Keto diet and general energy levels

arunks91

Hello,

I was considering going on a keto diet to cut down on body fat, although I am hesitant to start this due to some concerns and I wanted some opinions on the same, if anyone here has tried it. The carb intake in a keto is extremely low, so how badly does this affect your daily energy levels, considering carbs are the quickest source of energy? I generally work 10 hours, hit the gym and then have other interests and I can't afford to be tired and low, all the time.

L1zardQueen

Eating low carb zapped my energy.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

nvmomketo

For most people, the dip in energy is due to a preventable electrolyte imbalance. If you increase your sodium to 3000-5000mg or more of sodium per day, you'll most likely avoid it. That's over 2 tsp of table salt per day.

Otherwise most people only notice a slight dip in energy for a few days. If it's big fatigue, add salt. drink broth.

Once you are fat adapted, most find they have more energy as well as steadier energy. The ONLY time I get that mid-afternoon need to nap is if I have been out of ketosis. If you are fat adapted your body is trained to just keep using fat - dietary of body fat.

I've been in ketosis for most of the past 2 years, and my energy has definitely gone up.

Hornsby

While you can certainly do keto right and not have much energy loss, if it is solely for fat loss, I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to start such a trendy, restrictive diet. What makes you want to go down that path?

Cheesy567

I've been very low-carb in the last, and am transitioning back to it now. There is a period as your body becomes fat-adapted that you might have low energy and flu-like feelings.

I had to stop the low-carb for unrelated health issues (an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that was causing me to stop breathing at times, and my body couldn't handle the adaptations of increased breathing that come naturally with low carb. A very rare situation, one that you won't face!), and was just cleared last month to GRADUALLY transition back to low-carb.

I've been dropping my carbs by about 10-20gm every week or two, depending on how I'm feeling. I haven't had any issues with fatigue outside of the norm caused by the autoimmune disease. This week my goal is 90-100gm total carbs (i average 10-15g fiber a day)

If you're concerned, I'd say go for a gradual process to let your body fat-adapt *before* going ultra-low-carb.

DietPrada

Hornsby wrote: »

While you can certainly do keto right and not have much energy loss, if it is solely for fat loss, I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to start such a trendy, restrictive diet. What makes you want to go down that path?

Trendy and restrictive? Lol. I have eaten Keto for over 4 years. It is neither trendy OR restrictive. It's just meat and veg and fats and eggs and fish and dairy and other regular foods - you can even have cake or muffin or pancake if you want - lots of almond flour recipes. If I go out to dinner I have a steak and a glass of wine. I'm never hungry and I honestly don't feel like I'm missing out on ANYTHING. At least nothing I want to stick in my body. I would find a high carb low fat diet much more restrictive to be honest. But I'm not one to judge those who eat that way. Vegans on the other hand ...

silver_arrow3

I had a bout of low energy when I first started it, but after a week or so, my energy was back to normal. I dropped the keto diet when I became pregnant (my one and only actual craving was chocolate milk and I wasn't going to deprive myself of it) but I'm looking forward to getting back at it soon.

Geocitiesuser

I did keto for years and energy levels were fine. I get/got much better results (both in weight loss, energy levels, and body composition) by not doing keto though. I'm still convinced keto was the precursor to me developing gout because I thought "fruit is bad" for so many years.

People can eat however they see fit but I predict the keto craze will die out given another 3-5 years. It's already waning afaik. Really all that matters is calorie counting, everything beyond CICO is just tweaking the formula a little bit.

Hornsby

EbonyDahlia wrote: »

Hornsby wrote: »

While you can certainly do keto right and not have much energy loss, if it is solely for fat loss, I'm not sure that's a good enough reason to start such a trendy, restrictive diet. What makes you want to go down that path?

Trendy and restrictive? Lol. I have eaten Keto for over 4 years. It is neither trendy OR restrictive. It's just meat and veg and fats and eggs and fish and dairy and other regular foods - you can even have cake or muffin or pancake if you want - lots of almond flour recipes. If I go out to dinner I have a steak and a glass of wine. I'm never hungry and I honestly don't feel like I'm missing out on ANYTHING. At least nothing I want to stick in my body. I would find a high carb low fat diet much more restrictive to be honest. But I'm not one to judge those who eat that way. Vegans on the other hand ...

Yes, trendy. That's not to say it doesn't have its place but it is still trendy at the moment in the diet and fitness world.

It restricts carbs...that's kind of it's thing, so yes, by definition, it's restrictive.

Tearshia

I do keto and have high energy and lost a ton of weight. For the first few weeks you will feel like crap but after that energy goes up. Every diet is restrictive in one way or another. This one is just more restrictive than some. Honestly if I were you, I'd try Paleo first because that one is less restrictive.

dewolfe001

I'm a week into keto. I also have gout. I'm not feeling very sore or swollen, but some of that could be lost in the mix as I'm doing a lot of exercise. I agree: Paleo is less strict than keto.