I’m a complete newbie to Keto, currently on day 9. I weighed in at 186lbs 9 days ago and am now down to 177.6lbs which I am really pleased with. I am sticking to 23g net carbs 140g fat and 112g protein daily net calories 1817. I exercise everyday (or at lease try to at the moment) 25 minutes cross trainer, 10 minute abdominal and core workout plus around 15,000 steps per day. I drink a minimum of 3.2 litres of water every day. Initially, I felt great. However after day 5/6 I have started to feel drained and lethargic. I struggle to exercise and am even finding climbing the stairs hard work. I’m 53 years old, don’t smoke (packed that up 2 months ago). Just feel a little unwell! I have started to take electrolytes in the hope that these will help. I love exercising and need to get past this lack of energy. Any help or advice would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance 
Where’s my energy gone?
Welcome, @Amw1966 ! Congrat’s on the weight loss!! YAY! Electrolytes are good for this situation. My recollection from having done Atkins 14-15 years ago, was that when our bodies switch over to a new fuel (fat), we get this sort of thing referred to (back then) as the Atkins Flu. It doesn’t last long. If you take any supplements like magnesium or potassium, that helps too.
Trust me…the energy level will sky rocket. I’m 52 and run circles around co-workers now - who are half my age (and even a few that are under the halfway mark.) Yesterday, I worked an 8 hour shift- i FORGOT to take the 2 - 15 min. breaks. They boss had to tell me to take lunch. And all I had eaten the whole day was 3 - 4 TBS of butter, and some coffee. Keto is awesome!
It took me three months to get my energy back during my morning runs but it did return. Most people do better than that I think.
Thank you for the replies. I will persevere, just frustrating training below normal performance. On a plus note I already feel much cleaner and healthier and am looking forward to this lifestyle change.
Especially if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms, be sure to be getting enough salt, since you are excreting more sodium without all that carbohydrate in your diet. Also be sure to be eating enough protein and fat. Low energy can be a symptom of not enough.
There is also the fact that your muscles are re-adapting to metabolising fatty acids in place of glucose, and this affects strength, until they reach full fat-adaptation. But in my experience it felt more like not enough strength, my energy level was what it had been, as long as I didn’t overdo things.
I’ve just ordered some pink Himalayan salt, so hopefully that will help. In the meantime I will just increase the rock salt in my food. The difficulty that I am experiencing is heavy tired legs when using the elliptical machine. Normally I can complete 30 minutes continuously. At the moment I’m struggling with 15 minutes, everything feels heavy and cumbersome!
The heavy or cramping feeling is often magnesium. I use magnesium bisglycinate, but any would be good (though oxide is less bioavailable and so requires you take more, and citrate can cause diarrhea if you use too much (it’s a good laxative).
As mentioned, probably an electrolyte problem.
Typically, most early weight loss is water. Glycogen binds with water, so when you go into ketosis and your stored glycogen declines, that water would be released. That flushing of water can sometimes take electrolytes along with it, which is why some people get the keto flu early on.
Many people take “keto ade” – Lite Salt (Potassium and Sodium) + water + Mio flavoring. When I feel a little under the weather, I’ll have some chicken broth or egg drop soup with some lite salt or pink Himalayan salt.
I had the same problem for quite a few weeks after starting Keto. You need about 2.5 teaspoons of salt daily. Put that amount into a little container daily. You don’t realize how much that is. It also does take a month or two to really get that energy back. Hang in there.
Yep. Perfectly normal, and will go away in a few weeks, if not sooner. (Although I should admit that it can take longer in some people.)
As others have mentioned, cramps are another matter, and you can do something about them. Unfortunately, the reduced-performance phase has to be ridden out. The good news is that many people report that when their performance returns, it is better than it had been pre-keto. So have hope, and keto on!