&$@!! 2200ish cals, 35 carbs, exercise, and gaining #!

Do you use a food scale? Have a medical reason to go so low on carbs? Diary is closed.

I started feeling like I was out of gas...no energy. I was still at 1800 cal/day, but had increased to 35 carbs. I was having trouble getting through my workouts, which steadily increased in frequency, duration, and intensity.

of course 35 carbs + intensifying workouts made you feel exhausted

I'm no expert on keto at all, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but you can increase carbs if you exercise more. I think <50 carbs is recommended for sedentary and you can easily eat 75 if you exercise while staying in ketosis.

As for gaining, you upped calories multiple times and you started eating exercise back as well. I'd reevalute your intake. Or go back to the calorie intake that worked for you, but change macros to include more carbs to fuel your exercise.

I started at 20 carbs/day (ketosis) and 1700-1800 calories/day. When I got down below 215, I started feeling like I was out of gas...no energy. I was still at 1800 cal/day, but had increased to 35 carbs. I was having trouble getting through my workouts, which steadily increased in frequency, duration, and intensity. So, I upped my calories to 2250. I had not been eating back my exercise calories so I started allowing myself to do that sometimes.

Well, I have gained weight!!

Go back to your previous caloric intake and get some damn carbs in to you.

*edit .. * ... I have nothing as being diabetic complicates things.

Good luck.

Since September, I have gone from 286lbs to a low of 207. I started at 20 carbs/day (ketosis) and 1700-1800 calories/day. When I got down below 215, I started feeling like I was out of gas...no energy. I was still at 1800 cal/day, but had increased to 35 carbs. I was having trouble getting through my workouts, which steadily increased in frequency, duration, and intensity. So, I upped my calories to 2250. I had not been eating back my exercise calories so I started allowing myself to do that sometimes.

Well, I have gained weight!! I am back up to 218 over the course of about 4 weeks. When I noticed the weight gains, I figured it might be my body rebounding from "starvation mode". So I didn't make any changes and hoped that things would turn around after my body adjusted. What gives? The gains are noticeable around my waistline.

FYI, my BMR is about 2090 cal/day. I run 3-4 miles 3-4 times/week, and I lift weights (circuit training, not heavy lifting) on days that I don't run. My job is somewhat sedentary, but I do walk down to the cafeteria a couple times per day, which involves 4 flights of stairs and almost 1/4 mile walk total. I also recently changed jobs and went from a midnight schedule to a day shift schedule. Finally, because things were hectic, I used quest bars (3 net carbs) more than I should have, but typically always stayed within my plan.

Congratulations on refilling your empty muscles with glycogen and all the water retention that goes along with it.

You have not gained 15 pounds of fat in 4 weeks.

Avoiding simple carbs is important as a diabetic as they break down quickly into glucose in the bloodstream. However, carbs as a whole are not the devil. Complex carbs are your friends, especially when combined with protein and fat and contain necessary nutrients. Quinoa, amaranth, spelt, whole wheat pasta, veggies. beans. All high-nutrient foods with fiber and complex carbs.

Sorry but it doesn't matter WHAT type of carbohydrate it is for a diabetic. Simple or complex. The end-result is the same.

Even if your carbohydrate digests slower, 100g of slow-digesting carbohydrate has the same overall glycemic-effect as 100g of pure glucose, in terms of how it affects your HbA1c and your overall health.

I'd use caution about using diabetes to pretty much avoid an entire food group, which could be very detrimental to your overall health and fitness--you need the nutrients to sustain a healthy body. Maybe your doc can refer your to an RD to get some meal plan ideas.

There are no nutrients in carbohydrate you cannot get elsewhere. That being said you can get great nutrients with very little carbohydrate from dark leafy greens, lower-GI fruits such as berries, etc.

That being said, if you're exercising more intensely than before, you CAN increase your carbohydrate intake, especially just-prior to exercise. At this point you basically do a TKD - Targeted Ketogenic Diet.

What I recommend is 0.15 x bodyweight(LBS) in grams of carbohydrate about 30-45 minutes prior to a workout. For me this is 0.15 x 207 = 31g. It's enough to fuel my anaerobic exercise (Strength Training and/or HIIT) but because I'm working out as it hits my bloodstream, it never causes a glycemic spike above 7.5mmol/l (about 135mg/dl) - and I'm a Type I diabetic who doesn't bolus insulin.

FYI I also eat more carbohydrate than I used to now that I exercise fairly heavily. I often have under 50g on a non-exercise day, sure, but I'll eat 75g or more on a heavy exercise day. On days I do endurance cycling (anywhere from 3 to 7 hours) I'll have up to 175g ....