Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Nausea In The Morning

Question:
I am almost at the end of week four and apart from a few nuts still keeping to induction levels. I made some low carb ice cream with eggs and cream so i count that into my 20 carbs a day. However, I feel very sick in the morning and this doesnt wear off until about 1 midday and I cannot face eating anything before that time. In fact it is more like 3 in the afternoon before I start to feel anything like right and the thought of anything fatty just turns my stomach more so I tend to keep to salad. Fortunately I am retired and I am at home looking after my husband and garden so it is not the end of the world, but I wonder if other people have this problem and have come up with any answers. I live in the UK so not every product is available here. I am quite pleased with my weight loss so far 6 lb the first week, none the second, 2 lb the 3rd and 1 lb so far this week. It is easier to follow than Weight Watchers which I have done on and off for the past 30 + years so I am hoping it is going to continue to work for me.

Answer:
Makes me wonder if you are getting enough food. I was told that during induction it is important to keep calories higher. Your body is learning new ways to deal with food and may need a little help getting over the hump. Barring some real problem that you may need to see a doctor about, that nausea in the morning may be hunger and thirst. I would try taking a few bites in the morning even though you feel sick. Something light, but substantial, like chicken breast maybe. Others may know better than me, but my hunger and thirst signals were quite messed up with a high-carb diet and I am just now getting used to the real feelings. Personally, I get nausea when I am dehydrated. This happens quite a bit, whether I'm doing Atkins or not (I work in air conditioning and drink coffee). And half the time, I don't even realise that I haven't had enough to drink. If you can't find you can eat much early, how about trying to drink something. Get blood work-up done, you either have an electrolyte imbalance, or dehydration. Both will show, and no, drinking more water won't help. Ketones can produce nausea. Actually, it's quite common to feel a little nauseated during the first week or so of low-carbing. For most people it passes after that. But for others it doesn't, and can get even worse. Two things will help. First, make sure you are drinking enough fluids. This dilutes the ketones, so they are less likely to cause nausea. The fact that you are specifically sick in the morning could be because you are waking up a bit dehydrated and the ketones are very concentrated. Try sipping on some lemonade made with Splenda or other artificial sweetener. This will not only help to get you rehydrated, but also the tart taste tends to settle stomachs. If this doesn't help, you may need to increase your carb level a bit. There really is no reason to keep it so low. It will not speed your weight loss. Going to 30 or 40 grams of carbohydrates a day will still keep you in ketosis, but you will not have such a severe concentration of ketones. If necessary, you could even increase your carb level up to about 70 grams or so and still get all the health benefits of low-carbing (including weight loss). You would still be in ketosis, but it probably wouldn't show on the test strips.