No loss, Feel worse - Please Help!

(Kobe Masuoka) #1

Hi everyone!
I’m a 30 year old female. 5’2" 136 lbs. I started working out 5-6x a week (3 days HIIT the rest cardio) and lowering my carbs about 3.5 months ago and I’ve been doing keto religiously for 3 weeks now. And I feel awful. I am exhausted all of the time- falling asleep at school and at work, I am cranky and emotional, absolutely starving, and weak. Not only am I not getting stronger and am unable to increase difficulty in my workouts - but I am also unable to do things that I was previously able to. My body just can’t do it. I get dizzy, light-headed, out of breath, everything feels too hard - a circuit that used to take me 8 minutes now takes 20. And my muscles aren’t sore the next day, so it doesn’t feel as though I’m even making progress. I know that the keto flu is a thing and that athletic performance decreases in the early stages- which is why I’ve kept with it (I imagine that if I feel this awful it must be working, right?) and all of the good stuff is just around the corner. But it’s been 3 weeks and not only have I not lost pounds or inches - I look and feel heavier and more bloated. I would be willing to put up with all of the other stuff if I was looking and/or feeling better - but right now it’s a bit of a lose-lose.

I use the MyFitnessPal app and consume between 15-20g net carbs per day - never more. I have my macro parameters set for 70% fat, 5% carbs, and 25% protein and rarely exceed 1200 calories. I eat a lot of eggs (so many eggs, I’m so sick of eggs), cheese, cream cheese, chicken, turkey, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, butter, mayo, and avocado in various combinations.

What am I doing wrong? How can I make this work?
Thank you!

(Bunny) #2

Kind of a keto flu like transitional adaption process, it will pass! :wink:

(Jo) #3

With the level of exercise you are getting, are you consuming enough calories? It might be that you’re just not getting enough energy. I would try upping the amount of fat, or strive to add about 200 cal a day in the ratio of your macros. Are you hungry in between meals? Also the dizziness can also indicate lack of electrolytes, especially when you exercise. You might want to take extra salt and potassium.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #4

Sounds like you are not fat adapted yet. You are working out too much. You are already in the normal weight range for your height. Chicken and turkey are too lean, they are not helping you. All of that is working against you. Some take longer than others to reach fat adaption, most us women, but some men too.

Eat more fat and protein, fatty meats are great for doing that. Try drinking ketoaid, for the electolyte balance.

For exercise try doing this for a week or so and see if your energy level shows improvement.

Good luck sorting this out for yourself.

(Lauren) #5

It sounds like you need to eat more. Don’t worry about calories for now (or in my opinion ever) while your body adapts. Just keep it under 20g of carbs and eat. You probably also need to fix your electrolytes. Potassium, sodium, and magnesium.

#6

I’ve only done keto for 5 weeks, just this last week I’ve noticed a gradual increase in energy levels, but even so I went out cycling this morning & was still only able to do a short ride. Obviously I’m not fat adapted yet… so hang in there & don’t try to push yourself, give it time.

(Donna ) #7

Stop exercising for a week or two, until you feel more energy. Just rest and eat more fat, it will get better. :slight_smile:

(Greg Borchert) #8

I agree with those who said that you should moderate your exercise for a while. Also, for me hydration and electrolytes helped a lot. Be really conscious of staying hydrated, especially if you work out a lot. Your kidneys function differently while in ketosis, and it’s easy to get dehydrated and not know it. Consciously drink at least three quarts of water spread out throughout the day. Add electrolytes to it, in moderation. I experienced many of the same symptoms and they passed. Staying hydrated helped.

(Pam ) #9

I’ve been there… It was almost 3 years ago when I started keto and I’m a bodybuilder and own a plant nursery, so I’m extremely active… Your low on electrolytes… The transition into Ketosis makes the kidneys do double time and your bodies elimination of all the excess water is also depleting your bodies electrolytes. That will make you tired, sluggish, irritable and basically crappy. Try adding some extra salt to what you eat or drink…I like a pinch of salt in my morning Joe. Also anytime I feel light headed I know I need more salt in my diet and simply just eat a pinch of salt… Or drink some of my Bubbies pickle juice.

#10

I agree with the above comments about not eating enough. I was in the same boat not that long ago before I started listening to podcasts and learning how this actually works.

Please forget calories and stop weighing yourself. Focus on increasing your food intake by adding more fat. If you need to eat a couple of servings of peanut butter or chia seeds or butter, do it. You’ll start to feel so much better after a few days of this. If you’re not eating avocados, I would suggest adding one or two of those to your daily intake. They’re very nutritional and basically the perfect keto food. You won’t make any progress as miserable and deprived as you are. I know from experience.

(Jay AM) #11

We have a few sayings here, “keep calm, keto on” and “trust the process.” Keto isn’t a quick weight loss diet. It’s a health gaining way of eating with fat loss as a side effect. If the scale is an unhealthy obsession, put it away for a couple of months or give it to a neighbor you don’t like. You will lose stamina in exercise for a good month or more and pushing your body beyond its limits is hindering not helping. Cut way back at the very least and focus on nailing down your keto. I’m also adding that you exercise more than a 5% body fat fitness model (Jason Wittrock on YouTube) does and you might consider how to maximize gains without working out so much.

There are two phases to ketosis and a ketogenic lifestyle.

Nutritional ketosis is phase one. Your body begins to produce and uptake some ketones while dumping the rest. It will still search for glucose to use as fuel. In this phase it’s not an efficient process. It has to work actively to get rid of stored glycogen, clean up excess blood sugar, and turn on the ability to use ketones.

Fat adaptation is phase two. Your body is efficiently producing ketones from intake and stored body fat and is also using them efficiently for energy. It takes around 6-8 weeks of strict keto to achieve for many but not all.

The basic “rules” I go by and many others can agree with especially for beginners are:

*20g net carbs max (you might tolerate more but, starting out, 20g net carbs or less will get you into ketosis.)

*Moderate protein (1g-1.5g per kg of lean bodyweight is a good goal based on the 2 Dudes recommendations.)

*Fat to satiety (add fat to every meal and, if you are hungry, eat more fat. Don’t be afraid of fat. It is energy.)

*Do not restrict calories

*Do not exercise excessively

*Drink plenty of water

*Get plenty of sodium and other electrolytes