Keto Flu

Keto flu or “carb flu” may happen after you start To reduce the number of carbohydrates that you are consuming. As your body switches from using glucose (sugar) for energy to fat stored in your body resulting in ketones being burned off there is a shift that occurs. This may make you feel a little “off”. This is different for different people. For me in particular I felt super exhausted. Like, take a nap in the middle of the day exhausted haha every parent’s dream right?!? Haha! I started being more regular with my multivitamin that had vitamin b for energy and increased my water a ton and that helped me get over my “keto flu”. Now the time it will last will vary from a few days up to even a couple of weeks. Those symptoms are going to be like the flu and can range from any of the following:

• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Headache
• Irritability
• Weakness
• Muscle cramps
• Dizziness
• Poor concentration
• Stomach pain
• Muscle soreness
• Difficulty sleeping
• Sugar cravings

Don’t let these symptoms deter you. There is soooooo much sugar hidden in so many of our foods and we as a society consume an insane amount of sugar in our American diets. I had calculated my sugar intake over a week and it was sometimes up to 300grams a week!?! That’s CRAZY!!! Knowing that I consumed a lot of sugar I knew I was going to need to be prepared as my body detoxed from the normal sugar intake.  

There are ways to help yourself through the keto flu:

1) water water water! Hydration is key! On keto, you can rapidly deplete your water stores resulting in dehydration. So I always say drink half your body weight in ounces of water a day as your goal! So if you weigh 150lbs you should be drinking 75 ounces of water a day. If you are experiencing Diarrhea is one of your keto flu symptoms than this hydration is going to be really important.

1. Avoid vigorous Exercise only during the keto flu. Exercise is important for any healthy lifestyle but if you are feeling any of these symptoms especially muscle cramps or stomach upset vigorous exercise isn’t going to be your best friend. You can instead try something more gentle like yoga or walking may help you to feel better.
2. Supplementing your electrolytes is very important because your body will change the way it excretes different electrolytes such as sodium. Potassium is another electrolyte that will be decreased because of the types of foods you won’t be consuming as much of on the keto lifestyle. Himalayan salt to taste on your foods is a nice easy way to increase some sodium back into your body. Increasing Magnesium will help with the muscle cramps if you are experiencing those.
3. Getting adequate rest will make you feel so much better. Sometimes a nap makes you feel so much better! Lack of sleep will o create the stress hormones that are Circulating in your body so make sure that you’re getting adequate sleep will help with the feelings of fatigue and irritability. Setting yourself up with a good morning routine and preparing for sleep the same way each night will help you get more adequate rest. Sometimes reducing the amount of caffeine that you’re having with it through soda or through coffee or caffeinated beverages can help you sleep. Not using your phone an hour before bed will help your body to realize it’s time to start going to sleep sometimes a sleep sound machine will help. You can try pure Lavender essential oil to help with sleep. Even sleep stories can help you fall asleep more easily.

While these symptoms are very common for the keto flu it’s still very important to talk to your primary care physician before starting this lifestyle change and also if you are experiencing any of these symptoms and are feeling unwell. If you’re experiencing a lot of diarrhea, fevers and a lot of vomiting or any other symptoms that concern you please make sure you consult with your primary care physician.

These symptoms should slowly start to decrease as your body adjusts to changing the way it is utilizing and burning fat for energy.

All of that to say, keep going and don’t give up.  If you can eliminate excess sugars and feel younger, healthier and happier you just have to stick with it!  You’ve got this!