Hydration and keto question

newbies
(Chris) #1

So I’ve read and read about keto making you secrete more electrolytes. My question is how? Ever since I started I havent peed anymore than normal. Also if you pee more it means your properly hydrated not the other way around. So if your dehydrated your gonna pee less so how are you losing the electrolytes? Or do they all just come out in one go? If your properly hydrated you pee more and that doesnt leak out your electrolytes more? Or do they all just store in your kidneys and organs then you pee and just a gigantic losr comes out

(George) #2

I’m sure someone on here can explain it a lot better than me, but the basic idea is that on keto, you’re eating real, whole foods instead of the carby processed stuff on a standard american diet. Processed foods have high amounts of sodium which our bodies have gotten used to having. When making the switch to keto and eating whole foods, you have to make sure to keep your sodium, mag, etc, intake up since you’re no longer consuming processed foods. When you pee, you’re flushing your kidneys, then need to replenish your electrolytes, which can be simply done by adding salt to your food

I think proper hydration is it’s own topic. Just make sure to get at least 64 ounces a day. If your pee is really dark, drink more water. If your pee is crystal clear like drinking water, then you’re consuming too much.

When I first started Keto, I peed A LOT. That lasted a couple weeks, now I definitely pee more than I did prior to keto, but not as much as those first couple weeks, but I think I was really drinking tons of water at that point.

(Chris) #3

Ya for the last year I’ve been drinking about 4 liters of water per day so my body is used to that that’s probably why it fidnt change to much for me. But I tend to only need 1/2 tsp added salt in my water then salted food to feel decent. I tries the whole 5000mg and it honestly didnt make me feel any better or worse

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #4

Per @JRS08 “If your pee is really dark, drink more water. If your pee is crystal clear like drinking water, then you’re consuming too much.”

SAD causes water retention because both glucose and glycogen are hydrophilic, and will retain up to 3x their weight in water. Keto does not retain the water. So if you’re thirsty, drink. If not, don’t. If you find yourself peeing more, then you will have to figure out a palatable way to keep up your electrolytes because they go with the water. If you’re not peeing more, then don’t worry until the urine starts getting dark. If it doesn’t, don’t worry about it. If you don’t experience symptoms of light headed, dizzy, nausea or cramps, don’t worry about it. If/when you do, you can figure out a way to keep up your electrolytes.

Short answer: if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.:wink: