Help! First 3 days of low carb and feel like hell

[cahu]

I have been low carbing since Thursday and have headache and sickness! Please tell me it will stop soon.

Bump, please anyone?

I gave up yesterday after feeling so bad. I have managed before but couldn't this time. Have to say I feel so much better now but still need to find a way to lose weight.

It will stop soon. Then you will feel great.

Marsha, I actually vomited this morning, is this usual? I do not want to give up but I am back to work on Monday and need to feel better than I do today.

Perhaps you have a virus? We all had something that felt a bit like what you described.

I did low carb for my wedding a couple of years ago. It was hard at first but I never felt sick! Sounds like a bug

I don't think it's a bug as I felt like this the last time I tried to cut carbs....could it be sugar withdrawal?

I've never felt nauseous starting low car, but I suppose it's possible. I usually feel rough for the first couple of days, sluggish and headachy but once you get past that it does even out and you should feel much better. If you keep being sick though I'd tend to think bug or some kind.

The first time I low carbed I felt so ill and nauseous, to the point that I couldn't do much else but lay very still when it hit.

I put it down to such a radically different way of eating - had been the low fat queen prior to low carbing and I honestly think my body didn't know how to deal with all the fat and lack of sugar!, but it did pass within a week max and I'm certainly glad I stuck with it.

It will pass. I felt fine the first 3 days, awful days 4-7 and then absolutely fine and back to normal after that. And then I got all the benefits from this way of eating. So keep going. Lots of water, lots of rest, lots of good fats.

It might not be the case with you but generally the worse your diet before you start this the worse you feel coming off carbs. So if you lived off coke/chocolate, you will have a bumpy ride.

It's not called 'carb flu' for nothing! Although vomiting does sound very extreme.

Keep drinking water and eating plenty of fat (if you can - you obviously may not feel like eating if you've been vomiting). You need salt.

If it's really, really bad, introduce a small amount of carbs - try having a small slice of wholemeal toast.

If you feel better after that, then it's indicative of a carb withdrawal. If it doesn't make any difference, then it's a bug, I'm afraid!

But carb withdrawal should not take more than about 3-4 days, so you will (hopefully) be feeling much better very soon.

Keep going, it's a bit like when you start breast feeding and your nipples hurt like hell, if you can ride it out for a few days it becomes easy.

I think when I first started low carbing and felt horrible, people recommended I drink loads of good mineral water. I think it's the salts in them that help. They're not all made equal though.

I took a sachet of dioralyte when I had carb flu first time around. I think I was really low in salt - you wee so much out, especially in the first days! I got migraines too (salt again).

I have felt nauseous before - usually at about day 3 when I am going into ketosis, that coupled with headache, extreme tiredness, metal taste in the mouth can really feel like a bug. It doesn't usually last long maybe half a day and then you suddenly feel fantastic. Many people give up at this stage thinking that this feeling is going to be permanent but if they could just hang on and ride it for a few hours it will soon be over.

Hope it is just that for you!

A potassium supplement might help.

^Dr Michael R Eades and Dr Mary Dan Eades in their book 'Protein Power' recommend a supplement of 90mg because this mineral is lost during the initial water loss.

Day 3 is a bitch. I've been trying to diet since xmas. Each time I fail on day 3.

Sodium, magnesium and potassium are all key, and you can get these from eating salmon, avocado, spinach and natural yoghurt - and making sure that use salt on your food.

Also, keep drinking the water and make sure your fat levels are high.

And don't suffer - take some paracetamol (not ibuprofen as this can impede weight loss) if you have a headache.

It will pass soon!

I'm on day 3 here too. as BIWI says it will pass. Lots of water add a little salt to it if you can stand it and early night. You'll feel better tomorrow.

Please push through it! I was sick on night one, days 2, 3 & 4 I felt so drowsy and irritable, then like magic, I felt like a new woman. Not to mention, the amount of weight I've lost and I'm only 12 days into induction. I have a neck again, my boobs aren't so heavy (naturally big), and I have a waist and lovely hips again. A few days of feeling crap really is worth it for all the benefits you will gain. Sending you will power vibes x

How are you feeling today, cahu?