I’m only on my 2nd day of a ketogenic diet. I expected changes throughout my body, but the severity of what is happening to me is why I’m reaching out.
I have been ‘guided’ by a few friends, one in particular, that has been doing IF and keto at the same time. He is advising me to do a full 48 hour fast to rid myself of addictions and guarantee that I am indeed in ketosis. So I’m really wondering what others think about this.
I woke up many times throughout the night, tossing and turning, and woke up feeling pretty weak once it was time to get going. Other things happening right now are general tiredness, vision issues (more dark spots/not as sharp), my head feels heavy and pressured, brain fog; pretty much weak and tired.
Yesterday I fasted until about 6 pm. I had 1 small bowl of a keto chicken fajita bowl, found here: https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/keto-chicken-fajita-bowl I slightly edited this because there was no cilantro at the grocery store, I don’t like tomatoes, used 1/4 an onion instead, used 1 avocado, and used my own seasoning (chili powder, cayenne, dried cilantro, garlic powder, salt and pepper). I also had 2 tiny squares of 100% cacao chocolate bar with a little heavy cream whipped as my nightly chocolate craving arose.
I’m not sure if I should eat more or not. Same goes with take vitamins or supplements. Friend is saying to just take sodium and potassium water. I don’t necessarily feel hungry, but pictures of bread and pizza are flashing through my brain… and of course I know that it’s normal to feel these cravings in the beginning.
Some details about me… I am a 22 year old female. 5’3 and about 135 pounds. I started keto because I heavily crave sugar, which in turn makes me feel unenergetic and “burnt out”. I want to lose some weight, increase my energy levels, and stop getting headaches/cravings for high carb/sugar foods. I also want to cut out eating as a habit (I am a foodie that likes to dine out) and be thoughtful on what I am giving my body as far as nutrition goes. I have had major depressive disorder for many years and am also hoping that keto can help with that in the long run. The only meats I eat are chicken and small amounts of pork; I am pretty picky to begin with… so filling myself up is kind of hard now.
I tried doing some research on combating the weakness I feel but it’s pretty mixed. Just wondering what has worked or what I am going to need to go through before I stop feeling this way. I am normally really energetic and ‘get it done’ at work and right now I feel like garbage.
Hoping to hear from someone who has gone through this. Being female is a plus but obviously not a requirement. Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Thank you.
Leave the fasting until you’re adapted, it’s much easier that way and will give your body time to adjust. In the early stages your body needs fuel, especially fat, to learn how to switch to burning fat over glucose.
Do not limit food! Eat when hungry, limit carbs to 20g, keep protein moderate (around 85 - 90g max), and as much fat as you need not to feel hungry. There should be no hunger on keto.
Are you keeping on top of your electrolytes, magnesium & sodium mainly but also potassium?
I want to assure you this is very common, changes in blood sugar are known to impact vision. It will self-correct over time. Hang in there, it gets a lot better. It just takes some time.
You are going through carb withdrawl, commonly referred to as “Keto flu’.
As you go from high carb diet to low carb diet you are shocking the body, give it time.
Overall it is about 4 days:
8 hours to empty the stomach
8 to 24 hours to empty the liver of stores
24 to 48 hours for your body to increase ketone levels
48 to 96 hours for the brain to bring in 75% of its fuel required from ketones, your body will use protein to make glucose for the remaining 25% fuel required
After that you are on the path of ketosis and being fat adapted, then it is a matter of your body upping the ketones levels to meet the demands of the muscles for the next three weeks. After three weeks most muscles have stopped consuming ketones.
The best thing you can do is to empty your pantry and fridge of all things processed and based upon carbs. That includes all soda and artificial sweeteners, you can add this back in later as your body adapts.
Thank you for your advice! I really appreciate it. I did rid my kitchen of stuff I can’t have. I also created an excel sheet for recipes and what the net carbs are on them. Trying to upload an attachment but can’t.
Going to the store later. I don’t want to go the supplement route for the Mg, sodium and potassium, I’d rather just eat food with that in it.
I figured that this is normal but just wanted to see… The fasting seems a little crazy, I mean he fasts anywhere from 3-10 days at a time and dry too. Even before keto I rarely eat more than 2 meals per day, I’m pretty good at not eating until dinner time. I drink coffee, maybe 2 cups in the morning, got rid of the almond milk with so much sugar and am using a coconut almond milk blend with no carbs.
Top 3 Keto Supplements - "Get Even More Out Of Your Low Carb Ketogenic Diet"
In this video I will cover what I would consider to be the 3 most synergistic supplements to a ketogenic diet. These supplements provide a boost in a variety of the ketogenic pathways we have grown to appreciate, aiding to the breakdown and burning of fat, providing the substrates needed for energy production from fat, and giving our bodies the energy boost needed to heighten important body functions such as, brain, skeletal muscle, and immune system function. While there are a wide variety of supplements that can be considered aides to a ketogenic diet, I have narrowed down my top 3 to: Green Tea or more specifically its most active ingredient EGCG , Branched Chain Amino Acids perhaps most predominately Leucine, and Medium chain triglycerides namely the 8-carbon saturated fatty acid called Caprylic Acid.
Let me explain why!
Green Tea
I definitely wouldn’t say that green tea is the most popular synergistic supplement with a ketogenic diet, but it is highly effective in its ability to reduce the tendency to absorb fat and increase the ability to burn fat. It comes down to the potent fat oxidation that green tea promotes from it being a rich source of polyphenol catechins. In particular EGCG or epigallocatechin gallate is the most active of the catechins in green tea and is primarily responsible for the antioxidant, anti inflammatory, and metabolic effects. To break this down even further the boost in fat metabolism comes from EGCG’s direct effect on proteins and phospholipids in the plasma membrane that up regulate mitochondrial function, which we know is the energy factory for all cells in our body, therefore increasing the rate at which fatty acids are metabolized. Or in other words increasing our use of fat to produce energy. In a ketogenic diet where we are primarily depending on fat metabolism for energy, we can see how this boost in fat oxidation can provide improvements in ketone production and can promote further weight loss in the form of body fat or adipose tissue. In addition the naturally occurring caffeine in green tea works synergistically to boost metabolism.
BCAA
The branched chain amino acids consist of three essential amino acids, meaning they must be consumed and can not be manufactured inside the body, these 3 are: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. We know that in metabolism fueled by glucose protein and amino acid breakdown is inevitable which is what prompts athletes trying to build lean muscle mass to supplement BCAAs. While the ketogenic metabolism has been proven to spare these BCAAs, they also play larger rolls, making their heightened levels even more valuable. As discussed in the “ketogenic effects of muscle building” video, Leucine is able to take on the role of insulin, that is suppressed in a ketogenic diet, and effectively promote muscle protein synthesis. On a smaller cellular level these BCAAs are able to replenish the intermediates for cellular energy cycles, which is a huge benefit in a ketogenic diet were glycolysis is lowered and cellular pyruvate is not as available. In other words BCAAs are able to be broken down into important substrates for cellular energy production, which aids in overall higher energy levels.
MCT’s
Medium Chain Triglycerides are some what of a staple of the ketogenic diet. The structure that allows MCT’s to be metabolized quickly, provides pathways for ketone production even in unadapted individuals. The uses of MCTs can range from a daily ketone boost to aiding in the elimination of the tough to deal with side effects of keto adaptation. Tryglycerides in general are made up of a glycerol bound to three fatty acids, and are ingested, stored and more commonly referred to as fats. The differentiating factor between long chain and medium chain triglycerides are the length of the fatty acids that make up their structure. These shorter, medium chain fatty acids, are metabolized in the liver so readily that they are pushed to the front of the line even before simple carbohydrates, resulting in ketone production even when carbs and glucose are present. This is the mechanism that helps decrease the lack of energy and brain fog during the short keto adaptation phase. The MCT’s promote ketone production before nutritional ketosis has been reached, making up for the deficit in energy due to the considerable reduction in available energy from carbohydrates when switching to a ketogenic diet. The fact that these MCTs are broken down even before carbohydrates makes them a promising supplement even for a diet regimen including carbs, as a way to reap the benefits of the small increase in ketone production without achieving nutritional ketosis.
Top-3 Mineral Deficiencies On A Ketogenic Diet (And How To Fix It)
Aim for an extra 1,000-2,000mg of sodium daily via:
-Pink Himalayan or Celtic Sea salt (not standard table salt)
-Broth or bouillon (1-2 cups per day)
-Shellfish (i.e. oysters, mussels, crab, etc.)
Magnesium
Do you ever suffer from muscle cramps? Lack of magnesium is likely the culprit. Magnesium is the body’s “calming” mineral; helping to keep your brain, heart and muscles relaxed. It’s also essential for protein synthesis, blood sugar control, energy metabolism and over 300 other biochemical reactions in the body. Intense exercise, lack of sleep, and stress can all deplete magnesium levels.
Animal protein is also a great source of magnesium – in particular shellfish like oysters and mussels – along with leafy greens. Veggies get their deep green colour from chlorophyll, and the core of the chlorophyll molecule is magnesium, so make sure to always eat your leafy greens at mealtime. The darker the leafy green, the more magnesium.
I am only 10 days and it does get better. Best thing is to eat until you are full. Yes you will crave things… I still crave things but not nearly as bad and don’t get hungry like I did before starting at all. That was the hardest part for me this time around. But eat! I actually didn’t want to even eat after the first few days and went back and forth being dizzy and had to force myself. But I still wanted Carbs BAD! Which will always the hurdle to get past regardless. The ketoade is a HUGE help!!!. And will help with the keto flu for sure. I woke up with huge headaches and was dizzy and needed the supplementation. You may not want to drink it but if it helps you get through and succeed in making the diet work it is worth trying.
