2nd Round of Flu?

(Rion) #1

Hey all, new keto-er here been at it for about a week and doing well so far! I’ve actually been feeling pretty good for the most part - had a day or two of feeling crummy which I associated with being the “keto flu” and drank a lot of electrolytes to try and stay ahead of it, and the last 5 days or so I’ve just felt great.

Until today. Starting just before bed last night actually my stomach started to cramp a bit, today I just feel week as heck, my arms are a little sore, just all around yucky but no fever or anything. I’ve been checking my keytone levels with a blood meter and have been hanging around 1.2-1.4, but I just measured today and I’m at 2.0 (finally in optimal range!) and I was wondering if the big increase of keytones might be to blame for feeling crummy.

Did anyone experience a second round of keto flu? Or maybe my first round in the early days wasn’t actually true flu?

Thanks all, glad to have found these forums!

#2

More likely, this is your first round. Suggest drinking broth.

(Rion) #3

Thanks Dave I hope you’re right! I’m glad I’ve got a couple of days before I really have anything major to do. lol

(LeeAnn Brooks) #4

As Keto Flu is actually an imbalance of your electrolytes, it can happen at any point.

(Allie) #5

I’ve read that the symptoms of Keto flu can come back at any time that electrolytes go out of whack.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #6

Yup. 11 weeks in and I still struggle. As a runner, I’m depleting electrolytes at a faster rate than most people. Plus my ketones are always on the high end, which also depletes electrolytes more.

So everytime I find a good balance, all it takes is adding an extra mile to my run and I’m back out of wack.

(Rion) #7

I guess I’ll stick with my crystal light and sea salt that seems to be what got me through the first week!

#8

Hey @Anniegirl9 – I didn’t realize you were only at 11 weeks – your answers are pretty nuanced. I’m thinking you’ve been doing a lot of reading in addition to gaining your own experience?

Here’s my opinion, based on my personal experience and reading The Art & Science of Low Carb Performance by Phinney and Volek: I think adaptation happens in 3 phases:

  1. Ketosis – when you first burn through excess glycogen and start burning fat for fuel. I think this happens within 2 or 3 days of eliminating carbs.
  2. Initial Fat Adaptation - I hit this stage after about 6 weeks – it seemed like I was beyond Keto flu, and much less on the edge of getting knocked out of ketosis. This was when I started completing fasted bike rides of over 2 hours. I didn’t realize at the time that I was not 100% bonk-proof. Over the next few months, I bonked 3 or 4 times in heat or hills and needed rescue carbs.
  3. Performance Adaptation - After about 26 weeks, I felt like I was finally bonk-proof based on successful back to back all-day experiences. The amazing thing is how my splits improve the over time such that I’m stronger at the end of the day than at the beginning.

So, my guess is that if adding distance throws you out of whack, it’s because you are still adapting for athletic performance. Once you’re there, you will be pretty resilient and able to roll with whatever the day throws at you.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #9

Interesting. I have not heard this theory before.

Yes, I’ve done a ton of research. I spent a good 4 weeks just reading about Keto before actually starting it.
I was in a diet competition doing LF diet and my main competitor was doing Keto. He really gave me a run for my $. Literally, $500 on the line.
Over the 12 weeks of the competition we talked a lot about Keto. I’ve yo-yo’ed so many times with LF that I knew I needed to do something different, but I’m pretty good at losing weight with LF, so I stayed with it to win the competition, but I took that time to really absorb everything Keto and prepare myself for switching.

I took my $500 winnings and bought a few Keto cookbooks and stocked my freezer and pantry with Keto foods and started keto 2 days after the competition ended.
So right now I’ve been 12 weeks LF and working through my 11th week Keto.

I’m glad to hear that the performance thing finally works out the kinks. I swear I think I’ll be all good and have a great week and then BAM, the nausea hits again. Always after a run, so I’m pretty sure it’s electrolyte related. I drink a ZipFizz about an hour before I run. I add salt to it and I take magnesium supplement plus a women’s multi.
I sure hope you’re right about the phase 3.

#10

Hey @Anniegirl9 - At first, I thought I was low on electrolytes, but I still had nausea in spite of really watching my minerals and hydration. I eventually concluded I was sensitive to heat for the first time in my life, so I started doing saunas 3 times a week to acclimate. As I did those and got further adapted, the nausea went away.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #11

Would it be due to body heat generated from running or only outside temps, because it’s been quite cool some mornings when I run.

#12

For me, it seemed like it was the outside high temperatures; however, I can remember one time I because nauseous on a hill climb during a moderately balmy day. But, now that I feel like I am fully adapted, I no longer experience that symptom.