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Low Carb Problems

S

SweetHeart

Well-Known Member
Messages
511
Guys,

I need some help. The low carb diet has been going well - I had lost almost a stone (bar 2lbs) but I have some side effects (?)

A typical day's diet goes something like this; Greek Yoghurt with berries. Ham, cheese & coleslaw for lunch. Dinner might be chicken in sauce with broccoli, mange tout and green beans. I have one or two cups of percolated coffee per day - with a blob of double cream and a sweetener. I also drink maybe a litre to a litre and a half of water.

So, the problems - I shake and feel light-headed about an hour before any meal (standing up is dodgy, wielding a big sharp kitchen knife is darned dangerous, but I need to cook - usually for seven - so it's difficult when I feel bad) as soon as I eat, I'm fine. I also need to help a 17st man with physical stuff so I don't need a swimmy head and a desire to pass out.

Bruising - I'm covered in bruises from the slightest bump. Possibly this is because I'm not as padded as I was, and I'm not the world's most graceful person (18 yrs of ballet classes wasted...) and I'm always anaemic but not as bad as I was thanks to the moringa caps and veggies. I've noticed that MH also bruises easily around lancet sites (new lancet and sharp)

This week, I've had a fight with the pharmacist over my thyroxine prescription - they accepted the script knowing they had none in stock, wouldn't give it me back to go to another chemist - so I had no meds for four days and my metabolism will be up the swannie until it readjusts itself. I was also deeply into ketosis but the past few days I've gone from between 8 and 16 on the Ketostix to between 4 and 6.

Any advice? I don't want to give up on the low carb, but where am I going wrong here?

Ju
 
SweetHeart said:
So, the problems - I shake and feel light-headed about an hour before any meal (standing up is dodgy, wielding a big sharp kitchen knife is darned dangerous, but I need to cook - usually for seven - so it's difficult when I feel bad) as soon as I eat, I'm fine. I also need to help a 17st man with physical stuff so I don't need a swimmy head and a desire to pass out.
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Ju,

Don't know about the bruises, but the light-head is proabably due to salt deficiency. Steve Phinney recommends that you drink a cup of boullion every day or if not make sure that you add a couple of extra grams to your food every day (as long as your BP isn't too bad).

What are your BG readings when you get your dizzy-spells? How much carb are eating per day and how long have you been low-carbing for?

I doubt that it's to do with low-BG levels. If you've been low-carbing for a while then your brain should be using ketones for fuel (instead of glucose) and your muscles should be burning mainly fat, so your over all dependency on glucose should be much reduced.

Why don't you try eating a meaty snack to keep you going before your meal?
 
Boro,

No idea what my BG readings are - I'm the non-diabetic, my husband is T2. I can test though as we have a spare meter kit. I forgot to say that I've put on two pounds in as many days, although my diet hasn't changed in weeks. We've been low carbing since the end of February.

Meaty snacks....I won't write the first thing that came to mind (just read that out to MH and his eyebrows shot up! :wink: ) but I can grab a bit of pepperami easily enough. That's salty too.

Ju
 
Ju,

Ha, ha. Meaty salty snacks. :o

I honestly thought you were one of 'the diabetics'. Well done for sticking the to the low-carb when you aren't forced to...

Steve Phinney said:
when the human body adapts to low carb, the body becomes very efficient at excreting salt. That’s good if you have high blood pressure, or if you’re bloated and fluid overloaded. It’s fine to reduce that. But there is a certain amount of salt our body needs...
Click to expand...

Steve Phinney said:
I’ve had people tell me, I tried that low-carb diet of yours and the scales went down. But I was so light-headed. If I took a hot shower I’d feel like I was going to pass out, because I was completely washed out. That diet’s worthless!

I’d say to them, would you try drinking a cup of bullion.
Click to expand...
http://www.meandmydiabetes.com/2011...arb-preserves-glycogen-better-than-high-carb/
 
borofergie said:
Ju,

Ha, ha. Meaty salty snacks. :o

I honestly thought you were one of the diabetics. Well done for sticking the to the low-carb when you don't really need to...

Steve Phinney said:
when the human body adapts to low carb, the body becomes very efficient ahttp://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-for ... &p=273033t excreting salt. That’s good if you have high blood pressure, or if you’re bloated and fluid overloaded. It’s fine to reduce that. But there is a certain amount of salt our body needs...
Click to expand...

Steve Phinney said:
I’ve had people tell me, I tried that low-carb diet of yours and the scales went down. But I was so light-headed. If I took a hot shower I’d feel like I was going to pass out, because I was completely washed out. That diet’s worthless!

I’d say to them, would you try drinking a cup of bullion.
Click to expand...
http://www.meandmydiabetes.com/2011...arb-preserves-glycogen-better-than-high-carb/
Click to expand...

Yeah...the eyebrows are still right up there - waggling. Wrong thread by the way......


The Steve Phinney quote is exactly how I feel......MH has been having a cup of Bovril with his lunch most days which might explain why I feel washed out and he doesn't.

I started low carb so that MH wouldn't feel he was making all the sacrifices by himself. Then I did some reading and discovered that it's excellent for Hypothyroid sufferers too. I don't want to give it up - apart from the swimmy head/shaking/etc I feel great. I haven't lost shedloads of weight, but I'm more flexible than I have been in years, I sleep better, my skin looks fab, my eyes are shiny, my noses is.....no, wait, that's the dog.....anyway, I'm feeling great. I feel sharper mentally too.

I'm taking Moringa which is high Vit C, so I'm thinking you're first idea is more it.

Ju
 
Sweetheart
How long have you been low carbing? It takes some people a couple or 3 weeks to adapt to it. You might find adding in a SMALL amount of carb in the first couple weeks helps. I have a strip of dark hazelnut chocolate each evening. And I've been low carb, not zero carb for years.

Hana
 
Hana, we've been low carbing since the end of February this year. I only started to feel dizzy etc about a week or so ago.

Ju
 
SweetHeart said:
I don't want to give it up - apart from the swimmy head/shaking/etc I feel great. I haven't lost shedloads of weight, but I'm more flexible than I have been in years, I sleep better, my skin looks fab, my eyes are shiny, my noses is.....no, wait, that's the dog.....anyway, I'm feeling great. I feel sharper mentally too.
Click to expand...

Exactly! If they cured my diabetes tomorrow I wouldn't change my diet because every aspect of my health is better, even the ones that have nothing to do with diabetes.

My favorite is that I don't snore on a VLC diet, which means I sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed. It has nothing to do with weight, because it stopped instantly as soon as I dropped from 70g a day to <30g. I'm guessing it's because carbohydrates cause inflammation.
 
Yep, MH's snoring isn't quite so bad now either - a blessing for a light sleeper like me. In the long run this will also help his kidneys as it means I'm not sticking him in the back with a sharp elbow quite as much!

Ju
 
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