Low carb brain fog

1200 is really low. If you have been doing that for awhile, your fatigue is probably related to low calorie, not low carb. Have you calculated your TDEE? What is your age/height/weight/body fat estimate? Do you eat back your exercise calories?

Ohmydaze wrote: »

I'm feeling exhausted and don't want to do anything.
I get 15 minutes in on the treadmill and feel like I might pass out.
I have maybe 4 hours of productivity in a day before I feel like I need a nap.

How many carbs are you allowing yourself to have? 20g/day? 50? 100?

Low carb isn't necessary unless you have a metabolic condition.

You need glycogen, which means sugar. Cutting down on sugar is great, but the low-carb philosophy as a whole is not. If you are exercising (and you don't need exercise to lose weight, btw), you need to up the cals a bit. I know that brain fog well. Me and low-carb are sworn enemies, but try increasing your calories a bit and be sensible on how many of those are carbohydrates.

Could be. Try a snack before you work out. Banana, pretzels, something like that. If you're totally against a little bit of carbs, you could always try a protein and a fat as a snack. The only downside I found to that approach though is that sometimes it doesn't digest fast enough and I end up with stomach cramps. Or a mad dash to the bathroom...

I do low to moderate carb depending on my goals and find that I need to either eat some carbs right before running OR run after at least five hours of fasting to not hit a wall energy wise. If you want to continue doing low carb try one of those thing. Some low carbers swear that some MCT oil before a workout gives them energy, I've never tried it.

If you decide to up your carbs instead do it slowly or you're going to gain water weight before your holiday.

Low carb diets work! And it stinks when your smaller and lighter in weight like you are. but based on my experiences with low carb diets, I always felt tired, grouchy, and just in need of a nap. But my carbs were around 80-100 grams a day. Is this your first time low carbing? sounds like you're doing a swell job, maybe just increase your carbs a little bit.

Check your electrolytes. If they're low, then up them. Add salt to meals, eat potassium-rich foods and make sure you have some magnesium in your system. Feeling poo-brain is normal in the first couple of weeks, but upping the electrolytes can help with that. I would get some sugar-free gatorade or powerade.

I've been losing weight for 3 months. I started initially on Atkins Induction, so I was under 20 grams of net carbs per day. I stuck with it without a single freaking cheat for 30 days. I ate about 1600-1800 calories per day. I think your 1200 is a bit too low I LOVE to workout. Absolutely love it. When I would workout, afterwards I would have hypoglycemic episodes. Real ones. I started to shake, my vision was blurry and I could feel the pressure behind my eyes, my heart would race and I would start having a panic attack that wasn't easily reversible until I ate something. This also happened several times without exercising at all. The final straw was when I started to sleep 12-14 hours per day and felt zero motivation to leave the couch. I just decided a keto diet wasn't for me and I started consuming around 100-150 grams of carbs per day. It took a few days, but eventually my energy returned, I was able to kill my workouts again, and I felt so much better.

I dropped 9 pounds in that month on low carb, and have kept it off and lost 9 more. Low carb works well for some people, and some others just have a harder time with it. It's so individual and unique. Try adding some complex carbs back and give it a few days. I bet you'll feel like yourself again.

On another note, if you want to stick to the lower carb approach, you can try this out. Try consuming about 50 grams of carbs before a workout ( or in the morning.) Example being a banana and steel cut oats ( my favorite.) It will fuel your workout. Afterwards, eat another small serving of complex carb and a protein source. It will refuel your muscles and keep you from feeling so blah. I found that tip to be REALLY helpful. I felt so much better. I hope you find out what works best for you. Good luck!!