Hi there. I’m on day 6. Doing pretty good and feeling pretty good. I’m staying at 20-24 carbs. Eating my macros and feeling full. I am supplementing with potassium and magnesium and sodium. My questions are:
I am exhausted yet have insomnia and feel wired. Like I’m on speed for lack of a better description.
I feel like my heart is fluttering a bit but my heart rate is normal.
Any guidance, advice, or suggestions are very appreciated
The speed feeling can be the initial burst of ketones, if it’s a really high alert type of energy, but without the jittery feeling, that’s probably what it is. The fluttering heart could be electrolytes, typically a weird heart rate is potassium, whether it’s too high or low I don’t know. People are different. Typically it’s low.
Be sure to get enough salt, and drink to thirst. Salt is the linchpin of the body’s regulation of magnesium, potassium, and calcium. If the sodium is right, it will make it easier to get enough of the others.We need a bit more once we stop eating carbs, in any case. Of course, you might still need to supplement even after getting enough salt, but it’s an easy fix and so it’s the first place to start. Don’t overdo the liquid, drinking to satisfy your thirst should be enough. The energy problem may be from lack of liquid and sodium (the medical terms are hypovolaemia and hyponatraemia), but it may also simply be from your muscles’ needing to adapt to metabolising fatty acids instead of glucose. The former would be a simple fix; the latter just takes time.
I supplemented all kinds of stuff for years after going keto. I think my body was so broken due to high carb, I needed to supplement.
The transition will take time.
That’s the extent of my knowledge – I’ve been keto so long, I can’t remember what the first few weeks were like (though I had multiple times of those before I finally stuck to it).