Muscle - Adaptation Question

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #1

I’m at the 4 month point. Initially (3-4 weeks) I had the mad rush of, I assume, burning off my fat and sugar reserves, then followed some muscle ache from adaptation perhaps? Only in legs I think.
I’m not talking about stamina though, that seems fine!
I’m referring to a reluctance with inertia, those first 4 or 6 steps up stairs.
It may be improving but I still notice it.
Any thoughts?

#2

Jump like jumpin’ Jack Flash…?

(Robin) #3

That’s interesting. I sometimes notice that when I take the first few steps to our upstairs lair, I feel heavy and my leg muscles complain. But I continue and notice how strong my legs (and I) feel.

If that’s the only time you experience it, I would probably not worry about it. Especially since it is fleeting.

But I am a life-long non-worrier… which drives my hovering husband crazy. So, as per usual, I am waiting for @PaulL to weigh in.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #4

Exactly my complaint. I may be comparing to the crazy energy I had in the first weeks but I don’t remember my legs like this until recently

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

The muscle ache you mention could possibly be from inadequate potassium or magnesium, though there are other possible explanations, as well. If you are getting sufficient sodium (4-6 g/day, which is 10-15 g/day of sodium chloride from all sources), then it is easier for the body to keep potassium and magnesium regulated, but you still might need supplementation.

The effect of the keto-adaptation/fat-adaptation period, which normally takes between six and eight weeks, though it can take longer, is a reduction in endurance and explosive performance, usually noticed by athletes who refuse to reduce their level of activity during this period. Endurance is the first to return; it involved mitochondrial healing and the reactivation of fatty-acid metabolic pathways in skeletal muscles.

Skeletal muscles actually prefer to metabolise fatty acids over glucose and even ketones and will actively pass them up when fat-adaped (this is called “adaptative glucose sparing” and it saves glucose and ketones for those cells that actively need them).

Glycogen stores, which promote explosive power, take somewhat longer to return to normal, but Volek et al. have shown that by two years of keto-adaptaion, the glycogen levels of keto-adapted athletes are identical to those of glucose-burning athletes. (Note that muscle glycogen cannot be shared; it must be consumed by the cell that formed it. Whereas the liver creates glycogen specifically to be shared with muscle cells when explosive power is called for.)

Everyone has a different response to keto-adaptation. I contracted a type of fatigue syndrome as an after-effect of a viral infection in 2006, so I do not experience the “keto buzz” so many people describe. However, what I do experience is a normal level of stamina, so that, for example, I can now mow the lawn without having to rest up for two days afterward. (COVID dropped that level for a while, but now, a year and a half after my last infection, I am finally back to my normal energy levels.)

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #6

That could cover my condition.
And my return of reasonable endurance might further explain things.
The “keto buzz” was there is spades with me, being new and yet to join these Forums, I thought it was permanent, doh :joy:

Thanks for yet another brilliant, detailed response :blush:

Muscle weakness
(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #7

Update - I don’t get this initial muscle tiredness now! … I was a real thing.

I went for a cycle today and it dawned on me that I felt strong. This may not apply to anyone else (we are all different). I had a great start to Low Carb and felt super energetic but slumped and now, 5 months later, I feel good again! Delighted.