Hey All,
I’m so glad I found the Keto diet, it’s the eating style I feel like I can really stick with and works for me. I’m down over 20 pounds since the beginning of October and it seemed so effortless. I’m also spontaneously exercising! It feels great to be able to move. I’ve also got PCOS so I’m waiting to see if anything happens with my hormones but hey weight loss is a great start. I have a few questions though. First, I’ve been Keto for 3 months and I still regularly get bouts of diarrhea, which is a common complaint starting out, but still? Also, any tips for maintaining muscle, I’ve lost about 4 pounds of muscle in my weight loss process and I want to keep those pounds. Lastly my blood pressure is high but I’m not sure if that was a symptom before I started Keto because I didnt measure or if it’s being caused by Keto. any thoughts out there on blood pressure loosing 20 pounds has to help that!
Anyway thank you
Success and questions
Hi Meghan 
Yes that is a common thing for many, but does improve over time.
How are you measuring your muscle mass? If it’s using a body composition scale then they’re really not accurate. Keto is naturally muscle sparing so as long as your protein macro is good, there shouldn’t be any issue, especially combined with regular exercise.
I measure my body fat with one of those handheld Omron body fat analyzers and I’m careful to measure at the same time under the same conditions to get the most accuracy. According to it I’ve gone down about 4% points. Then I do the math to calculate lean body tissue and It appears I’ve lost a few pounds of lean tissue.
They’re not accurate either as they work the same way as the scales so don’t rely on it too much. OK for seeing overall trends with fat loss, but often massively out. Tape measure is best to gauge progress.
Ok thanks, I’ve been measuring hips waist and bust too and lost over 3 inches on each measurement. I just want to makes sure I’m not losing muscle
Hey, many find that the key to gut and GI happiness is the following:
- A good probiotic, like Jarrows.
- A triad of electrolyte support (potassium, magnesium, and salt).
For magnesium, a glycinate, citrate, or malate is best (avoid oxide). Potassium is easily got via the product “No Salt.” Salt is salt.
Bear in mind, not all lean body mass is muscle. It’s literally anything that’s not fat. So, for instance, when I eat keto after eating carbs, my body will drop about six pounds of water weight (I’m a reasonably big dude) that’s ‘lean body mass’ but I can regain it by eating a potato and drinking water.
I’d say it’s very likely those four pounds of muscle are actually just the fluid you used to store in your muscle.
Strength training is the best way to keep and gain muscle. Also, avoiding a calorie deficit and getting enough protein. Keto can actually be very beneficial for muscle mass. I’ve put on a substantial amount of muscle mass whilst intermittent fasting, and extended fasting on keto. Just don’t short change yourself on nutrients, protein, or calories.
As far as diarrhea, I have the opposite problem. Are you taking supplements? Some supplements and foods can have laxative effects
Are you using any sweetners? They can cause digestive problems. If you are suppilmenting with salt, try to have a little at a time and don’t have a bunch at once since that can cause problems too.
Good call, i usually just put 1/4 tsp under my tongue and see how i feel. Listen to your body.
I had originally thought sweeteners might have been the issue so I had already cut them out with no relief. But now I’m having less diarrhea so I don’t know what’s up. It just seems to come and go randomly