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

newbies
(Consensus is Politics) #21

Lots of good info here. I would ask this, what’s your BG (blood glucose) levels? Have you been tested for diabetes? If you have been tested, and your HBA1C is good, then up your carb intake.

You mentioned feeling better eating a banana. I would recommend upping your carbs to about 100 grams a day. You should be able to get into ketosis, albeit a bit slower, but get there still. The reason I ask about diabetes is those of us with diabetes have a harder time staying in ketosis with more than 20 grams of carbs. I went 0 carb just for this reason to get my diabetes in check ASAP.

Now, that said, of course this is not medical advice. I’m an electrical technician, not a doctor. But I can pay attention to details and see trends for myself. Anyone can do that, as you did by mentioning your test. I would recommend against most fruit though. Fructose isn’t very friendly to the body. I would go with the standard starchy carbs to get your carb boost. Something that doesn’t interfere with you gut. Explore your options. Most importantly talk to a doctor about it.

Do keep us all informed. You came to a great community of caring people.

Take care, don’t stress.

(Katie) #22

Could you experiment with exogenous ketones?

#23

It looks like you’ve definitely covered all the basics, as per (https://blog.virtahealth.com/well-formulated-ketogenic-diet/

But issues getting into nutritional ketosis are not unheard of.

I mainly use Phinney, Volek and Westman’s advice but also drill down into what Atkins says because he has dealt with probably over 50,000 thousands patients and frankly has a lot of clinical experience we can draw from.

Chapter 20 “Metabolic Resistance” is a full chapter in “Dr Atkin’s new Diet Revolution” (~2002) book on this topic

This chapter is about extreme difficulty in losing weight and will help you understand why certain ways of eating that should lead to weight loss simply do not work.

The inability to burn fat or lose weight, the phenomenon called metabolic resistance to weight loss, is not uncommon. In my clinical practice, I have been called upon to treat hundreds if not thousands of patients who simply could not reach their goal weight no matter what weight loss program they tried. But my co-practitioners and I were determined to help, and ultimately we did!

I do not know if the answers for you are in there but things like candida and various medications and supplements are discussed, the point is, there can be hindrances. And solutions can be found.

I haven’t found further info on these issues on the web but I imagine an expert doctor highly experienced with keto or Atkins can help but I can’t find any of those in my neighbourhood.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #24

Are you getting enough salt? Try for 4-6 g/day of sodium, which is 12-13 g of table salt. (Can include salt already present in food.) Be sure to drink to thirst. There are physiological reasons why this is important, so try this first.

Have you seen any improvement in the leaky gut? Sinuses and insulin resistance may take a while. If you are getting enough salt, the potassium and magenesium in your diet may be enough, you might not need the supplements. They get out of regulation when sodium does, so that’s another reason to make sure to get enough salt.

Two thousand calories a day should be plenty, but are you still feeling hungry? If so, eat more protein as well as more fat. Use your hunger as a guide to what your body needs, if you can.

We typically advise that it takes 6-8 weeks to become fat-adapted and get one’s energy back, but sometimes it takes longer. But people don’t usually get so exhausted, which is why I’m concerned about your salt intake.

Good luck, and let us know how you’re getting on.

(Diane) #25

With regards to your leaky gut and food sensitivities there are a couple of podcasts which I found to be informative and helpful:

Naturally Nourished Episode 24: Leaky Gut
Naturally Nourished Episode 30: MRT Inflammatory food blood test

(Bunny) #26

Why I eat a green unripe bananas!

Your not getting enough carbohydrates because your too metabolically fit that is why you have no energy.

That does not mean eat junk food; just eat more of the keto foods your already eating, 20 grams of keto carbs may be way too low for you considering your age, weight and height? For being male, 5’ 8” and 123 pounds you are GOD like in comparison to most peeps on the planet and may be under-weight? You should weigh more around 140-to-160 as you get older!

Increasing your carbs to 100 or even 200 would be more ideal considering you probably have a better metabolic health-reserve than most people? I can go that high in carbs myself and still be in ketosis!

If your not seeing blood ketones on a meter then you may have no fat to burn to make ketones, you have to have fat in order to make ketones or enough dietary fat? That 20 grams of carbohydrates your eating is being turned directly into energy, not body fat, but it is not enough to power your body type so you may need way more dietary fat!

Another reason your tired and and lethargic is you only been at this two months; it takes a good 6 months or 27 weeks or so to feel your energy return the way it was before you started keto if you stick to the 20 carb per meal regimen?

(Omar) #28

banana does not require stomach acid for digestion.

but complex carbs, protein and fat do.

#29

Hi Vlad,
Your situation and goals have a lot in common with mine. I switched my diet entirely to heal my gut, not to lose weight. I have the same symptoms you described (food allergies, inflammation, bloating, gas, constantly going to the bathroom…). I was previously on a high carb diet primarily due to lots of high intensity exercise which requires glycogen for peak performance.

I’m about 10 days into keto, but really more like stage 1 of Atkins. I eat lots of fat but probably more protein than a true Keto diet. It seems to be really helping my gut, which has to be the first priority. You didn’t mention - is your Keto diet helping your gut? My doc is not much help. I believe what I have is SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) which then causes immune response, digestive issues, maybe even the leaky gut. If your gut is leaky (like mine) it may not do any good to eliminate a list of foods. You will always develop a sensitivity to the substitute food.

I have low energy but not nearly like you describe. On my bike, I have nowhere near the power I had before. That’s OK, I want to starve out these bad bacteria that like to eat carbs (and veggies!)
So, I recommend eating more protein (body needs it to heal anyway), and gradually adding in low GI carbs) as some other posters have mentioned. Please let us know if the diet so far has helped your bloating? I know I had one bad day from too much lettuce - even though almost no carb calories! Careful with the vegetables. Also get some rest if you are tired!
As others said, this is not medical advice, just sharing my experience since it is similar to yours!

I plan to add back in more carbs myself when I think my gut is improved!

(Omar) #30

I have the same situation.

The diet helped a lot for few months then the colon spasms came back for no obvious reason. with it I lost the energy burst that was only possible with keto.

I narrowed down the possibilities to SIBO, diverticlusis, and low stomach acid. One day I could sware it is SIBO other times I could sware it is low stomach acid. but they can be very well related.

I have read that you can not starve the bad bugs but you can alter the ratio of the population by eating probiotics containing foods

I find yoghurt and almonds help a lot. Also ghee helps a lot.

without healing the leaky gut trying to getting energy back is useless because of malnutrition. that is why simple carbs give back some energy because they do not require the digestive track integrity that is needed by fat and protein.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #32

I agree. The only reason to eliminate as much carbohydrate from the diet as possible is when you have concerns about chronically elevated insulin levels (i.e., are obese, diabetic, insulin-resistant, have cardiovascular or fatty liver disease, etc.).