does Low Carb cause Low Energy? advice needed.

Who told you to be at 50g?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I was on low-carb not for weight-loss but for medical reasons. I did lose weight, but it also made me tired and a little foggy. And I went far beyond the 3 week-mark, I kept it up for months.

When I was better (allergies and a horrible yeast-infection sorted out) I started on a low-glycemic index diet. This worked like a wonder, and I lost a lot of weight without the issues I had on the very strict, initial low-carb diet.

I am not saying low-carb is bad - it worked after all, and I know people it worked much better for. What I am saying is: It was not the right thing for me in order to lose weight, and I feel a lot better on a diet with "slow carbs" - that is food with a low glycemic index, where the carbs are released slowly into the blood-stream. It helps me maintain a regular blood-sugar, keeps me from getting too hungry, and keeps me from craving snacks that adds up. It also gives me the energy to work out.

When that's said: 800 calories a day is not a lot. If that's what you maintain, you'll be tired just from being hungry. That's perfectly normal.

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.

I'm one of said suggested people. Everything you and I said is relevant. I don't see how this is "derailing".

OP, low carb is hard to start but rewarding in the long run. I think "low" carb is probably 50g or less. Moderate is about 100 to 150g. High would be 150g+. That's for me at 6'1" large frame about 180lbs of LBM. I like to keep it below 100. You can probably extrapolate what works for you.

As someone on a ketogenic diet, no. I eat under 20g of carbs a day and my energy level has been better than before. I've actually found that my energy level is more stable and I don't wear out as easily.

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?

Those limits are for people who are actively trying for ketosis. Cut out the starches and don't use the diet low carb products and your carbs are going to easily be under a 100g with out even trying which is great for weight loss.

For myself, I started out at just trying to keep my carbs under a 100g (for the health benefits) but it wasn't until I lowered them to around 50g a day that the nagging hunger, cravings and need to overeat went away. I'll eventually try and increase my carbs again to see if whatever was wrong corrected itself but it hasn't yet so a percentage wouldn't work for me. But there are people who set their carbs at 20% - 30% and do very well with it. Low carb is extremely flexible for a restrictive diet -- there's lots of different approaches that fall under the low carb umbrella.

OK. I get that they're for ketosis, but I still don't quite get exactly where the hard-and-fast numbers come from. Could you explain a bit further? (Assume I'm a complete dullard)

I think they are just general guidelines based on results from others. Most people stay in ketosis when below 50g. Some stay in ketosis below 100g. Each person is different.