Feeling very weak

(Sanjida Tamanna) #1

Just completed my first month in keto+intermittent fasting routine. But I have feeling very weak since last couple of days. Not what is causing it and what can I do to fix it. Can anyone help me understand ehat is going on?

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

By cutting carbs you have forced your muscles to relearn how to use fats for fuel. They’ve forgotten how to over the years/decades of giving them nothing but glucose. In the meantime, ketones are being used to help the transition. Aside from your heart and brain, both of which thrive on ketones, your other muscles are sort of ‘limping along’ for now so you feel tired, weak, lethargic. Rest assured this will pass. Your muscles and various organs will learn to utilize ketones and fatty acids.

Intermittent fasting is probably not helping either. Why are you doing that? A lot of stuff happens when you start keto and my advice is just to keep it simple for the first few months to let your body adjust to the changes. Best wishes.

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

PS: It’s also possible you’re just not eating enough. Have you cut calories to lose weight? A very common mistake made by newbies is to restrict calories. We’ve had CICO pounded into our heads for so long, ie “eat less move more”, that we mistakenly think it’s necessary. It’s not.

(Sanjida Tamanna) #4

Thank you. I have been doing intermittent fasting for than 6 months now, and started Keto a month ago. I am doing only 16:8 fast, nothing more than that. I am restricting the carb mostly, but I think I am not eating a lot of fat either. I need to find more ways to eat Fat.

Thank you for your reply.

#5

No wonder you have problems if you don’t eat enough. What are your protein sources? I get plenty of fat from them, it’s the vast majority of my fat intake on my good days… On my not necessarily good days, it depends, I eat some other fat and ends up above 200g :wink:
I need plenty of protein too to feel right. Some people undereat protein too.

#6

Your fasting window is too short from my experience. Try eating between 20-24 hours with a fasting window of 20:4 or 21:3 or 22:2 or 23:1 and I wouldn’t advise fasting for longer than 24 hours. Eating too early plummets growth hormone.

Fast till your body is ready and then feast.

#7

HI and you dumped alot of carbs probably from your life so your body is switching from glucose burn to ketone burn. You are going thru adaption time. Fatigue is very normal for many!! So I do not think you have ‘real troubles’ here at all…you just eat very well, you rest as much as you need, let the keto plan change and heal your insides. Do not exercise alot at all, during adaption time one truly has to eat well, relax, chill, let the plan go down and just breathe thru it. You will hit a point where you flip around and have more energy but like all of us mostly, you just have to wait it out. Your eating 16:8 is absolutely fine…key is make sure you eat very well in that time and yes if your fat intake is kinda low, definitely up it. Best of luck, I think you will come thru in good shape!!

(Scott) #8

Put butter on everything. Cook bacon and sausage and leave some grease in the pan than add eggs. You’ll up your fat in no time.

#9

How much are you eating? Also, trying to get into IF during your first month of Keto before you’re even fat adapted isn’t a great idea. What’s happening is you’re probably just not fueling yourself.

#10

There is no problem with IF, of course one doesn’t want to change one more things when going keto… I continued my usual IF too (not like I had any idea it is called something, I just ate whenever I felt like and it was 16/8).

IF and keto is too effective for some people though and they end up eating too little, that’s a problem. One should figure out what is the solution for it, not always stopping IF, I would look at my food choices.

#11
(Scott) #12

I only felt week during my running workout. I had no energy. It took months to get over that but I did. I don’t fast or skip meals so I can’t say I have ever restricted.

(Jane Srygley) #13

Also make sure you’re getting proper electrolytes! Sodium is your friend!