Oedema /Edema upon stopping keto

(Phil Ing) #1

Hi , Not sure where this post should be placed but I have been on keto for 30 days, saw brain and weight benefits as well as muscle gain.
However I stopped to cycle in some carbs so enjoyed 2 days of toast, sweet potato and fruits.
Yesterday I awoke with tight calves , a yuk just fluid type feeling that I had previously associated with inflammation, pitting Edema later in the evening in both lower legs and my nice flat stomach is now hosting a lot more fluid.
Is this common during the reintroduction of carbs?

(Mike W.) #2

Yes. You will likely get inflamed and retain a ton of water. Keto is not a “cycle” diet.

(Ken) #3

Not necessarily due to carbs, more likely due to salt. Glycogen created is stored in the liver and muscles, so a combination effect as the muscles fill up may be possible. It goes away once you resume the lipolytic pattern. You probably have greatly reduced vascularity as well.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

Eating carbohydrate causes the body to retain water, and the body will also reduce the excretion of salt in order to maintain its osmotic balance, so the result is the symptoms you describe. You might wish to examine your motives for cycling in some carbs and make adjustments if eating the carbs makes you feel as poorly as you report.

(CharleyD) #5

Funny, when I initially saw the title of @ianrobo 2KD show, that’s what I thought cycling was going to refer to :sweat_smile:

#6

There are folks following a LC diet that do carb ups. But 30 days is probably too infrequent. Maybe try once a week? Its also probably a good idea to do no more than 2-3x your normal carb intake.

(Mike W.) #7

And if you are for whatever reason going to do a carb-up, I would make sure you are fat adapted, which after only 30 days you may not be.

#8

1gr of carbs requires 3gr of water. Roughly speaking. This is because much more insulin is secreted and the insulin requires the water to do its job. So it tells your kidneys to stop excreting water, hence retaining salt, hence retaining water.

Next time you do a carb cycle, try to include vitamin C foods and reduce salt intake. Vitamin C helps to control insulin and by cutting down on salt (only whilst increasing carbs) will help the kidneys to flush a bit more water.

Hi carb - low salt ::: no/low carb - high salt.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #9

Well 0 x 2 or 3 is still 0, so that takes care of that. . . . :grin:

(Phil Ing) #10

Thanks for your help folks, points noted.
Swelling went down in ankles after 2 days, never seen my ankles like that before. Not enjoying being back on carbs and only seeing disadvantages like hunger and mood alterations,so going back to keto.

(Srinu Srinivas) #11

Can you let me know what did you do to get swelling to go down .
My mother is suffering from swollen legs during reintroduction of carbs

(Srinu Srinivas) #12

Hi @Phil_Ing

Can you let me know what did you do to get swelling to go down .
My mother is suffering from swollen legs during reintroduction of carbs . Please help in sharing what helped the situation

Thanks

(Joey) #13

@Srinu_Srinivas Greetings and welcome to the forum community!

“Reintroduction of carbs” will undo most (all?) of the benefits of restricting the carbs. Inflammation and water retention are reduced with lower carbohydrate intake. And so, it should not be surprising that - if your mother struggled with swelling before she cut down carbs - that eating carbs again would undo that benefit.

If you can address the reason your mother felt compelled to return to eating carbs (other than force of habit?) then you’ll have a better chance of helping her return to the point where her swelling was reduced (i.e., get back into a healthier eating pattern with reduced carbs).

At the risk of overstating the point: If an alcholic stops drinking and begins to enjoy the benefits of sobriety, we don’t wonder why things go poorly if s/he subsequenbtly “reintroduces” alcohol. Both the source of the problem and the nature of the cure are self-evident :wink:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #14

George Burns goes to his doctor and complains, “Doc, when I turn my head to call Gracie, I get this sharp pain in my neck and shoulders.” Doctor: “So when you call Gracie, don’t turn your head!”

(Edith) #15

A lot of people don’t realize that keto is not a short term diet. It is a way of life. Returning to the foods that gave us the extra weight, bloating, etc will only bring those problems back.

If your mom wants to keep water retention to a minimum, she will need to stay low carb. The way to lose the water retention is to remove the carbs, pretty much forever, with possibly an
occasional dalliance here and there.

Another thought is that while keto, your mother gave up a food to which she actually had an intolerance. Reintroducing that food could cause inflammation that would cause water retention.

(Susan) #16

Keto is a lifestyle change; not meant to be a temporary diet, so if you go off it and eat Carbage and the SAD diet then for sure your body will rebel and you will go back to being not healthy…

Carbs and Sugar are both Poison to our bodies, best to only have low carbs and no sugar forever =).

(Srinu Srinivas) #17

Thanks for the advice @Momof5 @PaulL @SomeGuy @VirginiaEdie
My mother had blood test done and doctor informed the reason for swelling was iron deficiency . Now My mother is on iron supplements and back to low carb diet and swelling went away .

(Joey) #18

@Srinu_Srinivas It’s possible that your mother’s iron deficiency was caused by the inflammation that returned when she started eating carbs again. There may be one or more particular carb(s) to which she has a reaction, although carbs in general force the retention of fluid.

Anyhow, if she stay offs of the inflammatory carbohydrate(s) it’s possible the iron deficiency issue will stay resolved without additional iron supplement. Something to consider, although her doctor may have a difficult time untangling the cause vs the effect. Google around for multiple sources/citations for how inflammation can produce an apparent iron deficiency.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #19

You know, I learned about this radical technique for getting clean, called “showering.” But it doesn’t work any better than keto, because, just as we get fat again when we stop eating keto, a few days after I stop showering, I get dirty and smelly, all over again. So it just doesn’t work! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

(Edith) #20

Yeah, my house is the same way. :crazy_face: