Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I know there are similar questions, but none answered it for me.

As I've gone stricter paleo / primal, I've basically been eating meat and fish, veggies, and good fats, including dairy fats and nuts. Any sugars beyond what's in the aforementioned come from honey (not a lot), occasional fruit, and maybe %90 dark chocolate.

I was pretty sure for a while that my carb level was high enough that I wasn't going into ketosis. But I'm down to usually two meals a day, one big, one small. And sometimes I get these bouts of nausea, headache, and a craving for carbs. Like, eat a ehole back of sweet potato chips, a good few portions of nuts, and a litre of cocnut water. When I do this, I suddenly feel massively better. Like, just-saved-the-world better.

So is this "carb flu"? Is my body on the verge of ketosis but resisting? I like my eating schedule and I'm getting good results, but I want to be a little more consistent. And knowledgeable to what my body is doing.

flag	asked Feb 5 2012 at 22:37 Caleb the Hobbit 4,506●5●24

	Caleb, did you see this thread? Pretty close to a duplicate: paleohacks.com/questions/84410/… – Nance Feb 5 2012 at 23:41
	If that thread clears your confusion you should vote to close yours; I'll check back. – Nance Feb 5 2012 at 23:41
	it helps some. It seems I may be yoyo-ing, as one person put it. I'll try to gradually up fats and then try again. – Caleb the Hobbit Feb 6 2012 at 0:09

Silverspeed · Answer 1 · 2012-02-06 02:25:05Z UTC

Just grab some Ketostix at CVS for ten bucks. Really, it'll get rid of all the guesswork, and they're super easy to use. Everyone responds to ketosis differently so it's hard to analyze subjective feelings.

You likely are not in ketosis if you're eating honey (1 tbsp has 16g of carbs), occasional fruit (say 15g-30g), chocolate (~15g?), nuts (2-8g), and veggies (5-20g depending on quantity and what veggies). Also, if by "dairy fats" you mean milk or yogurt, you can quickly get 20-30g from that.

Nance · Answer 2 · 2012-02-05 22:48:57Z UTC

If it's not carb flu, it's close and sounds like carb withdrawal cravings. On the other hand, are you very slender? It's possible you don't have a ton of fat reserves and your body is telling you to hang onto what you have and eat some fuel.

For me, I assume I'm in ketosis mostly by my energy level. To be sure, you could buy test strips and check your urine. But if you have good energy and can be active even though you haven't eaten since yesterday you know you must be releasing/burning fat efficiently. When having a long-empty stomach is no big deal, you're burning fat.

bongaan · Answer 3 · 2012-10-18 11:45:12Z UTC

No your not in ketosis, but yes your body wants to go into ketosis. It's not really a good place to be, your body is struggling to produce enough glucose (process of glucogenesis) to feed your brain's demand, I'm currently feeling that way. So now I have to decide to either eat a bit more carbs to prevent this or eat less carbs to go into ketosis.

Nate · Answer 4 · 2013-02-23 03:52:58Z UTC

Youre not in ketosis--what youre feeling is starvation. You're not getting enough calories and your body is so hungry it causes you to feel sick. Ketosis is a good, healthy feeling with no cravings and a lighter feeling in your head. Get more good fat into your diet and eat at least two full meals and snack in order to ensure you meet your caloric needs. Ketosis is only possible if you have enough fat in/on you.

Am I going into ketosis? What’s it feel like?

4 Answers