decreased appetite, good sleep, less aches n pains. Peeing loads. Lost a huge 12lb (thats 1lb a day!)
Since day 13 though i been so fatigued, sleepy, mental blur, legs ache even to walk, headache. Waking at night. Im still peeing loads and drinking lots of water. Still keeping to keto with lots of good food choices.
With regard to electrolytes i am in UK and shops not open so all i could find is the diarhhea rehydration sachets which Ive taken 2 today but they have 3g carbs each. Also taking extra table salt (only salt i have).
Everything i read says keto flu is at the beginning. But my beginning was great. So Am i doing something else wrong?
These is my averages of last 2 weeks:
Carbs (18g) 7%
Fat (62g) 59%
Protein (78g) 34%
Thank you
Started Keto 16 days ago.
First 12 days were great! Better energy, better mental alertness. decreased appetite, good sleep, less aches n pains. Peeing loads. Lost a huge 12lb (thats 1lb a day!)
Since day 13 though i been so fatigued, sleepy, mental blur, legs ache even to walk, headache. Waking at night. Im still peeing loads and drinking lots of water. Still keeping to keto with lots of good food choices.
With regard to electrolytes i am in UK and shops not open so all i could find is the diarhhea rehydration sachets which Ive taken 2 today but they have 3g carbs each. Also taking extra table salt (only salt i have).
Everything i read says keto flu is at the beginning. But my beginning was great. So Am i doing something else wrong?
These is my averages of last 2 weeks:
Carbs (18g) 7%
Fat (62g) 59%
Protein (78g) 34%
Thank you
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Replies
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Keto flu can happen anytime - it's simply an electrolyte imbalance. Eat MORE salt!! I probably eat close to 5 grams (5000mg) of salt per day, more if I am being active.4
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Thanks both
5g does seem a lot of salt doesnt it.. i feel like im taking salt but i guess its not enough.
I dragged myself to a shop managed to buy some electrolyte drink called high5 zero and that even only has 250mg sodium per serving. Did Get some rock salt crystals too.
Re calories im not consciously trying to stay that low calories i didnt realise it came out that low. That difficult to amend as i feel bit sick and dont fancy much. From shop i just managed to get MCT oil too so hopefully if can get some of that into me should build up calories.
Thank you so much. Lets hope my new purchases give me what i need to feel normal .
Very much appreciate your replies.
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Bleugh i feel worse now after eating. Feel really very nauseous, sleepy, headache and very uncomfortable. Im sure i rectified the issues with salt and calories. I will have to do early bed and hope it balance soon.1
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freckleston wrote: »Bleugh i feel worse now after eating. Feel really very nauseous, sleepy, headache and very uncomfortable. Im sure i rectified the issues with salt and calories. I will have to do early bed and hope it balance soon.
Are you getting any cramping?0 -
Have you tried keto-aid? Often supplements don't have the same bioavailability of real food. Some good both broth or pickle juice would work well.1
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Are you getting any cramping?
You mean in legs etc. No i dont have cramping. I feel slightly better on the nausea but am completely drained.0 -
Have you tried keto-aid? Often supplements don't have the same bioavailability of real food. Some good both broth or pickle juice would work well.
Thank you but unfortunately no i cant try as dont have any of those things.
Just googled KetoAid it seems very specialist ingredients. it looks really confusing too so not sure what exactly to get.
Had to Google beef broth too. I definitely dont have any beef bones to hand to boil. Ive never done that before fOr pickle juice, you mean like the vinegar from pickled onions? i dont have any pickles in house either unfortunately.
Cant shop again for a while due to covid-19 as i went out today.
Thanks for this but guess i will have to just keep trying with what ive got tomorrow. Its evening now so will go to bed and hope for some nice sleep.0 -
If im gonna need this much salt i will have to think again as my blood pressure is already a bit high and creeping up.
I been monitoring this for my nurse for couple months and supposed to be doing lifestyle changes before medication is considered.
I didnt have any of these imbalance issues last year and didnt need to supplement any salts. I did also get a lot of benefit to my neurological issues last year. as well as lost a bit of weight so thought this be perfect again but not if it my blood pressure rises.
Any ideas please for managing a middle ground please? I really appreciate your comments. Thanks0 -
freckleston wrote: »If im gonna need this much salt i will have to think again as my blood pressure is already a bit high and creeping up.
I been monitoring this for my nurse for couple months and supposed to be doing lifestyle changes before medication is considered.
I didnt have any of these imbalance issues last year and didnt need to supplement any salts. I did also get a lot of benefit to my neurological issues last year. as well as lost a bit of weight so thought this be perfect again but not if it my blood pressure rises.
Any ideas please for managing a middle ground please? I really appreciate your comments. Thanks
The reason you have to consume 3500-5000 mg of salt is to replace the sodium lost from the reduction of insulin and water. Without carbs, your body doesn't maintain the same fluid capacity that is does on a carb diet. Typical blood pressure will decrease on a keto diet even with high sodium. Mine drops 10 points from it and I run 5000mg.
Almost all the research on hypertension is based on the SAD diet as the control. These people often run high carb, high fat, and are overweight and don't exercise.
So if you are Keto, there is no other way but to run a higher sodium diet. You also want to consume high potassium and magnesium to often an imbalances in electrolytes. This will also take care of sodium retention swings.1 -
Thanks again. Didnt know this. Maybe blood pressure just gone up cos been feeling lousy. I will stick with it and order some supplements. Is there anything critical to look out for with potassium and magnesium strengths /types. Thank you !0
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freckleston wrote: »Thanks again. Didnt know this. Maybe blood pressure just gone up cos been feeling lousy. I will stick with it and order some supplements. Is there anything critical to look out for with potassium and magnesium strengths /types. Thank you !
I would focus on adding salt, potassium and magnesium to your diet. With supplements, you can run into bioavailability issues and quality issues. Look up bone, beef or chicken broth. Consume avocado, spinach and other greens. And just salt your foods.1 -
freckleston wrote: »Have you tried keto-aid? Often supplements don't have the same bioavailability of real food. Some good both broth or pickle juice would work well.
Thank you but unfortunately no i cant try as dont have any of those things.
Just googled KetoAid it seems very specialist ingredients. it looks really confusing too so not sure what exactly to get.
Had to Google beef broth too. I definitely dont have any beef bones to hand to boil. Ive never done that before fOr pickle juice, you mean like the vinegar from pickled onions? i dont have any pickles in house either unfortunately.
Cant shop again for a while due to covid-19 as i went out today.
Thanks for this but guess i will have to just keep trying with what ive got tomorrow. Its evening now so will go to bed and hope for some nice sleep.
You can make your own LC gatorade, which I always just called "ketoade":
8-12 fl.oz. water
LC water flavoring of choice (Mio, Crystal Light, or a generic zero carb water flavor or use lemon juice and artificial sweetener or cut up fruit steeped in the water)
1/4 tsp salt
a few shakes of a potassium salt like NoSalt or NuSalt
Mix and chug
You drink this at least twice a day.
Plus, salty broth can really be nothing more than beef or chicken bouillon cubes or powder mixed in water. No need really to fuss with making real broth unless you just really like it or want the collagen.
Finally, to address the nausea, you can skip extra fats like MCT oil. I started with coconut oil in the coffee, but eventually just ditched it. It took up my calories that I'd rather get chewing food. And made my stomach upset.
Keto can be as simple as eating meat, eggs and low-carb dairy, with small amounts of green leafy veg. Adding too much fat can contribute to nausea for some folk, so just limit it to a small amount in sauces and what oil/grease you need to keep your pan from burning when cooking. Between that and the natural fat in the meat and dairy, that should be enough fat.
We can't look at your diary as it is private so we don't know what you are eating to make any other recommendations.
Sorry you're having issues with shopping. We have some too here in the States. Mainly beef being ridiculously high and products missing from the shelves. I have 4 kids, 2 of which are teenagers so in addition to them being obnoxious in retaliation for the seclusion, they are also eating the house down around us. I've had to eat more carbs than I prefer to save the meat for the bottomless-pits.
Hope you feel better soon.
You might consider looking through Reddit's r/keto. They have a FAQ that answers a lot of questions or gives good tips. https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq4 -
Have you talked to your nurse and your neurologist about any of this? You might want to discuss this with the medical professionals you are currently seeing.2
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If u aren't hungry don't eat. U could probably benefit from a day of fasting for the nausea, give ur gut a lil break to heal1
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If u aren't hungry don't eat. U could probably benefit from a day of fasting for the nausea, give ur gut a lil break to heal
Im not sure about this for myself. I think i hadnt had enough calories the couple days and i felt weird so i dont think i should fast. My vision goes blurry and feel too shaky and weak. I am still struggling to balance the salts etc so i dont think i should try fasting yet. The nausea was mainly after i put the mct oil in my meal so im laying off that a bit.0 -
freckleston wrote: »If u aren't hungry don't eat. U could probably benefit from a day of fasting for the nausea, give ur gut a lil break to heal
Im not sure about this for myself. I think i hadnt had enough calories the couple days and i felt weird so i dont think i should fast. My vision goes blurry and feel too shaky and weak. I am still struggling to balance the salts etc so i dont think i should try fasting yet. The nausea was mainly after i put the mct oil in my meal so im laying off that a bit.
Oh. I missed that. Its not uncommon that mct oil causes nausea.0 -
Have you talked to your nurse and your neurologist about any of this? You might want to discuss this with the medical professionals you are currently seeing.
Unfortunately, no ive not seen a neurologist for 2 years. dont ask!.. the UK health system really is far from perfect. Nurses not specialist & just recommend 'normal-balanced' diet, just said try to lose a bit of weight.
So i am not under the care of any medical professional right now.
not ideal. but not uncommon, especially this year with covid shutting down anything non emergency.0 -
@baconslave
Thanks for this reply.
Glad to hear i dont have to make stock or broth from scratch!.. i definitely have boullion & stock powders in cupboard So thats good, i use these.
Ive never seen NuSalt or NoSalt in our shops, i think that will be an Amazon purchase (unless any UK people know differnt?).
I thought i needed to add the oil as a couple of days in a row i could only force myself to consume 900/1000 cals and i was feeling really weak. The mct im pretty sure now made me feel particularly sick. I will lay off that now unless i really need to add some fat.
I think im feeling a bit better now. Certainly not full of energy but better than a few days ago.
I'll look at opening up my diary to see if anyone finds other tweaks.
Thanks, really appreciate the reply and guidance.0 -
@baconslave
I have one teen! she doesnt want to eat ANY of the same things as me so im making separate meals every time.0 -
freckleston wrote: »@baconslave
I have one teen! she doesnt want to eat ANY of the same things as me so im making separate meals every time.
I know that feeling. I basically do a standard meal of meat and veg plus a carby side for the rest of the family they can either mix in or have to the side depending on which it is. I refuse to make 2 separate meals at dinner. I'm often a short-order cook at lunch though.
The oldest is independent so she usually fends for herself at least. The younger 3 still need me to make them something, but the word "need" means different things to me than them apparently. 
Glad you are feeling a bit better.1
