Low carb diet - feel rough? Any experience?

[Pileonsally]

Im on day 6 of cutting out wheat, sugar and carbs (pasta, bread, rice, potatoes). Im not trying to do ketosis etc and not trawling through ingredients avoiding tiny bits of carbs. Just making a massive effort to change way I eat. Doctors have advised I need to urgently lose a substantial amount of weight ASAP.

Anyway, im sooo tired and today feel lightheaded. I think this is carb flu side effects? Am absolutely desperate for a piece of bread!

Has anyone else experienced this? Did it get better?

Im eating meat and fruit and nuts and coffee and loads of water. Still starving tho!

Yep, that’s carb flu! You need potassium and magnesium. Magnesium tablets are cheap and you can add Lo Salt to food for the potassium.

If you’re starving then you should try upping your fat intake as that will satiate you without adding carbs.

Oh yes, it get's soooo much better. Make sure the fruit you have is at the lower end of carbs.

Your body is used to running on simple sugars and the transition can be hell. This will pass and you will feel so much better but the changes can be subtle and people revert.

Keep on and go on some of the low carb and keto pages on FB. They are very inspirational and will keep you on track.

Take photos of your body and your face for comparison and make yourself a six month diary to keep you grounded. Once you have lowered insulin circulating and you start to get fat adapted you will feel fantastic.

When u cut out carbs, especially wheat,bits like detox, so yes, it's a bit of a hangover/carb flu.

I found when feeling hungry drinking tea helps. I drink herbal tea or add a splash of juice or a slice of lemon to mine as I don't like milk.

Oh, I also noticed that wearing a wide belt makes u feel like u are full or at least not hungry, it's like a DIY gastric band
And it helps to define a waist

Im currently in week 3 and you will find that each week is easier than the last. for me week 4 is a tipping point into a kind of serenity where i forget to eat and my appetite reduced.

Be wary though, if you are not aiming for ketosis you may find yourself dipping in and out of it accidently which means you will constantly be in and out of keto flu. If you feel awful for two weeks with no sign of improvement this may be why and you will need to either commit to going keto or find away to carefully monitor carb intake so you stay above the keto threshold which will be personal to you. This happened to a friends of mine who, like you was cutting out the big stuff. If it works however, go for it!

Well done for doing this though. The cravings will go too, i found the more sweet stuff i ate the more i wanted it and the opposite was true when i stopped eating it.

Come and join us on the Low carb bootcamp on Mumsnet, lots of great advice and its always very busy.

The first couple weeks are bad, but once the weight starts flying off it really inspires you.

I did low carb for more than a year and lost 12 kg. It was amazing, my skin was great too and loads of energy. BUT I lost a lot of hair. Apparently this is a known side effect. Being in my forties I couldn't risk losing any more hair (it was supposed to stop but it didn't) so sadly I had to revert back to my normal diet.

This probably doesn't happen to everyone so don't worry about it but perhaps just look out for changes.