A beginner question: Tried IF and now I’m super tired- what’s on the go and how do I fix it?

newbies
(Trudy) #1

I’ve been on keto 5 weeks and I’m after going 20hrs One day and 16hrs another without eating… only eating till I’m hungry. Yesterday I ate twice cause I was hungry and now I’m super tired. My ketones are super dark on the stick. I’m thinking I over did it on the fasting and what can I do to get out of this slump?

(Susan) #2

Welcome to the forum, Trudy =).

Maybe your body is not quite ready yet to go as long. When I started Keto I did 12:12 then built up to 16:8, 18:6 and have been doing 20:4 since June. Since you have only been doing Keto for 5 weeks, you are likely not totally fat adapted yet.

Keto is awesome, but you should not be feeling hungry on it. That usually indicates that you are not eating enough and/or are not yet fat adapted.

I don’t know what you are eating or how much but generally if you eat 20 grams or less of net carbs, no sugar, eat enough proteins, eat enough healthy fats, drink enough water, and keep your electrolytes up (enough salt) then you should not be hungry between your eating periods.

I use a free program that you can use directly from your device, computer or phone called cronometer.com to keep track of my macros, to make sure I am eating enough and keeping my carbs low.

Please make sure that you are eating enough. IF is awesome, I eat my lunch at 1pm and supper at 4:30 pm for a daily IF TMAD of 20:4 but I built up to that level from February until June. I think at 5 weeks in, you may be rushing the time too much. Take care and best wishes =).

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #3

Eat. Getting tired and ‘listless’ is one way your body says: “We’re running out of gas”.