Carb Flu page

[twinklebree]

Hello Groks!

I have been reading up on the Primal Blueprint for about a month. It took me a while to get rid of all the carbs in my house as I was a typical 60% carb, 25 % protein, & 15% fat eater as CW taught me. So I started today & I'm scared to death of the carb flu.

When should I expect it to hit me? (if it does)
What symptoms shoudl I expect?
How can I aliveate with out diving into carbs?

Any words of wisdom are appreciated!
Bree

[cavemanj]

- It will hit you in a few days, mostly when your glycogen reserves are all used up and your body then has to burn fat for fuel instead
- Some feel a headache, unable to concentrate, tired, grumpy. My carb flu was very mild, though.
- You don't need to eliminate all carbohydrates from your diet. You can, some people choose to. I don't. The key is just sucking it up for the first month and knowing that it won't last. Don't be afraid to eat a sweet potato, avocado, coconut, or some berries.

[twinklebree]

Starting to feel light headed & shaky. I had 85g of carbs yesterday (20% of my 1,700 calories) & today I've had 20g so far. I don't wanna ruin what I've started so trying to push thru but don't wanna pass out either

[ViaSwiss]

I'm on day 2 of Primal. Immediately yesterday and today I have felt pretty rundown, tired, almost shaky at times. Yesterday was prolly under 80g of carbs and today prolly under 70. My body is used to 200-500 Im guessing.

Not going to exercise till I feel more erergized, Im guessing my body will adapt in about 10 days.

[TARNIP]

I'm on day 2 of Primal. Immediately yesterday and today I have felt pretty rundown, tired, almost shaky at times. Yesterday was prolly under 80g of carbs and today prolly under 70. My body is used to 200-500 Im guessing.

Not going to exercise till I feel more erergized, Im guessing my body will adapt in about 10 days.

I can't exercise either (other than a very gentle walk) until it passes otherwise my symptoms just get worse. I would love to exercise more but for now, will just have to wait it out. I am on week 2 and still going through it . From personal previous experience on Atkins, it took me about a good month before I started feeling better.

[Camille]

I'm actually nearing what I hope is the end of my carb flu. I'm at 2.5 weeks primal.

I felt good for the first 2 or 3 days and it gradually got worse until it hit its peak at 1.5 weeks in. I was extremely lethargic and in a crappy mood most of the time. I'd go through moments of feeling lucid and normal to completely useless. Now, it kind of seems like it was all a bad dream!

My energy is getting better (not to the point of working out again, just day to day stuff) and my mood is much improved. However, if I stray from my usual routine I can tend to relapse. For instance, I'm not a breakfast eater and I have a desk job with the odd trip out to visit a jobsite. This morning was an out of office job. I was on my feet for a few hours and taking measurements, which normally isn't that physically taxing. It wore me well out. I felt really lightheaded and out of sorts until I got to eat lunch. But this could be because the day before I kind of skimped on the protein. After lunch I kept having head rushes, and was having to steady myself every time I stood up after stooping down, but I began to feel better. I had a ton of energy the rest of the day.

You can't really alleviate carb flu, from my experience. If your body is a fickle beast like mine, not much works other than time. But, everyone is different. Just let it run it's course if you are one of the unlucky that are stricken with it. If it gets debilitating, just rest a lot. Good luck!

[Max[imilian]]

Be careful of standing up too fast. When I was going through my low-carb flu, I blacked out a few times when standing up (I'm 6'3"). Luckily, I regained consciousness after a few seconds and didn't fall over, but be wary. Also, depending on where you live, avoid the heat if you need to, when I worked in the yard a few times last year, I felt like I wanted to pass out, I assume it was the LCF.

[twinklebree]

Wow! I guess I should feel lucky! I've been feeling a little lightheaded & definitely don't have the energy to work out but I haven't had a severe conditions like some of you. Sorry!
I'm hearing on this website that it can last up to a month. However, other low carb websites are saying just a couple of days ... anybody know why the discrepancy?
I'm only on Day 4 & was thinking I may be in the clear from getting it really badly but now reading that it didn't hit some badly until the 2nd week is making me nervous! (sigh). Oh well, I just have to remind myself of the benefits & hope it passes

[ViaSwiss]

it probably depends on how carb depended ur body was b4 PB

day 4 now and i feel tons better thans days 1-3. i was actually able to do a short body wight workout last night

[Kaeferin]

Carb flu hit me yesterday after a week of coasting just fine. Might have had something to do with the workout I did Sunday. Slowly starting to feel better, but seriously, there is no way I want to feel this way for a month!

There's a post by Mark somewhere that says to up carbs by 25g or so if this happens. Anyone know if this is the way to go? I haven't been restricting veg or dairy, and I've been eating the odd piece of dark chocolate, so I don't think I've gone *too* low.

Anyway, any hints on getting through this without going stir crazy would be appreciated.