Hi, as I said I’m new here, but I’m not exactly new to keto. I did it about 3 yrs ago, but unfortunately with some devastating results. I had, and still have, about 50 lbs to lose. I started keto and struggled to lose any weight at first. Finally I had to restrict my carbs severely and get my urine ketosis measurements into the really dark red. Once I did that I started losing weight, but to get there I was eating close to no carbs at all. All of a sudden I developed full body posiasis, severe b12 deficiency and became seriously ill. It took me the full 3 yrs to get back to some semebelance of health but I gained all the weight back and now require b12 injections from pernicious anemia which I was not diagnosed with before keto. So now 3 yrs later I’ve decided to try keto again, but armed with some knowledge such as I need to have all my vitamins and minerals daily! I also think I need veggies, I can not do the super strict keto I did before. But as before I’m not losing weight. I am in what I call light ketosis, that, the ketostix show pink but not dark red. I do have the dry mouth and the weird urine smell that come s with keto. But no weight loss. What do I do? I don’t want to go back to severe ketosis because I am sure it will kill me. So how,do I get the weight loss and still stay safe? Thank you!! So far no one has been able to tell me what happened to me. I’m not looking to start a fight asmto the safety of ketosis, I’m really just trying to help myself. Thanks.
Couple of hard questions from a newbie
Wow! A lot of complications and brave persistence.
My recommendation for you is don’t stress the ketones! It sounds like you let your commitment drive you over a cliff. Go with the basics. Cut your carbs and protein using a calculator and eat plenty of fat. Don’t worry about weight loss. Get past any carb pangs and let your body adapt. Do this for 2 months without looking at a dipstick. You’ll enjoy your food and feel the benefits.
Once you get there, the dipstick is probably worthless anyway. (You know that right?). I use a Ketonix breath meter but it’s for fine tuning. For example it let me discover cottage cheese has a big impact on me.
Also, women often progress differently. It may take a few months to see results. If you obsess the daily weight and hourly pee test, you’ll drive yourself crazy - again.
Finally, I haven’t heard of the side effects you named. Maybe they aren’t directly caused by Keto. Hard to say unless it’s a pattern. Take your supplements, drink water and get your sleep!
Good luck!
Thank you. I will try not to stress, but in all reality I’m naturally inclined to stress. As for the health issues, they did come from the keto/weight loss, but no one has been able to help me figure out how or why. I don’t know if it was triggered by low b12 or other vitamins or if it came from releasing too many toxins in the fat too quickly, or something else. I really wish there was someone super knowledgeable that,could help me there. But I’ll try to be more chill with the ketosis. Why do you say themstix will be useless as opposed to the breathalyzer later? Thanks again.
Of the three measurements, pee, blood and breath, pee is the least accurate. Furthermore, once you get fat adapted your body regulates better. The ketones in your pee are wasted over production. When your body gets used to fat burning it does it more effectively.
Blood is supposed to be the most accurate but it’s relatively expensive and involves the whole ritual of blood testing.
Breath measures asctone which is a byproduct of burning ketones. That sounds best to me. It costs a bit but you can use it over and over. Perfect for an obsessive personality! Just stay reasonable on what you eat and observe what works for you rather than over steering.
If you believe that some aspect of your previous attempt at Keto caused (directly or indirectly) the medical issues you experienced, I would strongly recommend that you find a physician familiar with LCHF/Keto to work with as you try again.
While there is plentiful advice and information here for the ketogenic way of eating, none of us are doctors, and if you have experienced serious complications in the past, it’s unlikely that we would be able to safely advise you on how to avoid them. Working with a competent medical professional would be wise.
My advice would be to go steady and at a much more moderate level. Eat your veggies and keep a track of your B12 and iron levels especially. If you can afford it, getting something to monitor ketones would be a good investment I think. I use the ketonix and like it a lot. I agree that weight loss should be your lowest priority for now. Focus on getting into the rhythm of keto and enjoying it. Make sure you feel good and keep a good eye on all the things that have cause you problems in the past. It sounds like it is vital that you do this alongside regular check ups with your GP and blood tests to monitor vitamin and iron levels. I was taking a great B12 tablet that got my levels up FAST. Tastes great too. Brand is Jarrow. Methyl B12 - cherry flavour. I get it on Amazon.
Good luck. Please go steady and look after yourself. Stay hydrated and watch your electrolytes.
I agree. Very close medical supervision and the willingness to discontinue Keto ASAP. Those are serious medical conditions that aren’t really solved readily in a forum format. Take care and do what keeps you well.
Sorry to hear that you had so many problems first time around. I suspect one of the reasons you’ve had trouble finding an explanation is that your experiences are outliers so everyone is going to be scratching their heads because there is no precedent. The most obvious explanation is whatever changed recently caused the problems - so it is quite possible that you have a unique reaction to a ketogenic diet.
I personally try to incorporate as much whole food sources of essential nutrition (vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids and fats) as I can. But I still take a supplement just in case. Daily I just take a cheap multivitamin in case I have missed anything, worst case I’ll just pee out what I don’t need. I also take a fish oil capsule, and eat fish once a week to make sure I get enough essential DHA. I take a magnesium tablet because even though I eat a lot of dark green leafy vegetables Australian produce is notoriously low in magnesium, and I need a modest supplement to keep calf cramps at bay.
I also test my B12 every 3 months because I take metformin which is known to promote B12 deficiency. I can’t tolerate liver in my diet which is a good dietary source of B12 and one of the most nutritious nutrition sources in our food supply, but I do regularly eat other sources like oily fish (Tuna, Salmon, Makerel, Sardines) and red meat.
There is an interesting post by an MD here on the subject of essential nutrition
There is a keto rash that some people get in the early days, that may be caused by a die off of candida (yeast) due to a reduction in glucose. I doubt anyone would get that confused with psoriasis.
I would highly recommend doing this under the guidance of a general practitioner given your previous experience.
Maybe for you, slowly stepping into mild ketosis and easing your way through the shallows before heading into “deeper water” is a more appropriate strategy. I wouldn’t worry about weight loss to start out, get your body able to comfortably burn fat first and then it will be able to make the decision to carry less body fat rather than in a continuously glucose fueled environment where it doesn’t have that option.
Thanks everyone. I think I’ve decided to stop keto. I do not think it is right for me. I did lose weight the last time, but only during severe carb deprivation, which resulted in getting ill. This time I am only gaining weight, again, I didn’t go into that serious carb deprivation, but I’m afraid to chance that again. Just to address Richards statement of the keto rash, no it was psoriasis. I had it tested by a doctor, biopsied. And it was severe. I’m an artist and it effected my hands so badly I could not close them. After reading your comments, and looking back at what happened to me last time, I’m not willing to chance it to be thin. It is disappointing since weight loss is so difficult for me. I’m a bit down but I guess being fat is better than be sick. I really appreciate your time and feed back on this. You just brought my concerns back into focus for me. I guess I just needed to hear it again. That pursuit of thin, it can make you do some dumb stuff. Anyway, thanks again.
I think I would feel the same way in your situation. I guess I’m lucky that my body took to keto well. But I totally accept that Keto is not for everyone.
I have heard of 4 people (in maybe 15,000 through our various forums) who saw their triglycerides shoot up dramatically which according to the experts (like prof Tim Noakes) shouldn’t happen … except that it does. Some people also have a rare genetic defect that makes it hard for them to use long chained fats for energy (carnitine palmitoyltransferase deficiency).
I have a host sister who suffered severe psoriasis along with Crohn’s disease (which is often associated) - so I can appreciate how awful that was. I haven’t heard of symptoms like those getting worse for someone fueling on fat. We’ve had several people report that psoriasis and other autoimmune symptoms appear to reduce significantly. I don’t know whether there is anything specific about a ketogenic environment, or just the absence of something in the diet provoking the problem like grains that could be causing that. There are lots of theories.
But the bottom line is we’re all individual and we have to find out what works for us individually. Good luck finding what works for you.
You are very smart. Keep searching and your best fit will appear. There are other ways to lose weight.
I have to say thank you to those that have responded. You have been very kind and understanding. Many groups are not this understanding when someone says “this didn’t work for me” . I appreciate it. I was worried about asking this question and although the answer wasn’t what I “wanted” to hear, I can honestly say you all have been very understanding. Good luck with your keto endevours and say a little prayer for me to find the thing that works for me! Thanks.
I do think if you cut out any processed carbs and sugar, you will see a great health benefit, and also probably some weight loss, without having to worry about trying to get fueled by ketones.
I made a gradual transition from veganism to vegetarian to low carb to keto with health benefits at each step. For me the most profound benefits came with the transition to low carb when I cut out processed foods, sugars, fruit juices and starches. While low carb I did periods of fasting where I was keto without eating high fat and then finally transitioned to nutritional ketosis. Most recently I’ve discovered I can stay in ketosis for a week of eating more slow carbs (squash, cucumbers, eggplant, etc.) up to about 100 g (40-50 g net) daily when restricting protein to less than 20 g daily cutting out meat, cheese and nuts but still getting some protein from less dense sources like spinach and chia - also restricting total calories/fat on these weeks but that is for weight loss and I don’t think it is a big factor for in staying in ketosis.
All of which is to say don’t give up 100% on ketosis or low carb. There are many approaches and combinations of approaches to try. Maybe you end up on a more varied (s)low carb diet much of the time with periods of faster weight loss in ketosis through some form of fasting.
Good luck to you and keep paying attention to what works for you!
I started this path by reading Wheat Belly. I think he makes a great case for giving up grains, sugars and refined foods in general. You and your doctors, if they cooperate, can look at your situation. I suspect there isn’t anything essential in those things and you’ll be better off without them. Lots of people have success on Wheat Belly without the high fat of Keto.