Low Carb Paleo and Crummy Sleep?
PaleoMichelle
Posts: 29
Hi Folks!
I've been paleo for some time (several months), but have just recently been monitoring my carbs and trying to keep them below about 60g/day in hopes of re-igniting my weight loss.
I have noticed that since lowering my carbs, I have had very restless sleep. I fall asleep just fine (usually within seconds of my head hitting the pillow), but I have been very restless and waking up frequently during the night. Normally, I sleep very well; not like a rock, but certainly better than the past 3 weeks.
Have you noticed a correlation between lowering your carbs and restless sleep? If you've experienced this, has it passed with time? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it does. I don't want to have to chose between weight loss and sleep. Both are extremely important!!!
Thanks everyone!
I've been paleo for some time (several months), but have just recently been monitoring my carbs and trying to keep them below about 60g/day in hopes of re-igniting my weight loss.
I have noticed that since lowering my carbs, I have had very restless sleep. I fall asleep just fine (usually within seconds of my head hitting the pillow), but I have been very restless and waking up frequently during the night. Normally, I sleep very well; not like a rock, but certainly better than the past 3 weeks.
Have you noticed a correlation between lowering your carbs and restless sleep? If you've experienced this, has it passed with time? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it does. I don't want to have to chose between weight loss and sleep. Both are extremely important!!!
Thanks everyone!
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Replies
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SPRINT SPRINT SPRINT. Walk a lot. AND scale some of your calories towards the evening. All my carbs I eat are recovery at the end of the day to make up for the punishment I put my body through.0
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Sprint more than a couple of time a week? Like every day?
I tend to walk quite a bit in the evening, barring any temperature over 100 degrees and no major storms (lots of old trees with dead branches along the path).
One thing, though, is that my lower carb intake has coincided with increased physical activity. Maybe just not enough?0 -
I found when I went lo-carb (like 50 or less), I slept less soundly, even with a good amount of exercise. At the best, I woke up very early, like 5 AM. Now, I'm keeping my carbs around 75-100, and I'm sleeping longer. Not sure if they're correlated or not.0
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I usually just do my all out sprints like twice or three times a week. I do them as hard as I can and wreck myself. And I'll eat around 100g of carbs on those days. I mix it up and eat higher amounts of carbs at least once a week so that I can recover. What's funny is I'll see weight loss usually like the day after I up my carbs. I think it's probably a balancing issue sometimes.0
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I generally have terrible sleeping habits. Lowering my carb intake has actually helped to regulate my sleep. I generally go to bed by 1AM, and am awake around 7AM. I think doing my workouts earlier in the day has helped, too. I will say that the last carb-heavy meal I had made me take a nap in the early evening. I think it has to do with the amount of effort the body has to put in to break it down (it's pure speculation), but I had the itis.0
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Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and suggestions.
I'm totally non-functional without adequate sleep, so I will need to figure out a solution pretty quickly.0 -
I have reduced my carbs considerably and have recently given up carbs after 2. I aim for 35 g, but try not to go over 50. I am exercising between 2 and 3 hours a day because I am highly motivated this summer. I sleep very well....with the exception of getting up to go to the bathroom due to increased water drinking...LOL. Feel free to add me as a friend for mutual support!0
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I have also had terrible sleeps since going paleo. This week I was on vacation and ate some carbs (bread) at night and slept soo soundly! Didn't wake up or stir at all! (but felt gross in the morning).
Maybe need to save carbs for evening like someone else suggested, even if it's carrots or yam or something.0 -
I guess I'm the complete opposite from everyone: I go to bed anywhere from 10:30-12, fall asleep in 20min or so, and sleep soundly until I get up at 6a. Since going paleo at 50g carbs or less, I have significantly cut down on how often I take melatonin as a sleep aid. I do recommend meltonin though if you're having trouble sleeping. Our bodies make it naturally, but even the smallest little melatonin tablet (1mg or 3mg) knock me out when I go through bouts of insomnia. Its been a lifesaver at times0
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that's really interesting.
once i'm in ketosis, my insomnia goes away and i sleep really well. but once i eat too many carbs, i'm staying up all night again!0 -
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!!!
I will try to increase carbs a little at night and see how it affects my sleep (while keeping my fingers crossed that my weight loss does not halt).
Thanks again everyone.0 -
One thing I've been testing out has been taking 400 mg of Magnesium shortly before bed. So far, it appears to help!0
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3 mg of melatonin may be a better option0
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I had periods of time when I was waking up many times a night. I found out that I have Sleep Apnea (I also snored), where I stopped breathing for over 10 seconds, up to 90 times a night. This can lead to severe health problems, including death. I now use a CPAP (assisted breathing machine) at night to keep me breathing and now I don't snore.
Before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was awaking four or five times a night to urinate. Luckily, this bothered be enough to tell my doctor. I then found out I was diabetic, and frequent urination is one of the symptoms.
If you are on statins, they also interfere with sleep, big time. That and other statin related problems is one of the reason I went Primal, because my daughter who is also Primal, told me that this way of eating can correct your cholesterol problems, which it did (triglycerides dropped 174 points to 101 in three months) and my doctor was astonished. He took me off statins and I now sleep 6 to 8 hours straight.0 -
3 mg of melatonin may be a better option
Just curious, why would you recommend melatonin over magnesium? Magnesium is also natural, and it's a vital nutrient that aids in many body functions, including sleep. I'm not saying melatonin is bad, not at all. Just wondering if there's a reason that melatonin would be preferable to magnesium.0 -
Melatonin specifically controls your sleep patterns. I have had trouble with sleep, generally, and during summers, my insomnia is almost unbearable. I find that melatonin, when taken about an hour before I want to go to sleep, really does help me. I've used ambien, and sleeping pills, and they often times don't work for me or they make me feel like crap the next day. Melatonin has been the most consistent. I also take magnesium, but for completely different reasons, and it's never affected my sleep.
Here's WebMD's thing on melatonin: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/melatonin-overview0 -
Read this: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/carbohydrates-for-fertility-and-health/
I've been paleo 1.5 years and began getting crabby and edgy and wondered what the heck was going on. Reading this blog about how women have different requirements and cravings for carbs than men made sense and adding starchy carbs to my diet made me a happy grokette again. Look for starchy carbs (veg) and not sugar carbs (fruit).0 -
Melatonin specifically controls your sleep patterns. I have had trouble with sleep, generally, and during summers, my insomnia is almost unbearable. I find that melatonin, when taken about an hour before I want to go to sleep, really does help me. I've used ambien, and sleeping pills, and they often times don't work for me or they make me feel like crap the next day. Melatonin has been the most consistent. I also take magnesium, but for completely different reasons, and it's never affected my sleep.
Here's WebMD's thing on melatonin: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/melatonin-overview
I concur. I've supplemented with magnesium for years at the advice of my doc, and its never helped me sleep. Melatonin can be taken at small doses and seems, for me anyways, to naturally regulate my sleep. If I take melatonin for a couple days, or a week or whatever, when I stop taking it my body seems to have figured out when I should be sleeping and I can stop taking it until the next time I have trouble sleeping.0 -
Read this: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/carbohydrates-for-fertility-and-health/
I've been paleo 1.5 years and began getting crabby and edgy and wondered what the heck was going on. Reading this blog about how women have different requirements and cravings for carbs than men made sense and adding starchy carbs to my diet made me a happy grokette again. Look for starchy carbs (veg) and not sugar carbs (fruit).
That's a very interesting read. I'm going to have to go get some bananas now. I didn't realize they were "glucose bombs". I'm going to follow this blog now because of my thyroid issues. I've been keeping my carbs really low, but I worry about my T4 to T3 conversion, especially since I found out that acne is a direct result of low T3. More carbs it is! Thanks again!0 -
Read this: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/carbohydrates-for-fertility-and-health/
I've been paleo 1.5 years and began getting crabby and edgy and wondered what the heck was going on. Reading this blog about how women have different requirements and cravings for carbs than men made sense and adding starchy carbs to my diet made me a happy grokette again. Look for starchy carbs (veg) and not sugar carbs (fruit).
That's a very interesting read. I'm going to have to go get some bananas now. I didn't realize they were "glucose bombs". I'm going to follow this blog now because of my thyroid issues. I've been keeping my carbs really low, but I worry about my T4 to T3 conversion, especially since I found out that acne is a direct result of low T3. More carbs it is! Thanks again!
Try plaintains, which are starchier than bananas!0 -
Read this: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/carbohydrates-for-fertility-and-health/
I've been paleo 1.5 years and began getting crabby and edgy and wondered what the heck was going on. Reading this blog about how women have different requirements and cravings for carbs than men made sense and adding starchy carbs to my diet made me a happy grokette again. Look for starchy carbs (veg) and not sugar carbs (fruit).
That's a very interesting read. I'm going to have to go get some bananas now. I didn't realize they were "glucose bombs". I'm going to follow this blog now because of my thyroid issues. I've been keeping my carbs really low, but I worry about my T4 to T3 conversion, especially since I found out that acne is a direct result of low T3. More carbs it is! Thanks again!
Try plaintains, which are starchier than bananas!
Gotcha! Thanks! Are they less sweet than bananas? The banana sweetness is too much for me sometimes (changed perception to sweetness thanks for Paleo).0 -
Read this: http://www.paleoforwomen.com/carbohydrates-for-fertility-and-health/
I've been paleo 1.5 years and began getting crabby and edgy and wondered what the heck was going on. Reading this blog about how women have different requirements and cravings for carbs than men made sense and adding starchy carbs to my diet made me a happy grokette again. Look for starchy carbs (veg) and not sugar carbs (fruit).
That's a very interesting read. I'm going to have to go get some bananas now. I didn't realize they were "glucose bombs". I'm going to follow this blog now because of my thyroid issues. I've been keeping my carbs really low, but I worry about my T4 to T3 conversion, especially since I found out that acne is a direct result of low T3. More carbs it is! Thanks again!
Try plaintains, which are starchier than bananas!
Gotcha! Thanks! Are they less sweet than bananas? The banana sweetness is too much for me sometimes (changed perception to sweetness thanks for Paleo).
If you get them green, they aren't sweet at all, a little tough to peel but they are actually really good to add to soups and stews. I lived in Ecuador for a few years and we ate them regularly. Another way is to thinly slice and deep fry, or cut in 1/4 to 1/2 inch rounds, fry in a little bit of oil for a couple minutes per side, just to soften, take them out of the pan, squash them with a fork, then drop in salted water and return to the pan until crispy on each side. I then dip in fresh homemade salsa or hot sauce.
If they are ripe they are very sweet, slice legthwise and sautee until brown on each side...so good.0 -
Thank you so much for this link. I have been mostly low carb for a few months, and while I feel generally good and don't have any of the problems the women in those posts/comments do, I just don't have the enthusiasm, motivation, or energy to do the circuit training and running I used to do. At first I thought this was just a side effect of the low carb flu, but it has lasted for a long time, and whenever I have sugar now, I feel tons of energy the next day, like I could run a marathon! So I think I am going to start adding in starches. I also feel fuller and find it easier to cut down on calories by eating slightly less meat and more starch, which is amazingly low in calories if you stick with winter squash. Before I found myself always going over my calories by just eating meat until I was full.I like winter squashes for starch. Acorn, butternut, pumpkin, etc.
Also, I hate green plaintains. They taste and feel like cardboard to me. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Not sure if you are supposed to fry green or ripe plaintains, because I have not tried it yet.0 -
Thank you so much for this link. I have been mostly low carb for a few months, and while I feel generally good and don't have any of the problems the women in those posts/comments do, I just don't have the enthusiasm, motivation, or energy to do the circuit training and running I used to do. At first I thought this was just a side effect of the low carb flu, but it has lasted for a long time, and whenever I have sugar now, I feel tons of energy the next day, like I could run a marathon! So I think I am going to start adding in starches. I also feel fuller and find it easier to cut down on calories by eating slightly less meat and more starch, which is amazingly low in calories if you stick with winter squash. Before I found myself always going over my calories by just eating meat until I was full.I like winter squashes for starch. Acorn, butternut, pumpkin, etc.
Also, I hate green plaintains. They taste and feel like cardboard to me. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Not sure if you are supposed to fry green or ripe plaintains, because I have not tried it yet.
Hey, you definitly have to cook them otherwise you're absolutely right, the texture is just awful. One or two comments up I posted a blurb on how I eat plantains, give them another chance!
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Thank you for sharing this resource. Great food for thought!0
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