Hey everyone, newbie here. So, I’ve been following a clean eating Paleo diet for a few years now, which has been miraculous for me in terms of health (I have fibromyalgia and was at the point of needing a wheelchair to get around). I’ve also lost 75lbs, partly through diet, partly through exercise. I’m currently at about 20% body fat, so I’m not looking to lose any more. But I’ve been wondering for a while if I should give Keto a try, for the many health benefits; I’m especially interested in less inflammation, steadier blood sugar (I’m not diabetic), and improved mood. So I’ve reduced my carbs and increased my fats - I was only eating about 100g carbs a day anyway, so I didn’t think it would impact me very much. I’m on day 5, and I’m so tired I want to lay down and die. You know the kind of tired where even your face hurts? Not to mention serious brain fog, low mood, and fuzzy headache. I know it’s early days, but tell me I’m not going to feel like this for weeks? I’m in ketosis, in fact I know I’m burning fat because I’m bleeding - that always happens to me when I’m losing weight. I’ve upped my water intake, added extra salt, magnesium & potassium. I run two businesses, my life is super busy, I can’t afford to feel this bad for weeks. Help!!!
So unbelievably exhausted
Each person is individual and it can vary, but I felt that way on and off for the first 3.5 weeks.
It does get much, much better though. I just ran 6.5 miles this morning to celebrate hitting 8 weeks on Keto. I couldn’t run a mile during that adaption period. Hell, I could barely walk a mile.
I know from the forums that not everyone seems to have this exhaustion phase, but I certainly do also. I’m on day 21 and apparently at least mostly adapted already. I felt really weak last week trying to exercise as usual, and @Anniegirl9 helped me realize this is normal for some during this early period. But boy, it’s getting old just slogging through every day. Not even considering quitting, but I’m looking forward to my energy returning.
I think for me at least one of contributing factors is sleep. My sleep quality has gotten better but I wake up so super early now. It gets lighter outside earlier, and also once I wake up I can’t get back to sleep. The only trouble is that I’ve been terrible about getting to bed earlier to compensate. Sounds like you’re super busy, are you sleeping okay?
I hope it gets better for you soon too, and congratulations on all the progress you’ve made so far!
First, eat more salt and drink more water. Carbohydrate causes the body to retain salt and water, in ketosis, the body excretes them at a much higher rate. Recent research indicates that we probably need much more than the recommended daily allowance, so be liberal with the salt, as long as you don’t ruin the taste of the food. You don’t need to force liquids, just drink to thirst.
Second, be sure you are getting enough protein. Between 0.8 and 1.0 grams/day/kg of lean body mass is a good rule of thumb. Try not to overdo protein, however.
Third, eat lots of fat, to be sure that your body has enough energy. In a week or two, your satiety signaling will normalize and you will know when to quit eating without thinking about it. In the meantime, don’t worry about how many calories you’re eating; just eat fat.
Do this, and you should feel right as rain fairly quickly.
Each person is different. I fat adapt very fast and only have 1 to 2 days of Keto flu but a good friend of mine just couldn’t get through the fog, even after a month. I know she was doing everything right as well because I was monitoring her. Unfortunately, she gave up. I couldn’t talk her out of it. Anyway, how does your potassium and magnesium look? I find if I keep those two in check, everything else just falls into place and I feel great after a day or two. Also, how are you sleeping? If my electrolytes are off, I tend to sleep horribly, which in turn, makes me feel foggy, naturally. Hang in there, get everything in check and you should pull through it.
Fellow FM here. Paleo made a big diff for me too. Now keto is making it even better! I’m in week 2 and have had some days of exhaustion. For me, they are already getting better but still happen. I know my inflammation is down, brain fog is amazingly better each day. Not waking up w stiff joints…I’m loving this! Made a batch of ketorade but dilute it way down so I sip it all through the day. Also bumped up my protein just a smidgen. Hang in there…it’s so worth it!
I’ve just learned this week that Keto can affect your thyroid.
It’s affected my T3 and rT3 thyroid levels, which can lead to exhaustion.
If you have thyroid issues (and even if you previously haven’t) that could also be something to explore.
Get your doctor to do a blood test for all your thyroid parameters and get him to do all electrolytes so you can see if it’s any of those too.
Those are cheap blood tests, so if you’re really feeling awful, I’d say it’s a worthwhile investment.
Then you’ll have some numbers and less confusion about how to proceed.