Ketogenic Shock

[DoggieMamaw25]

I completed whole30 last year and loved how it went! It was a life-changer for me and I tell everyone I can about it. For me, I learned so much about cooking and the food we eat, most of all how we interact with it. I learned how it processes for me and what are troublesome areas. I know it's not totally sustainable to be whole30 pure, always, but IT IS worth it for a month--if only for the knowledge you gain. 

I have a friend who quit drinking back in November and has been trying to make positive changes in her life for a while. I suggested she and her boyfriend do whole30 together, as a way to work on their relationship and to get her back on track with some other items. She bought the books, talked it up, and was ready to go. Then two days before starting, she said she was changing her mind and doing a different program. I convinced her to start it. And then she started sending me reviews of why its a bad diet, to which i replied as best as I could (not a diet..lifestyle change). She complained of not feeling well and I tried to help. Today, day 3, she said she went off of it.  I told her how angry i was about her choice...guh. I want her so desperately to give it a go, but she's giving me the excuse that this is unsafe and putting yourself into ketogenic shock isn't a good idea. 

I am probably a little edgy because well, day 3, but I have seen SUCH HUGE benefits from this and am BEYOND frustrated that someone would quit so quickly. 

How do you encourage others to continue without being a total jerk? I thought she had read the books and understand how this works, but what am I missing here? What is ketogenic shock and is it truly dangerous? Or is that just what some bloggers think? I can't find any verifiable sources to tell me anything worthwhile. 

 

Or, is it just not for everyone (I DON'T KNOW HOW IT CAN'T BE)?

[ladyshanny]

First, sorry your friend bailed on you. That sucks. Unfortunately you can't make her do it and she obviously sounds very resistant for whatever reason. Maybe the reasons she's giving you are just what she is saying. You can't know. You can support her choice without agreeing with her.

That said, there is nothing about Whole30 that encourages, prescribes or describes keto shock. The Whole30 is, erroneously by some, considered a low carb plan. In a way it can be because you are removing all the normal grains and pastas that people eat. If you do not replace that volume with equal caloric value of protein, fat and veggies, people start to feel terrible. If they also do not include starchy veggies at least once a day if not more, they can really feel crappy. We don't recommend that people starting out mess about with ketosis for the most part. Eating the volume of veggies and fruits and including a starchy veggie serving at least once a day is enough carb to keep a person OUT of ketosis. If that person chooses to only eat iceberg lettuce and chicken and avocado, then ya, they could end up in ketosis and may feel miserable.

She's not ready. It sounds like she didn't research or read and may have gotten caught in your hype and now doesn't want to do it. Just quietly do it yourself and lead by example.  No point being angry with her though, she gets to make the choices for her own life that work for her. Even if you don't agree. 

[DrewB]

My trainer eats a strict Ketogenic diet but she is totally supportive of the Whole30.  Is going into ketosis a bad thing?  Isn't it just moving into a fat burning state?  That is the same goal (one of them) as the Whole 30 so I don't get what could be dangerous about it.  I had been contemplating doing a keto challenge but instead stuck with the Whole 30 since I've done it before.

[MeadowLily]

http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2016/12/ketogenic-diet-rant.html?m=1

This is an excellent resource.  

[DoggieMamaw25]

thanks for the resource, meadowlily. I'm still just trying to figure out what it is. 

[ladyshanny]

1 hour ago, DrewB said:

My trainer eats a strict Ketogenic diet but she is totally supportive of the Whole30.  Is going into ketosis a bad thing?  Isn't it just moving into a fat burning state?  That is the same goal (one of them) as the Whole 30 so I don't get what could be dangerous about it.  I had been contemplating doing a keto challenge but instead stuck with the Whole 30 since I've done it before.

Basically fat adaptation is the ability to switch back and forth between fat and glucose for energy. You can be fat adapted (goal) without being in ketosis. Your body will easily learn to use fat as fuel even with eating 9+ cups of veggies including a serving of starchy veggie each day and some fruit daily. 

Ketosis is also a very specific thing and not something that we encourage people new to Whole30 to mess about with. If you are just learning how to learn to listen to your body and learning how to assess how food affects you, the specific tweak that is ketosis isn't for you (globally speaking, there are always outliers). 

Does that help at all?

[kirkor]

I've been doing keto for a while now and have never head of keto shock, but I suppose it's what people usually refer to as keto "flu" (if your friend wants more google hits), but even that is usually avoidable with proper hydration and enough electrolytes (namely, salt, potassium, and magnesium).

But yeah like @ladyshanny said Whole30 is not inherently ketogenic.

[Puckertoe]

i've had keto shock, i think .  i was hospitalised with rapid heart rate on night, whilst  in Ketosis. it seems it was adrenaline, because of low blood sugar and not producing enough ketones for the amount of exercise I was doing.  It was not on Whole 30, id like to say.