Beware The Keto Flu

You need to know about The Keto Flu, probably before it gets you:

We want our bodies to turn away from carbohydrate burning and onto fat burning: This is called “Keto-Adaption”. The Keto’ part refers to water soluble molecules that the liver makes when metabolizing fats called Ketones.

Ketones can be used as fuel by most tissues in the body including the brain, in fact, better than carbohydrate. But the body reaches for carbohydrate first because it’s easier to convert to quick energy.

Reaching “Ketosis” where your body uses fat for energy instead of carbohydrate takes physical adjustment because your body has to ramp up new energy production pathways, and there will be a period of discomfit while it does; it even has a name: “The Keto Flu”.

The Keto Flu is harmless of course and the symptoms include fatigue, weakness, lightheadedness, “brain fog,” headaches, irritability, muscle cramps, and nausea.

And there might be some craving.

After a week to ten-days of abject suffering (not really) people start to notice a new and higher level of well-being, more than before they switched to ketosis. So now they have new heart (almost literally) to keep going.

If you’re like me and don’t suffer anything much cheerfully, there are seven things that you can do to mitigate the effects of the devastating and soul-destroying (worse than death) Keto Flu:

1. Quit. (Nah, don’t quit)
2. Increase Salt and Water Intake. Carbohydrates retain water so that when you quit carbs you’ll be peeing a lot and washing out sodium (salt) that your body needs. You might feel light headed and weak if this happens. So drink plenty of water and add a pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt once or twice a day.
3. Don’t Not Eat! Eat lots of fat and fiber foods, as much salad as you want as well as leafy green vegetables. Transition to ketosis before you include fasting.
4. Go Easy With Physical Activity. Strenuous exercise in the early stages of keto-adaptation will cause your body to look for carbohydrate for energy and slow down your metabolism. Give yourself a couple of weeks before resuming or taking up strenuous exercise.
5. Plan Delicious Things to Eat. Nothing will make you feel more deprived than going on an austerity program when you are trying to make a big change in your eating habits. Instead, investigate the yummiest foods ketosis diet allows.
6. “Carb-Crash” might happen to some people on day 3 to 5 as your body uses up the last of its glucose reserves. You might feel jittery and shaky, irritable, fatigued or just “Off”. Have some fruit like berries or anything really, just not very much – if the symptoms go away then you’ll know that you’re experiencing a carb-crash then you can decide whether or not to endure or take the edge off with some blue berries. Either way your body will adapt to fat burning.
7. Be Good to Yourself and keep supportive people around you; those who will encourage you to keep going rather than try to talk you out of it, seriously…