Why I had to STOP KETO after 2 years :(

[Michael_Heffez]

I’m glad you realize that they are no joke, and downright scary! Perhaps you are right. I’m happy you are successfully humming along on Keto; I’m jealous of you!

[Lesliemont]

I thought you might find this information interesting. Remember that we can cause stress and increase cortisol by doing things like vigorous or extended exercise and calorie restriction

https://idmprogram.com/closer-look-cortisol-hormonal-obesity-xxxx/

[Baytowvin]

I wish I had that article to show my gym teacher when I was a kid.

[Michael_Heffez]

insightful more or less…thanks for sharing.

[EZB]

If you are constantly worried about being thrown out of ketosis, you are doing it wrong.

You also seem to have zero knowledge about insulin and disease. Many of us do this because we were very sick. I was so sick I had to burn my fingers with acid every few weeks so I could soften the thickened skin and scrape it off with a file so it wouldn’t crack into a sore that wouldn’t heal. Talk about will power? I am ALIVE now. I am not lying when I say I don’t crave any of the things that make me sick. You are ignorant if you think everybody is exactly like you.

[anon54735292]

Your ‘bottomline’ doesn’t seem to apply to me. I love exercise - I lift, kayak, mountain bike, hike & do yoga - & have no problem fueling my high activity levels on keto. I am able to build muscle just fine. None of this helps you of course but that’s my experience.

[Michael_Heffez]

point taken, thank you for calling me ignorant

[collaroygal]

Keto isn’t for everyone. Some do great on a vegan diet, some do wonderfully well on lfhc diets. Paleo/primal type eating works for others. If you are not unhealthy with T1 or T2D and don’t have lots of weight to loss another way might be right for you.

Good luck sorting yourself out. I finally did and keto lchf is my lifestyle now. I’m very happy not being hungry, so I hope you find what makes you happy.

[Baytowvin]

As a collective, we’re so used to people that have been here a short time being trolls that we sometimes react instinctively (I’ve been guilty myself). You’ve been nothing but respectful and made it clear that you’re referring to YOU, and not saying Keto can’t work for anyone else long term.

I agree with @collaroygal. Keto helped me to reverse T2D and is continuing to fix insulin resistance, but if those weren’t factors, I’d probably be more paleo…but with dairy. I would die if I couldn’t have dairy.

I don’t remember who said it, I think it may have been Phinney… it was on a Diet Doctor video; “potatoes won’t make you fat, but they can prevent you from losing weight”.

Best of luck my friend. Keep Calm and…do you, On

[Michael_Heffez]

love that comment: keep calm and…great stuff!

and thanks for your kind words…I’m glad you acknowledge what my point was…the main goal was to provide a caveat to others that combine excessive exercise (ill-advised, I know) with Keto. Some folks took things out of context and it’s a shame because the near seizure experience I had can happen to anyone who does the same. Call it lack of common sense…but I’m sure there’s another out there like me.

[mtncntrykid]

You’ve been nothing but respectful and made it clear that you’re referring to YOU, and not saying Keto can’t work for anyone else long term.

Not exactly.

Keto is stressful on the mind; regardless of who you are or what your willpower is; eventually foods, food groups will creep up on your mind and you will crave something but b/c you’re doing Keto, you cannot. That’s depravation. Compounded with exercise is more stress. What’s more is that all that leanness Keto created- say goodbye. Eventually, you will lose that nice tone and definition.

Keto & exercise is NOT a good mix…if you like to bike ride, walk, jog or run, forget the SKD approach; long term it will do more harm than good. You’re body won’t be able to keep up and you will begin feeling lightheaded amongst other scary symptoms; i.e. seizures.

[Alpha]

Worrying about getting out of ketosis is bad.

What about worrying about high blood sugar and taking insulin shots? Worrying about Overdose? Underdose?

Is not that stressful?

[ava_ad0re]

I don’t care about Ketosis
I am fat adapted
My main goal is to lose weight and build strength
Did you ever think that maybe you were overdoing it by exercising so much and decreasing your calories as much as you did? Because everyone knows thats a recipe for disaster. Im not suprised you gained weight.
I feel great on Keto, and I will never go back to SAD.
I don’t miss potato and all the junk food things, and I already incorporate complex carbs in my diet.
Each to their own I guess.

[PaulL]

Then I must be the exception.

There are people for whom a well-formulated ketogenic diet is unnecessary or ineffective. You certainly sound like such a person. There’s no shame in that. Gey gezunterheyt.

[SlowBurnMary]

The laws of nature are such that we’re all gonna die/leave the body, keto or not. Question is, how best to cultivate metabolic health and neurogenesis. And… joy!

No harm in having a slice of excellent pizza once a week, especially if on an OMAD day of fasting - if that’s what it takes to keep you on path. Otherwise, if you’re suffering from food addiction issues, it’s best to go cold turkey.

There’s also the possibility that you haven’t adapted your carbs upwards enough for maintenance - which is an option. Dr. Phinney speaks of maintenance between 100-150 or more carbs a day. Some people’s mental health does better with specific carbs that feed the good bacteria in the colon (resistant starches or veg fiber that makes it to the colon) because those bacteria make butyrate in huge amounts, which helps the brainz. Perhaps you’re needing a gut boost, due to previous longterm gut damages (typical in the industrial world) - and that boost can help with stress levels.

In addition - you didn’t mention organ meats. Keto without organ meats or supplementation can be problematic longterm. We need the B vitamins for nervous system coping. I supplement with grassfed beef liver capsules.

Keto + exercise can actually be a FAB mix, and along the lines of ancient warrior physiologies. Suggest you check out the work of keto/IF athletes Sami Inkinen (Run on Fat film), and Dr. Phinney & Volek’s book for athletes “The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance” as well as Fred Hahn, Dr. Doug McGuff, and the Romanian keto researcher Cristian Vlad - all of whom are about highly functional body recomposition along with weight lifting and/or endurance feats.

Re: stress and cortisol - check out the cortisol reducers, the apaptogenic superfoods and herbs - such as Ginger. I take dry Ginger capsules daily - 4-6/day.

[Evolvin1]

Michael, I have read this thread and noticed no discussion about protein consumption, I am curious if high levels of protein could be the root of your problem. Is your keto diet, perhaps. too high in protein?

[tdean]

I’ve had several blood sugar readings lower than 5.0 mmol/L while on Keto especially first thing in the morning after a 12-13 hour IF from the previous night. I’ve even had one scary reading just recently taken about 5:00pm when it had dropped to 3.8 mmol/L. On that particular day I had done 12 hours IF before breakfast which was very low carb meal, then went without any food until 5:15pm that’s about another 8-9 hours IF, and it was a pure fluke that I took a blood test before dinner.

According to Diabetes Australia anything under 4.0 mmol/L is considered Hypoglycaemia.

This is one of the reasons why I dropped TMAD and have gone back to three meals a day, and have also upped my carbs a bit and spread them across the three meals. No low readings since. Check your blood sugar levels folks if you experience any of the following symptoms.

• Shaking, trembling or weakness
• Sweating
• Paleness
• Hunger
• Light headedness
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Pins and needles around mouth
• Mood change

[Duncan_K]

According to Diabetes Australia anything under 4.0 mmol/L is considered Hypoglycaemia.

If you’re diabetic then maybe, but if you’re not diabetic and not symptomatic then a reading less than 4 isn’t anything to worry about. My normal blood sugar is in the low 4’s, I don’t fast so much now but when I used to it would regularly be 3.x, very occasionally the high 2s and felt fine. Probably not something to aim for on a regular basis but I was never symptomatic.

[tdean]

My wife is an experienced Registered Nurse and works in Aged Care, if she thinks 3.8 mmol/L is too low I’m inclined to believe her. She needed to inject a patient who was unconscious the other day because her blood sugar levels were 0.5 mmol/L, so I’m not about to test out the boundaries to win an argument, I’ll take her word for it thanks.

[MarkGossage]

There is a world of difference between someone with blood sugars of 0.5 (virtually dead) and you with blood sugars of 3.8 mmol/l . For a “normal” person lower blood sugars are fine and for people on keto it seems quite safe (according to none other than Prof Phinney)) to go into the 2’s and maybe even 1’s with no detrimental effects but that can only be achieved by using exogenous insulin. My body refuses to let me go below 3.5 but I have heard of other ultra low carbers in the 2’s with no problem what so ever. If you feel fine (an I guess you did) then you probably were.