5 ms·

What do you mean by messed up?

mrandish 4y ago
I'm not OP but have been on strict keto for >5 yrs. Every metabolism/lifestyle is different so, N=1 and I can only share my experiences with it. By design, a ketogenic diet greatly reduces and evens out glucose spikes as opposed to the Standard American Diet. Prior to keto I was obese and mostly ate a normal carb-heavy diet, except when I was trying to lose weight with a typical calorie-restricted diet. Keeping my body in a constant ketogenic state has not only allowed me to be thin for the first time in my adult life, it also enables me to sense changes to my metabolism based on what I eat and when, especially my blood sugar. Now when I consume too much of the wrong mix foods I can feel the glycemic impact when my blood sugar spikes. There's a subtle "up" phase which feels quite artificial followed by a longer "down" phase. In more extreme cases the down phase extends through to the next day. I vividly remember the one time I consumed a significant amount of sugar all at once since being in keto. I was traveling with family and was in a place with a 'legendary' unique dessert and had a full portion of it. Within a couple hours I had a terrible, almost debilitating, migraine headache (which I never get normally). The headache persisted through most of the next day and I felt generally lethargic and hungover. I suspect this sort of up / down flow was constant before keto but I had adapted to it and didn't perceive the effects. Now that my body is fully keto adapted, a previously 'normal' spike was disruptive like dropping a tray of dishes in a silent library. After losing all my excess weight over the first 8 months of keto, I realized that I loved the feeling of being in a ketogenic state. For me and my metabolism type, the benefits include sharper cognitive abilities and a much more even emotional balance. To me these benefits are easily worth the small effort to maintain keto. Obviously, radically changing diet is disruptive and difficult at first but it gets much easier after a few months and is now entirely on auto-pilot for me. If I'd read what I wrote above prior to experiencing it myself it would have seemed weird and not something that would happen to me. That's how different and almost alien the physical, mental and emotional changes felt to me. I knew I was overweight but I had no idea how the tidal glycemic forces were impacting my internal state. I did keto as a temporary thing to lose weight. I would never have imagined I'd stay keto for a year, much less for the rest of my life - especially after being thin. But after I experienced such profound effects first-hand, going back was unimaginable. However, that's my experience and I clearly have a metabolism that's sensitive to glycemic loading, I just never knew it. Other metabolism types may have different results. I don't think there's really a way to know without trying it for a couple months. Prior to keto, I was overweight, had increasingly high A1C tests, was pre-diabetic and on statins - so those may be markers to look for. The long-term health issues from carrying excess weight along with the prospect of becoming a type 2 diabetic needing to inject insulin for life were also sufficient motivation to get off my ass and make dramatic changes.
- remflight 4y ago
  I too enjoy the feelings of being on a low-carb/keto diet. I feel like my head is clearer and when I got on cheat weeks my hunger levels increase to incredible levels. While on a low-carb diet I won’t eat until noon, have a soup and eggs, and then a regular low-carb dinner with maybe 1 cup of yogurt. When I break my diet, I’m constantly and insatiably snacking all the time. The difference is stark and really eye opening. I suspect your migraine is largely psychosomatic. At 5 years keto, any sugar you eat will be metabolized within hours and your blood sugar levels normalize. Having symptoms well into the next day doesn’t make physiological sense, but I understand where that comes from. I don’t get migraines but a deep sense of shame when my willpower decreases and I eat a delicious but unhealthy dessert.
  - mrandish 4y ago
    The severe headache the next day felt like what's called "keto flu" which is caused by an electrolyte imbalance. It's not really a flu but happens to many people when transitioning into keto if they don't take care to supplement electrolytes (primarily salt). The mechanism is well-understood. It happened to me when I first started keto because I foolishly ignored the warnings about supplementing electrolytes. The headaches and other keto flu symptoms usually start 24-36 hours after stopping carbs and can persist for a few days if not addressed with electrolytes. I haven't needed to supplement electrolytes since my first month of keto because I'm fully keto adapted. I think the episode where I stupidly 'overdosed' on sugar my metabolism was no longer adapted to handle, pulled me fully out of keto and caused an electrolyte imbalance similar to what I experienced early in keto.

I'm not OP but have been on strict keto for >5 yrs. Every metabolism/lifestyle is different so, N=1 and I can only share my experiences with it. By design, a ketogenic diet greatly reduces and evens out glucose spikes as opposed to the Standard American Diet. Prior to keto I was obese and mostly ate a normal carb-heavy diet, except when I was trying to lose weight with a typical calorie-restricted diet. Keeping my body in a constant ketogenic state has not only allowed me to be thin for the first time in my adult life, it also enables me to sense changes to my metabolism based on what I eat and when, especially my blood sugar. Now when I consume too much of the wrong mix foods I can feel the glycemic impact when my blood sugar spikes. There's a subtle "up" phase which feels quite artificial followed by a longer "down" phase. In more extreme cases the down phase extends through to the next day. I vividly remember the one time I consumed a significant amount of sugar all at once since being in keto. I was traveling with family and was in a place with a 'legendary' unique dessert and had a full portion of it. Within a couple hours I had a terrible, almost debilitating, migraine headache (which I never get normally). The headache persisted through most of the next day and I felt generally lethargic and hungover. I suspect this sort of up / down flow was constant before keto but I had adapted to it and didn't perceive the effects. Now that my body is fully keto adapted, a previously 'normal' spike was disruptive like dropping a tray of dishes in a silent library. After losing all my excess weight over the first 8 months of keto, I realized that I loved the feeling of being in a ketogenic state. For me and my metabolism type, the benefits include sharper cognitive abilities and a much more even emotional balance. To me these benefits are easily worth the small effort to maintain keto. Obviously, radically changing diet is disruptive and difficult at first but it gets much easier after a few months and is now entirely on auto-pilot for me. If I'd read what I wrote above prior to experiencing it myself it would have seemed weird and not something that would happen to me. That's how different and almost alien the physical, mental and emotional changes felt to me. I knew I was overweight but I had no idea how the tidal glycemic forces were impacting my internal state. I did keto as a temporary thing to lose weight. I would never have imagined I'd stay keto for a year, much less for the rest of my life - especially after being thin. But after I experienced such profound effects first-hand, going back was unimaginable. However, that's my experience and I clearly have a metabolism that's sensitive to glycemic loading, I just never knew it. Other metabolism types may have different results. I don't think there's really a way to know without trying it for a couple months. Prior to keto, I was overweight, had increasingly high A1C tests, was pre-diabetic and on statins - so those may be markers to look for. The long-term health issues from carrying excess weight along with the prospect of becoming a type 2 diabetic needing to inject insulin for life were also sufficient motivation to get off my ass and make dramatic changes.

remflight 4y ago
I too enjoy the feelings of being on a low-carb/keto diet. I feel like my head is clearer and when I got on cheat weeks my hunger levels increase to incredible levels. While on a low-carb diet I won’t eat until noon, have a soup and eggs, and then a regular low-carb dinner with maybe 1 cup of yogurt. When I break my diet, I’m constantly and insatiably snacking all the time. The difference is stark and really eye opening. I suspect your migraine is largely psychosomatic. At 5 years keto, any sugar you eat will be metabolized within hours and your blood sugar levels normalize. Having symptoms well into the next day doesn’t make physiological sense, but I understand where that comes from. I don’t get migraines but a deep sense of shame when my willpower decreases and I eat a delicious but unhealthy dessert.
- mrandish 4y ago
  The severe headache the next day felt like what's called "keto flu" which is caused by an electrolyte imbalance. It's not really a flu but happens to many people when transitioning into keto if they don't take care to supplement electrolytes (primarily salt). The mechanism is well-understood. It happened to me when I first started keto because I foolishly ignored the warnings about supplementing electrolytes. The headaches and other keto flu symptoms usually start 24-36 hours after stopping carbs and can persist for a few days if not addressed with electrolytes. I haven't needed to supplement electrolytes since my first month of keto because I'm fully keto adapted. I think the episode where I stupidly 'overdosed' on sugar my metabolism was no longer adapted to handle, pulled me fully out of keto and caused an electrolyte imbalance similar to what I experienced early in keto.