Hello and questions on low carb flu, and weight gain? page

[MissSunshineGirl]

Hi ~ I'm new here, have spent much time reading and researching and am not new to low-carbing at all, so that's somewhat of a help at least!

I am having a terrible time with the "low-carb flu". About 6 weeks ago I started going Primal and also had a horrible case of it. We then were traveling to the States (we are Americans currently living in Australia) for 5-6 weeks and so I did the best I could...and then returned full-force to Primal this week and the LC Flu is once again kicking my butt which has surprised me since I have eaten somewhat low-carb for about 10 years. The fatigue is horrendous and I just generally feel like crap. I have been exercising consistently for years now (fairly heavy weight lifting 3 days/week, not much cardio) but I can't even do that right now which really means I must be feeling crappy because I rarely, if ever, miss my workouts. Even a fractured tailbone has not stopped me in the past but right now there is no way I can get to the gym; I am beyond exhausted. This happened when I did my initial trial in Primal eating about 6-8 weeks ago as well. Yesterday afternoon I had a couple of handfuls of Fritos and I woke up feeling better this morning but by this afternoon the flu-ish feeling was back full-force.

A few other things: I have only been Primal for about 5 days but I am GAINING weight. Not much (1-2 lbs) since it's only been 5 days but since I have already gained 5 lbs while being on vacation for 6 weeks this is discouraging beyond words. I am only 5'2, and usually 125-ish lbs. Right now I am 130+ lbs which means nothing fits me and the scale is continuing to climb despite my clean eating. I cannot afford any weight gain at my short height!

Here is a sampling of my eating:

Breakfast: coffee with cream/full fat milk (can't find heavy cream here or half-and-half so I use either full-fat milk (which tastes like crap in coffee) or "thickened cream" which has some thickeners in it but the carb content is still fairly low and I don't use much)
~2 eggs with bacon

~Snack: handful of macadamias or almonds; or a smoothie made with Greek yogurt, berries and coconut milk

~lunch: salad with protein and healthy fats and sometimes a little feta or other cheese; or leftovers from dinner the night before

~snack: some combination of a few olives, a tangerine or a few slices of another fruit, nuts, iced coffee

~dinner: tonight it was the Chicken and Artichokes dinner from the Quick and Easy Cookbook (sorry if that's not he exact name), sauteed zucchini and onions and a Greek salad. This is typical of dinner though.

Today I had a couple of squares of (75%) dark chocolate and 2 glasses of red wine but don't do this every night.

Any encouragement would be great! This flu-ish feeling along with the weight gain makes me question why I am doing this multiple times/hour. I have 4 kids who I am having to homeschool while we live in the outback of Australia and feeling like this is making it really tough. If I was at least losing weight while feeling crappy I think mentally it would be much easier! But gaining weight, feeling REALLY bloated and feeling like I have morning sickness/flu-ish all at once is discouraging me right now...deep down I know this is probably best for me but right now I am second-guessing myself. Please help if you are able.

[kiwigirl42]

I had terrible flu like symptoms for first week I went low carb and I found that sipping vegetable bouillon made into a drink with hot water helped a lot. I got the idea from posts on this board and it appeared that it was thought that some of the symptoms are due to low salt intake so the salty drink balances this out. I'm sure any kind of stock cubes would be OK. Even vegemite in hot water (I was bought up on vegemite in NZ but not sure I could drink it though!)
It definitely made a huge difference to me.

[Pebbles67]

+1 chicken and beef bouillon cubes are great as well. I have used this to avoid the worst of the extreme tiredness anytime I go from higher carb to low carb.

Wt. Gain - Some people experience this at first especially if they don't have a lot to lose. Hang in there.

[PHaselow]

I've been gaining weight, too. Almost the same size as you, so I understand how 5lbs can make clothes go from OK to tight and uncomfortable enough to dampen the confidence considerably. Are you taking probiotics? I bloat very easily, but find that I'm less bloated while primal even though I did have the initial 3 weeks of fatigue/flu like feelings. Gluten and sugar are my bloat culprits. You might need to do an elimination diet to discover yours.

In 6 weeks I've gained 4lbs. I know, for me, it is because I'm not paying attention to portions and I'm allowing primal treats (soy free dark chocolate/nut butters/coconut sugars). I'm also at home with kids, and snacking is difficult to avoid. I have been keeping a food journal, including circling the non-primal foods I 'taste'. It has been an eye opener because I include EVERY bit I have taken. A handful of nuts is probably 1/2 c nuts which is 400+ calories. It adds up, unfortunately. You are not large, so your calorie intake should not be, either, unless you are expending the calories through exercise.

The encouraging thing is that you are not outside of your healthy weight. It isn't a huge journey back to comfort and confidence in your jeans. Try what the others suggest to help with the flu/fatigue but also avoid the handfuls of Fritos and tell yourself there is an end to the crappy feeling. Pay attention to portions (how much bacon? How many nuts? How much salad dressing on that Greek salad?, etc). Good luck to you! I feel your discouragement; I am there, too.

[MissSunshineGirl]

Thanks for all of the replies and encouragement...it's appreciated! I will start trying to keep more mindful of how much I am eating. I don't feel like I eat a ton but I do have a thyroid problem and know that my metabolism is definitely more sluggish than others....will keep posting and reading for encouragement!