Why am I having side effects from the Keto Diet?

If you have been previously eating a lot of carbs and are forcing your body to now burn fat for energy, there will be side effects just because you are asking your body to perform differently. Not to worry, the side effects decrease after about two weeks.

So what should you expect? Well, I expected a little fatigue and irritability but nothing that was not expected since I was giving up carbs to quite an extent. My focus at work was better as I wasn’t waiting for my mid-morning snack but what I did gravitate more towards was either black coffee or water both of which helped me feel full longer or at least long enough for whatever meal was next.

Other side effects that you may feel include “keto flu” which is basically headaches, lethargy, lack of motivation, etc but these disappear after a week and at most 2 weeks on the keto diet. Side effects are different for every individual so some may experience restlessness or lack of good sleep, muscle cramps, constipation, more urination or even changes in body odor and breath. The more intense the drop from high carbs to low carbs, the more likely you will have many of these side effects but it depends on your body chemistry and how well it adapts to this new diet. More on keto symptoms and side effects can be found on Reditt as well as via Google searches.

To mitigate many of the symptoms of the keto diet, start by drinking more water (try adding MiO vitamins to it or fresh fruits to infuse water (but don’t eat the fruit because it is high in carbs) if you don’t like drinking plain water), increasing your salt intake, and of course, eating enough fat.

What if I can’t adhere to such a strict low carb diet every day? What should I do? Tomorrow, I will talk about the options you have to help you overcome this challenge.