What is it and how do you get through it?
Reading this article, and others of its kind may make the keto way of life seem daunting. I mean who wants to feel hungry and sick? As with any other major shift in your rountines, eating or nutritional intake, the body is not quite a happy camper in the beginning. If you are anything like me, this article will come as an "a-ha, so I'm not the only one" moment.
When I began, the first few days of keto seemed easy peasy. I was on cloud nine as to how well I was doing. I didn't feel hungry, no cravings, man I was rocking this keto thing so what was the big deal!? Until day four, when my body decided to let is fury loose on me and I thought that I surely must be dying! My bowls were all over the place, I felt sick to my stomach, the smell of everything made me nauseated, I couldn't sleep, I had random bought of extreme sweating, stomach cramps, muscles aches...it was certainly not a pretty sight and I was a VERY unhappy camper to say the least. That is when I took it upon myself to see what in the world was happening to me.
For many people the keto flu is enough to deter them from sticking to this way of life, and there were definite moments that I thought of throwing in the towel. My main issues, aside from the dying part, was that I did not research and prepare myself. Things are a lot easier if you know what to expect and how to counteract them. So what exactly is the keto flu?
When you begin the process of ketosis, your body goes through some major shifts in the way it processes your foods and your body essential goes through a detox. Your body, very acustom to processing sugars/carbs to survive, is used to storing your fats for a secondary sourse of energy but most of our diets are so sugar and carb ladden that these fat stores simply turn into excess fat in our body. When you make a major change such as this, your bodys insulin levels drop (leading to ketosis) and when your body finally determines that there is not enough sugar/carbs to sustain, it is pretty darn angry and you see the backlash in some awful ways!
*Fatigue
*Headache
*Irritability
*Difficulty focusing (“brain fog”)
*Lack of motivation
*Dizziness
*Sugar cravings
*Nausea
*Muscle cramps
These are the wonderful sysptoms know as the Keto Flu! Exciting, no? The great thing, although you are probably having trouble seeing any good in how you are feeling, is that when you begin to experience these symptoms, you know that your body is reaching ketosis (which is a great thing). Fortunately for all of us, there are pioneers within the keto world who have some tried, tested and true remedies and ways to counteract this.
Many of your symtoms are a direct result of a few things: low electrolytes, low sodium and dehydration. Now, I know, you are drinking like a mad man/woman and you are still feeling crappy. When your body is in ketosis your body rapidly drops water and in turn sodium and electrolytes and your consumption of fluids has to match this purge. You are also rapidly detoxing the body of all of the junk that you have been feeding it. Have no fear, solutions are near!
Here are the ways to survive (of course a discussion with your doctor to ensure that you are doing what is right for your body is always a good idea):
1. Increase your water intake- during this time period you need to listen to your body, and despite the thoughts that you will be peeing 24/7, you need to consume a ton of water!
2. Increase your sodium intake- Now you may not like this next bit but many ketonians will recommend drinking pickle juice if you are experiencing dizziness, headache, fatigue or nausea. This seems to be the most tried and true way, but drinking a glass of water with 1/2 tsp of sea salt is also an option. You should also be sure to include a lot of brined and fermented foods in your diet, such as olives, pickles and sauerkraut.
3. Eat more fats!- I know that this counteracts every diet ever made, but if you are now burning fat instead of sugars/carbs you need to consume the proper amount of fats to give your body energy/fuel. Good fats like avocado, coconut oil, and even a bulletproof coffee (see recipe), will help to ensure that you have enough.
4. Exercise- I know, I know!! This is seriously the last thing that you are thinking about as you lick your wounds but if done right this will help the symptoms to dissipate much sooner. Now this is a double edged sword and you definitely need to listen to your body, obviously if you are dizzy and lightheaded you do not want to be hopping on a treadmill, but low impact, easy exercise like walking will help your body feel better. Just keep it very simple for the first while until the flu symptoms have subsided.
5. Sleep- You absolutely NEED to get proper sleep when you are on keto or you are going to feel terrible! Again, I cannot stress enough that you need to listen to your body, and if it means going to bed like an old person, just do it...you will thank yourself when your symptoms subside!
6. Magnesium- Though I have not seem a lot of other ketonians mention this, I personally found a huge relief in my muscle aching and cramping when I added a good magnesium to my dietary intake. Magnesium is not something that we seem to take in enough of in our regular diet. For me, it has ben a saviour in terms of the way I feel! Food for thought :)
The best advise that I can give when it come to anything keto and beginning the process is to do you homework! Research, read and take the advise of people who have been where you are now and make sure that you have the foods and items that you need to help you get through the "flu season". Some say that it has taken weeks to get to the greener side of keto, but as a carb-o-holic I can say that the advise above saw my flu only last about a week and I was on my death bed (serious like the man cold!) Chin up, when you finally reach the other side, the benefits make this time period seem like a blip on the radar! :)