Been on Keto for over a month now. Why am I still so stinking tired?

(Mike W.) #6

I found that was my problem. I just stopped eating, Wasn’t consuming NEARLY enough calories just to function. I’m doing better about it now.

(Joy Cho) #7

Hmmm…not eating enough as a possible reason? Please excuse my ignorance since I’m still learning about keto. I should still eat my daily macros whether I’m hungry or not? Couldn’t my lack of appetite/hunger be bridged as a quasi-fast?

(Morgan Rose) #8

I had the same problem!
Just stick it out, its probably keto flu! Just push through it. Add some BPC in the am add extra butter or for me I added MCT oil and just in a couple days made the difference for me. I’ve been doing keto 26 days strict of 25 under net carb and I’m probably not fat adapted yet. So just keep it up!! Let us know if your sleepiness continues!!

Are you getting enough sleep in general? My sleep schedule was a little wacky lol

(Joy Cho) #9

I “think” I’m getting enough sleep (between 6 - 8 hours). Perhaps I’m shorting myself, but don’t all parents of under aged children have that challenge?! LOL I get to sleep in once a week if I’m lucky and that’s on Saturdays if we don’t have anything scheduled.

#10

Are you willing to share what are the typical foods you eat in your meals? You shared your BPC, Broth, butter supplementation. The question is, what do you normally eat?

For me, the types of keto meals make a difference. Macro wise, they all have similar grams of protein, fat and carbs. But, my guess is the difference in nutrients makes a big impact on how I feel. For me, wild caught fish & seafood, grass fed beef, free range pork is top of my list. For vegetables, dark green leaf and bitter leafy veg, like rapini, broccolini, Tuscan black kale, chicory, asparagus, Swiss chard, arugula, spinach…works the best for me. Foods that don’t seem to give me that power are chicken, turkey, eggs, cheese…yes, I eat them because they are yummy…but I know I cannot make them the main feature in my WOE.

Oh yeah…I forgot to mention…I like eating liver, and other “nasty bits”. Loads of nutrients that are low or absent in typical proteins. I usually make sure I eat liver at least once per two weeks. And it’s a substantial portion, not just a mini appetizer.

This works for me…I hope you discover what works for you. I suggest looking into your ancestral background and discover what your ancestors ate. I am of italian background, so I indulge in what they ate.

(David K) #11

Believe it or not, not eating enough is worse than not eating anything at all. My wife had similar issues, I started looking at her logs and she was in the ~600 Cal range because she was simply not hungry. She bumped it up to ~1200 and the weight started coming off. (she was 5’6, 250lbs at the time)

Wife is doing it all correctly, but meter says differently
(Zach) #12

As others have said, make sure you are not restricting calories to start with. I know I had to force myself to eat enough when I was first starting out. When I was not fully fat adapted, I bonked continuously.

(Joy Cho) #13

Thanks for all of your replies! It’s most like likely that I’m not eating enough!!! Time to get some food in my belly!!! Happy Tuesday!

(RavenRed) #14

How is the quality of your sleep? I used to think I slept like the dead until my SO mentioned that I was flailing around in bed and it turned out I had severe sleep apnea. While I don’t want to discount anything that is being said about reaching fat adaptation and electrolytes, considering your quality of sleep and any potential issues couldn’t hurt! Best of luck!

(Joy Cho) #15

Up until not feeling hungry, I’d eat a bacon, egg and cheese fritatta fried up in bacon grease. If I wanted extra fat, I’d add half to a whole avocado. That would typically tide me over until late afternoon. I may get hungry around 5 pm. If I’m thinking of food, which is rare now, I’ll have a fat bomb or sip on salted bone broth with butter and coconut oil. I sometimes do that if I’m craving something warm and comforting to drink. Dinner the other night was “spaghetti” with ground turkey, Rao’s tomato sauce, spices and cheese over lightly sauteed zucchini and yellow squash zoodles in salted butter. I think I overate on the zucchini and yellow squash. They were so delicious! Could those have taken me out of ketosis? Maybe I’m eating too much in 1 sitting? And yes. I did have seconds cuz that sauce was so yum with the zoodles…

(Joy Cho) #16

I don’t have sleep apnea. I am a bit of a light sleeper cuz of the kids though. Maybe I’m not getting enough zzzzzs? I’ll hit the hay early tonight and take a 5-HTP to help me with my date with Mr. Sandman…

#17

@jkungcho,

Ok, thanks for that…really good info and data now to provide a few insights or suggestions :slight_smile:

Here is what I think may be going on that is sabotaging your keto journey:

  1. I suspect you are eating too many carbs. If not doing so already, log your food meticulously, and measure (by weight and/or volume). This is not something you will do forever (maybe or maybe not?)…in fact, I don’t do it now. But, for the first month, I had to do it because I needed to learn what 20 grams net carbs look like. I suspect you kick yourself out of ketosis overeating carbs.
  2. make sure you get 1 to 1.5 grams protein per kg lean body mass. You are putting a lot of strain on your body if you aren’t getting enough protein. I feel like crap when I don’t eat enough protein. Also, when you eat protein, make sure it is combined with fats…don’t eat protein alone…like munching on chicken breast without anything else…it can be very insulinogenic. This happens to me. Potential problem for you?
  3. I think if you make sure you eat enough protein, and limit to 20 net carbs, you will be ok. If you are still hungry and met your protein and net carbs limit, eat fat to satiety.
  4. you may need to experiment with artificial sweeteners. If your fat bombs are made with things like Splenda, Stevia, or whatever, it is possible that they are promoting insulin secretion. I cannot touch artificial sweeteners…they kick me out of ketosis…but, many other people are perfectly fine with them. With some people, one type of sweetener are ok,while other types don’t work. Perhaps something to keep an eye on.

I hope this helps. Keep us posted on your progress. Would love to see how you will figure this out. We are here to help and provide support.

(Joy Cho) #18

Thank you so very much, Fiorella! This is extremely helpful for me! I suspected that I was overdoing it with carbs. The fat with protein isn’t an issue, but I probably am not eating enough protein. I was also questioning my use of sweetener. My fat bombs are made with Swerve and Equal since that’s what I had in my house. Perhaps I had too many fat bombs (sweetener) which also hurt my ketosis? Thanks again!!!

#19

Are you monitoring your blood pressure? Some people experience a significant drop when they start keto.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #20

In my case, there’s a definite relationship with salt intake. If I’m low on salt, BP tends to go low.

#21

This is a very good point. Restricting energy input too much simply pushes your body to slow your metabolism. This could easily be the reason you are feeling tired.

#22

Look up the British meaning of that :wink:

(Zach) #23

I can guess!

(Larry Lustig) #24

Have you taken your blood pressure?

I’ve seen reports of:

  1. People on blood pressure medication experiencing low blood pressure as their BP improves naturally on the ketogenic dieting, resulting in a need to reduce medication. . .

and, conversely:

  1. People with controlled hypertension who experience a worsening of symptoms on keto.

So, in addition to all the other dietary advice, get BP checked out if you haven’t already.

(Kel Ta) #25

3 years in keto- but it took a year to not feel tired all the time. A year to solidly be a fat burner. In the beginning it was easy to fall out of ketosis from just a little elevation in carbs and it took a week to return to ketosis- for a year it was an oscillation in different degrees of keto flu. It was not enjoyable. Electrolytes proved essential but not all magnesium potassium supplements are the same either- magnesium potassium aspartate has done wonders, all the others had unwanted side effects.