Hi, i am new here and 7.5 weeks into keto. Ive lost 15 lbs which is great but also feels very slow. I feel good in many ways and am very committed to this. However, one thing that’s bothering me is a mild achiness and restlessness when i try to sleep. Ive also got some uti symptoms. Im assuming i need more calcium and magnesium (i avoid most dairy). Ive been taking Calm at night which has improved things slightly. In reading old discussions on this topic, i feel overwhelmed thst i have to figure out all these correct mineral combinations to solve this. Is this the only solution? If keto is ideal why cant i get what i need from food? I have added a cup of cooked greens and pumpkin seeds for magnesium. Just feeling a little discouraged at how much tweaking of this diet i seem to need to do and noy wanting to take a bunch of pills. Added info: im a 44 year old women. Thanks for any thoughts.
Why do I have to supplement?
Hi Akno10.
Maybe you are not eating enough variety? I know when I slack on my leafy greens I tend to have a faster heart rate and that taking a 3 cent magnesium citrate pill seems to fix me right up. Aside from that I’ve only had to make sure I am getting enough sodium or else I run the risk of waking up to cramps in my legs.
Honestly, this seems like a minor inconvenience to me. Being happy, feeling great, moving further and further away from metabolic syndrome is nearly priceless. But I agree with you that eating a bunch of pills every day seems like a drag and I would do my best to figure out what foods will help you get the nutrients your body is craving.
Any elimination diet has the possibility of leaving you without some key micronutrients. But I do believe it is worse today than in the past. If the animals, eggs, and plants don’t get what they need, they won’t give us the right nutrition either. Variety is one key, but also is seeking out high quality food (grass fed cows, pastured chicken eggs, and organic, non-GMO plants will give you far more nutrients).
We’re also not eating the whole animal. A good bone broth and some organ meat will round out a much better balanced diet than just meat, eggs, cheese, and a little bit of veggies.
Be sure and keep your salt intake up. Not only do we excrete sodium at a faster rate when we don’t eat carbohydrate, but the U.S. recommended daily intake is woefully inadequate. Try to get 10-15 grams of table salt (sodium chloride) a day (that includes any salt naturally present in your food), and see what happens. The bodily mechanisms that regulate the levels of the various minerals are all inter-linked, and most people find that getting enough salt keeps potassium, magnesium, and calcium in balance, too.
I agree that if our diet is right, we shouldn’t have to supplement. In most cases, anyway.
I had this question early on as well and also have gotten the question from family when they’ve seen me make keto-aide. “If keto is so great, why do you need electrolytes?” Right now I include this little bit of supplementation daily because I’m in the middle of getting readapted. I want to stay ahead of any possible symptoms of low electrolytes before they get the upper hand. Headaches, light headedness, dizziness… they can put a real damper on a day. So I look at it as just being proactive early on. I have experienced adapted periods though where this just wasn’t as necessary and so I believe I was getting what I needed from food. Even during those times though it is good to have something that works for me to fall back on and add back in if needed.
What always comes to mind though, whenever I hear this question asked by a non-ketoer, is:
If a low fat high carb diet is so great then why do so many people struggle with heartburn, constipation, bloating, belching, flatulence, etc, etc, etc and require supplements such as Tums, Pepto, Beano, etc? I’m sure others here could help me expand on these lists. People have accepted these symptoms as normal, yet on keto I have none of them! I’d rather require myself to be a bit proactive and a bit knowledgeable about my electrolytes than be one of the people stifling burps and farts at the dinner table. 
that’s a really great point. Is the electrolyte imbalance issue I’m having a temporary thing due to adapting or do long term ketoers have to deal with it too? thanks!
I took magnesium for a while, but I haven’t for a long time and I don’t have leg cramps anymore. I did at the beginning. I also am not super concoius about my salt levels. I certainly don’t limit them, but nor do I worry about getting enough. If I am fasting I carry some salt just in case, but I rarely take any. I think our bodies are good at letting us know when we need salt, once the noise of carbs is gone.
The salt intake/electrolyte replenishing was the biggest issue for me. I’d get lethargic and even a bit dizzy, maybe even a headache…but as soon as I chugged some chicken broth…BOOM! The old me was back. I keep a couple cartons of chicken broth handy at all times. Home, car, work… just chug a bit- cold or hot, and it brings things back into balance. IF and EF early on in Keto , for me, really necessitated the reliance on broth and a few supplements, until the body adjusts to that sort of eating and fasting pattern. I do take some supplements when I feel like I need them, but not constantly. Doc’s orders…I have to take Iron Complex, because I am anemic - but I don’t take as much as I used to. Magnesium, I am low in also; so again, I take it when I feel the need. My eating isn’t always consistent or ideal, and at those times- I just recognize the need to supplement so I can function at an optimal level.
It seems that, slowly- over time, our bodies communicate better with our brains and our brains learn to heed what the body is saying. That takes time, so be patient with yourself. I’ve learned not to sweat the small stuff, and focused more on trying to interpret what my physical condition/state requires when I feel “off”. More often than not, its salt and hydration.
Ive been strict Keto for almost as long as you, lost the same amount of weight as you, and have not felt this good in YEARS. I’ll be 52 in a few months, and despite all the joys that come with heading into menopause (lol), feel great. I still have another 50-70 to lose, but, this has been an absolutely fantastic start! I, like a lot of others, do wish the weight would come off faster than what it is. But, I have to keep reminding myself that I didn’t put on that kind of weight overnight, and its not going to come off that fast either. It’s made its home on my tush, thighs and midsection- and the eviction process is lengthy. So, be patient, and keep up the good work!!
I’d say short answer is yes it’s mostly temporary. When the body is adjusting and then adapting, that’s the most uncomfortable time. That’s why people talk about keto flu. Electrolytes help greatly with this. And then even after adapted but yet still early they can help. But ya, like others have said, as time goes by the need for them really diminishes a lot. I feel it’s wise and healthy to learn to listen to our bodies signals and be willing to add some supplements if we are feeling the need but then also take a look at our food, maybe some adjustments could get some more magnesium or potassium in. Most important, don’t be afraid to salt your food. Low sodium is another lie we’ve been fed. Eat salt to where your food tastes good. That, I believe, is a great indicator of the amount our body needs. If our salt intake is sufficient, our body does a good job of regulating the other minerals. I’m currently reading The Salt Fix finally. It has been highly and often recommended by people on this forum. So as a long term ketoer, I expect you’ll probably need the supplements less, but should still listen to your body and be willing to use them if needed. I’ve done keto on and off a few times. Every time, my early weeks/months look different than my settled in time. For example I always need cheese early on. I’m guessing it’s added fat, maybe salt, I’m not really sure. But after the initial couple months or so, I hardly buy or eat it at all. Our bodies needs change with time. Hope that helps and good luck!
I too like to use broth. It’s a great little supplement. I prefer beef but that’s splitting hairs.
If my body needs it, I prepare it and sip it as though it’s just a cup of coffee or tea. Rude awakening for them if you have a spouse who might walk up and steal a sip of your “coffee”!
Curious if you know what your hemoglobin g/dL level was prior to being put on Iron Complex? For women, it’s supposed to be 12-16.
I just stumbled into the fact that my iron is low because the Keto-Mojo blood ketone meter actually shows both hematocrit and hemoglobin levels. I should have known because I’ve had issues with anemia before but it just didn’t occur to me. It ties into this thread because I was going a little nuts wondering why I couldn’t get my electrolytes in order like I’ve always been able to in the past. Then, one day that hemoglobin number stood out and almost slapped me in the face. I actually wasn’t even in the habit of checking blood ketones but someone on here made a comment about feeling better when their ketones were higher so I was just curious and checked. Did that for a while before finally seeing the hemoglobin reading as well. The meter can have a certain error rate, so my actual count could be plus or minus a bit (it shows me in the 10-11 range), but it absolutely matched how I was feeling and finally something made sense. Electrolytes just weren’t improving how I felt which was just utterly exhausted and light headed, unable to get full work days in. Anyway, I started focusing on getting iron and vitamin B and C in me and my hemoglobin levels went up and how I feel improved greatly.
Sorry to take the OP’s thread off on a bit of a tangent. I hope to not confuse any newbies. It’s just a good reminder for me to listen to my body and be willing to both learn and make adjustments and not always be narrowly focus on just one component of this.
I think what youre saying about listening to our bodies is so true. Yesterday i was having kidney pain and got worried i had a kidney infection. I think however that my urine is just very acidic and i just have to accept im not gonna be the person who can live on meat. I really have to work on eating alkaline foods and lowering my meat. Maybe thats why ive been feeling a little off even though great in other areas like mental clarity and weight loss. Magnesium at night is helping.
If my Cronometer app is correct I have discovered that I have a trend of not getting enough calcium, magnesium and potassium from my food eating like this. I eat a good variety of meat, dairy and vegetables.
I take 400mg magnesium glycinate which puts me over added to my dietary intake and I plan to add a little Lite Salt and some kind of calcium too. I don’t really know if the levels Cronometer suggested are necessary on a ketogenic diet or if they’re based on an SAD and trying to compensate for that nutritional profile but it’s not expensive to add those minerals as salts or such to your diet and that’s my plan. I am trying to get all I can out of what I put in my body and want to give it what it needs. 
After two year of keto I don’t supplement anything. The only time I need to worry about my electrolytes getting really out of whack is when I overdo my protein by a lot.