My experience with Keto diet and adaption
AlexEtheridge1996
Posts: 65 Member
I have been cutting for a few months, and this past month and a bit i have tapered carbs down gradually until i was down to 30g a day.
I did 6 days at 30g and under, then i refeeded for two days. I certainly experienced fewer cravings for food, mainly due to higher fat.
However, i did experience brain fog, lightheadedness, weakness, lack of energy, tiredness and irratability. I believe i did enter ketosis, yet i did not 'fat adapt'.
After the refeed i felt great; i then soon restarted my keto diet. I noticed the difference that carbs/ glycogen made to my workout intensity. It was obvious when my glycogen depleted after a few days. Once carbs were restricted again, I got similar symptoms to the first week i tried 30g of carbs and under. I felt awful again and felt like i needed a refeed, however i had to get through this hard period(again) to try and see whether fat adaption does really occur, if you give keto a good chance, and to see whether life can return to previous levels of enjoyement and energy.
I am now 14 straight days on low carb (30g and under). I re entered ketosis 3-4 days after my huge carb up. I have focused on even higher fats, and moderate protein (was eating too much protein) for the last few days.
Since restarting my low carb/keto diet, i have had low energy, tiredness and similar symptoms to the first time, but my brain fog has gone. I have to note that my irratability throughout this diet has been very high.
Yesterday i first experienced a weird taste in my mouth while at work(13 days in), and i was able to skip my lunch and have it a lot later than usual, without feeling hungry or lacking energy (from lack of food) to keep me going.
This morning i woke up and noticed a weird, yet amazing sense of clarity, focus and a constant energy. I have not craved food so far today. I woke up feeling like i had some-what fat adapted. I have not noticed or experienced any of the previous bad side effects, or the keto flu.
I thought that I might as well try intermittent fasting to test my (higher than usual) energy levels, lack of cravings/hunger and my huge change in mood that i noticed this morning. Note, i have never fasted before and could never do such a thing because i would wake up hungry, and quickly eat my break-fast(my favourite meal of the day).
Im 17 hours in and i feel great(last ate at 9pm last night - now 2pm). My energy has been constant from the moment i woke up, and i have not ate anything, nor felt like i need food.
Also to note, this feeling of not requiring/craving food is different to being satiated because of high fat, or the reduction in appetite i noticed straight away when starting my keto diet.
Sorry for the huge post but this is just my experience; something other low carbers want to hear. Stick with the low carbs, your body will adapt and you will feel great! Im not saying i am fully adapted, but i feel very good and will continue with this diet so see what other changes i notice. Hopefully when i hit the gym later and eat loads of food to make up for this unplanned fast, I will be feeling stronger and more energetic.
Thanks for reading
I did 6 days at 30g and under, then i refeeded for two days. I certainly experienced fewer cravings for food, mainly due to higher fat.
However, i did experience brain fog, lightheadedness, weakness, lack of energy, tiredness and irratability. I believe i did enter ketosis, yet i did not 'fat adapt'.
After the refeed i felt great; i then soon restarted my keto diet. I noticed the difference that carbs/ glycogen made to my workout intensity. It was obvious when my glycogen depleted after a few days. Once carbs were restricted again, I got similar symptoms to the first week i tried 30g of carbs and under. I felt awful again and felt like i needed a refeed, however i had to get through this hard period(again) to try and see whether fat adaption does really occur, if you give keto a good chance, and to see whether life can return to previous levels of enjoyement and energy.
I am now 14 straight days on low carb (30g and under). I re entered ketosis 3-4 days after my huge carb up. I have focused on even higher fats, and moderate protein (was eating too much protein) for the last few days.
Since restarting my low carb/keto diet, i have had low energy, tiredness and similar symptoms to the first time, but my brain fog has gone. I have to note that my irratability throughout this diet has been very high.
Yesterday i first experienced a weird taste in my mouth while at work(13 days in), and i was able to skip my lunch and have it a lot later than usual, without feeling hungry or lacking energy (from lack of food) to keep me going.
This morning i woke up and noticed a weird, yet amazing sense of clarity, focus and a constant energy. I have not craved food so far today. I woke up feeling like i had some-what fat adapted. I have not noticed or experienced any of the previous bad side effects, or the keto flu.
I thought that I might as well try intermittent fasting to test my (higher than usual) energy levels, lack of cravings/hunger and my huge change in mood that i noticed this morning. Note, i have never fasted before and could never do such a thing because i would wake up hungry, and quickly eat my break-fast(my favourite meal of the day).
Im 17 hours in and i feel great(last ate at 9pm last night - now 2pm). My energy has been constant from the moment i woke up, and i have not ate anything, nor felt like i need food.
Also to note, this feeling of not requiring/craving food is different to being satiated because of high fat, or the reduction in appetite i noticed straight away when starting my keto diet.
Sorry for the huge post but this is just my experience; something other low carbers want to hear. Stick with the low carbs, your body will adapt and you will feel great! Im not saying i am fully adapted, but i feel very good and will continue with this diet so see what other changes i notice. Hopefully when i hit the gym later and eat loads of food to make up for this unplanned fast, I will be feeling stronger and more energetic.
Thanks for reading
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Replies
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Anyone else on around the 12th day of low carbs (30g of carbs) start to feel good again/fat adapted?0
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Typically the "Keto flu" symptoms are due to low electrolytes. I didn't experience any of them myself because I planned to replenish electrolytes starting from day 1.
It certainly seems like you've adapted now. I'm a good 6+ weeks into about 20g a day and have no intention of ever going back since this is the easiest possible way to cut calories I've ever tried in my life! I've lost almost 12lbs and only have about 20 more to goal weight (which I lowered because I realized it was going to be really easy to achieve it).
Congrats on finding success with Keto!0 -
Yes i lost a lot of water weight to begin with and did not replace my electrolytesSunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Typically the "Keto flu" symptoms are due to low electrolytes. I didn't experience any of them myself because I planned to replenish electrolytes starting from day 1.
It certainly seems like you've adapted now. I'm a good 6+ weeks into about 20g a day and have no intention of ever going back since this is the easiest possible way to cut calories I've ever tried in my life! I've lost almost 12lbs and only have about 20 more to goal weight (which I lowered because I realized it was going to be really easy to achieve it).
Congrats on finding success with Keto!
Yes i believe i have up until the other day, i just felt generally like *kitten* on the diet. Not because I didn't enjoy the foods(i love fat) or that i was craving carbs (i wasnt), it was just the symptoms of the low carb/keto flu/adaption period that made it an awful eperience. I will also not go back to a high carb diet, and am looking forward to noticing more adaptions whats not to like about feeling full, having less hunger, a constant energy and eating nice fatty foods while losing weight
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Exactly! It's the best I've ever felt!0
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Are any of you following calorie goals??0
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christinev297 wrote: »Are any of you following calorie goals??
I do. And I've averaged 2lbs per week lost. Only 22lbs to goal now.0 -
AlexEtheridge1996 wrote: »
Yes i lost a lot of water weight to begin with and did not replace my electrolytesSunny_Bunny_ wrote: »Typically the "Keto flu" symptoms are due to low electrolytes. I didn't experience any of them myself because I planned to replenish electrolytes starting from day 1.
It certainly seems like you've adapted now. I'm a good 6+ weeks into about 20g a day and have no intention of ever going back since this is the easiest possible way to cut calories I've ever tried in my life! I've lost almost 12lbs and only have about 20 more to goal weight (which I lowered because I realized it was going to be really easy to achieve it).
Congrats on finding success with Keto!
Yes i believe i have up until the other day, i just felt generally like *kitten* on the diet. Not because I didn't enjoy the foods(i love fat) or that i was craving carbs (i wasnt), it was just the symptoms of the low carb/keto flu/adaption period that made it an awful eperience. I will also not go back to a high carb diet, and am looking forward to noticing more adaptions whats not to like about feeling full, having less hunger, a constant energy and eating nice fatty foods while losing weight
Do you enjoy eating when you are never hungry? I liked it at first, but after a few months, that really turned me off to keto.0 -
When I was fat adapted and supplementing properly with sodium, potassium, and magnesium, I felt awesome. My body does not play well with wheat, so keto was great for me. If you want to feel great, though, you really need to keep on top of your electrolyte supplementation.
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AlexEtheridge1996 wrote: »Anyone else on around the 12th day of low carbs (30g of carbs) start to feel good again/fat adapted?
If you are doing the keto diet for the first time it will take longer than 2 weeks to get fat adapted, you don't need to refeed that soon...0 -
When I was fat adapted and supplementing properly with sodium, potassium, and magnesium, I felt awesome. My body does not play well with wheat, so keto was great for me. If you want to feel great, though, you really need to keep on top of your electrolyte supplementation.
^ x1000 - me too, since I started to supplement with Nuun + additional potassium, magnesium glyc. and sea salt I feel much better on keto0 -
I had a really easy time of it…I had done a FAST 5 IF for all of January..and kept to 1400 calories, not carb counting. Then found LCHF, and switched on Feb 1..have lost 26 as of May 30…and the KETO CLRITY..the mental sharpness has been amazing, as a writer I've been prolific and productive.
I did not have the sugar cravings because I was already not eating much at all..so maybe that is why I had no Keto Flu..so within a week I was settled in, and it took me to the 5th month ( now) to started making 'bread' type recipes as I issued those.
Baking ground up cauliflower & almond flour and making a nice pizza crust, with cheese and all the toppings is wonderful.
the same dough recipes can be used for a quiche base, or to make muffins (not very tall, but adding seed flours- flaxseed, hempseed, sesame, sunflower..all can be ground and make a nice dense muffin.
I am dong a PLANT-BASED protein, (not vegan) no meat, LCHF diet for health reasons, and that has not slowed my loss.0 -
If you read what i said im not planning on refeeding again. It was a mistake because i wanted to adapt to fat, not go in and out of keto to refeed.AlexEtheridge1996 wrote: »Anyone else on around the 12th day of low carbs (30g of carbs) start to feel good again/fat adapted?
If you are doing the keto diet for the first time it will take longer than 2 weeks to get fat adapted, you don't need to refeed that soon...
At 30g of carbs a day and over 25 days + on low carbs i think id know if i was adapting to fat haha
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I noticed that drinking 2 cups of water with sea salt in the morning helps a lot to curb the symptoms. I've been doing a straight keto diet for the past 8 months, refeeding once a week.0
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Sodium, yes, but also you may need additional potassium if you're not getting enough from food.fernandaBush wrote: »I noticed that drinking 2 cups of water with sea salt in the morning helps a lot to curb the symptoms. I've been doing a straight keto diet for the past 8 months, refeeding once a week.
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Bought potassium and magnesium supplements today and feeling great
Sodium, yes, but also you may need additional potassium if you're not getting enough from food.fernandaBush wrote: »I noticed that drinking 2 cups of water with sea salt in the morning helps a lot to curb the symptoms. I've been doing a straight keto diet for the past 8 months, refeeding once a week.
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