So tomorrow marks 5 weeks on keto. Overall, it’s not hard and I’m not tempted to eat carbs at all. I’ve have some good progress (lost about 10–12 lbs, and several inches overall). I’ve even had some days or moments of the great energy that everyone talks about. The thing I’m wondering is when will that start to happen consistently? I track everything and am hitting macros and I think I have my electrolytes under control, but today I am exhausted and almost felt like I could’ve fallen asleep on my 4 pm drive home from work. I’m sleeping at night so I’m not sure why I seem to have great energy one day and then these big slumps the next. I also should mention that on days when I do feel energetic I still feel pretty tired by early evening.
So is this my body still adjusting? I still constantly worry that I’m doing it wrong. It seems like maybe I should be more energetic at this point?
Inconsistent energy levels week 5
Are you keeping a close eye on your electrolytes? I’ve heard people say that even a year in they will feel bad if they don’t consistently keep up with them.
I think so. I take one emergenC electrolyte packet pretty much each day and try to eat potassium rich foods. I usually track between 2300-2500mg of potassium on carb monitor daily (consistent between good energy and low energy days). I know this number may be slightly inaccurate because electrolytes aren’t listed as nutritional info on everything. But, I’m eating fairly similar food each day so I think it’s consistent in that way. I also supplement 400mg of mag glycinate each day because I’m deathly afraid of leg cramps.
I do and I swallow 1/4 tsp. Of pink salt 3-4 times a day. It used to be a little more but I accidentally did a salt flush the other day and freaked myself out! Admittedly I did a strength class and think I overcompensated with salt after.
I’m over 7 weeks in and I had a similar experience today. Most days great energy, today I could only complete 2.5 miles of a 6 mile run.
And it wasn’t my electrolytes, because I was feeding them all day knowing I would be running.
Took all my supplements and ate pink Himalayan rock salt at my desk several times, including adding it to a ZipFizz.
I don’t know. I guess even on Keto you have an off day now and then.
I cannot talk about emergneC electrolyte but the regular ones have a pretty good amount of carbs in them. You don’t need a whole lot of via C anymore so that could be part of the problem.
So other wise provide us with your macros and vitals(age, height, weight).
The only requirement for a keto diet is getting into ketosis, so there are a lot of open ended factors on how you get there. Someone could just eat bacon and butter everyday and be keto, but would develop some nutritional deficiencies. Sometimes we take the same information that would apply to someone who is obese and has a wrecked metabolism, and apply the same rules to a metabolically healthy person. That’s a mistake. You shouldn’t only be looking at macro nutrient numbers, but make sure you are getting a lot of micro nutrients through veggies and a wide range of quality fat sources. I don’t believe a calorie is a calorie, or that fat is fat. The fat you eat has a specific nutritional profile and you don’t want to just consume the same one. I would start by mixing up quality fat sources and adding veggies. A metabolically healthy person should be able to eat a ton of salads with their fat sources. I’ve measured this myself and can’t eat enough leafy greens to knock me out of ketosis. You could also add herbs, things like ginger and turmeric, chlorella, mushrooms, cocoa powder. Any foods with a high mineral content, and nutrient dense with a low carb effect. Being obsessed with 20g of carbs could also be a mistake. I get that a diet needs a framework, but we aren’t all the same. The doctor treats us like that because they don’t have time to deal with each person on an individualized plan, but we have the time and should explore what works for us specifically. Play with your macros and micros, and if you are worried about carbs get a blood test device and experiment.
@In2steam the electrolyte mix is different than regular emergenC. It has 3 carbs and I don’t think any vitamin C.
I’m 5’6 and 185. Using a keto calculator here’s what I aim for:
Carbs < 20
Protein 102
Fat 128
Calories 1638
I do stay at or below 20g carbs and close on protein. My calories range from 1500 to 2000 daily.
Perhaps explore adding more fat… I wouldn’t worry about overall calories right now if you don’t feel great. You could also explore adding more nutrient dense carbs if you aren’t suffering from any serious metabolic issues. I’m 6ft 175lbs and I eat around 40-50g carbs and stay in ketosis. Measuring is the only way to know for sure but I wouldn’t get so caught up on the #20.
Ok thanks. And I have been going back and forth on buying a ketone meter. Maybe I should do I will have more data, especially if I start adding carbs.
If you happen to have a nerdy side to you it’s actually really fun. I’ve done wine drinking experiments amongst others to see where my levels go, good times😃
I use the keto mojo for the simple fact that the keto strips are the cheapest. They are still $1 each strip so it could add up. It also measures blood glucose and the strips are much cheaper. I typically use the BS strips after eating different foods to see if I get any big bump, which at this point is enough info for me, but I still use keto strips once a day or couple days. When I first got it I tested ketones all the time and learned a lot but it does get pricey. Once you get an idea of how your body works though you don’t need to keep testing so it’s a worth while initial investment.
Without an age I used 32
So at that age bare min you should be around 1700 calories a day that is sedentary. More active you are the higher you should be. So yes as Troy recommend try increasing your fat. Your protein target seems about right, at your point you should not be hungry after you finish eating don’t leave the table hungry.
I don’t recommend to anyone that they go below there maintain levels until fat adaption and I really don’t recommend that you do it at all as it always long term leads to a lower BMR.