Phantom smell

[kodi10]

Ok, so if my last posting of weird poo poo wasn't enough, another odd thing is occuring.

Actually, from week one (I am now in week 3) I have been getting a whiff of a really odd smell. Actually it smell sort of good, full bodied. Thought it might be my breath, but I can't tell.

Does this sound familar to anyone. I'll be just sitting here and WHOOF, I get a big whiff, doesn't matter where I am, home or at a neighbors. I never smell it at night.
:confused:

[raindancer]

Hi Kodi:)

Its kinda funny that you brought up that wicked smell....(LOL)
I had something similar happen to me....When I first went on low carbos, my husband would be driving in the car......and would say.... I smell old food???? (You said yours did'nt smell bad) Mine did. It was'ent till we got to his mothers house , that he noticed the smell had followed him !!! It was ME. I had often done the breath check in my hand.....and it went undetected!!!! Its a smell that stays in my mouth 24/7 . I have to carry my tooth brush with me for quick touch ups..... But I have noticed.....If I go off the diet the smell leaves. What causes this I dont know..... But your not the only one with Breath Issues!! :D

[kodi10]

I am not completely convinced that it is my breath, and I sure don't want anyone to stick their nose in my mouth to check. Thank goodness mine isn't a bad smell, infact is is a very familar smell which is very...for lack of a better word "full" or "nutty."

I would be really hard pressed if it was bad. I would just like to know where it comes from. Maybe it is from the ketones.

[agonycat]

The sweet or otherwise smell of Ketones :)

Quite natural and to be expected. Normally drinking enough water helps flush this out of your system. Believe it or not its not actually your mouth....but the lungs that are excreting the smell.

The minty toothpaste helps mask it for a while. Try upping your water intake to help flush the extra ketones through the urine instead of the lungs :)

[Natrushka]

Originally posted by kodi10
infact is is a very familar smell which is very...for lack of a better word "full" or "nutty."

You just described the smell of ketosis to the letter, Kodi. What you are smelling are the remains of burned ketone bodies that spill over into your urine and into your lungs. If the smell is very strong it's a sign you're not drinking enough water ;) The reason you may not be experiencing it as much in the evening is that you drink your water as the day progresses, thereby diluting the concentration.

Many people experience ketosis after fasting, i.e., when they wake up in the morning after a good long sleep.

Nat

[slimchance]

Hi! :wave:

We do excrete ketones in our breath and our urine and they aren't the most pleasant smelling, so there are two possibilities. I was told to drink lots of water to dilute it. Other than that I'm not sure what it could be. :confused:

Hope that helps!

KC :daze:

[Natrushka]

Three replies at 14:41, that has to be a record ;)

Nat

[slimchance]

I was starting to wonder if I was missing reading some posts before posting myself...I've gotta slow down!! :D

KC :wave:

[agonycat]

heheh

What is really cool is all 3 of us pretty much said the same thing :)

Who said great minds don't think alike! :D

[Shellyf34]

To fellow Keto-Breather's:

I now carry those little "melt on your tongue" mint and cinnamon breath strips by Myntz (got 'em at Trader Joes) that are sugar free. Those do the trick on the days my mouth is feeling "less than fresh!" :D

-Shelly

[kodi10]

Thanks all....wow, haven't had this much response since my weird poopoo thread :D

It makes perfect sense that the smell may be ketones if it comes from the lungs. That would explain why I get it so strongl all at once. I guess at the moment they are released I must get the whiff.

I also quit smoking recently and my nose is more sensitive than usual. Gee, I wonder if I always smelled like this. :confused:

Everyone always refers to it as being bad, but this is not bad at all. Seems like Atkins said this too.

More water! Gads zooks. I am already drinking 66 oz of water and another 50 of tea. I will float. But worse, I go to the pot too often now. If it gets any worse, I will up the water.

BTW Nat,

I lost a pound last night. I ate only 4 carbs Wed and .6 Thur and that dropped me down. Thanks for your advise, I am trying to add some calories (boy that is something I thought I would never hear me saying). heehee...also today I found myself reaching for the good old pork rinds and saying to myself, "at least they don't have anything in 'em but calories!"

[Natrushka]

Kodi, unless that tea is decaf you're only drinking 16 oz of water. For ever cafinated beverage you need an extra glass of water :(

Nat

[razzle]

you may not love this news....but with 125 pounds to lose, you should be drinking 13 glasses of water a day, or a minimum of 104 fluid ounces. As nat says, not diet cola, tea, or crystal lite...water.

I drink 160 ounces of water on cool days and more on hot days. You not only get used to it, you start to feel anxious and darned thirsty if you don't have a water bottle nearby!

You can burn off some excess ketones through exercise, too.

[kodi10]

Arrrrrggggghhh!

And I thought I was doing good to get two of those huge bottles of water down. So I will shoot for 120! I needed yet another challenge.

Maybe that will help with my weight loss. I though I could include the tea.

Nat: Where did you get the info about calories being 10x your weight? I have looked all through the Atkins book and they only thing I see about calories is that if you eat less calories, you loose faster. Can you give me your source so I can read more about it?

Thanks guys......you don't miss a lick do ya! Here you are keeping me straight.

:nono:

[Natrushka]

Kodi, do a search on this website for "Basal" AND "Metabolism" - 10x your body weight comes from basic human biology and physiology. This is the rough amount your body needs to survive - to stay out of starvation mode. 60-70% of what you eat goes toward this; regulating temperature, breaking down protein into amino acids, making/repairing cells and cell membranes, creating enzymes, etc. It does not take into account any thing YOU do once you wake up and start your day.

There are some good threads in the newbies questions forum, under the sticky at the top called "Hot Links!" - you'll find about 5 links to past discussion on why you need to keep calories up and how you can do it.

HTH
Nat

[kodi10]

Thanks for the information.

I am so scared of raising my calories and it goes against all I have known for the last 40 plus years, that it is the hardest thing about this I have to overcome. Funny, but I never imagined in a million years that I would not be eating enough.

My gosh, at 280 lbs that means finding 2800 calories :eek:. I have not done it since my start (although as of the last three days I have gotten up to 2500).

Well, it is 8:30 am, guess I better get started on that lake I have to drink. :lol: I will check out the info, thanks again.

[Natrushka]

Kodi, don't jump in with 2800 calories overnight. Refer back to the post in your jouranl about gradually increasing calories - a dramatic drop in calories as well as a dramatic increase will stress your system, and a stress system does not let go of fat or water. Aim for 300-400 calorie increases over a period of a few weeks; you'll find a zone that's right for both you and your body.

Nat

[kodi10]

This seems like so much work! I am left pretty confused. I have a friend who has been very successful with LC and lost 45 pounds. This got her to her goal. She gained a few back and went back on Induction last Sunday. By Thurs She already lost 6 lbs.

I understand that her metabolism runs higher than mine. But it doesn't stop my feeling of frustration that it has taken me 3 weeks to do what she did in 5 days!

Been looking through all the links you referred to on the 10x.

Since I restricted my carb count to under 10 it is making this diet almost unbearable. I think if I work on the raising my cals I can add in a few carbs back....whatchathink?

[Natrushka]

Originally posted by kodi10
Since I restricted my carb count to under 10 it is making this diet almost unbearable. I think if I work on the raising my cals I can add in a few carbs back....whatchathink?

Kodi, I think you need to go and look at the post I entered into your journal last week for my advice. I don't think you're doing yourself any good keeping carbs at <10g. The most sever carb restriction occurs in Atkin's Induction - it's <20g of EFFECTIVE carbs (that is carb count minus fiber count, putting it at around 30g of carbs total). You're way below even that restricted level. If <10g worked better than <20g don't you think that is what the program would be?

Comparing our results with others is only defeatist - you're right that your friend probably has a higher metabolism than you do. you can raise yours - there's advice on how to do that as well in my reply to your PM in your journal. But it won't happen overnight. I bet you didnt gain the weight overnight either.

Nat

[kodi10]

I appreciate your patience and know that what you have said has not fallen on deaf ears. I am getting information from more than one source and that can be confusing.

However, I am really happy today. It seems (and I am really embarrassed about this), that my scale was in fact, broken.

I found out after purchaseing a new GOOD scale. I then went to a gym and weighed exactly the same as my new scale said 278. Then I went back home and tried my old scale 181.

Therefore, I can now boast that I have lost 7 lbs in almost 3 weeks. That is not breaking any records, but I am thrilled with it. Three was making me sick, but 7 I am elated over.

I am at 88 oz of water and it doesn't look like I'm going to make the quota today, but tommorrow is another day. I am going to try to keep my calories at at least 2000 and see what happens, then I will gradually move it up a little more.

I read some of your old posts and it seems that you know from experience about the calorie thing. You have done so well that I really value your opinion. Thanks again.

[Natrushka]

Kodi, while you're out reading posts, try and stop by the following journals:

Marlaine
KarenB
Rey


They've all gone through what you are experiencing to some degree, and have all dealt quite well with the problem; if losing fat by increasing fat and protein is dealing well ;)

Best of luck
Nat

[martham]

I am glad someone posted about the odor. I thought something was wrong with me when my urine smelled sooooooooooo awful bad. I also notice a horrible body odor at times even though I take a bath daily. is this also associates with Ketosis? I knew the taste was but didnt know about the odor.

Thanks,
m.

[kodi10]

I'm not a pro at this or anything, but I find that when I drink the billion oz of water daily that is required, the ketones are not nearly as strong. The water dilutes them in the urine (as can be evidenced with ketonstix). I don't smell the ketones from my lungs either. So up your water intake and see if that helps.

How much water are you drinking now. You are new here and may not realize how high the amount is.

[pam225]

I have researched low carb diets before, but have now taken a job where my employer has used Atkins and lost weight on it (and lowered her cholesterol in the process). So with the proof in the pudding so to speak, I have started today on my low-carb adventure!

Any pointers? I weight 185 right now and am trying to drink 80oz of water a day. Just from reading other posts, I get the idea that this is not enough water. This morning I drank coffee (yes, it had 1/2 and 1/2 and sugar in it). I can't give up the coffee at the moment, but plan to switch to Spenda and heavy cream. I realize that the caffeine takes away from the water you drink (so you have to drink more).

Thanks in advance,

Pam :wave:

[Natrushka]

Pam, welcome to the forum :)

Why not stop by the "Introduce yourself" section of the forum and tell us a little bit about yourself? I think your post in this thread might get lost.

Switching to cream in your coffee is a step in the right direction - have you tried it w/o sugar or artificial sweetener? I used to think that would be impossible (4 sugars used to be my number) but when you low carb your tastes change - adding cream alters the flavour as well.

Cheers,
Nat

[dizzyd]

You know, I've noticed from time to time that my urine has a major strong aroma to it, and it's always been on days where for whatever reason, I haven't been able to get all my water in. Most days I drink 5-6 litres, but on other days when it's only been 3 or 4, wow! What a stench! It's nice to know that I can just be happy about the ketones when that happens and not be worried about something funky going on!

http://jabot2000.homestead.com/files/emoticons/fart.gif

That's enough about that!!!

:blush:

[Terminal]

Yes, I have experience the stink too AND another.

We are talking seriously skunklike BO. Actually not skunklike, but skunk.

Is it all the meat?

Also need recommendations on soap. Lysol All Purpose cleaner seems to be the only one that works.

PU :wave: Me waving my arm. PU