Low carb fatigue
andrealvargas
Posts: 1
I've been eating a very low carb diet for months. Recently I find I'm tired frequently and lack energy. I'm not hungry, but just feel exhausted sometimes. Any ideas? I only eat about 20 net carbs a day and do cardio three times a week. 5'2 and 122lbs.
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Replies
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eat more carbs?0
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Low Carb Diet & Cardio are usually not a good mix for most people. Might want to focus on weight training if you insist on eating that small amount of carbohydrates.0
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Yeah low carbs is not it man. Why don't you eat carbs?0
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When you say low carb, does that mean low processed carbs, or low on fruits & veggies, too?0
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Maybe you need to up them a little and see how you feel... add a fruit serving.0
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When you go for a low carb diet, you are literally making your body sick. You need to go the extreme opposite because every cell in your body runs off of sugar / starch.0
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When i was experimenting with low carb diets and doing lots of intense cardio I'd quickly crash out within a week or two and spend my time completely fatigued and drain. Went to the doctor, got some tests and everything was clear only when i reintroduced more carbs did I find I improved.
I tried another twice to do low carb, to much the same result. Anecdotally, i do believe that your diet could be causing the fatigue and I would suggest eating more carbs and seeing if that solves the problem.0 -
theres no need to ditch the carbs, you need them just as much as protein and fat, up your carb intake, see if it makes a difference0
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When you say low carb, does that mean low processed carbs, or low on fruits & veggies, too?
20 grams of carbs means he can't even hold long-term eye-contact with fruit.0 -
Low-carb is not necessary for weight loss, its just a plan some people follow because they like it.
If you are following that plan and do not like it, because you feel exhausted, then just stop following that plan. Eat more carbs and lower your fat intake so your calories stay the same. Done.0 -
20 grams of carbs means he can't even hold long-term eye-contact with fruit.
:laugh: :laugh:0 -
We cannot see your Diary to see what it is your eating....
I eat a Low Carb/High Fat (Keto) diet and Yes, in the beginning the lack of carbs can make you tired and sluggish, but what ARE you eating for your energy.....are you eating high fat foods? mostly protein? If you open your diary we can get a better idea of what to suggest.
*** And just telling someone to eat more Carbs when they are on a low carb diet is NOT the answer they are looking for.....0 -
When you say low carb, does that mean low processed carbs, or low on fruits & veggies, too?
20 grams of carbs means he can't even hold long-term eye-contact with fruit.
I'm sorry but LOL0 -
MFP is the worst possible place to ask for nutrition advice. Having said that...I had the same experience you did. Try using carbs tactically, have some bread or fruit a few hours before your workouts just to get the short term energy boost, but stay low carb otherwise. It's been working alright for me.0
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Gilmore is absolutely right: MFP is a terrible place to get nutritional advice. Loads of ill-informed opinions and just plain wives tales: So you can choose to accept mine or not ;-)
1) There is absolutely no nutritional need to consume carbohydrate. Your body can function on a diet with nearly no carbs. Through the process of gluconeogenesis and conversion of amino acids from proteins, your body can make all the carbohydrate it requires
2) Peak performance during exertion will be impeded if you are on a very low carbohydrate diet. You will deplete your glycogen stores in your muscles so you won’t have the quick energy store for peak performance. So if you are competing in something, this may be a concern. Otherwise , who cares
3) The transition to ketosis can be variously invigorating or fatiguing depending on the individual. After a brief period of time this goes away.
Low carb works well for some people. If it works for your great! But a real trial takes several weeks. If it doesn’t work for you, liberalize your carbs and carry on.0 -
This. Carbs give you energy.eat more carbs?0 -
When you say low carb, does that mean low processed carbs, or low on fruits & veggies, too?
20 grams of carbs means he can't even hold long-term eye-contact with fruit.
That's gold! (berries are good though)
20 does seem really low unless you're going for ketosis, in which case I'd say one of your other parameters are off. As a diabetic I'm at 35 per meal. Sometimes I will get really tired when my sugar drops. If it goes on for more than a week or so, go see a doctor.0 -
eat more carbs?
^^^ this
carbohydrate is your body's most readily available energy source, and your body can't run at 100% without carbs. If your body's being fuelled only by fat you can only function at around 50%. Marathon runners call this "hitting the wall" - i.e. when they run out of blood sugar and glycogen stores. Suddenly they can't run as fast and it's a big struggle to continue.
It's certainly true that a lot of people eat too much carbohydrate and that does contribute to obesity (it's taking in too many calories that causes weight gain, but if you're eating too many carbs then its highly likely that you're over on calories as well) but that doesn't mean that carbs are bad or you shouldn't eat them. Low carb is a way to make a calorie deficit, that is all. There's nothing magical about it, and carbs don't make you fat - being over on your calories does. You can get the same results in terms of fat loss without cutting out so much carbohydrate. Just stay within your calorie goal and you can eat carbohydrates without getting fat - and you'll have a lot more energy for it.
Unfortunately a lot of people are set in dichotomous thinking, so they go from "some people are fat because they eat too many carbs" and "it's easy to accidentally eat too much if you eat too many carbs" to "carbs are bad" and "I musn't eat any carbs"....... few things in life are black and white... your body needs the right amount of carbohydrate, not to much, not too little.... and the exact amount you need depends on your energy levels, i.e. the more active you are the more you need.0 -
I've been in ketosis for months and only eat around 10-20g of net carbs a day. I am never tired or lack energy. Not normal day to day anyway. Saying that if I do a big work out I am at the point where I do have to have 15g of carbs before hand otherwise I wouldn't get through the session, but these are burnt off during the session and I stay in ketosis. they are more for muscle power than energy...my energy is fine.
If you have been eating high protein and moderate fat then you would not have been in ketosis as your body can process protein in glycolosis turning it into glucose. Maybe if that was the case and you have recently upped that fat a bit you could just be entering ketosis now, this would explain the fatigue. i was horrendous when I first ever went in but it passes. Another thing could be that you do need a carb up. I have had to do it once in a while because I don't have the muscle power anymore....although it doesn't effect my energy levels as such.
If you choose low carb you choose low carb, it really is not ture to say 'your body needs carbs', I agree if you are doing something extreme then yes but for normal day to day activities you can get by perfectly well without them. Look at children who are on ketogenic diets for years to control epilepsy...look at eskimos...they cope fine without carbs in their diet.0 -
I've been eating a very low carb diet for months. Recently I find I'm tired frequently and lack energy. I'm not hungry, but just feel exhausted sometimes. Any ideas? I only eat about 20 net carbs a day and do cardio three times a week. 5'2 and 122lbs.
44 yo..first post ... I smell a rat (troll)
If not smelling senses are off ...
Re - read you post
Tired, lack energy.....just feel exhausted I'm not hungry... For ***** sake eat some carbs.... Or if your are not eating carbs are you eating protein..........0 -
This. Carbs give you energy.eat more carbs?
So do ketones - carbs are optimal though if your training is in anyway anaerobic. If you are depleting your muscle glycogen stores with your workouts, a small increase in carb intake will likely taken up by the body to replenish your muscle glycogen, quicker than than it would through just gluconeogensis.
It may just take some experimenting.
20grams does seem quite low - are you on an introduction program into fat adaption?0 -
Low carb diets are for people who cant handle carbs very well in my opinion.0
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Im doing keto at the moment [been doing it on and off for a couple year] and I get fatigue after cardio if I have not been eating enough. say I should eat 2000 calories to maintain weight per day. I eat say 500 under to lose weight. then on the days i do cardio I burn an extra 600 for a good run. I have effectivly just had 900 calories that day which just isnt enough for my body.
these are made up numbers just to get the point across.
could just be too big of a calorie defict, actually I feel the same way weather I have carbs or not when im on a calorie deficit that large0
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