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Keto flu - fasting vs keto diet

A

AdamJames

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,338
Location
UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Is keto flu more likely to occur when you eat a normal amount of food which is extremely low carb, than when fasting?

I think I've been having 20-50g carbs a day for a long time now and been feeling okay, so wasn't expecting to feel bad if I switched to very low carbs e.g. 5-10g and upped the fat.

I've only been doing it for 36 hours and I feel like absolute ****. It's exactly like flu except for the snivelling. Aching, dizzy, headache, tired, brain fog etc.

I can fast for 36 hours and just get waves of hunger and lightheadedness, so thought that eating very low carb, high fat food would feel no worse than that.

I figure I should up the water and have a bit of salt, maybe, but I've had chorizo and bacon, both of which have plenty of salt.
 
You might always be just ill? I can't really remember getting the keto flu but I was pretty low carb to start with once diagnosed.
I would try a bit of extra salt as it has a reputation for curing almost all ills. Stick some in a nice creamy coffee, speaking of which.. back in 5.
 


You might be getting enough sodium from the salty food, but what about magnesium and potassium? You need to supplement all three.
 
Mel dCP said:
View attachment 26565

You might be getting enough sodium from the salty food, but what about magnesium and potassium? You need to supplement all three.
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Thanks guys and girls. I think I may have rushed into things yet again. I do have some low sodium salt (for the potassium) and some magnesium tablets and of course normal salt, I got all these a long time ago when I cut carbs almost completely, not knowing what I was doing, started to get unwell and did some emergency research, which led me to the issue with electrolytes.

Given it takes a while for magnesium and the like to build up from supplements, I told myself that next time I try removing carbs, I'll take supplements for weeks in advance. Then I forgot

It's just possible @bulkbiker is right and I could be ill as I was sneezing a lot this morning, then again it's hay fever weather, oh it's all so difficult to work out.

Anyway feeling better this morning, but then last night's dinner was 7g carbs and breakfast this morning was 5g carbs. I upped the amounts deliberately to see if it would help. I'd like to get much lower than that, so will be reducing again and see what happens. Lunch will be virtually zero carbs except for a handful of spinach.
 
@AdamJames - I launched straight into it too, and was horribly hit with keto flu for a few days. I didn’t realise that was what it was, as it coincided perfectly with my husband and son having actual flu - I just didn’t have the fever like they did. So we all spent about five days laying on the sofa, feeling pathetic, cuddling the cats and watching box sets

I feel great now though. Better than I have in years!
 
Check Google for potassium and magnesium rich foods - particularly veggies, as many of these are what we should be eating on our low carb/keto diets anyway - our mums knew what they were talking about when the told us to "eat our greens"!!
 
I just started cutting carbs and have had a chronic headache/migraine since Sunday evening.
I've not had migraines since I was started on blood pressure tablets, I did the check list ruling out BP, had new glasses so not that, put it down to heat but reading this, I wondered if I have had those symptoms. After a day off work and increasing carbs again I've just woke up refreshed.
I'm on holiday next week and will endeavour to do some homework first before getting to grips with this new lifestyle change
 
Havelock said:
Has anyone had persistent sinusitis once having started low carb dieting?
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Coincidentally, yes.
Several courses of antibiotics have failed to shift it. Both my GP & ENT specialist have failed to find the cause...
 

Hi i dont have diabetes but im htpothroidic and have put on 3 stones and have bad digestive issues. No diet seems to work so i attempted keto diet which i really liked, i wasnt hungry even on approx 800 cals a day but omg the pains in my bowels was awful not excruciating but just always there. After 3 weeks i had some carbs (bread) and i felt better, do you think it was all the fat. Im gutted i thought id found the perfect diet. I have got a referral to an endocrinologist but can anyone advise about lchf diets and the tricky question of digestion??
 
Havelock said:
Has anyone had persistent sinusitis once having started low carb dieting?
Click to expand...

Are you lactose intolerant? Dairy can have a bearing on chronic sinusitis, worth exploring this as I suffered for many years. I finally cleared the 'chronic' aspect by using a salt pipe, it did take about three to four months to clear up but I felt the first improvements after six weeks. There are a few on the market, I used the Salitair model.
 

I know you quoted me but I'm far from the best person to ask about this. I've abandoned this attempt at extremely low carbs. Life got in the way - I couldn't think clearly enough to do my job. I haven't ruled out trying again in the future but I'll wait till I get at least a week on holiday to see if I get over the initial hurdle. For now I've upped the carbs again, but still aiming for less than 50g a day.

A lot of people on this forum are very successful extremely low / zero carbers, so it's worth starting a new thread with your questions re digestion.
 

Yes, upping the carbs quickly sorted me out as well. I wish I'd been able to stick it out for longer as apparently it gets better for a lot of people but I couldn't do my job at the moment.

Re "homework", this forum is a very good place to start - don't let your initial experience put you off.
 
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