Time to quit keto?

(R L) #1

I dont want to quit, but i stalled in mid may and after trying to increase my salt intake, now I am struggling with edema. Bad enough that its making it hard to breathe! I started taking a water pill 10 days ago and the swelling goes down then right back up!
I read that it could be electrolites so i started taking magnesium, potassium, and calcium. No change.
Ive never had trouble with edema until now. Asthma and allergies cause enough breathing difficulty for me. I need this cleared up asap.
Any advice?

#2

Can you use less salt?

(Jane) #3

You should be fat adapted by now.

What are your macros and a typical menu for you? Any new foods you added recently that you could be having a reaction to?

(R L) #4

I stopped trying to get more salt when the edema started. Here is a look at my macros from today.

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I started 2/13 at 297lbs
I lost 52 lbs and now im up 5 lbs one week and down 5 lbs the next.
At the beginning of august I reduced my calories fron 2250 to 1800.
Seems like fats are easier for me than protien.

(Jane) #5

Well if you quit you will gain the 50 lbs back. That is an enormous amount of weight! More than I could even pick up.

But you haven’t quit or you wouldn’t have made this post. Keto heals so much that needs healing but we can only see a tiny fraction in our skin and hair. The rest is taken on faith.

I hope you figure it out and don’t give up.

What has changed in the past few weeks? Diet? Stress? Life?

(R L) #6

Being out of water for over a month is definitely a stress factor.
I dont want to quit but this swelling affects my breathing, and i struggle with that so much anyway that i have to isolate myself from people because the fragrances flare up my asthma.
On the other hand, i feel like i have already quit because im stalled.
Ive lost about 50% of my hair judging by the size of my pony tail. Ordinarily id be very protctive of my hair, but im not worried about it because of the bigger picture.
I get a lot of dry heaves, nausea, and dizziness. Dr. Berg mentioned four electrolytes that could cause that which is why im taking supplements now.

(Angela) #7

I would up protein in place of fat.

(R L) #8

Thats what i was thinking too. Protien is harder for me to get than fat for some reason.

("Don't call it calories, call it food") #9

Any chance it could be something unrelated to diet? Those symptoms sound similar to my hypothyroid symptoms.

(Kathy M) #10

So when I think ‘it’s time to quit keto or fasting’ for a specific reason, I ask myself what if that’s not an option? What would I do? For me, I’d rule out other issues first (medical, stress, changes in lifestyle). I would also reduce the protein to give my kidneys a break. I know every expert seems to have a different protein macro but I have tended to moderate protein and reduced water retention. Check out Fung’s article for a few thoughts on that controversy. https://idmprogram.com/how-much-protein-is-excessive/

I hope this resolves for you - let us know!

(Bunny) #11

Edema: albumin transition of fluid in the blood by protein (amino acids converted by the liver); When plasma proteins, especially albumin, no longer sustain sufficient colloid osmotic pressure to counterbalance hydrostatic pressure, edema develops… (<== this reference is used as an example in the case of albumin not working correctly “Hypoalbuminemia“)

Highlights:
The liver takes from the blood amino acids from protein that you eat and makes a protein called albumin (keeps fluid in the blood correctly).

When the liver is not working correctly you get low albumin levels, the answer IS NOT EATING MORE PROTEIN because the amount needed in the conversion process is NOT HAPPENING to begin with because the liver is damaged in some way e.g. scar tissue …a powerful enzyme called sarapeptase? helps to remove this scar tissue!

…eating more raw uncooked veggies?

Whole Body Approach:

  1. Liver?

  2. Kidneys?

  3. Heart?

#12

Have you considered trying a carnivore keto? Have a read of Amber O’Hearn’s posts and do a little research on the subject to see if it might help. Mikhaila Peterson also has some insights on the subject. Even just a month would show if it could help. All the best to you.

#13

IF she eats in a way to put it back on, yes. You can’t blindly say going of the reservation will put back on all lost weight. People go off keto all the time typically to other LCHF diets and not back to SAD without issues.

#14

What’s your normal days diet look like? Are you micro nutrient deficient? Hitting generic macros is easy, getting the micros can be tricky and many times is the cause of stuff like this. Water retention, dry heaves, HALF your hair, this crap isn’t normal something else is going on.

(R L) #15

My mornings are a bulletproof coffee, lunch, if i have it, might be sausage and a couple eggs with keto aid. Dinner is my main meal and i will have at least 4 oz of meat with two green vegetables.
As for micros… Not sure what that is.
You all have given me a lot of good information to look into and i really appreaciate it.
I have at least 100 more lbs to lose and the scale says im up 7 lbs this morning. My eyelids are puffy and obscuring my vision this morning, so things are still going in the wrong direction.:confounded:

#16

As you know our MACRO nutrients are Carbs, Fat and Proteins, our MICRO’s are the Vitamins and Minerals which can play a pretty significant role for many of us. Have you played with your carbs to see if upping them does anything for you? I’ve heard a lot over the years that (some) women do a little better with a little more. Also, are you exercising, resistance training or something else keep the metabolism up and/or healthy?

#18

Sorry, posted reply but botched a couple things and had to delete it. I put that days food sample into my cronometer and it seems pretty deficient in some keys things (for me at least). You may be supplementing some of this in which I can’t account for but solely from your food list MY nitpicks would be very low calorie which we know isn’t too friendly to the metabolism, low protein for most, very low vitamin D, low sodium ( I’m considering the retention), low biotin (HAIR, skin and nails), low BCAA’s (they’re not just for muscles), No real iodine intake (thyroid function), low chromium (supports fat metabolism), not a great Omega balance etc. Again, you may be supplementing half this stuff in but something to think about either way.

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(R L) #19

I have been working on the vitamin and mineral intake, but i feel like its a lot of guess work on my part.
While researching my symptoms it implied magnesium deficiancy so i made sure that i got the recommended amount of keto aid daily.
The problem continued so after even more research i began taking cal-mag, potassium, ‘hair skin and nails’ and b12.
I try to keep my carbs at 20 total and have a fear of going higher.
I am ready to change things up at this point though. How many carbs would you recommend?
As for exercize… Does farm work count? Or hauling water? 10 40lb buckets every other day? Lol So, no im not exercizing, but most of my work is very strenuous.

(Bethany) #20

With asthma and allergies, there may be more confounding factors than nutrition. You said you are having trouble breathing. Have you seen a doctor?

(R L) #21

I see him next week. I was refused an allergy injection last week because of shortness of breath.
My sister suspects the black kohosh i am taking for hot flashes. Ive just been reading that it can cause liver damage, now the question is… Can impaired liver function cause edema?