I have been fairly strict keto for 7 weeks now and have not once been dizzy. We were away from home and thought stopping at a buffet that there would be a few things I could eat, but when there was nothing I decided to have a cheat meal. After leaving I found I was a little lightheaded/dizzy almost. What would this be from?
I am now wondering if it is from “zero” drinks?? I had a vitamin water zero before lunch and never drink anything other than water an coffee. Just a half an hour ago I had about 1/2 cup of zevia and I had to sit now from dizziness…
I haven’t had a problem with salt because I read about it early in and am very conscious about that.
Dizziness immediately after a cheat meal
Jodi_G
(Jodi G)
#1
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#2
Most likely you hadn’t been getting enough salt (sodium chloride) for the previous day or two. Several recent studies have indicated that the healthiest level of salt intake is 10-15 grams a day, including salt already present in food. (With me, the symptom I notice is not so much dizziness as constipation and migraines.)
Try increasing your salt intake. If the dizziness goes away, then good. If it persists, lack of salt wasn’t the problem and you should see your doctor.
PetaMarie
(squirrel-kissing paper tamer)
#3
You could have had a post meal drop in blood pressure which can cause dizziness, especially if you ate a lot and also because you were dealing with sugar/carbs all of the sudden.
beccs
(Lazy, Dirty Keto 😝)
#4
Probably this. I had the same thing happen to me when I first started Keto. I was strict, but one day maybe 6 weeks in, I had a fun size kit kat from my daughter’s Halloween candy. And a little while later while I was hanging laundry, I felt very dizzy and nearly passed out.
Now that I’ve been doing Keto for 6 months, if I have the occasional cheat meal it doesn’t affect me so badly. Usually just tummy troubles the next day.
Jodi_G
(Jodi G)
#6
I did feel it felt like a dump in my blood sugar. I have never experienced that before. I think you are right.
Cosmic1
(Laura)
#7
In my first foray into low carb about 45 years ago when I was a teenager, I ate a pop tart after having been low carb for about a month. I fainted from it, and the consensus is that my blood sugar shot up and then plummeted from not being used to sugar for awhile.
You may have experienced something similar.
atomicspacebunny
(Bunny)
#10
Stevia was making me light headed, dizzy and making my hands and feet numb, sweaty and tingly, although it did not do that to me when I first started using it and I was using organic Stevia, something about that plant that does not want me to eat it?
I tested it out just to make sure it was not my imagination and after three experiments it was definitely causing the problem?
Potential side effects linked to stevia consumption include:
- Kidney damage. …
- Gastrointestinal symptoms. …
- Allergic reaction. …
- Hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. …
- Low blood pressure. …
- Endocrine disruption. …More
5 Reasons Why Vitaminwater Is a Bad Idea: ”…Vitaminwater also has a “Zero” product line that has no added sugar. Instead, it is sweetened with erythritol and stevia. The first three chapters of this article do not apply to Vitaminwater Zero. …”
Sophie_Wu
(Sophie Wu)
#11
Would this affect staying in keto later on in any way? Or it’s just a symptom and it won’t affect the state of ketosis too much?
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#12
Prof. Ben Bikman explains that when we are on a ketogenic diet for any length of time, the pancreas eventually disposes of its store of insulin, because it is not needed. This affects what is called the first-phase insulin response, because under those circumstances when a body is hit with a sudden load of glucose, the pancreas has no insulin ready to hand, and has to make all the insulin needed to deal with the glucose load. So the insulin response can be a bit excessive, leading to the low-blood sugar crash that follows the initial sugar high.
This is actually how the body is “designed” to operate. After that initial hit of sugar, Prof. Bikman says, the pancreas again stores insulin to use in case of another sudden sugar hit. As long as insulin is elevated, ketosis will be inhibited, so avoiding sugar and other forms of glucose is a good idea for anyone who wants the benefits of nutritional ketosis.
Sophie_Wu
(Sophie Wu)
#13
So I’m assuming that in those times where we accidentally have a carby meal, the dizziness and headache following suit are indicators that our body is probably not burning fat right then and there. Instead our body is trying to stabilise itself after the sudden glucose hit? I hope those glucose won’t be turned into fat too soon…
PaulL
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing)
#14
If you don’t consume any more glucose, the body will return to making ketones once insulin drops sufficiently, and any glucose that got turned into fat and stored will be available to be metabolised.
In the normal course of things, when we eat the type of low-carb, high-fat diet we appear to have evolved to eat, insulin rises when we eat, so that some of that energy gets stored for later. Then between meals it falls, allowing that stored energy to be released to feed the body until we need to eat again.
The exception to this is during the berry season, when we want to put on a bit of extra fat to see us through the winter. Then, as long as we keep packing in the carbs, insulin stays elevated, causing us to store fat, and keeping us hungry, so we’ll keep eating and adding fat.