Feeling Terrible

mandasue1976

Fatigue, weak, irritable, painful muscles / joints &confusion-feeling these symptoms for about 2 weeks & its getting worse is this normal with the Paleo diet? Haven't even been able to walk more than about 10 minutes & absolutely no working out! Any help would be appreciated!

SteamClutch

Not normal, but I have been there myself, after looking at your diary it looks like you are not taking in enough calories on a consistent basis. I do not know what the recommended allotment is for you but you seem to come in under your goals often (and so was I, when this happened). I know some days I did not feel like taking more in and that is okay but many days I was just basically starving myself unnecessarily thinking if I keep it 300 or so under no biggy but it did catch up to me.

Also it seems you are shying away from healthy fats more than you should, the fat ratio to carbs, should show your fat calories higher than your carbs this will give you more energy as well because you body love to burn it as fuel. These are the only ideas I have from looking at the diary and other than that you seem like you are doing a solid job of living a Primal lifestyle.

I have recommended this book before but I am living it and it works "the Calorie Myth" by Jonathan Bailor got me off the low energy/stamina road I was going down.

mandasue1976

Clutch-your help is very much appreciated, so used to not eating fats like this (my husband has fatty liver desease so it makes me super leary of consuming too much fat) & calorie counting is how I have kept myself in check for many years now. How do you keep your self in check since you stopped tracking calories? I will ckeck out that book too-thanks again!

AbbeyDove

Hi there,

I can't see your diary now--did you close it? I wonder as well if your carbs are too low, perhaps below 50 per day? You almost sound like your in ketosis, which works well for some folks but can be problematic for others (especially if you have, say, an underlying thyroid problem, like I do). Anyway, this varies by person, but it's not hard to go a little too low on the carbs with paleo, and If you're not drinking bone broth it could lead to low minerals.

AbbeyDove

Oh, one other thing. A lot of paleo folks swear by coconut oil for the medium chain triglycerides, and (if you enjoy it) liver for the vitamin boost for providing energy.

Akimajuktuq

Do not shy away from healthy fats! Nor should your husband. Healthy fats did not cause his fatty liver; more likely high carb/sugar diet.

I'm with Clutch on the calorie thing. I under ate (not according to MFP) and I'm paying for it now. I don't recommend going down that road unless you want low lean body mass and still a high body fat percent. That lower number on the scale does NOT mean one is healthy.

It's normal to feel crappy at first but if you are under-eating and avoiding fat that could be why you aren't starting to feel awesome.

PS. Closed diary doesn't help people make recommendations.

Dragonwolf

Do not shy away from healthy fats! Nor should your husband. Healthy fats did not cause his fatty liver; more likely high carb/sugar diet.

I'm with Clutch on the calorie thing. I under ate (not according to MFP) and I'm paying for it now. I don't recommend going down that road unless you want low lean body mass and still a high body fat percent. That lower number on the scale does NOT mean one is healthy.

It's normal to feel crappy at first but if you are under-eating and avoiding fat that could be why you aren't starting to feel awesome.

PS. Closed diary doesn't help people make recommendations.

I second the notion about the fatty liver. Dietary fat does not equate to body fat, not even fatty liver.

Fatty liver comes from the build-up of triglycerides, which are directly (and strongly) correlated with carbohydrate intake. Your husband should be shying away from concentrated sources of carbs and sugars, not fat.

This goes doubly for things like coconut oil, which have been shown to improve factors associated with obesity, such as diabetes and metabolic disorder.

There is a known induction phase, especially if you drop your carbs significantly (doesn't have to be ketosis). It usually only lasts a week or two, but can last up to 3 or 4 for some people, depending on the previous diet and how drastic of a change this was. Additionally, not eating enough or enough fats and not drinking enough fluid exacerbate the issue. If you're consuming a very low amount of carbs, you may be putting your body into ketosis. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the ketogenic state does prompt the body to dump sodium, so there is that, too -- make sure you're getting enough sodium. Don't limit it! In fact, you may even want to make sure you're getting at least the "limit" that MFP sets by default for a while, so you don't risk deficiency.

And yeah, we can't see your diary. Perhaps you have it set to friends only?

juliebeannn

Also it seems you are shying away from healthy fats more than you should, the fat ratio to carbs, should show your fat calories higher than your carbs this will give you more energy as well because you body love to burn it as fuel. These are the only ideas I have from looking at the diary and other than that you seem like you are doing a solid job of living a Primal lifestyle.

^^ totally agree.

here's a recent article on marksdailyapple that resulted in a few AHA moments for me.

hope it helps!

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/9-signs-you-need-to-eat-more-fat/#axzz37k3p0tUn

mandasue1976

Thanks for your input everyone- have increased both Healthy Fats with Coconut Oil, & more avocados & increased food intake since posting this & its taken a bit but these last 3 days I have not had any issues I had mentioned before & feeling pretty darn good-hoping to start back exercising again this weekend!

SteamClutch

Very cool

mandasue1976

Thanks Clutch!