Feeling awful

I have been eating keto for almost 3 weeks. Ketostix are deep purple. I feel like crap. I force myself to exercise and markedly decreased the intensity because a) I feel like crap, and 2) to give myself a break. No weight loss. No inches lost. I'm trying to be patient and stay the course. Some confusion, do I eat more fat, eat less protein, up my carb limit?

So just now I made myself a piece of sprouted bread toast, with cream cheese. I'll make myself a cup of tea and monitor how I feel for the next hour. I really don't give a hoot if it kicks me out of ketosis. I can't continue to feel like this; yesterday I couldn't even remember my work phone number. Agghhhh.........

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    • Karbndall
    • Start-7/2019, hit goal-9/2019
    • Karbndall
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Sorry you're feeling bad, but there isn't much in your post to go on.  Are you hitting your macros?  Are you drinking enough water, water and more water?  Is your macro setting 5:25:70?  Are you getting enough calories?  There is no need to overdo this diet at the start as it is a significant change anyway.  The macros tell you what nutrients you need to eat and since you're hitting the flu pretty hard, I would try to hit all your macros on a daily basis.  You need fat for energy and concentration, so make sure you're getting enough.  You need protein, so make sure you hit your protein grams.   After you get past the flu, then you can make adjustments.

    If your stix are deep purple, maybe you're not drinking enough water to flush things out.  Also, you may need electrolytes added back, so powerade zero might help.

    Like 2
    • SALLY
    • SALLY.19
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thank you for your reply. Yes, yes, yes and yes. Lots of water, lots of herbal teas. exercising every day (just finished a light workout and actually feel a bit better). I will finish out 30 days and see how I feel. It might just not be the way of eating for me. I can probably lose weight with low-carb, calorie deficit and exercise. Exercise alone was not doing it. My way of eating was probably 200 grams of carbs a day. 20 grams is kind of nuts. I'm going to eat more greens and see how it goes.

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  • SALLY 

    No reason to be 20g carbs, up to 50g you can still be successful.  Ratios do not have to be strict. Carbs 5-10%, protein 20-30%, fat 60-75%.  Whatever works for you and is sustainable. 

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    • Karbndall
    • Start-7/2019, hit goal-9/2019
    • Karbndall
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    e7cf7c2a-82ce-3c76-cfa7-97758da1ccd4 It's not up to 50g unless you have a 2000 calorie intake.  10% of 2000 is 200 calories from carbs and at 4 calories per gram that is 50g.  If your calorie intake is 1400 for your desired weight loss, 140 calories from carbs and at 4 per is 35g.  But that is at 10% and is the max for ketosis and some may be +/- that.  I don't know what SALLY has her calorie deficit set at, nor can I say what her calorie intake is set at.

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  • Karbndall 

    Per Phinney and Volek who have been researching nutritional ketosis since the late 1990s and wrote The Art and Science of Low Carb Living, the carb threshold for ketosis for most people is 50g.  There will be people who are more insulin resistant or  with certain medical issues who may need to lower that number.  But everyone simply does not need to do under 20g or under 10%.  
    Ive been doing this several years and don’t do percentages, never did.  Kept up with the latest on protein and eat more since I lift.  Fats come from  meats, fish, cheese, yogurt, nuts, seeds. Cook with healthy oils, grass fed butter. Never drank oil, ate a bunch of add on dairy, or bought keto foods.  Carbs mostly from as many veg as I want.   I stick to keeping carbs at my personal limit  to maintain 116-118 lbs.  A sustainable WOE that doesn’t get caught up in percentages.   

    Like 1
    • Karbndall
    • Start-7/2019, hit goal-9/2019
    • Karbndall
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view
    e7cf7c2a-82ce-3c76-cfa7-97758da1ccd4 said:
    Carbs 5-10%, protein 20-30%, fat 60-75%.

     

    Karbndall said:
    10% of 2000 is 200 calories from carbs and at 4 calories per gram that is 50g.  If your calorie intake is 1400 for your desired weight loss, 140 calories from carbs and at 4 per is 35g. 

     Most people are over weight.  Most people are probably obese.   So some study that "most people" have a threshold at 50g isn't much of a stretch.   10% of my current calories is close to 60g from carbs, but my personal limit is 30g.  I'm not telling people to be under some arbitrary 20g, but I also don't believe telling them some arbitrary 50g without knowing more about their situation is correct either.  As for the rest of your post, congrats. 🤗

    Now, back to SALLY and her situation,  I had cut my carb intake months prior to starting Keto and it was probably close to your 200g, maybe slightly lower, but that's just a guess.  I didn't have an issue with Keto flu and I took fat and protein as a goal with carbs as a limit.  Maybe by feeding my body the fat %, I gave it the fuel it needed during that transition and it didn't panic.  3-4 weeks in, I too experience significant dragging during some heavy yard work, but that was it.  I had that exact same "I can't continue to feel like this" thought, I really did.   It went away.    Not knowing more specifics, it's hard to say what changes to make.  When I stalled, and we all do to some extent, I noticed the body fat% had dropped, so the stall didn't upset me too much.

    Also, there is a feature in this app that lets you gradually transition to keto level carbs instead of slamming down to 5%.  There are many options.  If you're not at 10% carbs, bumping it up and filling it with greens is another.

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  • Hey only gave those percentages because people on here are stuck on getting the “right” macros and those for the most part would help them to relax a little.  Trying to adhere to them is why most will fail unfortunately.   Losing and lifetime maintenance in sustainable way should be done without having to adhere to a set of numbers.  I’ll  stick to the original keto,  no macros required or desired.   Good luck to all!

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    • SALLY
    • SALLY.19
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Thanks for everyone's help ❤️  I am shooting for 1500 cals a day (per a keto calculator I found online). I just can't function at 20 grams of carbs so I will increase it by 10-15 grams. I felt better last night after that piece of toast ( I won't be eating bread again as I'm shooting for gluten free. I"ll eat more vegetables). Full disclosure: I am 60 yo with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I once juice fasted for a week without losing weight. So no surprise I'm not losing. I will press on. I am sure I am insulin resistant so eating this way should help with that issue. I already have less arthritis pain in my hands and hips. 

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  • SALLY 

    Thats awesome!  I’m also 60 and free from knee and thumb pain (from years of providing hand therapy).   I hope it’s a lifestyle you’ll embrace as the benefits are incredible.  When you get where you want to be relax into it and do it in a sustainable way. If that means track, great. If not you’ll have learned how to eat in a mindful way. Good luck!

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    • Karbndall
    • Start-7/2019, hit goal-9/2019
    • Karbndall
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    SALLY 👍👍 Great news on the arthritis pain!  I also agree that once you get to where you want to be you can back off of any aggressive macro numbers.  It becomes much easier.

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    • SALLY
    • SALLY.19
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Yup! Feel a bit better today. I had a green salad for lunch, two eggs fro breakfast. I need to catch up on my calories for dinner. Time to bounce on my rebounder : )

    Like 1
    • Karbndall
    • Start-7/2019, hit goal-9/2019
    • Karbndall
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    👍👍💪 Maybe this was one of those darkest before the dawn times. 

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    • SALLY
    • SALLY.19
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Yup, it's a process. Have other women noticed hormonal changes? At the risk of TMI, I have started having hot flashes (6yrs post-men). Interesting. 

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    • SALLY
    • SALLY.19
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    So I had to amend my "protocol" a bit. I definitely function MUCH better at 30-50 grams of carb. At that point I can exercise like my pre-diet self. Still in ketosis but not keto-stix deep purple, more mid-dark pink. I'll take it. My goal is to lose 20 pounds. I think at this rate it's realistic to see that result by Christmas. Maybe sooner.

    Like 1
  • SALLY 

    Yes there is a mistaken idea among many that carbs must be below 20g or a certain percentage of their calories to do keto. So untrue,  in most cases the threshold for ketosis is anything under 50g.   The percentages represented are typically therapeutic used for neurological disorders not weight loss. 
    Watching the grams of carb is more sustainable in the long run.  I’ve managed my carbs without tracking by learning the foods, portion sizes,  and eating mostly Whole Foods, limiting process keto type bars and snacks. 

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    • SALLY
    • SALLY.19
    • 4 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    Indeed! At 20 grams or less I couldn't function. The good news is I have gotten into the habit of writing down everything I eat (something my doctor keeps recommending to me). I too am learning what foods, portions, even what days I can eat what (heavy exercise days). So much happier. I can do this! 😀

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