Two months into Keto and IF and still can’t use fat as an energy fuel

newbies
(Vlad Ferdean) #1

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if any of you could help me, please, since I am kind of desperate and I don’t know who to reach to (even my nutritionist doesnt know what to tell me)

So I started keto two months ago because I wanted to heal my body. I have gastritis, stomach ulcer, insulin resistance, food allergies, dust allergy, chronic sinusitis, leaky gut, excessive bloating, inflammation in my entire body and the list goes on)

So far as I am concerned I respected the diet 100%.
I am 21 years old. 56 kgs(123 lbs) ; 178cm (5.8 ft) so body fat is not really my problem. I am at about 13% body fat.
My macros are 20 carbs per day aka 4.01%
88 grams of protein per day aka 17,7%
174g of fat per day aka 78,29%

I mostly eat eggs, avocado, spinach, pork, beef, turkey, arugula, onions, tomatoes, olives, olive oil, coconut oil

Generally I had 3 meals per day, but for a month I tried IF for 20/4 and 6/18

Since I started I knew I had deficiency in all Vitamin B complex, Magnesium, Vitamin D3 and I started taking all the supplements I needed since I started going Keto.

I always count my macros, I put my food on scale, etc.
I avoided all sugars, carbs, fruits, everything. After 4-5 days on Keto I noticed my urine smelled different so I figured I was in ketosis. Anyway, the thing is, I am dead. I can barely walk, I can barely speak, I can barely exist. I am so tired, so fatigued that I can barely breathe.
So I don’t know why. I am taking all my high q B vitamins, I count my macros, I take my magnesium, I eat enough vegetables to make sure I get my potassium. I consume enough fat. But it’s like it just does not work. I still have sugar and carbs cravings. Like a lot. I was a sugar amd carbs junky, but I don’t give in to them because I am highly motivated. I am always hungry. I even crave fat or protein. I crave everything, but thats not really the problem. The problem is that my energy is so low I am shocked I am still alive.

Everytime after I eat I get extremely sleepy for about 3 hours. Ok, so I figured it might be because I consume too much protein? Nope. I checked. I am not.
Or it might be due to leaky gut and inproper digestion? Mmyeah, it might be. I reduced the amount of food I was eating, but I still did not see much improvement.
But if I intermittent fast and I wake up, stomach empty, I am also dead, I can barely walk. I am dead 24/24. It’s like I can’t tap into my fat stores. I even increased the dietary fat… it’s not working.

So today I made a “test”. I felt like dying and I ate one banana. Within an hour I started to feel my energy levels go up and kind of felt “normal” again.

Anyway… what should I do? I really wanna do Keto and IF but for sure there’s something wrong. What am I missing?

I would really appreciate it if any of you, guys, could help me out with some advice.
Thank you :slight_smile:

#2

I’m not expert, but given your issues, a HFLC diet may not be the ideal diet for you right now. Have you tried an Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) diet? It is an extreme elimination diet that removes foods that tend to cause problems with some folks. And hopefully gives the body time to heal. The carnivore diet is another extreme elimination diet that works for some people.

Make sure you’re getting sufficient calories. You may want to try eating at a surplus. As young male, try 2500-3000 calories and see how you feel.

Lastly, if you can’t figure out why you feel like crap, then it’s time to enlist the help of a functional medicine doctor. You’ve got a lot of issues, so it can be complicated.

(Scott) #3

It doesn’t sound like you have much body fat to pull from. In my book 13% is pretty low (I am 20%). I only noticed a lack of energy when running. It took about four months before I got over it.

(Vlad Ferdean) #4

I haven’t heard of AIP diet until now. I will check it out. And yes, I took the carnivore diet into consideration.

The thing is, I am seeing a lot of specialists and I have the exact tests that show me my food allergies and I am avoiding those… they just come to the conclusion that for some unknown reason I can’t tap into my fat and use it as an energy.

And about me being too lean and not having enough fat to use as a fuel, yes, I thought of that and I increased the fat and gained about 3-4 kgs, but my energy levels were still the same :sweat_smile:

I am considering the carnivore diet, but that means no carbs, too. And I would prefer going carnivore with moderate protein - high fat… so that would still mean ketosis, I guess… but it would still be an issue since I can’t use fat as a fuel.

#5

Please DO NOT take anything we say as medical advice - it is not medical advice - just sharing our experiences.

You’ve listed the foods and macros you eat, they all sound right to me. But you should have more, not less, energy. The first question to ask is are you guzzling water down all day and are you getting enough salt? Without that you will feel weak, dizzy, etcetera, it’s a major part of keto.

Have you had any thyroid function lab tests? Could have over or under active thyroid? Meantime

At 13% body fat, I don’t think your body wants to lose any more fat. I’m a bit shorter than you but I weight 76kg, a full 20kg more.

There are variations of the keto diet. On this and similar forums it means 20g, adequate protein the rest from fat. That is fine and dandy for people wanting to lose massive amounts of fat.

But consider some variations.

Drs Westman, Phinney and Volek worked on validating the Atkins diet and from there the new buzz word become “keto”. They have the “Art and Science of low-carb” book but they also have the “The New Atkins book…” which spells out some how-to information with some good checks and balances. You might want to check them all out.

Anyway the Atkins diet has 4 phases:

  • Phase 1: Induction Phase. Massive weight loss. - This is the 20g “keto diet”.
    Some people choose to stay here for a very long time, others only do this for one week!

  • Phase 2: Ongoing weight loss. Explore different foods from the list, for a given week add 5g carbs and see how the weight is going. Losing, going up, staying steady … See how energy is going. See cravings are going … The goal is to find your personal carb limit. Where is that switch, is it 20g, 35 or 85g? Then you know what you’re playing with.

  • Phase 3: … Let’s skip this now.

  • Phase 4: Life Time Maintenance Phase. You are not losing weight but maintaining your correct weight. You know your carb limit and which foods work for you.

I hope you see what I mean. I don’t think permanent Phase 1 “Induction Phase” a.k.a “the keto diet” since you do not need to be losing weight.

Unless you are totally insulin resistant (T2D) or carb intolerant then maybe consider phase 2 or some other variation. You would still be living of ketones but not as drastically.

First thing - check salt levels. Ensure enough.

Consider - thyroid function lab test.

Consider - a different phase of Atkins not the massive weight loss “keto” one (accentuated by fasting).

(John) #6

you gotta have body fat to burn body fat. Your gunna have to up your calories. 1300ish calories seems low depending on how active you are.try some bacon.

#7

I agree – it could indeed be a sodium deficiency (possibly as well as insufficient intake).

(Vlad Ferdean) #8

Hey guys, thank you all for your feedbacks. I don’t think sodium is a problem since I consume pretty much a lot of it.
Yees, I balance it out with Potassium.

I have my thyroid checked and it’s totally fine.

But I significantly increased the amount of calories by increasing fat, I gained weight (I have no problem that I gained some weight), but still, no energy levels…

(Vlad Ferdean) #9

I forgot to mention the brain fog I experience since “keto”. It’s intense. It’s like I feel I can’t tap into fat. Ok, I don’t really have body fat, but I make sure I have dietary fat, but it’s like it does not work

(Sheri Knauer) #10

At 2 months keto, you should have become fat adapted. Since you apparently have not, there has to be another issue going on. My guess would be it has to do with your digestion. I would have to agree with the AIP protocol. The bloating is also an indication of digestive issues. Heal the gut first and I think that will help. You could also try digestive enzymes to help with your digestion. Ive heard that bone broth is very good for helping the gut so you may want to start drinking bone broth everyday. Consider finding a functional dr or naturopath to help you heal your leaky gut. With Skype and the internet, its so much easier to work with a functional Dr or naturopath that can be anywhere in the world so don’t worry if you don’t have one you like whose office is near to your home.

I would stop with the fasting and time restricted eating. That is something that is better to do once you are fully fat adapted.

As for the low body fat, I seem to recall hearing on a podcast that even the leanest athletes have close to 60,000 calories they can tap into. It may have been on one of the 2 Dudes podcast.

Good luck. I really hope you figure this out. You are so young you should be enjoying and living your life to the fullest. Don’t give up because you will be amazed at how good you can feel once you find what heals you and works for you.

(Vlad Ferdean) #11

Thank you for the advice! :slight_smile:
I will focus more on my gut, maybe I will consume mostly meat for a while, since vegetables usually bloat me.
Anyway, I am not giving up. I will figure something out.

Thank you all :blush::blush:

(Jenny) #12

do you do any keifer or yogurt? some people believe the slightly higher carb count is offset by the healthy bacteria eating some of the carbs. However dont do anything with added sugars or fake flavoring… like a plain greek. may help your gut flora. if you eat very low carb fitting in the macros should be ok. you can buy plain keifer and goat milk Keifer as well.

https://dot2trot.com/tag/calculating-carbs-in-yogurt/

(mole person) #13

Salt is a huge issue for a lot of people in the early stages. They often tend to think that they eat plenty of salt but really they are just eating plenty of salt for the SAD diet. Further, a lack of sufficient salt leads to ALL the symptoms you are describing. How many EXTRA teaspoons of salt are you eating every day? I’m not talking about salt on your food here.

(Vlad Ferdean) #14

I am lactose intolerant and I avoid all dairy. I do supplement with some high quality probiotics, though.

Well I am not from USA so I was never really on the Standard American Diet. I never drink water with added salt or something, but I consume about 2 teaspoons of salt every single day, I add it on my food, I love salt and I have always used more salt than anyone I know, so I don’t think that should be a problem.

(Clara Teixeira) #15

Are you taking magnesium in daylight hours? It can make you very tired and sleepy. I only take it at night to avoid this because my body responds so quickly to it. I also agree with eating more. Fasting will just add stress and raise your cortisol levels especially when so early into the journey. It took me 3 months to truly feel energetic. But I also had many issues to heal from. Give your body more time, cut out onions and tomatoes for a while in case you are having reactions to them (they are known for being trouble makers!), and eat plenty of food. You have to nourish your body and give it proper tools to build with if it is needing healing. And that also means giving it enough fuel to have the energy to heal.

(Clara Teixeira) #16

Also, what form of B12 are you taking? You may want to do a little research on B12 methylcobalamin vs B12 cyanocobalamin. Its possible you simply aren’t able to absorb one form properly.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #17

Do a bit of research into vegetable fermentation, it’s a vastly superior and cheaper way to get large doses of probiotics. And they can add some variety to your diet. Fermentation also reduces carbs in veggies as the cultures feed on sugars in the veggies. Fermented cabbage is your friend!

#18

Totally agree with David. You can even purchase already prepared fermented napa cabbage or daikon raddish kimchi. If your local grocer does not carry it, any asian market, especially Korean ones, will carry it.

(Omar) #19

what you described is typical for digestive track issue.

fat will not do you any good if you do not digest it. feeling very sleepy after eating is very good indicator of improper digestion.

take betaine hcl supplements drink ACV after eating. if no improvement take digestive enzymes and digestive bitters.

avoid cold water and avoid water in the vicinity of meals. only drink when thirsty.

(Diane) #20

I agree with several of the suggested answers above. I have struggled with chronic fatigue syndrome for several years now and it took me quite awhile to become fat adapted. Most people say they notice a difference at about 6 to 8 weeks, it took about 5 months for me to see the changes that indicated my body was efficiently burning ketones for energy.

Some things that have helped me tremendously during this adaptation process (take them or leave as you see best): MCT oil. Medium chain triglycerides are easily transformed directly by the liver into ketones. I understand that MCT oil can also help heal mitochondrial function (which is at the basis of my CFS). If you decide to try MCT oil, you want an oil that is all C8 or C8 & C10. The C8 is particularly good fuel for the brain and might help with brain fog. If you try it, start slowly (maybe 1 tsp per day with food) or you may have gastric distress/ diarrhea. FYI, I’m copying a link to a blog post that discusses the benefits of MCT oil. It strongly “markets” the Bulletproof brand of MCT oil and Brain Octane. They are expensive and I use another brand. But the article does provide a lot of good info re the benefits of MCT oil.

https://blog.bulletproof.com/what-is-mct-oil-vs-coconut-oil/

I had genetic testing done (23 and me) and discovered I carry several MTHFR gene mutations which inhibit my bodies ability to methylate B vitamins which inhibits my ability to produce ATP, the basic unit of energy for the body. It is believed that about 40% of the population carries at least one of the MTHFR gene mutations, most without knowing it. So, I take methylated b vitamins (a methylated B complex, methylfolate [methylated B9], and methylcobalamine [methylated B12]), which are more bioavailable and support the bodies production of ATP. These methylated B vitamins really help me with brain function, brain fog and improved mood. FYI- I use methylcobalamine drops under the tongue as these are absorbed much better and quicker.

I also take d-ribose (per doctor’s suggestion) to help support mitochondrial function.

Lastly, I find that my strength and stamina are greatly improved when I drink between 2 to 3 liters of the following ketoaide recipe a day (if you search these forums or google ketoaid, you will come across many other recipes):

32 ounces of artesian spring water
1/4 tsp Lite pink Himalayan salt (half sodium/half potassium)
5/8 tsp pink Himalayan salt
6 drops of a good quality multi- trace mineral
1 tsp Angstrom Minerals liquid magnesium (much better absorbed, without any gastric distress)
1 Tbs liposomal vitamin C (which is more easily absorbed and prevents gastric distress- I have a recipe and make my own- which makes it much more affordable)
some flavoring (True Lemon packet, Crystal Lite- very diluted, etc.)

I don’t know if any of this information might be useful to you. I hope so.

In any case, I wish you well on your journey as pursue better health! Good luck!

Edit: If you are not digesting fat well, you might try bile acids supplements such as ox bile).