Extreme Fatigue for days after Exercise

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Hello all,

Since starting Keto (6 weeks ago) I have been experiencing extreme fatigue after exercise. Tuesday I weight trained and did high intensity cardio I was so exhausted the next morning that I called in sick to work. I still feel tired today. This has happened a few times since starting Keto. Help please! Has anyone else experienced this? Should I change my exercise routine? Do I need more carbs on days I exercise? PS all blood work is healthy (no thyroid issues, or low iron etc.

Feeling exhausted....

Replies

  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    There are few things you need to be aware off when exercising in ketogenic state.
    1. You need to slowly ramp up the exercise when you are switching the body fuel from carbs to fat. Its not going to happen over night. Go with weight training and low intensity cardio (if you really need to do cardio).
    2. If you do high intensity, the body can't use fat as fuel, especially in early part of keto adaption when your anaerobic threshold is low. Doing high intensity works outs in anaerobic zone puts lot of pressure on your liver to generate glucose. You have two options, easy one is to increase carbs, the other to slowly build up the intensity with out eating more carbs.
    3. You make sure you eat enough and are getting the electrolytes right if you are working out.

    I didn't even work out for 4 weeks when I started Keto, I struggled for first few weeks till I adjusted the intensity of workouts. I didn't take more carbs because I wanted my body to completely switch to fats even at higher intensities. After 6 months, now my body switches to carbs at a HR of 173, which is like 92% of Max HR. Slowly build your intensity and remember maximum fat burn happens with resistance/weight training. You are not gaining much with HIIT as your carbs are already lower compared to some one on a HC diet who needs to burn ton of carbs at high intensity.
  • carltonstedman
    carltonstedman Posts: 18 Member
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    Make sure you're getting 8, or more, hours of quality sleep...

    I find some MCT oil the morning after training (like in bulletproof coffee) helps my recovery and gives me a boost, but I try not to get too carried away at 100 calories per TBSP of MCT and butter, each.

    Doing light workout the next day helps a ton, too, if you're experiencing DOMS. I like to get in a morning walk with the dog while drinking by bulletproof coffee.

    I'd personally skip the cardio until fully-adapted to keto and getting accustomed to weight training (say do it for at least a month, first, then slowly add in cardio if you want). Those alone will do wonders if goals are weight loss and/or building strength. Keeping the lifting heavy in low rep ranges (5 or less) and slowly ramping up the volume (don't just jump into full-on 5x5, my opinion), will help if you're doing keto at a caloric deficit (e.g. cutting).

    Note that starting a weight training program is a lot harder the first week or two, then gets a lot easier to maintain for quite a while as your body gets used to the workload/intensity.
  • kristafb
    kristafb Posts: 770 Member
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    I just started at the gym last week and other than walking the dogs had done very little exercise before this. I`m working on my strength exercise, using the weight machines & so far I`m finding my muscles are quiet weak. How do you know if you are fully adapted? I've been at this since March 1st and have had a hard time getting ketones up over 1.5.
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    Your ketone levels have no impact on what your body uses for energy. Its simple, higher the intensity, higher the carbs you need. Now, this will improve as you continue to exercise, there is probably no short cut even if you add MCT oil etc. One thing I learnt about exercising on low carb is to pace the work outs and improve your fat burning intensity. Look up RER /RQ( Respiratory quotient) which determines what fuel your body uses in a work out. Over a period of time RER will go up. Keep doing the weight and strength training.
  • blushingbride2bee
    blushingbride2bee Posts: 39 Member
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    I have been strength training and (lifting heavy) for about 6 months so that part isn't new. I have been trying to build my cardio endurance for the past 2.5 months. I also always thought you need more cardio to shed lbs?? Maybe not so true on keto?

    I have noticed I have less endurance since starting keto. How long is an average adjustment phase? This week is my 7th week of keto.

    Should I up my carbs on workout days? Currently I consume only 16 grams of net carbs daily according to this calculator:
    http://www.mydreamshape.com/keto-calculator/

    Thanks everyone. I want to find that sweet spot where I am not so spent on workout days that I skip the rest of the workouts for the week. I will have to modify my program through trial and error I guess. <3
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    Strength training +Low carb is best for fat loss. Cardio might actually slow down your metabolism. Cardio is catabolic while strength training is anabolic. If you want to improve endurance, may be try high rep weight training.
  • carltonstedman
    carltonstedman Posts: 18 Member
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    Endurance work can benefit by having some more carbs, however, note that it will burn more _muscle_ than other forms of exercise -- specifically in the middle-intensity level (i.e. something you can sustain for 30-90 minutes, e.g. jogging, etc.)

    Very-low-intensity work (e.g. walking) is a great way to burn some extra fat, because even though it's sustained, it's not as catabolic on breaking down muscle as that middle-intensity stuff. Starting the day with a 30-60 minute walk (especially before eating) is a great way to burn a couple extra hundred calories.

    On a keto diet, high-intensity training works quite well for many (using bursts of energy instead of a sustained, low-intensity thing like endurance training). Example would be strength training in sets of 3-10 reps, especially in the magic 3-5 rep range (e.g. using a weight that you can only lift for sets of 3-5 with decent form). This will build strength, burn fat, and help build muscle (although arguably the 8-12 range is optimal for hypertrophy).

    Remember: a pound of muscle burns a lot more calories than a pound of fat -- if you have a bigger "engine", you burn more "fuel", which means for a given number of calories, the person with more muscle can have a larger deficit and burn more fat.