I’m into week 2. The first week I had terrible brain fog but its mostly gone. I’ve been trying to do IF but I am usually STARVING by 9am. I usually do IF from 930 to 530. My carbs are 20 fats 110-140 protein 90 and calories 1500-1700. I just started MTC oil, I do a shot of pickle juice at night, I take mag, potassium and a B-12. Also I now use a decent amount of sea salt in my cooking. So even after all that I am still DEAD tired for most of the day I’m talking about the type of tired were you just want to lay down in a ball and start crying uncontrollably. I feel asleep in the break the other day. All I want to is nap after I get home from work and I have no motivation to do anything especially take care of the house. I become have very short with everyone. I’m a single mom so I need to fix this ASAP so my 6 year old doesn’t have to deal with cranky mommy anymore. I’ve lost 5lbs so far so I don’t want to stop keto but its effecting my job performance and home life. I would like not get fired. Please Help!!!
Sooooo tired all day, super cranky and just plain miserable
You are not eating enough. Intermittent fasting is not a good idea when first starting keto. Your body needs to learn how to use fat for fuel instead of glucose. While it is making the transition it needs to be fed. If you are hungry, eat. You don’t need to be miserable.
It takes about 8 weeks for your body to transition. We call that being fat adapted. Some people it takes longer and for some it’s shorter. Once you are fat adapted you may notice you can go longer between meals. That would be the ideal time to start intermittent fasting.
Keto is not a low calorie diet. Low calorie will just lower your metabolism.
Hi @Snolepurd and welcome!
For the first two months you want to focus on getting fat adapted - so your body burns its own fat when you IF. Until then, IF might be simply making your Keto flu symptoms worse so it might be best to skip any thoughts of IF. Initial few weeks of weight loss is water weight - you want to get the fat burning happing ASAP, not lower numbers on the scale.
Forcing IF without being ready for it might be causing anxiety. A good “cure” for that is to have some fatty meat upon waking. Also good for anxiety is some exercise. Although it is possible to lose weight on Keto without exercise - it is much better to be doing something like at least walking. Take your 6-year-old out for 30 minutes a day if you are currently not exercising.
The link below is about brain fog, anxiety etc. and trying to skip breakfast. A little fatty meat in the morning will not spike insulin. Jordan Peterson is a very smart person and suggests eating breakfast often. Eventually IF by skipping dinner might much better suit you.
I agree with Virginia and Robert here, best to just eat as much fatty foods as you want for at least a week, but probably better to go 2 or 3 weeks before you start IF. Here’s another resource for a very simple way to get yourself fat adapted.
Good luck and keep coming to the forum any time you have a question or need inspiration!! We’re an excellent team of cheer leaders here!!
I think I will take your advice and lay off the IF until 8 weeks. I got to have my black tea and creamer in the morning otherwise im unbearable to be around. Don’t know what im going to do when I need to IF in 6 weeks. Ive tried just plain tea with no creamer and it gives me sour stomach and heartburn.
Simple solution: make breakfast one of your meal times but ditch the creamer (it’s loaded with ingredients that are no good for you) and get yourself heavy whipping cream instead.
If I had the energy to excessive I would but sometimes I am so tired it is almost painful to move. Thus the reason I am getting trouble at work. And I usually have a nice fatty breakfast every morning with a handful a kale thrown in for mag and potassium.
You could skip dinner but also, no need to assume you ever need to IF.
Keto often makes people so unhungry that they skip enough meals to not need to do any sort of planned non-eating.
Except for the starving part, that sounds like me for the first 2 months of keto. After much research, what I found was that my body was not processing the fat correctly, so no energy was being absorbed. I started taking Gallbladder Enzymes from Dr Mercola. Within just a few hours, I started feeling like myself again and have felt normal ever single day since then. It’s only been a few days, so maybe a fluke. YMMV.
Remember, eight weeks is an estimate. You will
Know you are getting fat adapted when your body no longer feels like lead and you naturally
feel like you can go longer between meals. It’s also a gradual thing. These things occur a little
at a time. Also, you don’t NEED to intermittent fast. It is a tool, not a necessity.
Let the fasting come naturally. If you give your body enough calories, by eating only when hungry and stopping when no longer hungry, you will, in all likelihood, eventually find yourself skipping a meal and only eating twice a day. You might even find yourself eating only one meal a day without thinking about it. That’s the point at which to consider deliberate fasting. But you won’t get there until you are fat adapted and until your body has enough regular caloric intake not to have to worry about famine. Fasting, for reasons Dr. Fung can explain, does not trigger the famine reflex, whereas reduced intake causes the body to assume the worst.
FYI - that will probably not go away until you start moving - and may worsen without movement. If 30 minutes is too much, start with 5 or 10. Too much inactivity is very unhealthy.
There are some that say that they can lose weight on Keto - and I am sure it is possible - and I am not recommending exercise as a calorie burning mechanism for weight loss.
I’m just saying that if you don’t do some light stretching and basic movement, anxiety might increase (which might cause to to say “screw it” to any form of self-care) and immobility might increase.
This is so important Rob and I need to really work on taking this more seriously.
Think about it, we are complex physical machines that are designed to run, climb, lift, work and move in very articulate ways. We have a lot more complex muscular possibilities than any other lifeform on the planet and in the modern world we don’t use it like we did in past times when we needed to be agile for survival.
We are letting our bodies waste away if we don’t overcome that physical inertia and start using and working that system no matter how much it hurts from disuse, it will get easier as you go on rather quickly. I know this from experience, I just needed a reminder. Thanks Rob. 
I’m not completely inactive at work I walk around quite a bit and take the stair a few times during the day on most shifts but its a struggle. When I get home from work I still have to do some light housework but its not as much as I usually do since I am dead by the time I get home. My day starts at 515am so by the time I get my child run errands, get my child, cook and clean its already 6pm or later and I’m ready for bed.
If you are concerned about why you are really feeling lethargic?
You need more skeletal muscle volume (glycogen storage facilities) to keep up with so little carbohydrates your getting when first starting a ketogenic diet that is why you are tired!
Lifting some weights although you will still be tired in the beginning until you get enough resistance (working the muscle itself) and increasing the size of muscle tissue especially in the biceps and glutes.
There is no way around it (personally many trials and tribulations but lessons learned hard) no matter what amount of substance people tell you to eat or just wait it out until your not tired anymore?
Also just wondering if anybody else has gotten his symptom. Since I started Keto I have moments where I almost “blackout” I do something and cannot remember what I did at all. Is that normal?
You may not be getting enough salt. If my salt intake is too low, I can feel woozy and get spots before my eyes when I stand up. That’s telling me my blood pressure is too low. Then, I take a 1/2 teaspoon of salt in water and that helps.
You mentioned getting your electrolytes, but it may not be enough. You need about 5 grams of sodium a day on keto. That’s almost 3 teaspoons of the pink Himalayan salt. Salting food is not enough, you will need to supplement it through salt, broth, or bouillon tea.
Below are the details of a recent podcast (link removed as it auto-played some sort of offer).
There is a lot of detail in the first half but around minutes 26 and 27 the speaker describes a situation that sounds like yours (keto problems due to digestive issues).
You might want to give the whole podcast a listen.
Podcast is:
The livin la vida low carb show with Jimmy Moore
Episode-1539
Or maybe your blood sugar is dipping too low. You’ve been intermittent fasting and changing your fuel source. Your body doesn’t know what hit it. Maybe up your carbs to 50 grams a day, and then you can slowly ease down to 20 grams as your body adjusts. Or, maybe just eat more often.
I’ve been taking my blood pressure every day and it’s right around 125 or 85. I’ve been adding sea salt to every meal and have been adding it in while cooking in addition.