Help: Exhausted 2 months into Keto!


(Vanessa) #1

Hi there - I am relatively new to keto and about 2 months in so far. I started the diet after having my first baby (he’s 5 months old now) and needing to get back into shape. I started the diet at 124 pounds and I’m currently at 115 - I need to lose about 7 or 8 more pounds to get to my pre-pregnancy weight as I’m 5’1 and Was generally small before (have always been).

When I started, I dropped some water weight in the first week and then was mapping out roughly 1300 calories a day with 25g net carbs, 65g protein and 95g fat. At these numbers I seemed to get stuck and just maintain my weight until I lowered calories to 1200 with carbs to 20g, protein 60g and fat 95g. I have seen my weight start to slowly go down again with these macros.

The thing is, I’m tired ALL the time! I drink electrolytes every day, make sure I have enough water and veggies etc and try to avoid most Keto snacks in general. I cook a lot of my meals and track everything down to the gram consistently is an app.

I know my metabolism slowed down during my pregnancy because I couldn’t work out like I did before but right now even taking a walk feels exhausting.

Does anyone have any recos?? I can’t figure out why I am so tired and definitely haven’t experienced any of this new found energy I keep reading about. My issue is if I increase calories I stop losing weight and seem to either maintain or gain again. What I’d really like to do is just get the 7 pounds off and then transition to more of a paleo diet with less fat. Would also like to find the time to work out but just don’t have the energy right now.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!


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

The good news: it will pass, just stick with it.

The not so good news: we’re all individuals and sometimes carb withdrawal affects some folks moreso and for a longer time than others. And you’re in a special situation. Just make sure you’re eating enough so you’re not hungry. Keep your carbs sub-20 grams per day. You’ll be OK. Hopefully, others with more specific info will show up soon. Best wishes and congratulations with the new baby.


(Todd Allen) #3

I’d expect your body wants to hang on to some extra weight to insure you can feed your baby despite the ongoing famine.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

Thirteen hundred calories is starvation-level eating, especially if you are nursing. You are still eating for two, and shouldn’t have to worry about how much you are eating. Eat to satisfy your hunger, and be sure to get enough protein. A lot of it will be going into your milk, so you need more than our standard recommendation of 1.0-1.5 g/kg of lean body mass. When you wean the baby, you can drop your protein intake, but if you put the baby on a ketogenic diet, just be sure he gets plenty of protein to support his growth.


(Vanessa) #5

To be clear - I am not nursing! I would not be restricting foods if I was.


#6

Congratulations on the baby! Also, on your weightloss so far!

I don’t know if you’ll agree with me, but: I think 1300 Kcal/day isn’t sustainable. So, even if you’d lose the weight with this, chances are you’d put it back when you’d eat more calories.

What I find wonderful on veryLCHF is to be able to eat more and still be lean. Before, I also had to watch my calories carefully.

So, I think you’ve got it wrong. You’re doing keto as a calorie restricting diet, while it’s actually a carb restricting way of eating (WOE).

WOE: because it’s for the longterm. You may lose slowly, but you’ll lose it. And to keep it off, you’ll have to stick with it.

So, you could forget the weight and concentrate on eating in a way you don’t feel miserable (lack of energy…). It can mean more calories, but not in the form of carbs. Eat more fat, perhaps more proteins.

Eventually, you’ll hopefully lose the extra pounds, but in a sustainable way.

Because the worst thing for your body, and morale, would be to start a yoyo situation, with having to be increasingly hungry to keep the weight off.

Good luck!


#7

I am also short and my keto Dr had me on 1100 calories. I felt the same as you after a couple of months and my first post on this forum was about how terrible I felt. I ended up getting the same advice as you about eating more. Instead, I added more fiber at the time of day where I felt the worst (around 2 or 3). It helped. It was acacia fiber and there are plenty of different options out there that are fairly inexpensive. I will say that I tracked everything for several months and found a trend between my fiber intake and weight loss. I have read on here that some people don’t do as well on fiber as I do.