4 Weeks of Keto, very low energy levels

#1

Hi everyone,

I know this subject was addressed few times before, but still maybe I can get some personal tips for my situation :slight_smile:
I have just completed 4 weeks of Keto. For the last 2.5 weeks my ketone level is around 1.5 ( Measuring with a keto stick daily ). Nevertheless, I feel quite bad physically. Any physical activity is a drag and seems I can’t do any form of exercise without feeling even worse. I used to jog/gym few times a week prior to starting Keto.

One very important piece of information is that I eat less calories than before ( around 1500 a day ) as I am trying to lose some weight too, but I wouldn’t think this will have such a dramatic effect ( well, I dont know really… )

Any tips will be appreciated as I am quite bewildered :no_mouth:

Thanks

(Craig) #2

Hey there, a fellow newbie here. I am starting week 6 of strict keto today. Hang in there if you can, I was pretty miserable for almost 5 straight weeks with awful headaches on a daily basis and a slew of other keto flu symptoms. BUT finally I had a great and super productive weekend this weekend which followed a glowing physical with my primary care doc at the end of last week.
I was fairly healthy before I started keto but now I’m 20% body fat and dropping with a BP of 117/80. Texas summer heat isn’t affecting me as much this year, I have crazy stamina, my brain is clear again and I finally feel like the only thing controlling or having influence on my body and mind is me. I owe my recent success to interment fasting (IF) which I just started last week and good amount of sweating and showering. This is all anacdotal, of course, but I really felt like my body was and is ridding my system of 30+ years of toxic waste buildup. As I was becoming fat adapted I was starting to use all this stored fat and waste stored in my love handles and gut as fuel for my body and mind. It sucks! When I started fasting I felt like I just sped that process up. I read a bunch on fasting before hand and my wife has been IF for the last month so I had a great coach. Honestly I was feeling so bad that I didn’t even want to eat so it was pretty easy fo me to do a full 24 hr off the bat and another 18 hour immediately following. By the time I started my 2nd fast I was feeling a huge improvement. I know this could just be coincidence but as I continue to IF, I continue to improve. Strenuous outdoor exercise is back on my schedule, finally, a that means more showers. I found these to be a big symptom reliever. Your skin is a two way filter and your sweat is one form of toxin removal. But you gotta wash it off! I find a “good hard sweat” followed by a hot shower to rinse the toxins is a stellar way to cycle those toxins out of your system. I turn the water to cold only just before I get out to refresh and snap me out of any mind funk I may have going on. The cold water helps with headaches too by the way.

Best of luck to you, hope some of this helps or if not, maybe it will at least motivate you to give it another week or two. When you feel like you have Einstein’s reasoning paired with the Incredible Hulk’s strength and endurance for the 1st time, it will become much easier to endure the last bit of pain and discomfort.

(Shannon) #3

Hey you! Try getting your electrolytes up. I drink a power aide zero when I’m feeling this way. Helps.

#4

It’s best not to restrict calories early on, you need to let your body’s metabolism time to heal… What are your macros?
And definitely up the electrolytes- you can search for a ketoaide recipe on here. Have lots of salt (there’s a limit to how much I can have on food, so I lick some off my finger every so often), magnesium supplements & potassium. You can overdo the potassium though, so not too much of that. It’s probably worth searching the threads for what supplements are best- e.g. magnesium citrate can cause diarrhoea I think, cheaper supplements don’t get absorbed as well. Hopefully others with more experience can chip in!

#5

Hey everyone, thanks for all the answers. Here is some more information:
My macros are roughly:
Fat: 110g
Protein: 120g
carb 20g

With slight variations ( I don’t count usually )

In the 2nd week after starting Keto I had a huge urge for saltiness which I satiated by drinking pickle juice and putting lots of salt/potassium on food. This however is not the situation anymore but I do tend to put more salt on food than ever before. Do you still think I should top up electrolytes ?
The feeling I am having can be described best by “heaviness”. Its like my body weighs a ton and moving it around is a real effort ( No headaches whatsoever or flu like symptoms )… and sex drive almost completely gone.

BTW, this is my 2nd round of Keto. First time was 2 years ago ( lasted for 9 months ) and it was exactly as
promised on the brochure :slight_smile: great energy, mental clarity, good sleep etc.
Back then I started with a 10 days of water fast which I continued seamlessly into Keto nutrition.
So right now it feels like it just doesn’t kick in for some reason… :frowning:

Will appreciate any more veteran advice.

Thanks!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #6

What’s happening is you aren’t giving your body its typical fuel source, carbs. But it hasn’t learned to burn ketones efficiently (being fat adapted) yet. This process usually takes 6-8 weeks. It took me 9 and ca take some even longer.
So right now, I liken it to a hole in your gas tank. You’re pouring the fuel in (fat) but your ketones are leaking out and not being used for energy. Your tank doesn’t have any carbs, so it’s running sluggish and you aren’t able to access the energy yet.

Many people are tempted to introduce some more carbs back in at his point, but don’t do it. It will lengthen the time it takes to become adapted.

Electrolytes will help ease these symptoms, but they won’t take away that heaviness. But it shouldn’t take you all the way to fat adaptation to start to feel some relief. It doesn’t happen like an on/off switch, so you should feel better and better the closer you get to fat adaptation. I was feeling much better around week 4, though I still had a bad day here and there.

#7

OK :slight_smile: so based on your answers and other forum threads I decided on the following course of action:

  1. Increase fat intake a little bit
  2. Intermittent Fasting
  3. Top up electrolytes ( purchased electrolyte powder on Amazon )

Will report any findings.

#8

5 days later…
Feeling much much better now and started to build up exercise routine.
I believe the culprit was not enough fat in my diet so I added some sausages/bacon to the daily menu ( which contained only fat from heavy cream till then, around 3 weeks ). I am also topping up electrolytes with “Rival Electrolyte Powder”.
I have a theory that moderate physical exercise helps to get the body adjusted to being fueled by ketones…but this is based mainly on personal feeling.

(Michelle) #9

The exercise should help use up any glycogen stores you have, which gets you through the keto flu faster. I felt the exact heavy feeling. Like my limbs were extra heavy. I’m at 2 months now, and I feel awesome.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #10

3 and a half months in and I will still have an off day where my limbs feel really heavy. Doesn’t happen often and they are coming fewer and further between. Plus they aren’t as bad as they used to be.
But I’m actually having one of those days today.

I’ve learned to just take it easy and keep replenishing the electrolytes. All will be better tomorrow.

(Kitty Pooh Pooh ) #11

Omg you took the words right out of my head. I have been trying to put words into what im feeling. I have used the same saying. My legs feel like 100lbs each like i feel super heavy and i feel like im on a plan where im following the plan more then someone who is winging it. I measure everything and log it all. But i just dont feel like working out. I blam my work. But now im seeing it might be a keto stage im in
The pee stick for me is 40’s and some time 80. I did just recently start electrolytes. My weight is stalled for a littlw over a week. I did lose 12 from the get go. But now. Stall. I think i just read somewhere that i need to focus on fat not so much protein. Get in more fat without maxing proteins. Carbs has not been my problem im doing 1380 calories 70,25,5 i started at 212 i am 5’11 . Last year lowest i got was 187 but year before that 168. I had been on Medifast for 2.5 years started at 255. Somewhere after that i did Weight Watchers. Cried literally while eating a banana. Mesdifast was 800 to 1000 calories 5 of your 6 meals where products. But ww was a whole different ball game. I needed to go back to strict schedule. Not “WE CAN HAVE BREAD” or my favorite one “FRUIT IS FREE YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE FRUIT YOU WANT” then when my weight stalled there. “Um, maybe try cut back your fruit.” Really??? So were making up rules as we go along. Playing with my life??? IM NO ONES GuineaPig . So really need help just making sure all my effort going into Keto further is correct. The thoght crossed my mind. Since mu weight is stalled. Maybe i need to eat a cheat meal and reboot. This is last resort. Never give up