Cognitive enhancements and fat adaption

(Christopher) #1

Hello everyone. I’m about 4 weeks into my low carb journey and the last few days have been wondering about brain performance and how that improvement is related to fat adaption. I’m still mentally sluggish to some degree ( I don’t think it’s any worse from keto, maybe a little ). I’m sleeping much better these days and tend to have more energy overall but my focus and brain power is still needing improvement. How long did it take for others reading this to really notice a difference with brain performance from being keto ?
Also, I’ve been testing my blood daily now for about 5 days and I’m noticing the each morning I’m usually , on average, around 110 morning blood sugar and very high 2 range ( 2.5 to 2.9 mm ) with blood ketones with the Fora 6 meter. These results are very repetitive and coincide with my 16/8 fasting schedule. So my question is , can fat adaptation really take place with sugar levels this high or does true adaption coincide with falling blood sugar levels ?

Lastly… I’ve noticed on some days that right before I break my fast ( 16/8 schedule ) I sometimes feel the effects of low blood sugar. So I tested it one day and it was 86. Does this mean that my body is just not used to this otherwise perfectly healthy glucose levels ? I’m so insulin resistance and have a normally high blood sugar that dropping into the 80’s makes me feel poor ? I’m just wondering how true this may be. Anyway, thanks for reading my questions and happy keto !

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #2

I have persistent elevated BG. Yesterday 26 hs into a fast and my BG was 104 mg/dL. My ketones were 1.6 mmol/L. It took me several months to get fully fat adapted and I had to start doing IF 18/6 and OMAD.

So yes you can be fat adapted and have somewhat elevated BG. I haven’t noticed much difference in brain performance but I was not in a state of fog before keto. My energy is great, my biological low spot (1 to 2 pm) is not nearly as low as before. So I have more hours of productivity.

I still like naps but I’m allowed because I’m 65yo.

#3

I don’t really have a lot to contribute specifically other than I think you’re doing a great job and stick with it and I believe it will sort itself out. I’ve been doing keto about a year and it took awhile for me to get all sorted out and figure out the kinks and everything. Obviously hypos are not fun, but part of keto is learning to listen to your body. So yes the overall goal is to help insulin to stay low as much as possible, but if you are putting this external rule on yourself about when you are allowed to eat- that’s not really the point. IMO. So if I was you, I’d have some keto food available and if you’re feeling mental fog or hypoglycemia… Baby eat! This is a lifestyle for the rest of your life, not a race to be the best IFer ever.

#4

Also not to mention that adaptation normally takes a good bit of time so it’s completely understandable for you to be struggling from mental fog and hypos while IFing so early. It sounds like you jumped into 16/8 from the start which will help you adapt quickly, but the most painfully. Generally, the advice around here is to eat plenty of delicious good keto food in the beginning to help you adapt gently without severe restrictions and pain

#5

I know that 4 weeks feels like a long time, I felt the same way. But like, a year in- I’m STILL learning. I’m still new. So be gentle on yourself!

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #6

+1,000,000

(Alex ) #7

Suddenly I feel very concerned that I’m 44 and also love naps…

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #8

Naps are good. No worries.

(MelissaH) #9

Hello neighbor in ohio😊 @Christopher_In_Ohio
Brain fog has been my friend since I can remember. It did get better since keto but nothing earth shattering. MCT oil(good quality) helps me with my fat coffee, IF, and OMAD. How much fat are you eating in a day? If we have more info we can give more advice. Like age, weight, and an example of what you eat in a day.
@daddyoh I love my naps! When I get them of course :joy:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #10

How is your sleep? Sleep plays an important role in brain health and metabolic health. If you drink alcohol it affects your deep sleep even if it seems like you slept well. Yea I know, that [spoiler]sucks[/spoiler].

Because of a risk of AD I converted my lazy keto to strict keto <20g carbs. I’m very afraid of brain fog for life.

(Doug) #11

Hey Christopher. :slightly_smiling_face:

It sounds to me like you’re feeling a little 'low energy, mentally - for many people it’s 6 weeks or more before things really straighten out. If you’re really eating very low-carb, then you’re adapting to ketones and away from glucose for most of your body. This improves even into longer time frames, i.e. some people really don’t start feeling totally better/great until some months have gone by. Most of the brain runs more efficiently on ketones, versus glucose, and there are long-term health benefits for operating that way, no small thing.

Blood sugar down in the 80s is a good thing. (I was 90 after 5 solid days of fasting.) 86 is not low enough to make people feel like “low blood sugar” or lightheaded, prone to fainting, etc., normally, but we’re all different. I’m guessing that after decades(?) of eating one way, it’s a big change for you, the way it is for almost all of us, and that your body is still figuring things out.

Insulin resistance can do exactly what you posited - ‘feel poor’ - yes, the energy is there in the bloodstream but it’s not getting into the cells as much as it should. For the long term, improvements in insulin sensitivity can extend into multiple years. I think many people see a significant difference between the one month and two month marks - good luck.

(Christopher) #12

I think I might try this suggestion of yours and have a small fatty snack around 10 am ( that’s the earliest I usually feel mild hunger ) to see if that helps.

(Christopher) #13

I’ve been on a solid rotation bouncing between lazy low carb, whole30, Paleo and calorie restriction for the last few years. It wasn’t until I watched a recent video that talked precisely about insulin, fasting blood sugar etc that a light bulb went off in my head and I realized that even when I did Keto in the past I never combined truly high fat with smaller eating windows. I was literally eating all day ( cream in coffee in the morning to snacking before bed and chewing sugar free gum all day.

So at the start of the new year I gave up vaping ( e-cig ) and replaced that bad habit with a nicotine patch to help me quite that addiction. So far so good. That alone I am certain has helped me tremendously because now I can sleep a solid 8 hours. I also quit chewing gum. I now use toothpicks. Prior to quitting the vaping ( and constantly chewing gum ) I was lucky to get 4 hours of sleep without waking multiple times every night.

My daily schedule is bed by 10:30pm. Up at 6:30 am. I do some light cardio ( rowing or stationary bike ) for about 30 mins each morning and some strength training ( depending on how much energy I have. I also have a couple cups of coffee. ( black ). Off to work. Couple more cups of black coffee. I eat around 1 pm. Now I am not tracking my macros but I’m pretty good with knowing carbs quite well. I eat a serving of meat ( fatty cut )… greens… and loads of quality fat. I repeat this for dinner. I may have a coffee with heavy cream around 5 pm. I don’t eat any keto desserts. I don’t use any sweeteners right now. I always pee dark purple with the ketostix. My blood meter reads my morning glucose around 105-110 and my Ketones have been in the high 2’s ( 2.5 - 2.9 ) that last few days ( I just got the meter over the weekend to test this ).

I’m male, 42, 5’11 and 246 lb. precisely. My goal is for 70 lb weight loss along with eventually quitting caffeinated coffee. Improved mental function and energy would be a huge plus. I’m in no rush and I’m starting to visually notice some non-scale victories ( better sleep, thinner face, not feeling like a need a nap after work etc, controlled appetite ).

(Christopher) #14

My sleep has been much better since the beginning of the year. Prior to then, my sleep was terrible. I can now get a solid 8 hours most evenings.

#15

Good luck. For me my weakest moment is in the car ride home from work. I like to keep almonds or something shelf stable (hard to do in keto) in my bag for that purpose. Ever since I quit sweetener and cream in my coffee (this week) I’ve finally broken through and haven’t needed snacks on my way home.

#16

Sounds like you’re doing everything exactly right. And I wouldn’t be surprised if adaptation happened sooner rather than later if your carb interact has been low the past couple years as those previous diets would have produced.

(MelissaH) #17

Sounds like your on the right track… just make sure your eating enough calories and protein. Changing things up is never a bad idea

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #18

I don’t see a problem with this. The ketone level indicates that insulin is low, since high insulin inhibits ketogenesis. The glucose level is probably owing to dawn phenomenon. It lowers during the day, right?

Brain performance will probably be a lot better soon, most likely before you’ve gotten through the next four weeks. Your muscle cells are currently adapting to using fat instead of glucose, and this is a process that takes time. The brain loves ketones, but it too takes a while to adapt to using them.

(Christopher) #19

I’m going to start checking mine BG during the day and see what happens. Thank you for this informative information! This post has me really feeling good… and today… I’m really feeling good already. Better brains today! :slight_smile: