Mental clarity in fat adaption?

travelworkout212

I’ve been doing keto for about 5 weeks now. I don’t know if I’m starting to show signs of fat adaption. I have somewhat stable energy throughout the day and am not needing coffee like I used to. I had a spike in cravings because of my period, so I’m not sure about the reduced craving part. I’m wondering about the mental clarity part that I read often about. How much mental clarity am I suppose to experience?

yirara

Everyone is different. About 1/3 of all people are fine eating lots of fats. About 1/3 feel best with a diet higher in protein, and another 1/3 a diet high in carbs. I'd starve eating lots of fat and little carbs. I think the 'mental clarity' thing is just woo to be honest. Some people might be more focussed on what they do, others feel miserable.

mmapags

Don't believe everything you read in the internet regarding keto diets.

NovusDies

The increased mental clarity can be chalked up to imaginative suggestion. If you are told something would happen you might imagine that it is happening.

Some people are more susceptible than others. The fact you are not imagining it might mean that your mental clarity is fine.

I won't say that no one experiences increased mental clarity as a result of eating differently but it would require study to measure and verify it.

kimny72

I've always wondered about that, like how do people measure "mental clarity"? How do you separate out the placebo effect, as for many people just the action of committing to a plan to improve themselves can nudge them out of a fog? I find I'm more focused and energetic on days I exercise, is that mental clarity?

I've never felt like I needed more of whatever constitutes mental clarity, despite eating all the carbs, so maybe that's why I don't get it.


OP, I would think that if being "fat adapted" provided more mental clarity, how much would depend a lot on the condition of the individual before the diet switch and how in tune to these sorts of intangible benefits a person is. Not sure anyone can quantify or communicate "how much".

Anyway, it's hard to tell from your post, but if keto is working well for you, congrats!

lgfrie

If gorging on fatty foods made one mentally acute, I would've spent most of my life collecting Pulitzer Prizes. This keto thing has really gone off the rails.

Azdak

When you reach the point where you realize that keto, while being a perfectly acceptable diet choice, has no particular magic qualities, you will have achieved peak mental clarity. 😂😂

AlabasterVerve

OP, after five weeks you're "fat adapted" and the results you have right now are probably as good as they're going to get. I think the metabolically unhealthy respond best and are the ones who stick to the diet long term so their anecdotes are the ones we read about the most.

Those experiencing decreased mental clarity have reported benefits but that's certainly not the case for everyone.

kimny72 wrote: »

I've always wondered about that, like how do people measure "mental clarity"? How do you separate out the placebo effect, as for many people just the action of committing to a plan to improve themselves can nudge them out of a fog? I find I'm more focused and energetic on days I exercise, is that mental clarity?

Researchers seem to be using cognitive assessment tests and repeating them over time. From a case study earlier this year:

Ketones provide the starving brain with an alternative fuel source via the cerebral monocarboxylate transporter pathway [9]. Two forms of ketones, acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, bypass deficiencies in GLUT transport and supply needed energy directly to the brain [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13]. Cerebral metabolic rate, emission tomography, and F-fluorodeoxyglucose studies reveal that AD patients with impaired glucose transport are able to fully utilize ketone bodies in the brain as an alternative fuel [4], [9].
...

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is considered to be a gold standard assessment in the diagnosis of early AD. Physiological biomarkers for T2DM/MetS and cognitive functionality were assessed before/during/after intervention. These measures included HOMA-IR, triglycerides/HDL ratio, HgA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, complete fasting lipid panel and the PEAK mobile application for real-time measurement of cognitive improvement.

I'm sure a lot of the benefits people claim in the short term are psychosomatic -- just like new dieters who are stuffed and can't eat enough to reach their calorie goal. But it's certainly not all magical thinking and research is ongoing.

apullum

If you feel that you don't currently have mental clarity, then you need to see your doctor.

PAV8888

apullum wrote: »

If you feel that you don't currently have mental clarity, then you need to see your doctor.

Yup. Seriously. Seconded and amplified!

nighthawk584

I've got enough mental clarity to know that KETO is just a fad and possibly dangerous diet that is not sustainable long term and MOST people gain all their weight back.

Hannahwalksfar

I did keto for a while. All I got was hungry and bad breath. No extra clarity. I’m much better on high protein.

youngmomtaz

Keto does not have to be low protein just to clarify. The only sticker is to keep carbs low. I eat 125gm protein/day, keep my carbs under 50gm, and the rest fill in with the natural fat in my protein selections and the olive or coconut oil I use to make my eggs or to top some veggies. Occasionally it comes from the cream that I put on my berries but usually I snack on those plain.

ETA: and for me the so called “mental clarity” comes from pretty much no head pain while eating keto. Meds are controlling my migraines but I have suffered from daily headaches and pain since I can remember; so since I was about 7yo. Keto has almost completely eliminated that while the migraine meds don’t seem to affect my daily pain. Cool for me but probably not something everyone deals with.

MikePTY

nighthawk584 wrote: »

I've got enough mental clarity to know that KETO is just a fad and possibly dangerous diet that is not sustainable long term and MOST people gain all their weight back.

Most people gain all their weight back regardless of the method of diet they choose. Long term weight loss is hard, no matter how you go about it.

To me Keto is a way of eating that works well for people if it they enjoy a lot of the foods that the diet is heavy in and doesn't work well for others if they would find a ketogenic way of eating hard to maintain. It has no magic power and really isn't better or worse than anything else. It all comes down to calorie deficit.

psuLemon

AlabasterVerve wrote: »

OP, after five weeks you're "fat adapted" and the results you have right now are probably as good as they're going to get. I think the metabolically unhealthy respond best and are the ones who stick to the diet long term so their anecdotes are the ones we read about the most.

Those experiencing decreased mental clarity have reported benefits but that's certainly not the case for everyone.

kimny72 wrote: »

I've always wondered about that, like how do people measure "mental clarity"? How do you separate out the placebo effect, as for many people just the action of committing to a plan to improve themselves can nudge them out of a fog? I find I'm more focused and energetic on days I exercise, is that mental clarity?

Researchers seem to be using cognitive assessment tests and repeating them over time. From a case study earlier this year:

Ketones provide the starving brain with an alternative fuel source via the cerebral monocarboxylate transporter pathway [9]. Two forms of ketones, acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, bypass deficiencies in GLUT transport and supply needed energy directly to the brain [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13]. Cerebral metabolic rate, emission tomography, and F-fluorodeoxyglucose studies reveal that AD patients with impaired glucose transport are able to fully utilize ketone bodies in the brain as an alternative fuel [4], [9].
...

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is considered to be a gold standard assessment in the diagnosis of early AD. Physiological biomarkers for T2DM/MetS and cognitive functionality were assessed before/during/after intervention. These measures included HOMA-IR, triglycerides/HDL ratio, HgA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, complete fasting lipid panel and the PEAK mobile application for real-time measurement of cognitive improvement.

I'm sure a lot of the benefits people claim in the short term are psychosomatic -- just like new dieters who are stuffed and can't eat enough to reach their calorie goal. But it's certainly not all magical thinking and research is ongoing.

I certainly agree with this. I didn't notice a difference while eating keto as it related to mental clarity. From the base of people on this forum, it largely seem to benefit those with metabolic disorders the most. This is actually where i see the biggest benefits as it relates to keto (IMO).

Emmapatterson1729

Keto group and Low Carber Daily Forum are great groups on here.

Tips, recipes, and support.

belleflop

nighthawk584 wrote: »

I've got enough mental clarity to know that KETO is just a fad and possibly dangerous diet that is not sustainable long term and MOST people gain all their weight back.

Ketosis is a natural state of the body that burns fat for fuel instead of glucose stores. Not sure how this is dangerous under normal health conditions as this is how the human body has evolved.

The fact that 99.5% of people gain weight back after losing it is not correlated to any diet, but primarily due to physiological and metabolism factors.

rheddmobile

AlabasterVerve wrote: »

OP, after five weeks you're "fat adapted" and the results you have right now are probably as good as they're going to get. I think the metabolically unhealthy respond best and are the ones who stick to the diet long term so their anecdotes are the ones we read about the most.

Those experiencing decreased mental clarity have reported benefits but that's certainly not the case for everyone.

kimny72 wrote: »

I've always wondered about that, like how do people measure "mental clarity"? How do you separate out the placebo effect, as for many people just the action of committing to a plan to improve themselves can nudge them out of a fog? I find I'm more focused and energetic on days I exercise, is that mental clarity?

Researchers seem to be using cognitive assessment tests and repeating them over time. From a case study earlier this year:

Ketones provide the starving brain with an alternative fuel source via the cerebral monocarboxylate transporter pathway [9]. Two forms of ketones, acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate, bypass deficiencies in GLUT transport and supply needed energy directly to the brain [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13]. Cerebral metabolic rate, emission tomography, and F-fluorodeoxyglucose studies reveal that AD patients with impaired glucose transport are able to fully utilize ketone bodies in the brain as an alternative fuel [4], [9].
...

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is considered to be a gold standard assessment in the diagnosis of early AD. Physiological biomarkers for T2DM/MetS and cognitive functionality were assessed before/during/after intervention. These measures included HOMA-IR, triglycerides/HDL ratio, HgA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, complete fasting lipid panel and the PEAK mobile application for real-time measurement of cognitive improvement.

I'm sure a lot of the benefits people claim in the short term are psychosomatic -- just like new dieters who are stuffed and can't eat enough to reach their calorie goal. But it's certainly not all magical thinking and research is ongoing.

The point behind the quoted study is that it studied people with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome who had been previously identified with problems specifically with how their brains used glucose. This is a real problem, and it seems logical that keto would help it, but it’s not something with any application at all to normal healthy people.

earlnabby

youngmomtaz wrote: »

Keto does not have to be low protein just to clarify. The only sticker is to keep carbs low. I eat 125gm protein/day, keep my carbs under 50gm, and the rest fill in with the natural fat in my protein selections and the olive or coconut oil I use to make my eggs or to top some veggies. Occasionally it comes from the cream that I put on my berries but usually I snack on those plain.

The Ketogenic Diet is 5% carb, 75% fat, and 20% protein. Any other macro breakdown would be considered either modified Atkins or extreme low carb.