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I love my low carb lifestyle and wouldn't give it up for the world, but oddly, since being on my WOE, I have had terrible leg cramps and toes that curl, painfully almost every night. The only way to stop it is to climb out of bed and walk it off. I wonder if there is a nutrient I am missing somehow? Perhaps potassium? I am not on any medications and have no other health issues. I am 44 years of age. Just curious if anyone else has dealt with this issue? Any advice or information would be very helpful.
Plan: very low carb real food
Stats: 245/125/135
BF:
Progress: 109%
Location: Vermont
I take a daily magnesium supplement, magnesium glycinate, and I don't get any muscle cramping. If I don't take it for a day or 2 the cramps come back. I take 600 mgs because that's what seems to work for me. Most people probably take less. Magnesium glycinate is the least likely magesium supplement to cause intestinal issues and supposedly is better absorbed than some others.
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
I can't take magnesium supplements as they all give my gut fits, but I take Lite Salt straight. I lap it up like my donkeys lick their salt block. It was they who gave me the idea & it works. I wash the salt down with water or coffee.
I know when I've forgotten my salt during the day because I get nasty leg cramps the same night.
Last edited by Bonnie OFS : Sun, Jan-08-17 at 18:32.
Plan: Very LC, Higher Protein
Stats: 227/186/185
BF:
Progress: 98%
Location: Herndon, VA
I, too, take chelated magnesium glycinate, 400 mg/ day (200 in the morning, 200 in the evening). It has eliminated muscle cramping for me. I tried a variety of things including potassium, and it was the magnesium that did the trick for me. Good luck.
It's called plantar fasciitis, and walking it off is the best way to deal with it. "Lite Salt" a 50:50 mix of table salt and potassium salt, plus taking a magnesium supplement as others have mentioned, helps with all sorts of muscle cramps.
If you are walking more or wearing new/different shoes, that can also cause it; it helps to wear a consistent heel height. I also get it whenever I eat too many carbs.