Hi all. I started LCHF over 8 weeks ago, doing it all by myself with no family/friends/medical support. I have noticed some improvements but on the whole I’m still feeling pretty bad. Very low energy, crabby and weepy, muscles feel like limp noodles.
I have been using urine keto sticks and my result is usually 80 mg/dL. Sometimes it will go down to 40 and when that (rarely) happens I feel much better.
What’s the deal? I keep carbs to absolute minimum-only eat fat and meat,occasional cheese and macadamia nuts.
Water/electrolyte intake is good but I sure would like to experience those great energy levels and lack of hunger everyone else talks about.
I have tons of stress on me right now because of my job; could that be part of it?
Right now the only thing preventing me from giving up entirely is the small benefits I have noticed on this woe.
Suggestions? Advice? Encouragement?
Really discouraged
Low energy levels and no satiety… looks like you’re not eating enough fat.
Can you list what you eat on a normal day?
It’s normal some people still be scared of fat on the first months.
Stress can always impede progress. Standard dietary advice here will lean towards increasing fat and decreasing protein and other tricks. My solution was being part of this community. Read and take part in the conversations. You have a full support group here. Everyone I’ve encountered so far has been patient, kind, and encouraging. Check out the recipes and read the stories. I can almost guarantee someone here shares your experience.
Stress can certainly play a role, as it can contribute to both increased gluconeogenesis and increased insulin production.
This article by Dr. Fung goes into more detail:
https://intensivedietarymanagement.com/closer-look-cortisol-hormonal-obesity-xxxx/
It would probably be worthwhile to explore anything you can do to reduce your stress level. Whether that is changes at work, meditation, prayer, counseling. Even small steps can help with stress.
Hang in there. May be tough now, but it will get better.
One thing to keep in mind is that the urinalysis strips are not necessarily a very accurate indicator of ketone production, because when you’re using more ketones, you don’t spill as much in your urine. In fact, some people find that once they are fully fat-adapted, they don’t turn the strips as dark (or turn them at all). So it’s possible that your observation that you’re feeling better when the sticks are lighter might mean that you’re actually using more ketones at that point.
While 8 weeks can feel like an eternity when you’re stressed and looking for relief, you may still be in the process of becoming fat-adapted. Again, hang in there, stick with the keto plan, and focus on finding some ways to reduce the stress level.
You’ll get there. Good luck!
Typically I will eat 3 pieces of bacon and 2-3 eggs fried in the bacon fat and 2tbsp butter. Later in the day I will eat baked salmon dipped in butter or shrimp fried in coconut oil dipped in butter, or fried chopped sirloin or a roast with butter or bacon fat.
I tried a 3 day fast about 2 weeks ago and it seems like since I came off it I’ve been worse, including more hungry.
I will also have a spoonful of coconut oil 1-2 times a day and/or 1-2 tbsp butter.
Thanks for encouragement. I want to stick to it cause even with the way I feel now I still feel better than I ever have in my life.
The work stress is aggravated by being so tired and crabby/weepy all the time. So frustrating!
The days that I get a 40 on the keto sticks are the days I handle everything better.
I just don’t understand how, after 8 weeks I can apparently have all these ketones available but my body is not using them.
It surprises me that you’re not getting better results, since you’re doing a great job of keeping things simple/manageable.
When I started, I went overboard with Hollandaise sauce. It took me months to figure out that things tasted great in plain old melted butter (sometimes with a bit of lemon juice mixed in). Baked salmon in butter is ketolicious.
Are you making sure to get enough salt (both sodium and potassium)?
Yes. Well…I think so? I’ve increased salt intake although nowhere near the 5tsp i’ve heard some recommend. I also take electrolyte suppliments 2-3 times/day and magnesium suppliments 2-3 times/day.
A few things here -
- Sounds like you are on the right path, maybe up the fat and the salt some
- Are you Type 2 Diabetic? - Some of us are so broken that it takes a long time to fix and medications of any sort (even for non-diabetics) may also have a “you gotta be kidding me” effect
- I bought a small, inexpensive keyboard, turn the volume down low and play away - does help on the stress level…
- keep coming back to this forum and being active. It’s a safe place for the support you need.
Can you give us more details on what your salt and water intake looks like? The urine strips will get darker if you are slightly dehydrated and the concentration of everything goes up. It would be helpful to get a blood ketone (or at least glucose) meter at this point to rule out any issues there.
No I’m not. And I’m actually concerned I might be getting too much protein. I don’t really want to track anything because I’ve been on too many diets where I had to do that.
You think it would be helpful to track macros at least for a while? And does anyone have an app they use/recommend for that?
You can use MyFitnessPal for your macros, just ignore the calories. That’s what I do. You might find it helpful to use it for a few weeks until you become more intuitive about your protein intake. I also found that when I vary my IF-ing that it seems to keep my body on it’s toes so I don’t do it every day as a rule. That’s seems to work better for me too.
I’m not officially T2D but I had enough symptoms - and insulin resistance - for so long I was concerned that I might at least be pre-diabetic. However I do not take any meds except for occasional antacids (such as Prevacid.)
I went to (brand new) doc to start process for testing for T2D but on first visit he just gave me blood pressure meds and said my slightly elevated bp was the cause of all my health issues. He didn’t even discuss my health history or weight issues…and I am obviously overweight.
That was what started my keto journey, so a blessing in disguise. 
I do have PCOS and have been a sugar addict all my life. I remember as a 7-8 year old child daily dumping half a cup of sugar on my cereal for breakfast.
For water I drink between 120 and 160 oz a day which is a world record for me.
I take an electrolyte suppliment called LyteShow (amazon) 2-3 times a day
And a magnesium suppliment (magnesium citrate 100 mg) 2-3 times a day as well plus adding pink Himalayan salt to my food and downing a good size pinch with water throughout the day.
I was horribly thirsty for a long time from like week 1 to last week but that has gotten much better.
I’m a coward with needles. 
I have thought long and hard about the blood ketone meter but I know if I bought one I’d just be wasting my money because at the most I would use it once if I could even bring myself to do it that one time. Because…needles.
So yeah…that’s why I use the urine strips.
I’m not crazy about needles and have to really work to keep myself steady when I’m getting blood taken but I find the tiny jab for glucose testing (would be same for ketone testing) a non-issue. I made a fuss the very first time and by the time I had done it several times it was really no big deal. And you don’t actually poke yourself with a needle- you just hold a small plastic device to the side of your finger or thumb and press a button.
So it doesn’t hurt?
When I have to get blood drawn or a shot I have to look away and deliberately slow my breathing down so I don’t panic.
Just call me Chicken Little. Lol
I got an awesome baked salmon recipe from dietdoctor.com. Sorry I don’t know how to link it here.
But I highly recommend it!
That’s me exactly when I get my blood taken. But for the glucose monitor it’s so mild (and diffferent) that I’ve sometimes taken blood 10-12x a day when I’m testing my reaction to different foods. (Most people don’t do that and ketone strips are expensive! But I mention it to just give you an idea: the finger pricking doesn’t keep me from doing it multiple times/day.)
Most of the time it’s a quick dart of pain and then nothing. Very occasionally you hit a more sensitive spot on your finger and notice it more - but even then, I wouldn’t say it’s real pain.