Peeing a bunch on keto on day 12 n 13 am I getting too much protein?

(Elizabeth) #1

Hello everyone. I tried to search this topic n couldn’t find really anything. But I have been peeing again a bunch just like day 4,5 n 6 when I was flushing out the rest of my carbs. My chronometer says I’m staying in my allotted protein but could it still be too much for me? My electrolytes are also fine. Oh plus I’m also super thirsty n trying to keep up with that. ( Side note, just curious question, if we’re supposed to be burning fat why eat so much if we have fat to lose?)

#2

I see keto as simply “Minimal carbs. Adequate proteins. Fats as needed (for satiety).”

So, two priorities:

  • You need to keep carbs low to stay in ketosis.
  • You need to make sure you get enough proteins. Your body needs them. Being significantly low on them over an extended period can cause the body to get them elsewhere. That may mean a breakdown of muscle tissue. Not good.

After that, ideally, it should be hunger that determines how many fats and additional proteins (and thus calories) you need to be eating, if only because leaving yourself hungry all the time means keto won’t be sustainable. You don’t need to eat all of the fats macro if you’re not hungry, because the body can make up the difference with stored body fat.

(Allie) #3

Initially you give your body as much fat as it needs to help with the transition to fat burning over carb burning, but once you’re through that stage, many people prefer and get good results from reducing dietary fats as by this time, the body will be more able to use its own stores.

(Elizabeth) #4

Ok. So how should I be eating when I’m not hungry? I’ve been pretty much forcing myself to eat worried about nutrition n keeping my body from burning my muscle

#5

I have heard the advice that just try to eat a bite. It may trigger more bites. Not always but may worth a try. (It works well for me but I easily eat without hunger and appetite anyway. Not always though.)
Sometimes I can’t eat (below zero appetite, quite unfortunate) but need it. I like a gateway food then, broth or something similar, I always can drink :smiley: And if you only can drink even then, you can drink some calories… Very soft, tempting food is the next I can try, solids and especially harder ones are the most problematic when I have this unusual situation. But I have a few dishes I almost always can eat when needed. Even the order of the different foods may matter. Leaving the more boring ones to the end probably isn’t a good idea if eating enough is a challenge.

I doubt you eat too much protein if you don’t even go beyond the advice, whatever that is. Unless you have some condition regarding protein, it takes quite high protein to get problems. Most of us can’t even eat too much protein even on our highest-cal days, we just have some natural barrier or something. I did some crazy numbers but the protein never was too bad (though I suspect our idea of bad is different. as long as my average is below/around 3g/kg for LBM, I don’t worry. I always eat high protein and feel right that way. never feels right below for longer term, I get hungry… and I eat… So I can’t even do not high-protein at all, actually. Maybe I need more than the calculators using statistics say?).

We shouldn’t eat too much. But we need nutrients and we shouldn’t starve. We can’t just eat a tiny food expecting great fat-loss along with good health and feeling cool. Both too much and too little food is bad but it’s so individual with interesting factors that it’s impossible to tell what amount of food is right for our goals. In good cases one listens to their body, maybe experiment and figure out what to do. And what attitude is needed. Sometimes I should stop eating while hungry or keep eating when satiated as it’s the best I can do in those circumstances (both are rare but happens). And I call it the right attitude to do our best to keep our fat/protein ratio or intake where it’s okay for us, not everyone has that but I for one super easily overeat fat so I pretty much avoid added fat and too fatty meats. And I must eat high-protein or else I get hungry until it changes. Some people need some specific ratio. So we plan and choose items accordingly.

(Elizabeth) #6

Just try a bite. That’s a good idea. And thank you for the long informative reply. I really appreciate you taking the time

(Elizabeth) #9

Thank you but I have been really thirsty so what’s the concern then?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #10

The two duplicate threads have been merged.

#11

@Me1982 Read the article I linked. Amy Berger is very knowledgeable and writes understandably for the general, not-too-technical reader. The article will answer your questions about protein. As already noted above, do not fear protein.

I’ll further note here that keto is a process of metabolic normalization and the extent and degree of damage already done by years eating the standard approved diet (SAD) determines how long it takes to fix what’s broke. Fat loss is not the principle goal of keto, although if you’re packing excess it’s usually a nice side-effect. Eating keto enables your metabolism to access the stored fat for energy but there’s a limit to just how much stored fat you can utilize daily, so you make up the energy deficit by eating fat.

Over time your appetite aligns more closely with your daily energy needs, so how much you eat will change as your stored fat gets used up. The objective of keto is carb restriction, not calorie restriction and most folks do just fine eating when they’re hungry and stopping when they’re not. If you don’t have reliable hunger/satiety signals then there are other tools to help.

PS: I see that @PaulL just closed your original topic so I’ll reply to your question about thirst here.

Excessive thirst indicates you’re dehydrated and need to drink more water. Peeing more will also remove water soluble minerals, primarily sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. So if you start to experience any unusual symptoms you will probably need to supplement them for a while. Just upping your sodium intake by salting your food may suffice to prevent any uncomfortable symptoms. At any rate, they generally pass soon.

(Elizabeth) #12

Thank you Paul. I thought the first thread was like hidden because I’d accidentally switched myself to anonymous mode. I’m not so tech savvy if you haven’t already figured that out lol.

(Elizabeth) #13

Thank you. Yes I want to lose weight. But my main goal for doing keto is to be healthy. I’m tired of being sick n tired. I was just curious why if we became fat burning machines then why still eat so much. But your response makes a lot of sense. I’ll read that article! Thank you.

(Bob M) #14

I note that Amber O’Hearn thinks one possible negative of a higher protein intake is higher urine output, particularly nocturia (where you go to the bathroom at night). That would be an interesting, though challenging test: higher protein one week, while writing down every time you pee; less protein the next week, again writing down every time you pee.

(Marianne) #16

Lots of good stuff here.

I often think about what and how I used to eat pre-keto, and what that must have done to my poor body. Everything I ate was manufactured or processed and full of sugar, carbs, bad oils and tons of chemicals. No wonder I was in poor health and had so many ailments for my age. Although I had several periods of reaching my ideal weight through conventional dieting, it was a torturous process and they were always pretty fleeting. The rest of those 60 years, I was dumping crap and toxins into my body. Keto is my miracle, honestly, but allow yourself sufficient time for your body to adjust, normalize and heal. We all were newbies at one time. Eat well, enjoy your meals, relax a bit and don’t hyperfocus too much on whether or not you’re doing this optimally. Listen to your body. Eat to fuel it, even if you aren’t that hungry. If that is the case, just don’t eat so much - but give your body consistent energy. Same with water - if you’re thirsty, drink, but consider supplementing with a little salt or other minerals as others have said here. Just remember that whatever you are doing, it’s waaaaayyyy better than what you were doing pre-keto!!! Just following this, you’re doing great!!!

Indeed, it is a wonderful side effect, and if you keep the carbs low and eat clean, one or two ingredient foods, I believe you will get there happily. There is a saying here that you’ll see - “the majority of us came here to lose weight and stayed for the health benefits.” That was me. I just wanted to lose weight - desperately. I was soul sick. I had no idea how restorative keto was, until I experienced it.

I believe if you stick with this, you will achieve both, and it won’t be difficult. Just eat well and let the days pass.

Best!

(Elizabeth) #17

Ok. I’m just impatient or a worrier or both n think I should be feeling better by now haha. But yeah I ate terribly for 39 years. I realize now it will just take time and although hearing what others go through is helpful everyone is different so it is individualized and I need to listen to my body about what I need to do. Thank you for taking the time to help me

(Elizabeth) #18

Thank you! I appreciate the advice and feedback

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

The main reason is that our metabolism increases or decreases, depending on how much we eat. If we starve ourselves, the body puts non-essential processes (hair, nails, the reproductive system) on hold to keep us going during the famine; when we eat abundantly, the basal metabolic rate increases, fat cells begin to waste energy in the form of heat, hair and nails grow more rapidly, the libido goes up, and so forth.

Dr. Stephen Phinney, who got into researching the ketogenic diet to “prove Dr. Atkins wrong,” ended up showing that when we restrict our carb intake but otherwise eat as much as we want, the rate of fatty-acid metabolism actually increases noticeably. This is why we can eat so much fat and still burn some of our excess stored fat at the same time.

P.S.—Dr. Phinney also has data to show that people on a well-formulated ketogenic diet eaten to satiety, if they have excess fat to shed, typically eat around a thousand calories less than they need, the missing calories being supplied from stored fat. This is an automatic process, if we listen to our body, and as we shed the fat we need to get rid of, our appetite will automatically increase, so that by the time we have no more fat to part with, all our energy needs will be coming from our diet. And all without having to go hungry or count a single calorie. :grin: It’s the only way I could have lost the poundage I lost; counting calories before I went keto used to drive me insane.

(Elizabeth) #20

Oh I don’t want to have to count calories either lol. But is it then ok to not eat if we’re not hungry? I mean doesn’t our bodies know when need something and when we can go without? Because it kinda makes no sense to me to force yourself to eat. But I also don’t want to hurt my metabolism and so on either. (Iwill note here that my appetite wavers. Sometimes I’m a little hungry sometimes not hungry at all)

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #21

The reason people are hungry all the time on a high-carb diet, is because insulin stays elevated, and it blocks the leptin receptors in the ventromedial hypothalamus (part of the brain) that is supposed to regulate appetite. This is left over from the mechanism that lets us put on weight in the fall, to prepare for the winter.

But a low-carb diet allows insulin to drop, so that when the fat cells secrete leptin, in order to tell the brain that we don’t need to eat any more food at the moment, the brain can register the signal and shut off our hunger hormones. So when we eat this way, most of us can rely on our appetite to tell us how much to eat. (Of course, there are a few people whose hormones appear not to work, and they have to limit their food in other ways, but appetite works for most people.)

(Bob M) #22

I’ve never heard that theory, though it sounds reasonable.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #23

Dr. Phinney speaks of the effect of insulin on the ventromedial hypothalamus in many of the talks he gives. It is the reason for the constant hunger many people experience when eating a high-carb diet. Over my lifetime, I have watched the nutritional advice go from “three square meals and no snacks” to “three meals, plus snacks between meals and at bedtime, to keep from being too hungry.”