Potassium problems

(charlie3) #21

A while back I got a blood test that included all the electrolytes typically discussed here and a few that aren’t. Are blood levels definitive? What I’m advising these days is may be get some blood work before starting this journey in case something comes up. I have some blood work that predates diet and exercise changes but if I could do it over there would have been a few more tests.

#22

Our energy need can’t be calculated by a mere program and it easily changes anyway. But it’s not the main point.
If you are like me, nothing happens if you eat more protein, at least nothing bad. I often eat high protein because it’s comfortable, natural and satiating to me. And you don’t need to meet your fat macro. You need enough food, enough protein, little enough carbs. The numbers don’t even need to be very similar every day. Eat enough food, whatever it means, don’t be hungry, get used to keto, get fat adapted, eat the amount that feels good (but enough for you. some people lose hunger and appetite and undereat on keto, that’s no good. you need protein, nutrients and too few calories are a problem too)… If it doesn’t work automatically, you can tweak your woe later when it’s potentially way easier.

Some people experience that they are better keeping their protein from going high but if you aren’t sure you are like this, don’t be afraid to experiment with more protein, it’s usually okay.

Well, you can track for a while and then eat similarly later, I did that on low-carb.
On keto, I had to track, carbs added up too easily. If I avoid plants, I don’t need to track to stay low enough but I couldn’t do that right away. Maybe the similar days are your best bet?

Even if you eat little carbs in percentages, it’s no good if the carb intake is too high in grams - versus your ketosis carb limit but we don’t know that number first, 20g is usually safe, not always and it’s way lower our own limit sometimes but it can’t be helped. I used a way bigger limit for reasons and I got lucky. Except that I needed to go lower to get more benefits than just fat adaptation - that was awesome and needed but not enough. So if you actually can go below 20g without big problems, it’s probably the best idea to do that.

(Cate Melvin) #23

low potassium can cause muscle spasms. the no salt is a good potassium addition for me. it helps so much that i hardly ever have the spasms now. i just have to remember to sprinkle it on foods. and a fyi… no salt aka potassium salt tastes saltier than sodium salt.

(Bob M) #24

Good question, with no good answer. Some believe the body will do whatever it takes to make the blood levels normal. But this does not mean the levels in you muscles or bones are normal.

I’ve even gotten RBC (red blood cell) magnesium taken, which is supposedly a better indicator of magnesium status. Mine was on the high end there.

I’ve had normal blood levels and still had leg cramps basically the day after.

Potassium in particular is a tough one, as it can be overdone. It’s hard to overdue salt, for instance, but one can overdo potassium.

(charlie3) #25

I set out to get the RDA’s from food and mostly succeeded. I come up a tiny bit short only on calcium, magnesium and D3 if it even matters. So may be I suppliment those sporatically or may be I shouldn’t bother. I do like having 2 1/2 years of detailed data in chrono.

#26

Dr Phinney says cramps, spasms are lack of magnesium. If I understood it correctly, we need more than RDA, because we lose more of it than people in a SAD WOE.

(Katie) #27

Furthermore, even if you are trying to lose weight, I doubt that overeating protein will be much of an issue, unless you are close to your goal weight or at a stall. As a beginner, I do not think that you should worry too much about eating too much protein.