Hello All,
Looking for your advice and thoughts – thanks in advance for reading this long post:
I transitioned to keto in December 2017.
I’d tried going ketogenic for some years, but I wasn’t able to do it – going without starchy carbs for even a few hours made me bonk (run out of brain gas ), even with a sedentary lifestyle.
Some known issues:
• Hashimotos, with Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) at appx. 800 IU/ml
• Chronic fatigue for almost a decade
• Anxiety / panic attacks.
I’m 48, male, single, total weight 187lb / 85kg, lean body weight 150lb / 69kg.
I’m not exercising regularly. That petered out 2 years ago as energy levels dropped. If I have a good day, I’ll do a walk.
It was a hernia that pushed me into ketosis. I had surgery that helped for 6 months, and then failed. I was in severe pain and the surgeon told me there was nothing he could do.
So I figured the one thing that would help would be to lose weight. And the one sure way to do that was fasting.
So I read a bunch of Dr. Fung’s stuff and watched some extended fasters on youtube and did a fast for 37 days:
• 2 weeks of salt + water
• then 2 weeks of bone broth with fat
• then the remainder with slowly increasing protein (meat).
I made it through a keto rash that resolved itself. Then towards the end of the fast, I started to feel fairly unwell. I think there was an electrolyte imbalance, but I wasn’t able to figure it out, so I came off the fast into a zero carb diet.
That didn’t work well, so after about a week I settled into a keto diet.
My current macros in cronometer: appx. 23% protein, 73% fat, 4% carb.
That’s give or take 110g protein, 20g net carbs, and 160g fat.
Total calories consumed daily is appx 2300kcal
These number vary a little from day to day, but I’m strict and not cheating. I’m preparing all my own food, not eating out / no keto frankenfoods.
Blood ketone measurements are low in the morning, then rise throughout the day to 0.5 – 1.0 by early evening.
It’s a fairly limited diet – steak / ground beef, beef fat / sheep fat, egg yolks, and a variety of leafy greens, avocado, and low carb veggies. Some cheese and a few blueberries. I had an orange but that seemed to trigger an anxiety attack.
I’m supplementing with vitamin D, C, K2 and I’m taking digestive enzymes – they seem to help me with fat digestion.
So the good news:
• After some refeed weight recovery, I lost 8kg and put my hernia into remission.
• My weight is stable – not losing, but not gaining.
• My anxiety is in remission – instead of 3 panic attacks a day, I have had 3 panic attacks in the last 3 months.
• I no longer need starchy carbs – I can get through the day with leafy greens and low carb veggies only.
The bad news:
• 10 days after ending the fast – at the end of Jan 2018 – I got a winter flu. And I have not yet recovered. I was sick for months – hacking and coughing up phlegm, chest congestion, poor sleep, and with low energy.
• Near the end of April, I thought it was behind me. I seemed to recover for a couple of weeks – I even had a day where everything was awesome – I got more done in 24h than in the previous 3 months. Then things settled into moderate energy levels.
• And then last week I got sick again – heavy exhaustion and brain fog. So bad it’s been hard to work.
So in the last month, I’ve had a two short periods where I felt absolutely amazing – for a day, and for half a day. Good energy, good mood, a feeling of wellness. I hope that is the keto at work, underneath this cold or whatever it is. But I can’t seem to shake the flu / cold.
I’m working with a functional medicine doc, and I’ve got some supplements try to for my hashimotos. But I can’t get out from under this cold long enough to be fit to try them.
So I’m wondering…
• Has anyone else has had a rough transition to keto like my experience?
• Is it just hard to transition at 48 years old?
• I don’t know if I’m sick, and my immune system is depressed, or whether this is just me having a hard time adjusting to keto?
• Could keto be affecting my immune system or ability to recover from the cold?
• Maybe I’m doing something wrong? Thoughts / suggestions / tweaks?
• Maybe keto isn’t for me or not easy for me – but I really want the benefits for energy levels and anti-anxiety. Thoughts?
• Maybe once I hit the thyroid supplements things will improve?
If you’ve read this far – thanks so much. I very much appreciate your responses. I really really want to make keto work.