Having trouble eating enough while on keto

#1

Hello, been doing keto for 15 days now. Mostly doing well but have lately struggled to eat enough. I have absolutely no appetite most of the time. That may sound great but I also train in a very intense martial art and need energy to do it. So I’m finding myself hardly able to train as I’m dragging all the time. I also get extremely tired after eating. Anything I can do to help with this? My current daily macros are 2600 cal, 113gr protein, 223 grams fat. In 3 meals which i struggle to get thru. Im about 260lbs. Thanks You

(LeeAnn Brooks) #2

I believe you are dealing with the dreaded Keto flu instead of an issue with not eating enough, or in addition to it. You physical performance will definately take a dip until you get past this flu, even if you managed to eat you full calories.
As hard as it is to hear, you’re probably going to have to scale back (way back) for 3-4 weeks. I know I did with running.

#3

Thank you for the reply. You think I could have the keto flu after 2 weeks? I thought that was only in first few days. I have been supplementing magnesium , potassium and salt to help.

(Alec) #4

I agree with LeeAnn, you have keto flu. What does this mean? It means your body has not yet got used to burning fat for fuel. This can take a while. I have seen estimates of 4-6 weeks, and some maybe more.

Given your lifestyle, I think you will feel the flu way more than most because of the power related exercise you do. During your workouts, your body is screaming for more energy, can’t find it as it has yet to learn to burn bodyfat efficiently, and it says “not doing this anymore!”, and you feel it as a loss of energy.

KCKO, this will improve as you become fat adapted. Stick with it, go easy on yourself, it will get better and better until you will have so much energy you won’t know what to do with yourself!
Cheers
Alec

(LeeAnn Brooks) #5

I had it for about 3 weeks. Not constantly, but in and out. And even as I got better, I still haven’t built back my endurance yet to what it was pre-Keto. I’m wrapping up week 6 btw.

You can be in Keto flu for as long as it takes you to get your electrolytes in balance. You could also be fine in week 1 and have it hit in week 2.

Try as might, I couldn’t seem to figure out the right solution to my imbalance, so it lingered. I got so lightheaded at times I had to sit down when I was going up the stairs.

And when I tried to run, my legs felt like jelly. This is because you are depleting your muscles of glycogen it typically uses for energy. And even if you are in ketosis, it can take 6-8 weeks to become fat adapted where your body efficianetly burns fat for energy instead. You will experience some level of this just adapting. Hopefully it won’t be as bad as it was for me.

#6

Ok thank you both for the help. I didn’t know it ran that long. I will try to keep that in perspective as I’ve gotten a little discouraged last 4 days. Felt great the first week. And not so much the last. I think it was probably due to my training. Pushing to hard.

#7

Also not sure if it’s relatedd but I tested my blood ketones for first time yesterday and they were 3.6 at noon, 5.7 at bedtime and 6.1 this morning. I’ve read that doesn’t matter tho, bit maybe it’s related to my negative feeling.

(Tovan Nhsh) #8

Granted everyone is different, but generally the higher ketone’s result in the opposite for myself & many others. It’s a large part of the euphoria which accompanies fasting (longer fasts tend to increase blood ketones). Like most others I would say you’re body just isn’t efficient at utilizing the new energy source. I’m a martial artists as well & it was rough the first six weeks or so. Now three years later & my endurance/energy feels almost superhuman compared to B/K.

(Chris W) #9

No this is not keto flu, this not being adapted completely yet, and if you are really into cardio type exrecise you will see it there.
A couple things you could try increase SCT’s or MCT’s these are both faster acting and go directly to the liver, and easy one is MCT oil, I use HWC in a shake with protien powder.
This is not going to be rocket fuel currently, its gonna help though. But they do help increase ketone production. I would also exercise fasted, and then eat after you do that.

You are not fat adapted yet, probably barely keto adapted, so your physical output will suffer for the next few weeks. Fat adaption is some where around 8 weeks for most, maybe sooner if you are really physically fit and don’t have metabolic issues.
Also don’t forget to add salt to things now.

#10

Thank you all for the help.

(Chasity Hedges) #11

What type of protein powder do you use?

(Chris W) #12

Sorry for the late response I having been working 7 days a week for months so I have little time to respond other than direct questions.
I use cheap stuff, I have never found any difference between that and the expensive stuff. I use a store brand called Meijer but its repackaged from someone else I am sure. I looked for the least amount of carbs and good price point. That particular one depending upon the flavor runs between 8g and 3g per serving. I don’t use it for anything other than a supplement I don’t replace meals with it, only add to them. I am also mostly carnivore these days, so my carb intake is highest when I use it which is still well below 20g a day. If you are seeking to increase ketones I would go the MCT or coconut oil route first, the purpose of and use of my shakes are more of a jedi level kind of thing, but they do work very well when I take them. I typically take them when I know I will be working a lot of physical activity or I am planning on fasting in the next day or two. Normally its the first not the later, I have become more of a hyper res ponder and I don’t fast well anymore once I got to target weight so when I use my HWC/PP shake it is more of a energy supplement side. My ketones are now nill most of the time since I am really beta adapted(fat adpated) and carnivore tends to run a higher blood sugar than when I was more strict keto. I do see them when I check after exercising, I only monitor breath so that tends to be very hit and miss nowadays. I would not chase the ketone levels to much in the end if you stick with it they really will not matter as much. Having high levels at the beginning few months helps though so it does not hurt to keep track but don’t get upset if they are not “high enough” as they are very dynamic. Hope that helps.

#13

Cream, mayo, butter will help with fat

(Ivy) #14

Not everybody seems to agree with this post bout what helps in the first month of keto

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #15

You do realise that this member has not been seen on the forums for over two years, right?