does Low Carb cause Low Energy? advice needed.

espinozAgal

For 5 days now I've been very mindful of how many carbs I am eating. MFP puts my limit at 260g a day. I heard recently that I should be at 50 a day for fat loss. so 5 days now, working on the 50g of carbs a day and today I've just had no energy. I am usually full of energy and ready to tackle my day, but this morning I didn't want to get off the couch. I finally did but spent the day sluggish. Does this have anything to do with the carb decrease and if so will it subside after my body adjusts? Thanks everyone for your advice!

clobercow

For 5 days now I've been very mindful of how many carbs I am eating. MFP puts my limit at 260g a day. I heard recently that I should be at 50 a day for fat loss. so 5 days now, working on the 50g of carbs a day and today I've just had no energy. I am usually full of energy and ready to tackle my day, but this morning I didn't want to get off the couch. I finally did but spent the day sluggish. Does this have anything to do with the carb decrease and if so will it subside after my body adjusts? Thanks everyone for your advice!

There is a lot of opinion on how many carbs you should eat. I'm a fan of low carb, or at least restricted carbs when on a fat cut.

One of the temporary side effects of goign low carb is withdraw. Once I was over that, my energy has been boundless. I no longer feel the need to nap. I have very good sustained energy all day until bed time, and I go to sleep much much easier now. I also sleep better and wake up easier.

Nothing bad will happen to you if you work your way past this initial symptom. You will start using fat for energy more efficiently and it really is a wonderful thing.

Edit: It's worth mentioning that dietary carbohydrate is not required. I recommend that we get our carbs from high fiber sources like leafy green veggies. Unless you have a condition, fat can and will be used as energy in its place. After-all, this IS why we store it. How low you go is up to you.

Pedal_Pusher

Who told you to be at 50g?

Lunasash

The BRAIN only runs on CARBOHYDRATES! Low carb diet damage your brain and kidneys. If you have questions about what kind of diet to follow talk to your doctor. Any fad diet can be damaging to your body. Just because it says a doctor wrote the book does not mean they are a Medical Doctor.

espinozAgal

Who told you to be at 50g?

I heard it in a podcast. They said 50g was best for maximum fat loss

caraiselite

i eat around 20 grams a day, and once in ketosis, i have a good amount of energy. like the other poster, no need for nap and insomnia is gone.

while detoxing from carbs you might get carb flu, which sucks the first few times you enter ketosis. but now my body is so used to it, i go in and out and don't even notice.

don't listen to lunasash. the body can use fat/protein for energy. why eat your energy when you can use your own fat?

clobercow

The BRAIN only runs on CARBOHYDRATES! Low carb diet damage your brain and kidneys. If you have questions about what kind of diet to follow talk to your doctor. Any fad diet can be damaging to your body. Just because it says a doctor wrote the book does not mean they are a Medical Doctor.

No.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201104/your-brain-ketones


Edit: Do what ever works best for you. I like low carb over anything else I've tried. There is no reason to use scare tactics that are not true.

espinozAgal

The BRAIN only runs on CARBOHYDRATES! Low carb diet damage your brain and kidneys. If you have questions about what kind of diet to follow talk to your doctor. Any fad diet can be damaging to your body. Just because it says a doctor wrote the book does not mean they are a Medical Doctor.

I'm actually not following any fad diet, or any type of specific diet at the moment. just something I heard in a podcast.

Sarauk2sf

For 5 days now I've been very mindful of how many carbs I am eating. MFP puts my limit at 260g a day. I heard recently that I should be at 50 a day for fat loss. so 5 days now, working on the 50g of carbs a day and today I've just had no energy. I am usually full of energy and ready to tackle my day, but this morning I didn't want to get off the couch. I finally did but spent the day sluggish. Does this have anything to do with the carb decrease and if so will it subside after my body adjusts? Thanks everyone for your advice!

A reasonable deficit of calories in general will cause fat loss.

However, in response to the question of energy levels, someone actually doing low carb would be best to respond about the effects as it does seem to affect people differently. From an energy level perspective, it seems to work for some and not for others. It also depends on whether you are doing endurance type exercise or not. IMO, if you want to keep trying low carb I would get the imput of people that have gone to low carb regarding how long you have to wait for energy levels to get back up, if at all. If it ends up not being for you, just go back to medium/high carb and keep to a calorie deficit. To get the apparent benefits (and imo these are actually short term) you need to stay low pretty much all the time so you need to determine if this is something you can stick to all the time.

On a related point, MFP generally defaults to settings that are too low for fat and protein imo. When/if you up these, your carb threshold will have to go down.

espinozAgal

i eat around 20 grams a day, and once in ketosis, i have a good amount of energy. like the other poster, no need for nap and insomnia is gone.

while detoxing from carbs you might get carb flu, which sucks the first few times you enter ketosis. but now my body is so used to it, i go in and out and don't even notice.

don't listen to lunasash. the body can use fat/protein for energy. why eat your energy when you can use your own fat?

are you eating 20 grams total from all carb sources, or just refined carbs? I had a bunch of veggies with my dinner tonight, and I couldn't believe the amount of carbs in them. That's not the same...right??

Sarauk2sf

The BRAIN only runs on CARBOHYDRATES! Low carb diet damage your brain and kidneys. If you have questions about what kind of diet to follow talk to your doctor. Any fad diet can be damaging to your body. Just because it says a doctor wrote the book does not mean they are a Medical Doctor.

I am not a fan of low carb at all, but this is just not true.

TheVimFuego

The BRAIN only runs on CARBOHYDRATES! Low carb diet damage your brain and kidneys. If you have questions about what kind of diet to follow talk to your doctor. Any fad diet can be damaging to your body. Just because it says a doctor wrote the book does not mean they are a Medical Doctor.

What utter nonsense.

To the OP, it can take up to 3 weeks to adjust to primarily burning fat (as opposed to glucose), some people find supplementing with sodium helps during the transition as the body naturally dumps sodium as part of the process.

If you would like more support then take a look at this MFP group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/411-low-carber-daily-forum-the-group-

clobercow

For 5 days now I've been very mindful of how many carbs I am eating. MFP puts my limit at 260g a day. I heard recently that I should be at 50 a day for fat loss. so 5 days now, working on the 50g of carbs a day and today I've just had no energy. I am usually full of energy and ready to tackle my day, but this morning I didn't want to get off the couch. I finally did but spent the day sluggish. Does this have anything to do with the carb decrease and if so will it subside after my body adjusts? Thanks everyone for your advice!

A reasonable deficit of calories in general will cause fat loss.

However, in response to the question of energy levels, someone actually doing low carb would be best to respond about the effects as it does seem to affect people differently. From an energy level perspective, it seems to work for some and not for others. It also depends on whether you are doing endurance type exercise or not. IMO, if you want to keep trying low carb I would get the imput of people that have gone to low carb regarding how long you have to wait for energy levels to get back up, if at all. If it ends up not being for you, just go back to medium/high carb and keep to a calorie deficit. To get the apparent benefits (and imo these are actually short term) you need to stay low pretty much all the time so you need to determine if this is something you can stick to all the time.

On a related point, MFP generally defaults to settings that are too low for fat and protein imo. When/if you up these, your carb threshold will have to go down.

I believe that if we eat moderate protein and fat while in a deficit, there is little room for high carbohydrate. Protein is important for just about everything physical about. Fat is important for hormones. Carbohydrate is important for? I really don't think it is good for much of anything outside of intense activity.

"This is my opinion. It's just advice. Do what ever the **** you wana do!" -The Hodge Twins.

caraiselite

i eat around 20 grams a day, and once in ketosis, i have a good amount of energy. like the other poster, no need for nap and insomnia is gone.

while detoxing from carbs you might get carb flu, which sucks the first few times you enter ketosis. but now my body is so used to it, i go in and out and don't even notice.

don't listen to lunasash. the body can use fat/protein for energy. why eat your energy when you can use your own fat?

are you eating 20 grams total from all carb sources, or just refined carbs? I had a bunch of veggies with my dinner tonight, and I couldn't believe the amount of carbs in them. That's not the same...right??

i eat 10-15 grams from veg, a few from dairy (some people can't handle dairy though) and maybe some nuts. like peanut butter.. mm. PB and celery is so amazing.
only non starchy veg, so no peas, carrots, potatoes, corn and the like. fine to add them in once you're closer to goal, but not really while trying to lose weight. although i did eat 5 french fries today.. yum.

Sarauk2sf

For 5 days now I've been very mindful of how many carbs I am eating. MFP puts my limit at 260g a day. I heard recently that I should be at 50 a day for fat loss. so 5 days now, working on the 50g of carbs a day and today I've just had no energy. I am usually full of energy and ready to tackle my day, but this morning I didn't want to get off the couch. I finally did but spent the day sluggish. Does this have anything to do with the carb decrease and if so will it subside after my body adjusts? Thanks everyone for your advice!

A reasonable deficit of calories in general will cause fat loss.

However, in response to the question of energy levels, someone actually doing low carb would be best to respond about the effects as it does seem to affect people differently. From an energy level perspective, it seems to work for some and not for others. It also depends on whether you are doing endurance type exercise or not. IMO, if you want to keep trying low carb I would get the imput of people that have gone to low carb regarding how long you have to wait for energy levels to get back up, if at all. If it ends up not being for you, just go back to medium/high carb and keep to a calorie deficit. To get the apparent benefits (and imo these are actually short term) you need to stay low pretty much all the time so you need to determine if this is something you can stick to all the time.

On a related point, MFP generally defaults to settings that are too low for fat and protein imo. When/if you up these, your carb threshold will have to go down.

I believe that if we eat moderate protein and fat while in a deficit, there is little room for high carbohydrate. Protein is important for just about everything physical about. Fat is important for hormones. Carbohydrate is important for? I really don't think it is good for much of anything outside of intense activity.

"This is my opinion. It's just advice. Do what ever the **** you wana do!" -The Hodge Twins.

I am quite aware of what you think. I personally think carbohydrates are good for MY energy levels and for ME enjoying my food. Lets not derail the thread. I did not tell the OP what to do and in fact I suggested that if they wanted to go that route, to actually pay attention to people who had.

caraiselite

and if it helps, most people subtract fibre from their carb count. makes eating things like avocado and flax a lot less stressful!

espinozAgal

and if it helps, most people subtract fibre from their carb count. makes eating things like avocado and flax a lot less stressful!

cool.. thanks for the info. i'm trying to figure out if I can really do this long term. I love veggies and I eat them a lot, so having to limit them really doesn't sit well with me. but one way or another I'll get to my goal... RIGHT???

MoreBean13

Why does low carb have hard limits, like 50g or 20g carbs, rather than a percentage of calorie intake or a limit relative to the person's mass?

caraiselite

and if it helps, most people subtract fibre from their carb count. makes eating things like avocado and flax a lot less stressful!

cool.. thanks for the info. i'm trying to figure out if I can really do this long term. I love veggies and I eat them a lot, so having to limit them really doesn't sit well with me. but one way or another I'll get to my goal... RIGHT???

i never limit veggies! i don't even log things that i eat straight from the garden.
lettuce, celery, spinach.. they're all pretty lowish. i will be careful with brussels sprouts, broc, zuch, tomatoes and onions though. they add up fast.

caraiselite

Why does low carb have hard limits, like 50g or 20g carbs, rather than a percentage of calorie intake or a limit relative to the person's mass?

saying 20 grams is faster than saying 5 or 10% of calories eaten! haha. it's a fair point.

800 cals puts me at exactly 20 grams of carbs.

espinozAgal

Why does low carb have hard limits, like 50g or 20g carbs, rather than a percentage of calorie intake or a limit relative to the person's mass?

great question. I guess someone thought it sounded good and others followed. Including me...obviously. I put my Carb percentage at 25% of my caloric intake and it has me at 83 g a day. I think that's more my speed. My problem is not eating a bunch of bread, pastries, pasta, rice or potatoes. It's the other very healthy items that I eat a lot of, veggies, fruit, nuts, that really add up.