How long did it take you to adapt to keto?

[saw7988]

Just curious to hear people's journey in the initial stages.

I started keto this past Sunday, so today is my 6th day. I'm under the impression that there's a general trend of few days to enter ketosis -> feeling crappy for a few days -> feeling amazing for infinite days. I don't really notice ANY mental/energetic changes so far. But I have noticed like the worst workouts ever. I generally do a 5/3/1 strongman hybrid type of thing 4-5 days a week, and I feel both weak and fatigued early. I'm wondering if my body just isn't equipped to handle the scarcity of carbs or if the adaptation will fix this.

So again, not necessarily looking for the "answer;" I'm just curious to hear what other people went through when they started.

[SkidmoreJ]

Just curious to hear people's journey in the initial stages.

I started keto this past Sunday, so today is my 6th day. I'm under the impression that there's a general trend of few days to enter ketosis -> feeling crappy for a few days -> feeling amazing for infinite days. I don't really notice ANY mental/energetic changes so far. But I have noticed like the worst workouts ever. I generally do a 5/3/1 strongman hybrid type of thing 4-5 days a week, and I feel both weak and fatigued early. I'm wondering if my body just isn't equipped to handle the scarcity of carbs or if the adaptation will fix this.

So again, not necessarily looking for the "answer;" I'm just curious to hear what other people went through when they started.

I started last Sunday too, and I've also noticed the fatigue during workouts, i think I'm going to try a pre workout for a few days see if that boosts me up,

I'd highly reccomend ketostix, real cheap and can give you an indiction that you're in ketosis. check amazon

[becomingflu]

I also do 5/3/1 and have been eating ketogenic for almost 2 months. It has been hit or miss for my workouts but for the most part not too bad.

It WILL take time for your body to adapt fully . . . for most people it is closer to two to three months. To start to run on ketones it can only take a day or two.

One of the biggest factors in how you feel, especially at the beginning, is making sure to get enough potassium, sodium, and magnesium in your food and supplementation. That will make a world of difference. You are currently peeing it all out, leaving your body out of electrolyte balance.

[JWoodCF10]

My advice:

Stick to the plan!

What you are going through is normal. You are in a different boat to a lot of people on here in that you are not trying to loose significant portions of weight, and you are already close to goal so you need to bare with this.

I will give you my little bit of personal feelings from the first 6 weeks of keto.

Week one:
Everything was great, I upped water and electrolyte intake, ate like a horse, and stopped eating only when I felt full, I did not count callories only carbs.

Week two:
When in the gym I thought I was dying, it was horrible, my strength left me, my endurance was poor. There were times when OH just wanted me to stop training, and go back to eating normally as seing me ashen grey was not appealing.

Week three:
Much the same.

Weak four:
Improvment, I was getting back to being able to train properly, could not do the longer periods of high intensity work that I could before starting keto, but I was able to recover quicker and get back to it.

Week five and six:
Improvements carried on.

By week 16 I was physically so much better than I was at week 0, I new exactly when I was starting to ramp up ketone production in my body, I was able to perform at the level required with know deficits.

But it takes time, depending on how much exercise you do depends on how much you notice the defficit.

[saw7988]

Thanks guys!

I ended up having a lot of carbs this weekend as a result of playoff football and being a ****ty dieter. My bad. As far as the adaptation process is concerned, you think this set me back a full week? Couple days? Not at all?

One of the biggest factors in how you feel, especially at the beginning, is making sure to get enough potassium, sodium, and magnesium in your food and supplementation. That will make a world of difference. You are currently peeing it all out, leaving your body out of electrolyte balance.

Interesting, do you have any more insight into this? Why are you peeing it all out...? Does a low carb diet inherently lack one of these, and your body tries to get rid of another to maintain some kind of balance?

[becomingflu]

"The diuretic (dehydrating) nature of ketosis causes an excretion of three of the body’s primary electrolytes: sodium, potassium, and magnesium (31,40). These three minerals are involved in many processes in the body, one of which is the regulation of muscle contraction, including the heart. Some studies show a net loss of calcium while others do not (31). [. . .] A known effect of ketogenic diets is a decrease in blood pressure, most likely due to sodium excretion and water loss. In individuals with high blood pressure (hypertension), this may be beneficial. Individuals with normal blood pressure may suffer from ‘orthostatic hypotension’ which is lightheadedness which occurs when moving from a sitting to standing posture (45). The inclusion of sufficient minerals appears to be able to prevent symptoms of fatigue, nausea and hypotension (26).

To counteract the excretion of minerals on a ketogenic diet, additional mineral intake is required. Although exact amounts most vary, suggested amounts for the three primary electrolytes appear below (26,46):

Sodium: 3-5 grams in addition to the sodium which occurs in food
Potassium: 1 gram in addition to the 1-1.5 grams of potassium which occur in food
Magnesium: 300 mg"

-The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald p.79-80

[saw7988]

Ooo wow great, thanks! I've read the keto book twice, but it's been so long haha.

So I'm a bit confused though about one thing. I was under the impression that while you shed a lot of water at first (when dropping the carb intake), it's not really a constant steady state thing. So do you really need all the extra minerals after the first week when you should be back to normal with pissing and hydration?

[becomingflu]

While of course there is an adaptation and normalization, you will always need to be mindful of your electrolytes. If you start to feel dizzy or tired or get cramps, you will know that is your body telling you to eat more salt/magnesium! I have gotten by just fine by eating mine. I make sure to get lots of greens and salt all my food. However I am still planning on getting magnesium supplementation because there is the added benefit of helping with sleep.

[Veeternal]

My first experience was horrifying! I started Sunday Jan 4th just like most of you. Ate totalling 20-40g carbs. Lowered it even more on tuesday. Still no signs of ketosis. Got invited to do zumba with a friend of mine and still did more cardio after that. THATS when it hit me. I got home at 1 am and started throwing up. I threw up all night and the next day, Wednesday, I still felt horrible. This is when I started doing my research and I was low in sodium+electrolytes. Now I have everything under control. Have magnesium Citrate pills now, and my food consists of much more nutrients. I had a carb day this recent saturday and now I'm back but in a low state of ketosis. I have discovered great foods and fast foods I can eat to make this work along with it being fun and becoming my preferred lifestyle! I am seeing fast results already and I love it! I do miss chocolate though...

[eraser51]

is it only cramps that signal an imbalance of minerals?

the side of my left and right foot is like deaf as if I slept on it and cant wake it up but nothing else is different..
I can walk and jump and stuff

[becomingflu]

is it only cramps that signal an imbalance of minerals?

the side of my left and right foot is like deaf as if I slept on it and cant wake it up but nothing else is different..
I can walk and jump and stuff

numbness and cramping are also indicators as far as i remember.