Keto for health?

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gravittation
gravittation Posts: 6 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Hi, I'm brand new, first post.
I'm dealing with a fatigue issue and seeing a Functional Medicine doctor. She's put me on a (temporary?) keto diet to see if it helps, but I'm not looking to lose weight. Is anyone else here doing keto for health and not weight? There's tons of keto information on YouTube and around the internet, but it's all weight loss focused with a few diabetes informational sites/videos thrown in. Makes me feel like I have to take all advice and adjust it experimentally.
Hope to get to know you.
Heather

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  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    What is a functional medicine doctor?
  • gravittation
    gravittation Posts: 6 Member
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    The Functional Medicine doc works out of my Primary Care's office (it's how I can afford to go, she takes insurance, and she was a regular nurse before). I've never had so much blood work! My vit D was horrible, but I got it up and it's normal now. Pretty sure everything else but my auto immune response is normal. My auto immune system being ramped up is why my PC sent me to FM.
  • Hamsibian
    Hamsibian Posts: 1,388 Member
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    Have you increased your sodium intake? Most folks do that to get over the low carb flu/electrolyte imbalance.

    Also, your fc doctor should be able to help with this, or refer you to a dietitian.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,985 Member
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    If you have auto-immune issues, they may be trying to eliminate or verify gluten intolerance (or celiac.) Has she told you to eliminate gluten or other foods? That can be an auto-immune issue.
  • ricka1962
    ricka1962 Posts: 84 Member
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    Getting into Ketosis is supposed to increase your mental clarity and give you a boost in energy. I've done low-carb/keto for years (close to 20). Initially to loose weight but it just as an eating choice. I feel better with less carbs and find it easier to stick to.

    The trick is getting and staying in ketosis. Which means a macro breakdown of something like: 5-10% carb, 20-25% protein, and the remainder fat. A lot of fat and a alot of water. Most of your low-carb diets and keto start out with around this ratio. Low-carb diets will increase carb intake as you move into maintenance. My breakdown is higher in protein than keto recommends but I've seen no loss in energy.

    There is also a Low-Carb group on this website that has a lot of info on these types of diets especially if you do experience the "keto-flu".
  • gravittation
    gravittation Posts: 6 Member
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    I was gluten-free for almost a month and working to get dairy-free when I saw my FM last. My energy was still terrible. The way I understood it, she wanted me to do keto because she expected me to be doing better at that point and wanted to try something more intense, especially to get ride of sugar. She suggested, from what I can tell, the lowest level of carbs (20 to start, 35 maintaining). She knows I can't afford a lot of supplement, which I've heard can help you eat more carbs and stay in ketosis. But I did get test strips and I'm good.
    The nutritionist appointment was not that helpful. She spent a lot of time talking about keto not being something she advises. And she didn't get specific about like what a day of eating could look like or balancing macros, just general food recommendations (she talked a lot about hummus).
    Happily, I have been able to go for a short walk today and yesterday without feeling wiped out. Finally getting nice weather and being able to get outside is a great change.

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