Help? Not Sweating

(Crystal Michelle) #1

Okay so normally I sweat like a man… and its very unattractive and gross hahah ( sorry men) Well I have been Keto about a year now and just recently started back at the gym. I normally sweat SOOOOOOOO bad at the gym and one thing I have noticed this week is I am working out just as hard and am just glistening with sweat… not sweating buckets…

So one theory is somethings wrong ( bc I have an anxious mind) the next is I am one of the people who carry a lot of water weight, bloat and swell… after starting keto I dont swell anymore and the water weight is gone…

Am not sweating bc my body is no longer inflamed? So it doesn’t have all that water to sweat off? or…

#2

I don’t think anything’s wrong – you should feel good! I suffered from life-long hyperhidrosis and even had surgery for it, which gave me compensatory sweating pretty much all day, every day. I was really miserable.

After going keto I am dry as a bone, nothing else having ever worked. It’s like I have a new body.

See the second point I wrote here:

#3

A few thoughts I’ve had on what the resolution might have been:

  1. Losing weight. Not sure if you were carrying a bit of weight a year back, but losing weight for me probably helped a fair bit.
  2. Eating less. I suspect I was eating WAY too much without realizing, and my body was putting that excess energy to use keeping me heated. Cue sweating…
  3. Reduced inflammation or other effects of keto eliminating the problem at its source.
  4. Autophagy (a bit far-fetched, but I’ve done a fair bit of extended fasting and it could have helped somewhere).

Either that, or keto really is the cure for everything. I should see if my bank account can go keto.

#4

The first question would be is it causing you a problem in terms of your ability to cool yourself while working out. Is it uncomfortable in any way? If not, it’s probably not an issue.

Separately, in horses who get anhydrosis, I’ve seen great results in reversing it with a supplement made for horses. It has the following in it: L-tyrosine, Niacin, B6, d-pantothenic acid, choline. Also, some horses are given a dark beer or two in the feed per day in the summer and it resolves the anhydrosis. It’s speculated that the B vitamins help. Of course, it’s not low carb. Ha.

All of that is to say that you could re-evaluate your micronutrients and such to see if they are up to par. On the other hand, maybe this is where your body should be and previously you were out of balance.

#5

Great point, @kandescent!

It’s easy to worry ourselves, because it’s different from the way things used to be. We just have to get used to these new bodies we’re in. :slight_smile:

(James) #6

I sweat more eating this type of way(mainly under the arms). I believe it is due to a rise in my BMR and testosterone though.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #7

I would agree with you here, also sweating is one of your body’s mechanisms for detoxification. It’s likely that your body besides not having a lot of excess water weight also has less toxins that it needs to purge. This is one of those side perks of keto that you weren’t expecting. I wouldn’t worry unless you feel like you’re not cooling off like @kandescent suggested.

(Carl Keller) #8

There is evidence on the internet that sweating less after going keto is not uncommon but there are no articles or studies that address this directly, that I could find.

Maybe since we are in ketosis and not carrying all those carbs around that help us retain water, that sweating is not the luxury it once was. Maybe heavy sweating is largely influenced by a carb loaded diet and our bodies don’t want to give up the water, when carb restricted, unless it thinks it really needs to?

(Rosemary Easter) #9

I have stopped sweating too, even this week with a chest infection, I feel hot as though I have a temperature but no seat.

(Kauê Braga) #10

[sorry for the long post, I’m just excited to talk about this]

Sweating is regulated by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), so I kind of theorize that people that sweat too much somehow have an overactive SNS.
I myself suffer a lot from sweating (the same case as @Gaff) and have been trying to understand the mechanisms that cause this. I’ve been two weeks keto but to no relief (yet).
There seems to be a strong connection between electrolytes levels and balance with SNS activity. SNS is constantly activated if there is either insufficient levels or an unbalance in your sodium and potassium levels (SNS is activated because it helps on stabilizing your blood pressure, as far as I could understand). Poor dietary ingestion and constant sweating may cause our sodium and potassium levels to be depleted even more.
There is also a link between insulin and overactive SNS.
Said that, I think the keto diet may act in these situations. We all know that our insulin levels are controlled when we restrict cabs, but I’m not sure how keto would act to promote a better balance in our electrolytes, thus reducing the overactivity of our SNS and reducing the sweat.
I would be very happy if someone has an additional take on that. I can cite the studies that supported my claims if anyone is interested.

(Kauê Braga) #11

By the way, I an inclined towards this ‘electrolytes theory’ of why we sweat so much in part because of this article by Stephen Phinney. In the Technical Information on the Regulation of Electrolyte Balance section he explains how the body has some naturals way (including activity of the SNS) to regulate blood pressure in situations where our electrolytes are insufficient or unbalanced.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #12

It is known that the kidneys excrete sodium more readily on a ketogenic diet, because elevated insulin inhibits sodium excretion. When we cut the carbs, the kidneys return to their normal rate of sodium excretion, which is why we need to eat a bit more salt on a ketogenic diet. I wonder if perhaps when we eat too much carbohydrate, one of the ways the body uses to get rid of excess sodium is through the perspiration? Particularly since a lot of processed foods contain a great deal of salt? (This is pure speculation, so please don’t go overboard with this.)

(Bob M) #13

Might be true, though heavy weight probably doesn’t help. When I was 50+ pounds heavier and riding my racing bike 90+ miles per week in the summer, I sweat so much I rusted my steel-framed bike.

I think sweating is also partly genetic. I tend to sweat more than others. Though, as I’m getting lighter, I’m also sweating less (even though I’m eating a lot of salt).

Of course, I can’t do an analysis between my salt intake back then and my salt intake now, as I don’t have data from either. I do add salt to my morning coffee, though, and salt to everything I eat.

(Edith) #14

I’ve never been over weight but I used to sweat a lot before keto. Now, I barely sweat and barely use deodorant. So, less sweat is not because of less weight, at least in my case.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #15

My experience as well. In addition, my general body odor is much less and hardly ever offensive - only when I do something vigorous that manages to work up a heavy sweat. And I have to try hard to get there. Normal living/working/playing does not get there. I don’t claim to smell like a rose all the time, but probably a mountain breeze. :mountain_snow:

(Laurie) #16

I basically stopped sweating at menopause. (Old people have other ways of excreting stuff; hence “old people smell.”) Keto is a hormone regulation thing. There could be a connection.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #17

@islandlight Thanks for bringing up that little nugget! The ‘old man scent’ was something I feared all my life. I knew many unfortunates no matter how much they bathed, powdered and deodorized themselves still stank of it. If all keto accomplishes for me is to avoid that fate, I will stick with it forever. :innocent: