The Struggle IS SO Real!

(Salli McCartha) #1

I started Keto on Monday and it’s now Saturday and I am struggling. I had lost 100 pound restricting calories and doing some serious excercise and put some serious pounds back on once I gradually stopped! I feel like I have been in a constant fog this week. My body just feels tired. Like it is a struggle to lift my arms. I have had short burst of energy after eating only to be followed up with feeling tired right after. I know everyone says it will pass but it is getting worse! I am down eight pounds so far which is what is keeping me going. However, I did have my gallbladder removed a year and a half ago and I’m worried Keto is doing more damage to my liver than good!

Anyone out there have their gallbladder recently removed and having the same fears? Any words of encouragement or stories to keep me going because man this is seeming like it is not worth it!!!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

The energy problem may be the result of not enough salt. The kidneys excrete salt at a faster rate when insulin is low, so you need to eat more salt than you are used to. Also, a couple of recent studies show that higher levels of salt than the current recommendation are actually better for the body.

Since the gall bladder doesn’t manufacture bile, but merely stores it, you can still digest fat. People on these forums who have had their gall bladders removed have slightly different experiences, but have no trouble eating keto—at least, no one’s mentioned it in the posts I’ve seen. Some people just eat as usual, while others find that they need to eat smaller quantities more frequently. See what works best for you.

I used to have occasional problems with my gall bladder, but have had no further trouble with it since going keto.

(Central Florida Bob ) #3

I had my gall bladder removed two years ago last week. I was keto at the time, so concerned that I wouldn’t be able to handle the high fat diet, but no worries at all. I can eat as much fat as I want all day every day and never have digestive issues because of it.

I’d agree with what @Paull is saying. It sounds like you have particularly bad case of the Keto flu and will get over it eventually, like we all did. In the meantime, you might try mixing some good quality salt in water and drinking it. If you take pure sodium chloride (most commercial salt), a quarter teaspoon is 1-1/2 grams. I’d personally do that twice a day. If you use Himalayan pink salt or one of those natural salts (dried out ancient seabed), it will be less sodium, but a better balance of minerals.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #4

It’s not the gallbladder. This is a typical response to starting Keto. It can be very discerning at first, and for me it got worse every week for at least three weeks before it started to get better. Everyone is different though, and some will get over this sooner (or be lucky enough to never have to deal with it at all).

Just try to take it easy. Don’t push exercise until you start to feel better.
Resist the urge to add carbs as this will lengthen the time you’re adaptation process takes. And know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you will begin to feel better than ever.

(Raj Seth) #5

to put them together - salt salt and more salt. hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate some more.
KCKO don’t use carbs to get you through the hump - will only slow things down

(Salli McCartha) #6

Thank y’all! I felt so rough this morning. Even thought I might faint in the shower. Good words of encouragement and advice!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #7

That’s your electrolytes out of balance. Get more salt when you feel faint. I just lick it off my finger when that happens and I’m better in a minute or two.

(¤) #8

Try to up your sodium, potassium and magnesium and drink a lot of water. Dehydration and loss of electrolyte can cause fatigue, headaches, and make you feel like your in a fog. I am drinking 96 FL oz a day and bought some
" watermins- EMdrops" it’s concentrated electrolyte minerals with no flavor no sugar etc. It helped me with the fatigue and headaches.

(Rocky B) #9
(Candy Lind) #10

Welcome, Sally! You’ve got all good input here, the salt being the biggy. I STILL have trouble getting enough salt and water some days, and I’ve been keto for over a year. A lot of folks use a “keto-aide” electrolyte drink on a daily basis, and you can find recipes for them here and here. KCKO - it gets better!

(Michelle) #11

I started keto two months ago. Had my gall bladder removed one year ago. The first couple of weeks of keto - the amount of fat gave me the same sort of pain that my gallbladder gave me. Your body can process fats without the gallbladder but it takes a few days to get used to it. Keep on! Curious - did you lose your gallbladder after losing 100 lbs? I lost 103 lbs in 10 months on Medifast. Like 800 calories a day. It totally messed up my metabolism and destroyed my gallbladder. Anyway, I pushed through the initial issues (cramps, diarrhea) and my body is used to the fat now. I found in the first couple of weeks that I couldn’t eat a lot of fat at once. Two months later no problem.

(Salli McCartha) #12

@M_Graham_S, I totally believe it was related to my weight loss. I too was on a really strict diet and probably cut calories more than I should have! I now have a pain and cramps under my right ribs sometimes when I eat. Having my gallbladder out has been a nightmare.

(Michelle) #13

It is common to lose gallbladder function after a diet such as that. When it doesn’t get the signal to concentrate bile for months at a time because you are eating little to no fat, it loses function. Don’t worry about your liver - it can handle the job on it’s own, but it takes time to get used to the fat. The only thing that still gives me pain is MCT oil.

#14

A couple things, first understand you MAY have trashed your metabolism with heavy exercise on top of caloric restriction, reversible of course, but keep in mind IF your metabolism is crap now, the adaptation will take a little longer while you repair it. We would need a sample day or two diet to see what your eating as that has near everything to to with everything. As you’re aware, this crap phase is called keto FLU for a reason! Make some ketoade and keep those electrolytes cranked up, it helps huge. But the diet is #1 and most people continue too much of a caloric restriction and typically go too light on the fat at first. This diet doesn’t hurt your liver gallbladder or not. But coming to keto without one I’d advise getting some ox bile salts to which if you aren’t aware is basically supplementing what your gallbladder would do, it will help you adapt as it will take the place of the real thing, many people don’t need to take them after adaptation but that’s a YMMV situation. Biggest thing is will help with aside from digestion aid like bloat, generaly GI discomfort from fat overload and of course the toilet time when you overdo fat. Please get us a sample diet.