cinnamoneyes's Journal, 06 January 2013

1.Fatigue

A lot of people limit their carb intake and increase fat intake. At the beginning they are really enthusiastic, but after the first couple days, they feel weariness. That is the moment, when their mind starts playing them a trick- confusing questions start popping up, like “ How could be this diet considered healthier than the standard diet, if it makes you feel so tired?”

Truth is that in order for your body to switch from using carbs as main fuel, to burning fat as fuel, you need to give it some time. Just like for every change in your life, you need some time to get used to it, your body also needs time to adapt to using fat!

2.Bad breath

In case you have a bad breath, when you start eating high fat, do not be scared, because this is normal at the beginning! The bad breath, is a consequence of the production of ketones and it is a sign that you are in ketosis.

Solution: Make sure you drink enough water, and eat more green, leafy vegetables. This should help. If you increase your carb intake, the bad breath will disappear, but if you overdo the carbs, you will be kicked out of ketosis. So try to add some berries to your meals, it should decrease the “bad breath effect”.

3.Headache

During the first 2-3 days you could have headache. This is still normal, because before that your diet, consisted of a lot of carbs and when you limit carb intake you will go in a withdrawal. Even if it sounds funny, that is the real reason, because carbs are really addictive! But your headache should be gone in 2-3 days.

4.Unbearable desire to eat carbs and sweets

This is probably the hardest thing to overcome. The reason is that till this moment your body relied on carbs as a main fuel source, and when you limit them, the glycogen supplies in your liver and your muscles will deplete. Then, you will feel the urge to eat carbs. If you don’t give in to the urge, and keep eating high fat, in a couple days your body should adapt to burning fat as fuel and you won’t have such moments!

Solution: In case you have a strong desire to eat carbs, my advice is to eat a little more fat. In my case bacon helped a lot. I ate a little more bacon, and I became immortal!

5.Cramps

Cramps… Why do you have them? You know that carbs retain water. When you limit them and you begin a ketone diet, you could become a little dehydrated the first week, because your body will dump the retained water. Thus the levels of electrolytes(potassium, calcium,magnesium, sodium) in your body will be low. Electrolytes conduct electronic impulses( seems logical, right?), that make your muscle cells to contract. That means, when you don’t have enough electrolytes you will have cramps.

After the first two weeks you should start feeling energetic and strong. The fatigue and headache should be long gone!