No energy on ketogenic diet after 6 weeks. Please help.

bigsistruck

I just did the initial phase of Atkins for 5 weeks straight. It is great for appetite control but I got sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I am going to slowly add carbs back in. Honestly, I didn't see any more weight loss being in ketosis than I did on a low calorie diet.

gmstarr1

I love my ketogenic diet. It's the only way I've lost weight and kept it off. Tried to lose weight for 15 years, and since going low carb, this is the most I've lost and the longest I've gone without gaining anything I've lost back. I tried a moderation diet for 15 years, and it just didn't work.

If you really want to stick with it, I would up my carbs and see if that helps. 3% carbs is really low. I wouldn't even know how to get 85% fat without drinking whipping cream. There's a lot of calculators out there. Go to yahoo or google and enter 'keto calculator' and it'll come up with several of them that will help you. My carbs are 10% which counting exercise usually ends up being about 40 grams a day.

Also make sure you're getting enough calories. I upped my exercise a lot a couple of months ago without upping my calories, and I started feeling really bad. Once I started eating more, I felt better, and I was able to go on.

And sometimes the low carb lifestyle just doesn't work for some people. I feel better eating the way I do (of course that may just be because I lost 40 pounds), but my boyfriend tried it with me, and it didn't work for him. He had to go back to eating the way he was.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

EDIT: Oh, and like the person above me said, I don't think you lose anymore weight any faster this way than if you did a moderation diet. Every year for the last 15 years in January, I start a new diet. This January I started just a moderation diet, then went low carb in February. I lost about the same both months. What it did do was make it easier for me to stay in a calorie deficit and not struggle with wanting to eat a whole box of Oreos. In the years past, I gave up at about April or May and started eating anything and everything and a lot of it....

colors_fade

Where are the low-carb zealots? Why aren't they all over this thread? This has to be all in your head, not the product of your diet! Low carb is perfect!

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And back to reality.

Sarcasm aside, please eat some carbs. And get off this stupid diet.

Eat real food, don't cut out any macros, and stay at a calorie deficit.

Any diet that requires you to restrict food in some way needs to be ignored.

Best of luck.

SpecialKH

Unless you have some reason to be on this diet, that is a ridiculously low amount of carbs. How many total calories? Because it really is all about calories in/calories out. I try to meet my protein goal (to keep muscle while losing fat) and my total calorie goal but the protein is the only macro I track. The majority of my carbs come from vegetables and I only consume whole grains or brown rice. But that is still a nice chunk or carbs.

Gimmicks are just that - gimmicks.

the1brit

Thanks GMstarr1. Very insightful

the1brit

That study is based on healthy individuals. They did similar studies with people who have insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, or are prediabetic, and there is a metabolic advantage in this demographic. The insulin resistant people lost more weight on a low carb diet. It depends on your metabolism.

Kalikel

I know it isn't new or exciting, but why not try eating a healthy diet? Include all the food groups.

If you haven't tried a plain old healthy diet, give it a whirl. See how it goes.

Talk to your doctor and see what they recommend.

I honestly don't know why more people don't just ask their doctor and follow that advice. You really don't need to outsmart the doctor or lose weight on some weird diet that includes or excludes things you don't need.

Eat well and exercise. It works.

ninerbuff

Eat some carbs. There's all the help you need.

A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

gnalani

Even on VLCD's that are designed to limit carbs usually the carb intake is somewhere around 50-100. I personally gave medifast a go and it was around 100g carbs.

When you're unhealthy and overweight your body gives you signals that it's hurting... Joint problems, digestion problems, sluggishness, headaches, high blood pressure and diabetes... Listen to your body again now! It's trying to tell you to give it the nutrients it needs to keep going. Good luck to you and I hope you enjoy some pizza soon

(If you're under the care of a physician and have medical issues we don't know about, ignore everything I just said lol)

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

You want help? Okay, but I don't think it is going to be what you want to hear. EAT some more carbs.

All this right here.

Keto is unnecessary and can be downright dangerous. You can lose weight without it. Feeling ill and too weak to function...that's not a sign of good health.

Keto is nonsense. Eat and track your calories.

Bunch of BS. LOL

I agree Keto is a bunch of bs.

No the post is BS. Shows how much the poster knows about Keto.

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

Where are the low-carb zealots? Why aren't they all over this thread? This has to be all in your head, not the product of your diet! Low carb is perfect!

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

And back to reality.

Sarcasm aside, please eat some carbs. And get off this stupid diet.

Eat real food, don't cut out any macros, and stay at a calorie deficit.

Any diet that requires you to restrict food in some way needs to be ignored.

Best of luck.

Arnold Schwarzenegger must be really stupid for using and recommending low carb diets to drop body fat. Ok brah.

pixelatedsun

Where are the low-carb zealots? Why aren't they all over this thread? This has to be all in your head, not the product of your diet! Low carb is perfect!

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

And back to reality.

Sarcasm aside, please eat some carbs. And get off this stupid diet.

Eat real food, don't cut out any macros, and stay at a calorie deficit.

Any diet that requires you to restrict food in some way needs to be ignored.

Best of luck.

Arnold Schwarzenegger must be really stupid for using and recommending low carb diets to drop body fat. Ok brah.

Several people have said that it works for SOME, but not ALL. I think in OP's case they either need to up their carbs a smidgen, or just try good ol' fashioned calorie counting. Either way, they need to eat some more carbohydrates. Not saying Keto is a bunch of BS, just that it's not everyone's best fit.

MelRC117

83% of calories from fat is pretty high even for keto/low carb. That's almost to "fat fast" levels which are only a COUPLE of days and are ONLY to be used in a serious plateau.

By now, you would be in ketosis so you would be getting energy from fats but you should try upping your carbs a little more and making sure you get protein in AND you are eating your calorie allowance. Also make sure you're drinking plenty of water, and I see you already stated you're making sure your sodium levels aren't low.

It is common for people to experience a couple of days of low energy or headaches while adjusting to low carbs, but you are definitely in ketosis and should be past that. Up your carbs a bit and up your protein. You're in ketosis, it's not necessary to keep your fats at that level.

Keto dieting isn't silly if you prefer eating this way and its the best way for YOU to cut calories.

the1brit

I am going to up my protein and calories tomorrow and see if I get some improvements.

Mr_Knight

That's a pretty common reaction to ultra low carb diets.

You've blown through your glycogen stores. If you're eating at a deficit, and not consuming any carbs, you're not going to be able to recharge them. Either eat more carbs, or eat more calories.

danipeur

You don't seem to be getting much assistance here. May I suggest going to reddit.com/r/keto ? There are a lot more users there who have been doing keto for longer. The FAQ is helpful too. Not my bag, I love my fruits and veggies, but I can see how it works for some people.

OldSportOldsport

Keto is unnecessary and can be downright dangerous. You can lose weight without it. Feeling ill and too weak to function...that's not a sign of good health.

Keto is nonsense. Eat and track your calories.

Speak for yourself. Keto works for a huge amount of people and there's mounting evidence that a low-carb diet has substantial health benefits. It might not work for OP but there's a lot of people (including me) who it does work for.

Mr_Knight

Keto is unnecessary and can be downright dangerous. You can lose weight without it. Feeling ill and too weak to function...that's not a sign of good health.

Keto is nonsense. Eat and track your calories.

Speak for yourself. Keto works for a huge amount of people and there's mounting evidence that a low-carb diet has substantial health benefits. It might not work for OP but there's a lot of people (including me) who it does work for.

There is a world of difference between "low carb" and extended keto. They are not the same thing.

When athletes talk about "low carb" they are talking about 200-ish (and up) carb grams/day...

OldSportOldsport

Keto is unnecessary and can be downright dangerous. You can lose weight without it. Feeling ill and too weak to function...that's not a sign of good health.

Keto is nonsense. Eat and track your calories.

Speak for yourself. Keto works for a huge amount of people and there's mounting evidence that a low-carb diet has substantial health benefits. It might not work for OP but there's a lot of people (including me) who it does work for.

There is a world of difference between "low carb" and extended keto

They are not the same thing.

The OP has taken it to an extreme I agree (OP you should definitely be eating more protein and upping your carbs slightly - are you sure you're getting enough calories as well? If you're combing very low calories with keto that could be an explanation for your fatigue).

However, it has worked for me, and I have stayed low carb for almost three months now at what would probably be considered keto levels. I'm really tired of people crawling out of the woodwork to bash even the idea of low carb. It's sorted my cravings, I've retained a decent amount of muscle mass and I find it tasty and effective.