Fat adapted but zero energy?

(Daisy) #1

So I’ve been keto for 8 weeks now and became fat adapted about 3 weeks ago (I know this because I was severely hypoglycemic and had to eat every couple hours, now I can easily fast for 18 hours), but this week I have no energy. Zip, zilch, zero. All I want to do is lay down and sleep.

The weather did turn cold this week and I had a touch of the flu 2 weeks ago, with cold symptoms lasting all through last week, but I even had more energy through that then I do now. I am just zapped! Any thoughts on this or how to best snap out of it? Thanks!

(Natasha) #2

I have experienced this since becoming fat adapted, my thinking is that since I am hardly ever hungry, sometimes I may not be consuming adequate calories. I found that slightly upping my protein helped.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

#3

I question when and how people “know” they’re fat adapted. I don’t believe it’s as soon as you lose your appetite. I lost mine immediately and I’m sure I wasn’t fat adapted immediately. I really believe there’s more to the story. Here’s an article that may, or may not, be helpful as it says the “we don’t really know”. It is however a long article and gives a lot of the science that is out there.
https://blog.virtahealth.com/keto-adapted/

(Jane) #4

Are you getting additional electrolytes every day? Sodium, potassium, magnesium? It’s tough to get enough through our foods only on a keto diet.

(Jane) #5

I drink 2-3 @Brenda keto aids with ACV every day. 1/4 tsp Lite salt, 1/2 Tbl magnesium citrate, 1 TBL ACV with the mother for 12-16 oz water. I double it for my large water bottle and sip on it throughout the day.

(Heather Meyer) #6

For me…somtimes i find when i get like that…i need to up my electros again.
I will go a few weeks without worrying about them and i feel all good and then BAM i feel like i hit a wall…tired…lethargic…and cold. So i make some bone broth and add soem half salt and table salt and take a couple capsules of megnesium and im back to feeling good again for another week or two.

#7

What is ACV

(Lonnie Hedley) #8

Apple Cider Vinegar

(Daisy) #9

I take a magnesium supplement plus magnesium oils. I do put several pinches of salt on my tongue throughout the mornings, but I guarantee I don’t get enough potassium.

(Ken) #10

One of the biggest causes of lack of energy is simple dehydration.

(Daisy) #11

That’s a good point, I usually drink over a gallon of water a day, and the last few days I’ve barely drank any!

(Daisy) #12

So I just ate a bunch of food yesterday evening and I’m feeling completely normal today. I think that is my problem, because I’m never hungry now, I’m just not getting enough calories. Can I get some advice on the best way to prevent this in the future? Those who do 18/6, do you do it every day? Only a few days a week? Something else? How do you refuel? This is all very new to me! I’ve always been a 6-8 time a day eater lol.

(CharleyD) #13

Eating the Keto Way doesn’t necessarily mean you must do IF, just that if you’re eating properly Keto, that you’ll naturally fall into an IF pattern.

If you have low energy, I’d recommend eating a couple-three meals and see if you feel better! It’s not a failure to eat when you are hungry!

(CharleyD) #14

Sometimes when you’re hungry, it’s actually a signal to get more salt.

My meal(s) is usually a feast compared to how I ate before Keto (I was also encouraged by work’s health coach to eat a bunch of mini-meals in the past) but I keep salt tablets like below handy at my desk at work and in my TKD gear bag for before workouts.

Celtic sea salt, Himalayan Pink will also work of course.

(Danielle) #15

OMG - THIS^^^^^ :heavy_heart_exclamation:

(CharleyD) #16

If you’re drinking this much you do run the risk of eliminating sodium, so some of the low energy feeling is almost certainly from depleting sodium. If you sweat a lot, there’s also magnesium and iodine lost as well.

(Daisy) #17

Thank you for the good advice! The issue I’ve been facing is I’m just not hungry, and I am trying so hard to get out of the habit of just eating to eat. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. I’m used to preventatively eat something small every couple hours to avoid hypoglycemic episodes. I never allowed myself to get hungry because if it got to that point, I would get sick. Now I actually let myself feel a little bit of hunger before I eat, because I’ve never been able to do that before! I know it probably sounds crazy lol.

Like right now, it’s been almost 19 hours. I’m feeling a little hungry, but not desperate like I used to. I figured I’d give it another half hour, then get something to eat. But because my body is so used to 6-8 100-200 calorie meals, I run into the issue that I eat a 350 calorie meal and I’m completely full! Then I eat another up to 500 calorie meal for dinner and I’m full again. Then I’m only eating 800-900 calories a day. I’m very comfortable at that, but I also don’t want to continue destroying my metabolism as I’ve done for 20 years of less than 1200 calorie a day eating. So that’s why I’m trying to figure out the right balance.

(Brian) #18

Dr. Ken Berry just put up a new video yesterday interviewing the guy that wrote “The Salt Fix” (I think that’s the name.) It’s interesting, and worth the listen on YouTube.

I found it interesting that being low on salt can be so dramatic in it’s effects on us. I was also surprised at the relationship between sodium and magnesium and potassium.

I was also fascinated by the idea of “salt loading” as opposed to “carb loading” when you have a big workout. I don’t “work out” in the sense that most people do but I have some rather physical outdoor jobs coming up in the next few days that I might just want to give that a try.

Go have a listen if you get a chance. Might be relevant to your situation, might not. Either way, it’s interesting.

Good luck!

(CharleyD) #19

I’m very familiar with this. When the phlebotomist at my PCP’s office asked me what my end goal was, about 2 months into Keto, I said ‘to feel truly hungry again.’ It felt kind of funny at the time, but now I can say that I truly can trust my hunger signals. That’s a true NSV!

(CharleyD) #20

I do that now. At first I tried to see how much I could do right before the workout, 3 grams of NaCl with just enough water to wash it down was pretty rough.

I do 2 1gram tablets a few times throughout the day and workouts are pleasant!

I’ve found I need to wear socks more often. Since your skin is a reservoir for sodium, my cat Dexter likes to lick and gnaw on me a bit more often.

DexterGnawing-SaltBalance
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