Low carb brain fog

Ohmydaze

Hi all,

I don't want shouting at, just some general advice. I'm a healthy weight and happy with my size, and exercise regularly. I've been on a pre - holiday low carb diet with extra workouts to help me feel more confident in a bikini, but with 10 days left before I fly, I'm feeling exhausted and don't want to do anything. I get 15 minutes in on the treadmill and feel like I might pass out. I have maybe 4 hours of productivity in a day before I feel like I need a nap.

Is this likely to be from the diet? Or could I just be getting ill?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - at this point I just want the energy to work out, I'm not too fussed about what I eat.

IsaackGMOON

I don't low carb, but it's meant to be a common thing.

How many calories are you eating, OP?

Ohmydaze

Aiming for 1200. Some days are higher, some lower.

Dootzy1

Your body is telling you that you're unable to function. Eat some complex carbs. Don't sacrifice your health.

richln

1200 is really low. If you have been doing that for awhile, your fatigue is probably related to low calorie, not low carb. Have you calculated your TDEE? What is your age/height/weight/body fat estimate? Do you eat back your exercise calories?

auntstephie321

Low carb can cause a brain fog initially, depending on how low carb you are, until you are adapted, which can take some time. It's hard to know without seeing your diary or knowing how many carbs you are eating. If you are very low carb you may be losing too much sodium and have an electrolyte imbalance which can cause the fog too. It's also likely that based on your size and activity level 1200 calories may be too little.

Definitely don't sacrifice your health, try increasing carbs and/or cals a bit to see if that helps.

BigGuy47

Ohmydaze wrote: »

I'm feeling exhausted and don't want to do anything.
I get 15 minutes in on the treadmill and feel like I might pass out.
I have maybe 4 hours of productivity in a day before I feel like I need a nap.

How many carbs are you allowing yourself to have? 20g/day? 50? 100?

Low carb isn't necessary unless you have a metabolic condition.

Ohmydaze

Fitbit tells me something like 1300 for TDEE. I increased to 50g carbs because I found myself going over my initial goal of 30 just with veggies and peanut butter. I'm 5'2, 130lb.

arguablysamson

You need glycogen, which means sugar. Cutting down on sugar is great, but the low-carb philosophy as a whole is not. If you are exercising (and you don't need exercise to lose weight, btw), you need to up the cals a bit. I know that brain fog well. Me and low-carb are sworn enemies, but try increasing your calories a bit and be sensible on how many of those are carbohydrates.

jamzster

CTFU

Laura732

Could be. Try a snack before you work out. Banana, pretzels, something like that. If you're totally against a little bit of carbs, you could always try a protein and a fat as a snack. The only downside I found to that approach though is that sometimes it doesn't digest fast enough and I end up with stomach cramps. Or a mad dash to the bathroom...

isulo_kura

Ohmydaze wrote: »

Hi all,

I don't want shouting at, just some general advice. I'm a healthy weight and happy with my size, and exercise regularly. I've been on a pre - holiday low carb diet with extra workouts to help me feel more confident in a bikini, but with 10 days left before I fly, I'm feeling exhausted and don't want to do anything. I get 15 minutes in on the treadmill and feel like I might pass out. I have maybe 4 hours of productivity in a day before I feel like I need a nap.

Is this likely to be from the diet? Or could I just be getting ill?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - at this point I just want the energy to work out, I'm not too fussed about what I eat.

Why are you restricting calories if you're at a healthy weight? Losing weight will make no difference especially not with 10 days before you . If you don't like your look you need to do appropriate exercise and eat appropriately and this wont happen in 10 day. Eat normally take your Healthy weight body on a holiday and have a good time. When you come back assess your long term goals and exercise regime

GiGiBeans

I do low to moderate carb depending on my goals and find that I need to either eat some carbs right before running OR run after at least five hours of fasting to not hit a wall energy wise. If you want to continue doing low carb try one of those thing. Some low carbers swear that some MCT oil before a workout gives them energy, I've never tried it.

If you decide to up your carbs instead do it slowly or you're going to gain water weight before your holiday.

Ohmydaze

I'm always careful with what I eat, and I've been restricting calories for the last month, I haven't only just started. I'm on a long term plan to improve my fitness, and I'm seeing myself getting stronger with each workout, which I love! This last month was supposed to be an extra push to slim down for a bikini, but I've hit a wall with 10 days to go.
And being a healthy weight doesn't mean my ideal isn't a little lower - we all have goals. I just want to *feel* slim in my swimsuit, even if I don't look noticably different.

asappoeun

Low carb diets work! And it stinks when your smaller and lighter in weight like you are. but based on my experiences with low carb diets, I always felt tired, grouchy, and just in need of a nap. But my carbs were around 80-100 grams a day. Is this your first time low carbing? sounds like you're doing a swell job, maybe just increase your carbs a little bit.

Ohmydaze

GiGiBeans wrote: »

If you decide to up your carbs instead do it slowly or you're going to gain water weight before your holiday.

This is exactly the kind of advice I needed, thank you. I'm at the point where I'm either going to take a nap, or screw it and eat a bowl of pasta, so I'll know to avoid the latter.

ladymiseryali

Check your electrolytes. If they're low, then up them. Add salt to meals, eat potassium-rich foods and make sure you have some magnesium in your system. Feeling poo-brain is normal in the first couple of weeks, but upping the electrolytes can help with that. I would get some sugar-free gatorade or powerade.

ladymiseryali

Dootzy1 wrote: »

Your body is telling you that you're unable to function. Eat some complex carbs. Don't sacrifice your health.

low carb =/= sacrificing one's health.

cosmobella

I've been losing weight for 3 months. I started initially on Atkins Induction, so I was under 20 grams of net carbs per day. I stuck with it without a single freaking cheat for 30 days. I ate about 1600-1800 calories per day. I think your 1200 is a bit too low I LOVE to workout. Absolutely love it. When I would workout, afterwards I would have hypoglycemic episodes. Real ones. I started to shake, my vision was blurry and I could feel the pressure behind my eyes, my heart would race and I would start having a panic attack that wasn't easily reversible until I ate something. This also happened several times without exercising at all. The final straw was when I started to sleep 12-14 hours per day and felt zero motivation to leave the couch. I just decided a keto diet wasn't for me and I started consuming around 100-150 grams of carbs per day. It took a few days, but eventually my energy returned, I was able to kill my workouts again, and I felt so much better.

I dropped 9 pounds in that month on low carb, and have kept it off and lost 9 more. Low carb works well for some people, and some others just have a harder time with it. It's so individual and unique. Try adding some complex carbs back and give it a few days. I bet you'll feel like yourself again.

On another note, if you want to stick to the lower carb approach, you can try this out. Try consuming about 50 grams of carbs before a workout ( or in the morning.) Example being a banana and steel cut oats ( my favorite.) It will fuel your workout. Afterwards, eat another small serving of complex carb and a protein source. It will refuel your muscles and keep you from feeling so blah. I found that tip to be REALLY helpful. I felt so much better. I hope you find out what works best for you. Good luck!!

Ohmydaze

Oh. Also. On holiday, I'll still be working out (Hiking, swimming, lots of walks, and using the home gym), but my diet will probabaly take a U-turn. I'm staying with boyfriend's family who love to cook, so there will be loads of good food, rice, corn, fresh fruit, etc. Obviously I won't be able to sick to 50g carbs. Should I use this next week to gradually up the carbs? I never really realised that suddenly changing from one to the other would have such an effect on my body.

Ohmydaze

cosmobella wrote: »

I LOVE to workout. Absolutely love it. When I would workout, afterwards I would have hypoglycemic episodes. Real ones. I started to shake, my vision was blurry and I could feel the pressure behind my eyes, my heart would race and I would start having a panic attack that wasn't easily reversible until I ate something. This also happened several times without exercising at all. The final straw was when I started to sleep 12-14 hours per day and felt zero motivation to leave the couch.

This! This is exactly what I've been having, down to panic attacks and increased anxiety.

Okay. Calories are going up, and carbs will increase accordingly. I miss feeling amazing after a great run, and a gruelling strength workout. Now I just feel like crap before I go, push everything for 5 minutes, and want to stop.