I just wanted everyone to know that I'm doing so well, I have lost 10lbs thus far and I'm excited.

I have a concen. I can't remember what forum it was but I remember getting some tips on how to get use to drinking water and also to make sure to take potassium supplement. How much should my daily intake be.

I take a mulitvitimin right now and the potassium 80 grams I think I will have to double check that. ( I so nutritionally illiterate).

Daily intake:

Water should be 64 oz minimum + 8 oz for every 25 lbs of body fat you want to lose. 64 oz is 8 glasses.

While there is no RDA for potassium it is generally agreed you need 1800 - 2400 mg a day. Initially, when following a LC WOL your body flushes out a lot of excess water; with this water a lot of electrolytes are lost. It is important you replace them. Potassium can be supplemented during induction as follows : 1/8 th teaspoon of "nuSalt" mixed in a large glass of water twice daily. Each 1/8th tsp will provide over 500mg of potassium. After induction continue supplementing but cut down to once a day. You could take pills but as most come in 100mg size you would be swallowing a lot of pills each day.

HTH
Nat

In general, we obtain potassium from food, for example 3 oz of tuna has 200mg, a 3.5 oz pork loin chop has 300mg. Potassium is also stored to some degree in every cell in the body. We lose some potassium in body fluids ... urine and sweat normally. Significant potassium losses occur with extreme fluid loss and dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea ... this is especially serious for small children and the elderly.

The average adult requires approx. 1600 to 2500 mg of potassium per day in order to carry out the necessary functions. Larger persons and training athletes may require 3500mg or more. It's not necessary to replace this total amount, since there is always a relatively steady supply in the cells .. and although the body loses some in fluid wastes, it does not lose ALL. However, there are situations which require additional potassium to be supplemented.

• increased urine losses ... such as occurs during the early weeks of low-carbing and ketosis
  
• increased sweating .. hot weather, vigorous exercise
  
• high sodium salt intake ... when there is a high concentration of sodium outside the cell in the blood and tissues, this prevents potassium from being released by the cell into the bloodstream. Hence, blood levels can be low.

*Note .. in all situations .. it's advisable that you ensure you're adequately hydrated FIRST. If you're peeing up a storm during the early days of low-carbing and ketosis, or if you're sweating buckets .. you need to replace that water. If you're eating a lot of salty and sodium-containing foods, drinking more water will help to dilute and decrease its concentration. Plus, taking potassium supplements when you're dehydrated can lead to a too-high concentration in the blood, and this is just as bad as too little.

In Protein Power and PPLifeplan, the Drs. Eades recommend that you take an extra 396mg (or 400mg ) potassium per day for the first few weeks of low-carbing. They suggest taking this in the form of supplement tablets which you can buy (these contain 99mg each .. so you take 4 per day). In addition, they suggest using a potassium-containing salt-substitute, such as NoSalt, NuSalt, HalfSalt or Morton's Lite Salt. (these have the added benefit of helping to decrease your sodium salt intake ). Thereafter, it's sufficient to take one tablet, or 99 mg per day, in addition to what you're consuming in food and with the salt-substitute. You may also dissolve the pure potassium forms (NOT the ones mixed with regular salt) in water, and drink it that way. Make a note of how much potassium is in each tsp ... they differ. NuSalt has over 4000mg per tsp, NoSalt has 2500mg.

Supplemental doses in excess of 500mg per day are not really necessary for the average low-carber, unless you are large and/or involved in strenous exercise. If your kidneys are healthy, the excess will simply be wasted in the urine. Although healthy kidneys don't have a built-in mechanism to stop you from LOSING potassium, they DO have a switch to prevent too much from building up in the blood, and will increase the amount lost in the urine to compensate.

Which brings me to some important concerns and cautions about potassium:

Do not take potassium supplements, or use potassium-containing salt-substitutes if:

• you have kidney disease, or impaired kidney function.
  
• you are taking medications for heart or blood pressure ... some of these cause the kidneys to retain potassium instead of excreting it. Ask your dr. or pharmacist for guidance.
  
• you are diabetic. It's probably ok to take supplemental potassium, but check with your dr. first. You may have slightly impaired kidney function. If you're taking insulin, this will affect potassium levels too (you may need MORE).

Potassium can be irritating to the lining of the stomach and esophagus. The tablets have a special coating so that they don't dissolve until they reach the small intestine. Make sure you take them with a full glass of water, so that they don't get stuck in your throat. It's unlikely that it will be harmful, but it can be very uncomfortable. For similar reason, if you're dissolving potassium salt-substitute in water and drinking, make sure you dissolve in a full glass of water, or dissolve in a smaller amount of water, then chase it down with a full glass of plain water. In either case, it's best to take with food, not on an empty stomach.

Taking extra potassium can increase your requirement for magnesium and vitaminB6. Make sure your daily supplement contains a source of these. Taking extra magnesium with calcium is a good idea anyway

hope this is helpful

Doreen

I had been having problems for awhile will extreme dizziness and muscle weakness. When I checked with the doc my blood pressure was 84/54. He didnt seem to have a problem with it so I did some research on my own and realized I must be low in pottassium. I started taking supplements and within 48 I felt so much better. I just had my BP checked again today and it was up to 90/60. So for me the potassium supplements really helped.

That's interesting about how potassium helped your blood pressure come UP. It's often used to help lower high blood pressure (under dr. supervision, of course).

I wonder if at the same time you also started drinking more water too .. often low blood pressure can result from chronic under-hyration.

Doreen

When I 1st started supplementing no I wasnt increasing water but I still felt so much better.....I know stupid me, lol, but its only been a few weeks and now Im up to 70-100 ozs a day.