Hi.
I think I was becoming fat adapted a couple of weeks ago, I was needing a lot less sleep, had more energy and found it easier to focus, plus a lowered appetite. Nothing magical, but it seemed to be going well. But for the past couple of weeks I’ve felt like all of that has disappeared - I’ve been sleeping a lot but I’m still tired - one day I went for an afternoon nap and didn’t wake up until 15 hours later… and I was still tired, I could easily have carried on sleeping. My focus has gone downhill, I don’t have much energy and I’m hungry a lot with big cravings. I haven’t changed the way I’m eating from when I was feeling good, I try hard to fit into the limits on my app, though I do sometimes go over on the fat - I try not to stress about that. I am eating plenty of salt and I take electrolyte tablets.
I’ve had a lot of stress lately with things breaking down and needing expensive repairs - can stress knock you out of being fat adapted? Is it likely I wasn’t fully adapted and this is a blip that will go away?
I’ve been on keto since early June, so three months in total (feels a lot longer!).
Fat Adaption Question
Not a whole lot to go on here but stress can definitely affect every aspect of our mind/body.
I believe stress raises cortisol levels, and if it stay up will affect your metabolic rate. Are you using a glucose/ketone meter? I recently learned about the Glucose Ketone Index as a useful to quantify metabolic status, but you need to know glucose and ketone numbers to do it.
No, I don’t have a meter. I use the strips sometimes but I know they aren’t very reliable.
Perhaps you weren’t actually adapted yet and the high you were experiencing was because you were in ketosis and then you were maybe feeling crap because you were experiencing the Keto Flu?
You slept for so long, that’s why you were over tired after the fact.
Its a possibility but yes, cortisol plays a major part
I’m a newbie myself but my fist thought was that you are just plan ole sick, or trying to come down with something. I’ve felt bad today but so has everybody else around me so I’ve chalked it up to that.
Don’t think it’s the keto flu, been going on too long and I had that back when I started. If it was a day or so then maybe, but it’s lasted for a couple of weeks now.
I try to keep it under 20, on the weekends it might creep up a bit but never more than 25.
It sounds like glandular fever or something of that ilk. Are you definitely eating enough?
Also, there’s been a definite temperature change in the UK and the atmospheric pressure can cause lethargy/sleepiness/feeling bleurgh. Seasonal changes.
Plus your stress.
Or PMT? I’ve only been doing keto for 4 weeks but I got severe PMS and carb cravings/exhaustion on this cycle, presumably because of the keto.
I hope you’re back to feeling better asap.
I do fast some days, but on my eating days I eat plenty. It’s always a struggle actually to keep things in the limits, I don’t know how people come on here and say they struggle to eat enough to hit their targets, or they can’t manage to add enough fat. That mystifies me.
It shouldn’t be. Limit carbs, don’t TRY to force lean proteins, add fat to everything - then:
Eat when hungry
Eat like you mean it : ie eat to satiety
Don’t eat when not hungry
Simple
Yea, it sounds simple, but in reality it’s not. I’m mostly vegetarian, which means that it’s a juggling act limiting the carbs from veggies whilst still actually having enough that I’m not hungry. I add lots of fats, that’s certainly not an issue, but say I make a veggie curry using butter and cream for the sauce, I still have to actually put enough in it that I feel like I’m eating and don’t end up just drinking the sauce. It’s do-able, I have been doing it, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s simple.
Ahh vegetarian. Sorry - no help from me. I’m carnivore though was born into Jainism (vegetarian to the max)
Yup, I think it’s definitely easier with meat. I started keto eating more meat until I got my head around how the WOE works, but since it grosses me out I’m now back to my veggies. 
Stress definitely effects us. I know it’s controversial, but some big keto people promote carb ups and they say to do it when you are feeling “run down”. I’d look that up.
You said you’re following an app and having a hard time sticking to those restrictions. Maybe you should listen to your body more than the app. I personally am against an app or any other quantitative means of determining my nutritional needs. I wrote a lot about this in another thread.
I’d honestly ditch that strict concept and eat more mindfully. It makes sense that the body’s needs change and that there is not some perfect number every single day.
I’m iffy about apps too tbh, but after my first two weeks of keto I started putting weight on, despite religiously weighing and counting each carb, so I thought I’d better keep a closer eye on everything else. I don’t want to be doing it forever though.
I’ll have a look into carb-ups, I think I’d be too worried about falling off the wagon.
I can definitely relate to this! I was doing great, then stress hit and now I’m tired anf craving sweets at night. I’ve not craved sweets in a very long time so it’s odd. I ordered a adrenal cortisol formula . Hope your start feeling better soon!