Too good to be true?

(Hannah) #1

Hi there!!

I’ve just started my keto journey (take 2) and am finishing up day 3.

Bit of backstory. I’ve been overweight all my life but found myself at 215 lbs at the age of 20. My family has a lot of history with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer and I didn’t want to end up like my older relatives. I lost about 30 lbs eating low calorie, low fat and exercising A LOT! But then I hit a plateau in May and did some research and found keto and decided to start. Worst mistake as I was in the middle of my exam period and was trying to revise with the keto flu so I gave up and ate some rice (I’m glad I did). After that, I kinda forgot about it until I put 15 lbs back on and rediscovered keto and I decided to go straight in with 16/8 IF as well. I meal prepped Sunday and started really on Monday and I’m now finishing up day three.

I’ve been eating 20g of net carbs, so 5% carbs, 15% protein and 80% fat. Monday was alright but I was exhausted and hungry the whole time and I felt shakey. Tuesday was THE WORST! I felt nauseous all day, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom and drinking constantly. I added extra salt to my food and took some electrolytes that had sodium, potassium and magnesium in them and felt a bit better but I was struggling to stay awake, then when it came time to sleep I kept waking up in the middle of the night. Today I woke up and felt so full of energy! I did my workout (but less intense), I haven’t really felt hungry, no shakes, nowhere near as much time drinking and then in the bathroom (and noticed it a bit more ahem fragrant). Also, I managed to write an essay in a day. I’ve never done that before! I weighed myself this morning and thought I’d hop on the scales this evening just to see and apparently, I’ve lost 1% body fat in a day?!

What I want to ask is, is this normal? I ate high-ish carb before and was expecting the mother of all keto flus but apart from Tuesday, it hasn’t been that bad. Could I be in ketosis already? Does your water intake go back to what it was before? Should I expect the keto flu to jump on me any second now? It just seems too good to be true!

Sorry for the long rant :joy:
Thanks for your time, Hannah x

(Anita Sewall) #2

Congratulations on a good start! You’re losing a lot of water weight right now, as do most people when they start Keto. One really nice thing about that is that the early success helps you press on through the most difficult weeks of this way of eating. You are likely not in ketosis yet, but you can get inexpensive urine test strips at Walmart (diabetic products shelf near pharmacy) that will give you an idea of whether you’re producing ketones or not. Although the test strips are not the best measure, they give you good feedback when you’re new to the diet.

Make sure you keep your protein relatively low; that’s been the most challenging part for me.

As you progress into keto adaptation, you’ll notice that you’re very thirsty and drinking a lot of water. It took me about three months to become fully keto adapted. I am a big believer in this diet! For someone with your family history, it should be a very healthy choice for you. Keep up the good work!

(Ellie) #3

Hi Hannah,

Your symptoms sound totally normal and it looks like you have keto flu already.
Keep up the electrolytes - careful of the commercial ones as they often and relatively low levels of the electrolytes and can contain hidden nasties. Search for ketoaide on here for an alternative recipe. Keto flu will pass soon.

Welcome!