today's video is sponsored by adapted nutrition for electrolyte supplements
specifically formulated for the keto diet head to healthcoachkait.com forward slash electrolytes
in today's video we're going to be talking about the dreaded keto flu
what it is and how to avoid it and yes it can be avoided today's video is the fourth
in my series on starting a keto diet if you are wanting to start the keto diet in 2021 make sure
to catch up on the other episodes in this series either before or after this one the keto flu
is a name given to a group of symptoms that are sometimes experienced when someone starts a keto
diet these symptoms can include fatigue headaches dizziness muscle cramps and digestive distress
but please do not panic because a lot of these symptoms can be avoided with proper preparation
through my online coaching program ketostart i have helped hundreds of clients transition to a
keto diet seamlessly and improve their health so in today's video we are going to be talking about
what the keto diet is why it happens and three steps you can take to avoid it
hey guys welcome back to my channel if you're new here my name is kait i'm a health coach and
i post videos on a high fat nutrient-dense way of eating if you like this video please give it
a thumbs up feel free to share and make sure to subscribe and make sure to follow me on instagram
twitter and facebook where i show new posts every single day now the keto flu might sound scary
or at the very least inconvenient but as i said at the start of this video
most of the symptoms can be avoided with proper preparation so we're going to start off today
talking about what causes the keto flu and then we will get into the steps you can take to prevent it
what causes the keto flu most of the symptoms of the keto flu are due to dehydration or an
electrolyte imbalance when you consume fewer carbohydrates as you do on the keto diet your
body retains less water with less water in the body electrolytes are excreted more quickly
when i talk about electrolytes i am mainly referring to sodium potassium and magnesium
other symptoms of the keto flu are your body signaling you to eat more carbs if your body
is used to a constant supply of glucose from your previous diet it is not used to burning fat
when you are able to switch between burning energy from carbs and energy from fat easily
this is called metabolic flexibility but because most of us in the modern world rely on carbs for
energy we do not have this flexibility if you are someone who needs to eat every couple of hours or
else you get hangry or if you are someone who has a huge energy crash shortly after lunch these are
both signs that you are a sugar burner but don't worry because you can train your body to burn fat
and that's what the keto diet is all about another symptom of the keto flu is issues with digestion
this can either be constipation or diarrhea the reason digestion can be a problem when you first
start keto is because your body is not used to eating such a high amount of fat the body is
simply not creating enough of the enzyme to break down fat and this is causing digestive distress
usually the keto flu only lasts a day or two but this can be more or less depending on the diet you
are previously eating and your metabolic health and the longer you eat a keto diet and are in
ketosis the easier it will become for your body to switch between burning glucose and fat for energy
okay so now we understand why the keto flu happens let's get into some steps you can take to avoid it
number one stay hydrated as i previously mentioned when you reduce carbohydrates in your diet
your body retains less water this leads to a lot of people losing a significant amount of weight
in the first few days they start keto and while it might be exciting to see the scale drop so rapidly
if weight loss is your goal the truth is is that most of this initial weight loss is water weight
and because you're dropping so much water you are at a greater risk of becoming dehydrated
now i am not someone who recommends drinking the same arbitrary amount of water every day
the truth is is that our water needs are highly individual and drinking too much can actually be
an issue as well be mindful of how much water you are drinking and how you are feeling make sure to
not go more than a couple of hours without a glass of water and if you feel a headache coming on this
might be a sign you are not drinking enough so the point is you do not have to chug water
but at the same time just be mindful and make sure you are drinking when you are thirsty
number two take electrolytes any diet change can cause an electrolyte imbalance and keto
is no exception as we previously discussed when we retain less water we also retain less
electrolytes the main electrolytes we need to be concerned about are sodium potassium and magnesium
these electrolytes are responsible for muscle contractions nerve function heart function
generating energy and fluid balance in the body to name a few and you can probably start to see
how being low in electrolytes can cause a lot of the symptoms of the keto flu for this reason
it is critical to supplement electrolytes when you are first starting the keto diet
one really good brand that i recommend is adapted nutrition who is partnering with me
on this video adaptive nutrition is committed to providing simple science-based hydration products
from natural sea minerals a lot of electrolyte supplements on the market do not even contain
a significant amount of electrolytes and are filled with sugar fillers and artificial
ingredients all of which are unnecessary and sometimes harmful what you want to be getting is
actual electrolytes adapted nutritions keto k1000 electrolyte powder was specifically formulated for
the keto diet it will not break a fast and it will not kick you out of ketosis one scoop contains 120
milligrams of magnesium 75 milligrams of calcium and 1 000 milligrams of potassium
mixing a scoop of this in your water
will ensure you are meeting your electrolyte needs and help you to avoid the keto flu to check out
adaptive nutrition head to healthcoachkait.com forward slash electrolytes and use code hck
10 to save 10 off your order thank you again to adopted nutrition for sponsoring this video
now the other thing electrolytes are important for and magnesium specifically is digestion most
of the time when someone experiences constipation when they're going through the keto flu it comes
down to not consuming enough magnesium so if that is something you are struggling with specifically
make sure you are getting enough magnesium number three take it easy and my final tip is to
take it easy when you're first transitioning to the keto diet your body is adapting to
using fat for fuel so your energy levels might be low for the first couple of days during the
first few days i would skip the gym and focus more on low intensity exercise such as walking
your energy will start to pick back up but until then just take it easy anyways guys that brings
us to the end of today's video make sure to click subscribe and turn notifications on so
you don't miss out on tomorrow's episode tomorrow in the final episode i am going
to be giving you a three-day keto diet meal plan and remember that if you do want more
to check out my online coaching program ketostart ketostart covers a lot of the topics we are going
over in this series through text audio and video you also get access to a private facebook group
where you can ask me questions and i can offer you support and as an added bonus you get downloads
such as shopping lists a meal plan and a meal building guide thank you guys so much for watching
if you want to check out the other episodes in this series you can find them here
if you want to catch up on my most recent upload you can find it here and to check out my keto diet
and carnivore diet coaching programs you can click here thanks again guys i'll see you next time bye