Continue high salt and loads of water after fat adapted?

(Mick) #1

Hi, quick question to any seasoned ketosis people out there: Do we have to keep up the high salt supplementation and high water intake to the same degree even after having been in ketosis for weeks or months, or is it more for the initial adjustment phase? Thanks

#2

I think it is important at the beginnng as your body gets fat adapted. Having said hat, if you get leg cramps, feel tired or thirsty, you should start up your salt and trace elements again and drink some more water.

(Christiana) #3

I have been ketogenic for years. I salt my foods to taste, and drink when Iā€™m thirsty. Youā€™ll know when you need more of something. Iā€™m nursing a 9 month old and I can tell when I need more salt and water. The longer you are a fat-burner the more in tune you are with your bodyā€™s needs. :slight_smile:

(Mick) #4

thanks, thatā€™s good to know. Everything feels so different that I was wondering about whether Iā€™d be able to regain the ability to know what to eat when, listening to the body.

(CharleyD) #5

If youā€™re fat adapted, and food tastes better with salt, go for it. If youā€™re thirsty, drink.

If youā€™re physically active, donā€™t forget that youā€™ll sweat out sodium, magnesium, iodine so youā€™ll want to eat foods with them in it.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #6

Iā€™m 4.5 months in and I still have to consider my salt intake. I donā€™t obsess over it like I did in the beginning but my body will yell at me for more with middle of the night leg cramps if Iā€™m not careful. I use plenty on my food and supplement with a chicken broth and pickle juice if I get crampy. I absolutely have to stay hydrated to avoid headaches and feeling tired. I donā€™t think that will ever change.

(Jennibc) #7

I still get cramps if I donā€™t drink my homemade ā€˜gatoradeā€™ - water, lite salt, magnesium citrate and a splash of lemon and I have been at this for nine or 10 months now.

(Anita Huska) #8

How do you keep it up without losing too much for years, I donā€™t lose fast but still?

(Kirk Wolak) #9

Yes, it took MONTHS for me.
And then realize that you may be getting less salt.
You NEED salt.
3-5 grams per day! Itā€™s a lot.

(Anita Huska) #10

thanks

(Anita Huska) #11

I only need to lose 8 pounds and its real slow but I thinking a pound a month lol

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

Various recent studies, including the PURE, out of McMaster University in Ontario, indicate that the healthiest amount of sodium is a daily amount between 4 and 6 grams. Thatā€™s where the risk curve is lowest. That doesnā€™t change after fat adaptation.

That much sodium translates to 10-15 g/day of table salt (sodium chloride), including salt already present in your food. It could be argued that fat-burners actually need somewhat more salt than that, because the kidneys excrete sodium fairly rapidly. Quantities of carbohydrate in the diet cause them to retain sodium, but they return to the normal, faster rate as dietary carbohydrate drops.

#13

to maintain health, it is needed since this style of eating is naturally diuretic. your actual amount may be different in each stage (pre-keto, adjustment, and maintenance); i know for me i was drinking 1.5 - 2.0 gal per day and that has not changed in the 6 months or so that i have been doing keto. i have always used lots of salt and that has not changed.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #14

Just a quibble really, so please forgive me. That word ā€œdiureticā€ to me suggests that someone stepped on the accelerator pedal, whereas stopping eating carbohydrate is more like taking your foot off the brake. Yes, the car speeds up in both cases, but the cause for the speed increase needs, I feel, to be taken into account. Again, please forgive the quibble.

#15

apologies for choosing the wrong word to indicate a higher rate of liquid waste compared to non-keto. but, based on what you said, this could also be just a me-problem (and some of the others i have met online).
apologies & thank you for the correction

(Mick) #16

Many informative responses. Thanks. Now just got to get a better sense of how much salt Iā€™m losing during exercise.

(Sue Kitchell) #17

I am salting my food with Redmondā€™s salt, using a good potassium and magnesium supplement daily and drink plenty of fluids. I found that I have serious horrible foot and ankle cramps (Charley Horses) if I donā€™t take the above daily even after being on Keto for months, almost a year. I guess this is for life.

(Kate Sargent) #18

Opinions wanted! I am trying to break a 5 month plateau. Been on strict keto 9 mo. Lost 20 lbs in the first 4mo. Diabetic, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and fibrosis, gall stones, high LDL and triglycerides. Stuck hovering around 170lbs.

Have been increasing exercise the last 4 or so months . Lazy keto since not tracking macros any more since I did Atkins a few years ago and got down to 124 lbs (before all of the above medical issues).

Ok, point of all this is I donā€™t like to drink water. Coffee and wine (which I had to stop drinking:-( ) are my beverages of choice. I try to force myself to get 24 oz of water down daily.

I donā€™t use salt! Hyper sensitive to salty things and overly sweetened things like electrolyte drinks.

Do you think I could be dehydrated so not loosing? I have a breath ā€œketoneā€ meter, really developed for alcohol breathalyzer, and have not been out of ketosisā€¦ but levels are low. Am I eating too many calories or fat? Usual diet: 2 BPC, handful of cashews, celery, cheese, dinner: meat, green veg, handful of blueberries with whipped cream no sugar.

My blood sugar and A1C all normal for 7 months, liver enzymes way down near normal, lipids slightly better bu just switched to a stronger statin. Take 2x 500 mg metformin, supplements vit D & E, magnesium, anti inflammatory sups, N acetyl cystine, CBD, probiotics, prebiotics and fiber. Have IBS again that had been dormant for 18 years.

Thoughts?