On day 10!!! Food is the easy part...carb flu not so much, LOL page

[BellaPorter]

35 years old, married to a wonderful man who is my best friend.

I have PCOS, Hyperlipidemia, NAFLD, and Insulin Resistance, 210 pounds and 5ft6in tall. I am here and doing this to save my life. I have been sick for 20 years never knowing what really was going on. Had my gallbladder removed a few years back and that is when I was hit with diagnosis for PCOS and Insulin Resistance and NAFLD. It floored me that I was 32 years old and that sick but still walking around. I have tried every low fat low calorie diet out there and a few low carb plans but none worked or stuck. I decided that there had to be something more obscure perhaps that I was missing. I wasn't ready to throw in the towel...still not. So...for a few months I searched and found this site here. I read and read. It made sense. For weeks I danced around getting started and 10 days ago I took the plunge. Headaches plagued me the first 4 days. Then a slight reprieve of feeling good for 3 days and then WHAM! 3 days ago I started what I can only assume is real die off and carb flu. Nausea, stomach ache, diarrhea, fuzzy headed, dizziness, aches and pains...you name it. Thought I had the flu but it does match up with typical flu for me. It also waxes and wanes. I will feel great for half the day and then crap for the next half or whatever. We have de-carbed the house other than some fruits and veggies. I have some supplements I love like super B12 and Magnesium and some others but cut the garbage out and don't miss it at all. Been eating more meats and veggies. Averaging about 50-70 carbs a day. I can tell you this, I am positive I ate 300 or more per day in my past life. So...this is a huge change in that. I know I will feel better in week or so and things will be easier. It's just thinking of things to feed the hubs...he is doing this plan too and he isn't suffering carb flu like I am and is eating when I wanna puke, lol. I made some carb free chili and he loves it. So...its baby steps I guess. I have lived a sedentary lifestyle so I am going to start a walking regiment to get me going and see where it leads me. I wanna do weights but I am not sure I am ready just yet. I just wanna get through this tough part first. The first few weeks are always rough and it's usually what deters me but not this time.

I wanna learn and meet some great people and maybe acquire a mentor of sorts to help me through this journey. I have alot to learn.

Cheers!

[MissJecka]

I still find it amazing looking back on my old SAD ways and seeing how I used to easily eat 350+ grams of carbs per day... easily! Now I can't imagine consuming even half of that! Isn't it wonderful?

Good luck on your journey and I hope you find MDA forums to be a great resource for you!

[Pebbles67]

Welcome!


I would suggest that you add 1-2 grams of extra sodium to your diet. You are eating much lower carb then you have previously. Your body is reacting by releasing water and electrolytes. You can use broth or bouillon for this purpose, or add measured amounts of salt to your meals.

Also, make sure you are well hydrated.

[jmsmall]

Agree with the sodium. I put half a teaspoon in my eggs at breakfast and drink broth during the day. Helps a lot. (I'm also a doc and am no longer afraid of sodium or saturated fat!)

[Nic4health]

I hear you with the flu and die off symptoms. I spent every night for the past week on the couch passing out after dinner lol. However during the day i have a ton of energy and no hunger especially in last day or two. I am about 5 days in. However, about 2 months ago I spent several weeks on Stillmans which is super low carb (and lower fat) which i also found really easy and shed major lbs but then for whatever reason, holidays etc - i caved. Paleo is a totally different approach which i find really healthy and more balanced. I am tracking my #'s online but just to get off on the right track and not every day. I actually want to take care to eat enough and am not weighing myself (prior scale addict) and since i can just simply look down at the awesome belly of mine and seeing it start to shrink- that in itself is the motivation. I dont even care what i weigh - as long as i look good and can wear my clothes that i miss soo much. I think the up and downs on the scale make this perfectionist too nutty.

As for the flu symptoms- i get alot of inflammation especially at night :/ my left foot was injured awhile ago in the arch or heel area and now i realize that its all part of the flu... my knees also get really inflamed, sometimes my wrists. Not sure what all that means, but i am trucking on. Nervous about the weekend where there will be some drinking happening, hope it doesnt screw up the fat burning process, but i figure if i dont over indulge, keep carbs low enough and get back on track asap, i will be fine.

I think i was eating upwards of 2-3,000 cals and >200-300 carbs / day so even with the veggies and such i am def below 100, probably after fiber netting about 50/day which i think is reasonable for weightloss and feeling good ;P

Good luck with your journey ... sorry i went off on a random rant of sorts

[BellaPorter]

I am now a full 2 weeks in and although the most of the "die off/flu" is passed, I still have bouts of intense nausea and headache for just a few minutes up to an hour or so and then it passes again and it's random throughout the day. Kinda of a pain in the butt when you have tons of stuff to do and in the middle of it you feel like you're gonna puke your guts out. Blech. That part sucks. But it is getting better. I mean I went from feeling that way for a solid week to just an hour or so a day now. I hope it's fully gone by the end of this week cuz it's cutting into my life, lol. I can't get squat done for fear of having to puke when at the grocery store in a check out line. I had that happen earlier this week. I couldn't get outta there fast enough and drive home home fast enough. Ugh. I ended up draggin the groceries in as quickly as I could putting the cold stuff away and passing out on the couch to make the headache, dizzies and nausea go away. Oh and I am NOT preggers, I can't get preggers. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't from the low carb or what. I dunno. Guess I will see how things go in the coming weeks.

[Cryptocode]

Big Congratulations Bella and Nic. Once you get past the 'carb flu' you feel a whole lot better than before you started. Keep a food journal and write down in detail how really lousy you have felt, then use that to stay away from sugar, colas, carbonated drinks, and carbs. For some people the flu can last longer, like 3 weeks. Sorry about that.

Welcome and enjoy all the changes to come.

[laras]

I am now a full 2 weeks in and although the most of the "die off/flu" is passed, I still have bouts of intense nausea and headache for just a few minutes up to an hour or so and then it passes again and it's random throughout the day. Kinda of a pain in the butt when you have tons of stuff to do and in the middle of it you feel like you're gonna puke your guts out. Blech. That part sucks. But it is getting better. I mean I went from feeling that way for a solid week to just an hour or so a day now. I hope it's fully gone by the end of this week cuz it's cutting into my life, lol. I can't get squat done for fear of having to puke when at the grocery store in a check out line. I had that happen earlier this week. I couldn't get outta there fast enough and drive home home fast enough. Ugh. I ended up draggin the groceries in as quickly as I could putting the cold stuff away and passing out on the couch to make the headache, dizzies and nausea go away. Oh and I am NOT preggers, I can't get preggers. Sometimes I wonder if it isn't from the low carb or what. I dunno. Guess I will see how things go in the coming weeks.

You said you take vitamin B12? Make sure you take it with a full meal. It makes me feel like puking, just for a little while, if taken on an empty stomach.

[BellaPorter]

I always take vitamins with food, they make me sick otherwise.

I am now halfway through week 3 and I have felt really awesome the last few days. Like I have felt good enough to go out and walk 2.5-3.5 miles a day. Not a huge feat but for a person who has NEVER EVER exercised in her life, it's a huge leap, lol. I love walking if the weather is good, Seattle is kinda finicky with that though, we get one or two good days and 2 weeks of crap, lol. But I just bundle up and drag an umbrella with in case. Yeah I think the die off is over for the most part.

[Mitch]

Good luck in your journey, and don't be afraid to do weigths. Find a gym like CrossFit where the workout is scaled to what you can do. An unweigthed PVC pipe is a great start. Also try Mark's basic Primal exercises, for example wall push ups.

I am one of those lucky people that never experienced carb flu, not even a bit. Not the first time when I did Atkins in 1998, nor last year when I went Primal. Not only no flu, when I first start really restricting carbs I feel as if I almost have too much energy. I wonder why?