How to come off keto :(

(Aa_44) #1

I wrote here about my dry eyes which according to my doctor is not longer an issue (omega 3s helped). I am having migraines due to artificial light. Convientently enough they started right after I started keto over 2 months ago. I cannot believe my diet is causing this but my doctor wants me to come off to rule it out. I’m willing to try anything at this point.

So anyways, what is the best way to hopefully come off of keto temporarily? If I can rule it out I would like to start it again without too much Keto flu if possible. I also would like to keep the weight I lost off, which is only 10lbs anyways, but has made my pants fit better.

Is IF still possible if not eating LCHF?
Is bread and fruit bad to start eating again?
Which carbs do minimal damage?

I’m super sad becauae Keto has improved so many aspects of my life but it’s not worth these migraines. Any advice is appreciated!!

(Michelle) #2

I’m no expert, but if I wanted to come out of ketosis temporarily as an experiment without regaining all my lost weight, I would probably eat an apple after dinner. The reason I would do it after dinner is because I will be asleep with my blood sugar drops. If I’m awake when my blood sugar drops I want to eat, which starts a vicious cycle.

(Bunny) #3

Instead of trying to go off the ketogenic diet try eating some protein (a small serving; try adjusting the amount) as soon as you start getting the migraine and see if that helps with the migraines? It could be your blood sugars are going too low causing hypoglycemic like response (what usually causes headaches and migraines in some people)!

Experiment: Try fish, beef, or pork etc…

Eating sugar and/or bread is just going to make things worse and throw your body into further metabolic dysregulation (if your primary source of nutrition is carbohydrates and too little meat and fat) and you may want to think about eating some bone broth on an empty stomach; no solids in the bone broth or beef\chicken meat broth 4 hours before you eat any solids! If you have any adverse reactions from bone broth then you can go back to the bone broth from the beef\chicken meat broth although this may be rare thought I would mention it anyway…

Carbs that do minimal damage? Unprocessed Whole Foods!

Hope this helps!

References:

  1. Use the Ketogenic Diet to Rid Migraines
  1. Getting Headaches When Doing Keto and Intermittent Fasting?
(Allie) #4

What supplements are you taking? Just asking because there are certain supplements that give me migraines and it’s not the kind of thing people would even think of as a possible trigger.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

Headaches are one of the symptoms of low sodium. The kidneys are prevented from excreting sodium at their usual rate when we continually eat a lot of carbohydrate, so when we go keto and they return to the higher, normal rate, we have to work to keep our sodium intake up. Not only that, but the U.S. daily value for salt intake is woefully low, according to several recent studies. We are actually at our healthiest when we get 5 grams of sodium a day, which translates to about 2-1/2 teaspoons of table salt. Since the migraines started when you went keto, it is a pretty clear indication that you need more salt. The good news is that getting enough salt helps your body keep its potassium, magnesium, and calcium regulated as well—the mechanisms for managing them are all inter-related.

One of the ways I can tell that I’ve forgotten to keep my salt intake up is that I start getting migraine auras. Usually, a couple of pinches of salt are enought to head off the migraine almost immediately. It’s amazing, actually.

Oh, and BTW, another symptom of low sodium is constipation. Trust me, it’s true (and don’t ask me how I know, lol!)

#6

There is no “coming off” a keto diet. If you’re in ketosis, simply eat sufficient carbs so that you’re no longer in ketosis.

A HFLC diet doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good diet. There are crappy LC diets, just like there are crappy vegetarian diets, and crappy LF diets.

You may want to try a super clean diet that eliminates common problem foods. This means processed foods (including meats), eggs, dairy, gains, legumes, nightshade veggies, nuts/seeds, artificial sweeteners, oils. In practice, it tends to be a LC diet. For more information, Google autoimmune protocol diet.

#7

This is interesting. I may have to try this (eating protein) the next time I feel a migraine starting. If that works I would be forever grateful :slight_smile:

(KCKO, KCFO) #8

Is IF still possible if not eating LCHF? Yes, it works with just about any eating plan

Is bread and fruit bad to start eating again? Better to add something like lentils, refried beans, and chickpeas instead of bread. Stick with the lower carb fruits, eat them after a meal with lots of good fat. See Dave’s experiment with skittles eating timing: http://cholesterolcode.com/sugar-and-cholesterol-experiment-findings/

Which carbs do minimal damage? The ones with the least fructose content. You can download a nice chart of this here:
https://www.food-intolerance-network.com/food-intolerances/fructose-malabsorption-intolerance/fructose-table-in-alphabetical-order.html

(Robert C) #9

If you need to try being off keto for a while for medical reasons then I would put bread and fruit in two categories.

  1. Bread is a processed food like pizza, hamburgers, pasta dishes etc. and should all be “no go”.
  2. Fruit (whole - no juice), beans, sweet potato etc. - the “non-keto” but still whole foods would make sense to add.

I am not a doctor nor expert in anything but, being keto for a while and then coming off it (i.e. you’ll probably still eat high-fat) but adding in any processed carbs seems like a bad idea.

(Todd Allen) #10

If you want to temporarily ease out of ketosis I’d think it best to add just enough carbs to inhibit ketosis for a few hours. The suggestion for adding an apple is pretty good. If you had/have fatty liver or any reason to think you might have an issue with fructose you might consider a food that is a comparable amount of carbs to an apple, ~20 g net carbs, but starch instead of sugars/fructose such as a few ounces of sweet potato, wild rice or quinoa, etc. You could also experiment with portion size and see if there is any relation to the migraines. I’d be surprised if it makes a difference, but it’s easy to test and if it doesn’t work you might be able to get your doctor to keep looking for an answer.

#11

Just eat normal again, it’s that easy. BUT have you ever listed out the way you eat here? Have any specific macros looked at before throwing in the towel? Keto has been shown to HELP migraines. But to answer your other questions

Yes, but it’s a lot harder

Yup! There were bad before you went keto, and they suck now too

The carbs you eat now are the safe ones. Just up the amounts.

Keep in mind, dietary changes can trigger migraines in some people, you’re only 8 weeks and (possibly) not fat adapted correctly yet and If you’ve done what MANY people do you may be eating while simultaneously starving yourself, which I can ABSOLUTELY see causing migraines. Also, you mentioned artificial light, is that going to change? Can I assume work?

(Aa_44) #12

Thanks everyone for your input, everything is appreciated. I did stop supplementing sodium once I passed keto flu (maybe because I didn’t feel so crappy I forgot). I have started again. I supplement with 500mg of magnesium every day or every 2 days and never with potassium. The migraines are directly related to me walking into my bright office (allergic to work, maybe?? haha). Today is Saturday, I am sitting in low sunlight only, no problems.

I will avoid any processed carbs in the meantime but still try and get out of ketosis for a while. It’s funny because I feel like I do not know how to eat low fat, moderate carb again, even though I have only been doing the opposite for about 10 weeks. I think I will hold onto the keto for the rest of the weekend :(.

As for what I was eating, a few people (here in this forum and offline) suggested I up my protein. I eat 2 eggs for lunch, either with bacon or with mayo for egg salad, big leafy green salad with half an avocado and olive oil dressing. For dinner I started upping my protein to include more chicken breast or other not super fatty meat, with veggies, maybe some cheese or butter somewhere. Also I used to have some pecans and cheese between lunch and dinner, but just included that in my lunch to avoid snacking. I work out 2-3 times a week.

I’m hoping from all of this at least I have kicked my sugar addiction, so if anything, that is a big plus!!

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #13

I’ll just throw this in the mix: I was using Apriva (sucralose) sweetener for weeks and waking up with terrible headaches, to the point of nausea a couple of times and light sensitivity. I read it can cause headaches so switched to Stevia. Headaches stopped. I was only using it in my morning coffee, once a day.

In case you are also using it, thought I’d share.

(Running from stupidity) #14

As Jason Fung said, IIRC, the processing is by far the worst part of processed carbs.

(roxanna) #15

My eyes absolutely get dry on keto. The more out of balance my electrolytes are, the more dry my eyes are. They are almost always dry in the morning.

(Sheri Knauer) #17

Have you considered wearing blue blocker glasses to work to see if that helps? You can find them on Amazon. A lot of them have orange lens but there are some that have clear lens so you don’t need to feel strange wearing them out in public.

(Running from stupidity) #18

I got mine from zennioptical.com. They have the clear-looking ones for about $30 extra, IIRC. Been buying my glasses from there for years, saved me a fortune.

(Aa_44) #19

Thanks everyone! I agree it’s probably not the keto but I will try it out. And thanks for the tips about the glasses. I think my optometrist is giving me a new lense with the blue blocker. As for dry eyes, I was taking 3x900mg of omega 3s per day. My doctor said it takes about 3 months to notice an improvement, but I noticed it sooner then that.

(Running from stupidity) #20

More direct link - https://www.zennioptical.com/blokz-blue-light-glasses

(Running from stupidity) #21

And now a sale on them!

30 percent off the Blokz lenses with the code VIPSALE, apparently.