Before I went on the keto diet, I loved carbs. 

Potatoes, pasta, chips, bagels, and my favorite, sourdough bread. 

You probably do too. But you have realized, as I did, that eating all of those carbs isn’t giving you the body you want. 

Now that you’re cutting them out, you’ve taken the first step towards reaching your goal. You should be proud of yourself. 

But you may be experiencing some negative side effects like headaches, irritability, and fogginess. 

Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to get back to feeling normal or even better than normal.

Drink Lots of Water

Many people see a lot of weight loss in their first week of a keto diet primarily because they are losing water weight. When you go on a low carb diet, your body will flush a lot of water out of it that it doesn’t need to run on fat instead of sugar. 

It’s easy to become dehydrated. That’s why it’s super important for you to drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration and the headache associated with it.

Balance Your Electrolytes

When the water is flushed out of your body, you also lose electrolytes like magnesium, sodium, and potassium. 

Electrolytes are essential to maintaining your energy levels, controlling your body temperature, and helping your brain function. 

In order to maintain safe levels of electrolytes while you’re on the keto diet, you should consider taking a supplement.

Get Enough Sodium

Not having enough sodium in your diet can cause poor energy levels and headaches. 

You should be getting at least 5,000 mg of sodium per day in order to avoid these symptoms. Consider choosing pink Himalayan sea salt or cooking with bouillon cubes to up your intake.

Meet Your Body’s Potassium Requirements

When you are low on potassium, you can become depressed, irritable, have skin problems and muscle cramps and even develop heart palpitations. 

It’s essential that you get at least 3,000 mg per day. A great source of potassium is avocados with more than 1,000 mg per serving.

Eat More Fats

When you are on a keto diet, 65-70% of your total calories should be from fat. This is a huge change for most people who previously were on a carb-heavy diet. 

To help your body adjust and avoid headaches, you should make your fat intake a priority. That way you will stay full and feel great.

Persevere

After reading about the keto headache and all of the things you need to do to stay balanced, you may be reconsidering the keto diet. But don’t be discouraged.

Focusing on getting all of your essential nutrients and minerals and exercising frequently isn’t a bad thing. Over time, you will adapt to the diet and find it much easier to stay balanced. 

Stick it out, the results are worth it!

It generally takes between two and seven days to put your body into ketosis where it will begin running on ketones rather than carbs. 

If you have been dieting for more than a week and you aren’t seeing any progress, there are test strips you can buy to check if your body is in ketosis. 

But even if your body enters the ketogenic state, it doesn’t mean that the weight will just start falling off of you. 

If you’ve ever done a diet with someone else, you know that not everyone sees the same results in the same timeframe. 

Your friend might go down two dress sizes while you struggle to get off the first ten pounds even though you’re eating the exact same thing. 

It can be super frustrating. But understanding what the factors are that contribute to weight loss can help you ramp up your progress. 

Weight loss depends on: 

• Your gender
• Energy levels
• Activity level
• Age
• Metabolism 
• Hormones
• And more!

If you have hormonal issues, it can take longer to lose weight and for your body to adjust to a ketogenic state. 

People who are overweight and carry a lot of body fat will often have very fast weight loss soon after starting the keto diet. 

While those with more muscle mass will see slower progress on the scale. 

Your daily habits also play a huge role. You have to be dedicated to your diet and exercising regularly if you want the weight to fall off quickly. 

Consider making small changes in the way you go about your day that will equate to more exercise:

1. Take the stairs
2. Walk to your errands
3. Get a standing desk
4. Pace during phone calls

The key to achieving results on the keto diet is being consistent. You need to treat it as a lifestyle change if you’re going to make it long term. 

You also should calculate the number of macronutrients your body needs based on its composition. It’s a lot of work to keep track of exactly how many grams of carbs, proteins, and fats you are eating but it’s worth it.

Eventually logging your macros will become second nature.

If you are finding it difficult to keep track, consider downloading an app that will track them for you. There are apps available that have a large database of nutrition facts. 

All you have to do is enter the food that you are eating and how much you of it you had and it will keep a running tally for the day.

A lot of people enjoy relaxing with a cold drink on the weekends. 

But, trying to maintain your social life and stay on your diet can feel like it’s impossible at times. 

But on a keto diet, if your friends call you up to meet at the bar, you don’t have to pass. 

Just be mindful of what you drink and choose the most carb-friendly options.

Choose a Spirit

Although there are a lot of carbs at the bar, there are significantly less in hard liquor than beer and wine. In fact, several spirits have no carbohydrates. 

If you like taking shots, then you should have no problem if you choose vodka, tequila, or gin. 

Just be careful drinking hard liquor if you’re not used to it. You need to pace yourself until you can gauge your tolerance.

Avoid Beer and Wine

Beer and Wine go through a different fermentation process than liquor. 

Although liquor often has natural sugars, potatoes, fruits, and grains in its recipe, it is turned into ethyl alcohol. 

Beer and wine retain more of the initial carbohydrates from their recipe ingredients. 

If you really want a glass of wine, consider choosing a white wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. They typically will have three carbohydrates or less in a serving.

If beer is more your thing and you’re not ready to give it up, there are some IPAs that are low carb. 

You can also always opt for a Michelob Ultra. It also has less than three carbs per serving.

Consider a Hard Seltzer

If you’re nervous about getting too intoxicated drinking liquor, you should consider buying a hard seltzer like Truly or White Claw. 

They contain five percent alcohol per can allowing you to moderate your intake. They also are often available in bars so you can drink them anywhere you go.

Look for Keto-Friendly Drink Recipes

You’re not the only person on a keto diet looking for good drink options. Get creative and look into drink recipes. 

Whether you’re into margaritas, Mai Tais, or Pina Coladas, there is someone out there who has perfected a keto-friendly version. 

Be Prepared for the Next Day

If your body isn’t used to the keto diet and you consume a lot of alcohol, you may react differently. You could get more intoxicated than you did eating carbs. 

Take it slow at first. You don’t want to end up with a terrible hangover.