Side effects after one month, please help

(Christos Karantzas) #1

Hi everyone

I have been on the ketogenic diet for nearly a month, I have the following question

First 2-3 weeks, I felt great. No keto flu, felt satiated, cravings disappeared, I lost weight, and in general felt rested, focused and clear headed.

The past week however I have reached a weight and measurement plateau. At the same time I feel more tired and more hungry. Cravings are still not present although I did have a keto cheesecake 3 days ago (5 gr carbs). The only thing I have added in my diet is a handful of nuts every evening after dinner (pecans, Brazil nuts, almonds). I am doing keto-IF 18-6

Is this normal? Has anyone experienced anything similar? That you feel great the first month and then got a mental and physical plateau?

Here are some stats on me
44 years old

16% bodyfat

180 lbs

Work out at the gym 5 days a week

Macros

5 % carbs, 20 gr

15% protein, 70 gr

80% fat, 140 gr

Total calories 1750 per day, about 250 calories deficit

Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Best regards
Christos

(Bea ) #2

More Protein More Protein More Protein! Cos You are exercising regularly and not enough Protein to nurture your cells so normal they stop working! You need min. 90 gr net Protein up to 150 gr / day! Use Chronometer to match ur needs.

(Christos Karantzas) #3

That was my initial thought as well. I have been working out for about 20 years and am more used to a IIFYM diet (about 150 gr of protein per day). Doing the keto it felt strange to crash my protein intake down to 70-80 gr but was afraid of gluconeogenesis. Is it safe to bump it up to 100-110 without getting kicked out of ketosis?
Edit: I am using Lifesum premium to track my macros btw which works quite well. Will check out chronometer as well. Thanks Bea_Bea

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

The issue is to get enough protein to maintain lean body mass, then eat enough calories so that the body doesn’t feel deprived. One hundred grams of protein a day is probably fine for you; then eat fat until you are satisfied and can go quite some time between meals. Don’t count calories; let your body tell you when you’ve had enough. It will adjust your intake according to its needs (you will probably spontaneously limit your calorie count while you have body fat to burn, but again, don’t count the calories, let your body handle that).