Tbaygirl's Journal, 06 September 2017

Tbaygirl,The ultimate goal would be Net carbs, but I see that you jumped right into 20 carbs and threw your body out of wack !!! You need to reduce carbs gradually so your body becomes adapted to the lil carbs over weeks, Since you got headaches,I'm sure you still might experience, light headiness etc,You need to gradually and constantly adjust your carbs till you don't experience as they call the Keto flu. the body does sometimes take time to adjust to your new WOE.Hope this helps, and Your Journey continues !! 

Are you in the US? Total carbs and fiber are reported separately there. So to get net carbs, you'd subtract fiber from total carbs. In Europe, carbs are listed after fiber already deducted.  

(That's an oversimplification, but would inform how you read suggestions from US-based members.) 

I lowered carbs relatively slowly; signed up here just to track food, had been doing low-ish carbs for a while. (Still ate quinoa, sweet potato, etc, in small amounts but regularly.) So I was tracking just whatever I'd been eating, then started noticing keto-oriented posts, and decided to try it, imperfectly. And I *still* got headaches, calf muscle cramps, and generally felt ill. --- I'd been taking plenty of magnesium, but suddenly it wasn't enough. Also had to add in potassium; there are cheaper and easier ways of doing it than I started with. People have different recipes and methods for "ketoade" that work for them. --- The worst for me, prior to trying to reduce protein, has been adjusting to SO MUCH FAT. I don't think I have any gallbladder problems at all, but it's probably a good idea to ramp up fats slowly. There are days when I feel queasy no matter what.  

Sorry to spam your comments section. :-) I've learned a lot by reading through Bluecoaster's early journal entries; she's real as #3!!, transparent about the challenges in adjusting, posts pictures of delicious-looking meals, and lots more traits that make this seem workable to me. 

I don't make the distinction, I keep my eyes on Total Carbs... just in case the packaging (known to be as much as 20% off) is wrong. 

Thanks for all the great info, I will keep researching...I'll be honest it took my days to meal plan, shop and prep for my first week and I'm really trying to stick to it. I don't really feel bad today, the headache is gone and I have been making sure I'm drinking a ton of water and getting lots of salt. It was those Avocadoes that through my plan out of whack I looked up the carb count on a site that was all about net carbs so it went from 1.4 to 8.6 for half - I will end up being a bit over 20 today, but I'm having my avocado with my dinner...lol will see how the rest of this week goes and what I need to adapt for week 2.. I very much appreciate you all taking the time to help me out with this stuff, I'm very inspired by your journey's 

Tbay, I've been away from this site for a bit, and just saw your post. May I ask what woe (way of eating) are you following? 

Tbay, I've been away from this site for a bit, and just saw your post. May I ask what woe (way of eating) are you following? 

As a veteran low carber, I've found that not just the total of net carbs is important, but the source. If your daily carbs come from non-starchy veggies, I've found that I can handle up to 50 g a day. But let those starches (like quinoa and sweet potato) creep in, and the total carbs are the key.