Leg Weakness 5 days in

(Mitchell Broadway) #1

I started Keto this past Monday (on day 5), its going great, but my legs feel like rubber. I haven’t hit the “i can run through the wall” energy level, but its still better than pre-keto. Some bodies aches, nothing really bad. I eat mostly fat, staying below 20g of carbs and around 80g - 100g of protein. I take a multi-vitamin and use lite-salt. I currently weigh 295 lbs (8 pounds down so far). Any ideas on getting my legs straitened out or am just going to have to wait for keto adaptation to run its corse?

Thanks in advance.

p.s. I love this forum, so much great information and really good community. Thanks Carl, Richard and team for making this happen.

#2

Congrats! I’m sure other folks will have much better insight but I’d suggest you make sure you are drinking plenty of water and getting enough electrolytes (sodium, magnesium and potassium).

If your problem is leg cramps, check out this article:

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/side-effects#legcramps +

Have a great day!

(Anti-Gravity Gains) #3

If you’re talking about “dead legs” type feel, I remember having the similar feeling back in September the first time I started Keto (took a 5 week major slip off keto mid Nov until Dec 27th!). I am an ultra runner and also lift weights. I had to take my exercise routine down a couple notches in both running and lifting for a few weeks. When I would run, I felt like my legs were just…“heavy” and “rubbery”; kind of a dead feeling. Basically, I just didn’t have the energy and springy feel at all in my runs. Instead of running my usual 6-8 mile week day runs, I ran 3-5 mile runs for a few weeks. Overall energy improved and by end of Week 3, I was back to having better spring in my step and energy overall. In fact, my energy was noticeably better during the runs than it was pre-keto by Week 4. I have run up to 5+ hours now without carbing.
By the way, as an athletic/active person, a great sign to know when you’ve really started to keto adapt and switch over to effectively use fat as your primary fuel source is when exercise returns to normal; even more so when you feel like you can workout “forever”.

(Dany Bolduc) #4

I have experienced the exact same thing right around day 5-7… hard to really pin point in hindsight.

For me it lasted probably a week or two.

Then all of a sudden i could climb any number of flights of staires and never got that feeling of emptiness in leg power (which i think comes from build of lactic acid, but don’t quote me on that). Sure i would eventually get winded and have to stop… but it’s no longer the legs stopping first.

If my n=1 experience is any indication, my advise is: power through these next 2 weeks (max) and all will be better than you started from.

(Sheri Knauer) #5

I had the same thing. I’ve been keto for 10 months now but when I first started, I initially lost some strength, but once I became fully fat adapted, which can take about 6 weeks or so (for some it may take less time, for others more time), my strength returned pretty quickly and I’m able to lift heavier than pre keto. Plus, I never get DOMS anymore. Stay the course and the weakness will go away.

(James storie) #6

Remember, your body is in the middle of switching fuel sources. It’s going to take a little while to get back to normal then better! This is normal.

#7

I’m on week 6 trying to adapt and I get a weakness in what feels like the front of my thighs. They feel like jelly especially mid morning. I take electrolytes supps and pink salt along with my greens so not sure what’s going on lol

#8

Logically, it sounds like you are just feeling a bit weak during the switch over as @jamestorie mentioned. Roll with it and go easy on yourself. It sounds like you are spot on with the eating so just stay rested, hydrated and take enough salt. Great start. x

(Laura) #9

Basically, everyone is telling you to dump the lite salt and get Himalayan pink salt. You might also add a bit of salt to your water. Maybe a 1/4 or 1/2 tsp. to start.

(Dany Bolduc) #10

Adapting can take up to 8 weeks even when doing everything right and what you describe is a very common symptom pre-adaptation.
If it persists for another 2 weeks, it may be that you need to adjust something, but I wouldn’t worry just yet.

A couple days of 0 carbs may push you over the edge of adaptation quicker.

#11

I see this is an old post, but I just wanted to chime in to say I CAN RELATE! I’m 6 weeks and 2 days in and been good with sticking to macros. (Under 20 net carbs). I’ve lost 12 lbs. But starting early last week I started with this awful jelly legs in the quads. It’s been everyday. I do feel generally weak, like when you’re getting over a cold, but the legs are bad. I’m reading that this should subside by week 8 and I REALLY hope so. Because this feeling is so concentrated in the quads, I’m worried something else is wrong. I’ll stick it out for another 2 weeks before allowing myself to panic. Oh…also I’m NOT dehydrated and get plenty of pink salt everyday. I’m not supplementing with magnesium or potassium. Maybe I’ll start adding cream of tartar (high potassium) to my salt/acv/lemon water?