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.

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!!

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.

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

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

Hi!

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.

Hope that helps!

KC

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

Nat

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

KC

heheh

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

Who said great minds don't think alike!

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!"

-Shelly

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

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.

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!"

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

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.

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.

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