Four days into the diet, I experienced what appeared to be symptoms of Keto Flu. Eventually took a sachet of diaralyte as an electrolyte replacement and relief was almost immediate. Then noticed that as well as the salts it contains 3.5g of glucose? Is this likely to compromise ketosis or is it an acceptable remedy for electrolyte depletion in early stages. Thanks

Hi greg1, I would say the diaralyte is a bit drastic and should only be used in severe cases of fluid and electrolyte loss such as illness (diarrhoea). You could try Andrews Liver Salts if you are in the UK – yes they do still sell it, but only to be used infrequently as that can cause diarrhoea. Best thing to do is to just add a little (just a sprinkle) on some food you might put it on anyway i.e. boiled egg. As you noticed the glucose you are obviously aware that it should be avoided. I’m not sure about ketosis as it is a bit of a myth, you might show ketones after 3 or 4 days on the plan but once your body gets used to converting the fat for energy you wont show ketones. Why are you going to test your blood sugars, are you pre or diabetic. If not then it is a total waste of time as it shows nothing except the fact you have or have not eaten. (I read that on your profile)

3.5g of glucose isn’t the end of the world as regards ketosis in any case. There’s more in a full fat Greek yogurt or a portion of raspberries. But the salt alone would probably have done the trick—sometimes a cup of Oxo or bouillon works wonders in the early stages.

Thank you for your reply. Yes I’ll avoid diaralyte. Your comments on keytones surprise me. I’ve been following Mr Mosley on Channel 4 as he takes candidates through a three week programme . Last night was end of week two and he checked their Keto stick reaction which was in some cases still high up the scale. Acccording to him “the sticks never lie”.

The fact that I’m measuring everything is probably novelty mixed with commitment. I am not diabetic but I sometimes wonder why not in that a week ago I tipped the scales at 16 stone 6 and at 65 have not been my normal weight since my late twenties. So the commitment is for the sake of my health and also I some fear of Covid. Sadly my Father was taken by it on April. He was 84 and overweight. So I can’t make myself any younger but given the time I can be a lot lighter.

So I’m on the 8 or perhaps 12 week plan. This morning I was 15 Stone 11 .So the measurement of blood sugar is probably not needed but I find it fascinating. Fasting today was 5. Then after a mushroom and bean lunch it rose to 7.2. But was back to 5 after 2 hours.

I’ve also had blood pressure issues and have been on meds for 15 or so years.

It too is now dropping and I would love to get it a point where as Michael suggests I can come off the meds as well as the ubiquitous statin.

So hopefully 12 weeks and at least 2.5 stones.

Sorry for the length of this and thanks again for responding.

Stay safe. Greg

Thank you for responding -good advice which i have seen also elsewhere.

Greg

Just wanted to say hi Greg and good on you getting involved with this way of eating, I’m so sorry about your father, my dad is 84 and over weight and so a bit of a worry, we have been very lucky so far.
Best of luck and good wishes on your journey, you will feel so much better for it. Salt and fluids will keep you feeling right.

Julz

Hi greg1, I think you will find a lot of us here have tried the pee sticks and, if you go into ketosis and the colour changes and you stay on the diet your body will eventually shift to fat burning so you wont be discarding the ketones. That is when it gets disheartening as you think you are doing something wrong. So it is an initial way of showing that the diet works but has little use after that.
You BG testing shows you are normal i.e. not diabetic. If you want to continue testing then it should be occasionally. Honestly, I have to finger prick daily (sometimes twice if I have a wobble) and 1. it hurts, 2. it causes scar tissue to form on the fingers so you lose sensation, and 3. can be a source of infection. Alway prick on the side of the finger not on the tip to avoid 2.
I was on 40 mg statins before this diet and now take 10 mg. I was reduced because I started having cramps so doctor took me off them completely and my cholesterol went straight back up to around 8. He put me back on but 30 mg but, in the meantime, I had found this diet. He finally said I could stop completely but I chose to stay on a very small dose as I am diabetic so probably at high risk of stroke. My cholesterol levels are around 3.8 and 4.0 – so dont worry about the fat in this plan, it is mainly healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, avocados etc) and even the stuff we believed to be bad like butter, full fat cheese, etc are used in moderation so do not cause a problem. IMO the chemicals in low fat substitutes are more of a problem for the liver to deal with than real fat.
Keep on keeping on…

I had diaralyte twice last week and felt much better for it. I even did a pee test the next morning and showed small sign of ketosis.