Been on a low carb small portion diet but.....

Post Reply New Topic

I feel kind of sick and exhausted. I've been on this for 6 days straight and almost feel exhausted. Is this normal when you're first starting out on this kind of diet? If I exercise too much I get hungry. All I've been doing is keeping bread and sugars out. The only carbs I do take in are vegetables. The reason I'm on this diet is that I hear it improves depression, autism, seizures and fatigue, all of which I have. I do feel some improvements mentally but this physical weakness. Maybe I'm not getting enough of some vitamin?

Would love any insights.

If you eat too few carbs you will feel run down.

I don't recall exactly how many carbs I ate when I was on a low carb diet but I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, my lunch usually consisted of a sandwich or turkey burger and some fruit so the carbs were in the fruit and the bun/bread. I'd usually use one piece of bread or a low carb hamburger bun. The carbs for dinner were usually found in the rice or potato and I had two snacks which usually consisted of a peach or pear and cottage cheese so the carbs were in the peach or pear.

If I ate eggs instead of cereal I'd feel a definite decrease in energy. My caloric intake was about 1200 calories a day at that point.

How are you doing on physical activity? I've been a lazy, fat, bald guy ever since college--in other words, for the last 10 years--and I lost nearly 50 lbs. one year because of the stress of my first "real job" and because, well, I just stopped eating. I kid you not--it was a ham sammich and water diet, and the bread was low-cal high-fiber. Over time I gradually gained every bit of it back, and what did it was wiping baby bottoms when my wife needed a break, starting my own piano teaching studio (where I just SIT for long periods of times, like most jobs), and the pressure to eat, since by having a family to feed there's a seemingly endless supply of food.

This summer I finally decided I had enough. I bought a Kinect game for XBox called Active 2, which is a personal trainer that spares you the embarrassment of working out at the Y or the gym. I'm getting better at getting my heart rate up and exercising for longer periods of time, but my muscles just aren't there. At one point I was playing DDR for up to two hours when I had the time and going nearly 4 miles a day on the treadmill. So at one point my left ankle finally gave out and I was having shooting pains from my ankle to my knee. I started wearing an ankle support, stopped playing DDR, stopped walking, kept working out on Active 2, going on two weeks now, and it has gotten mostly better.

At my peak I was getting about 3 hours of exercise a day. I just still need a little time for my muscles and joints to adjust to the high impact stuff. The good news is I changed my eating habits, increased my fluid intake to as much as a gallon a day although a half gallon is typical, and after an initial weight gain of about 5 lbs., my weight went down about 7 lbs. from where I started.

If you're good on physical activity, and you didn't mention that weight loss was a goal but rather to relieve depression and other things, how many meals are you eating? I sharply reduced my meal portions, but I spread those around 5 or 6 meals a day. As long as I'm consistent about spreading my meals out, I don't get the nasty headaches that I do when I forget to eat. If I feel I'm just about to die, I'll chop up a Romaine heart and top it with a fistful of baby spinach and a sprinkling of Greek salad dressing. If I have a big dinner, I try to make sure it's early in the evening.

It's only a problem if I get distracted and forget to have a snack--I get these insane headaches that might last for most of the day. I find a cup of coffee helps. I don't drink more than 4 cups of coffee a day (regular size cups, or 2 cups if I'm using one of my big mugs). What I also do is mix 1 cup of green tea with 3 cups of Kool-Aid sweetened with Splenda, which is a gentler caffeine kick than coffee and keeps your base heart rate up for a longer period of time. The point of that is to try to overcome the excess insulin and burn more body fat, thus less hypoglycemia and fewer headaches.

When I DO get headaches, or if I feel one coming on, I just take Tylenol. In the past, I've found that having a pain reliever helps endure the hunger better. Keep that up long enough, and your body will eventually adjust to the low-carbs and you won't have to do that anymore.

I think probably what might work best for you is to increase your fluids and spread out your meals. Eat half your breakfast, for instance, and finish it 2 or 3 hours later. That should help you with the tired feelings and the hunger.

I've reduced my portions and have lost about 5 pounds. I eat only 3 times a day though sometimes I will skip a meal at night or drink a half a glass of milk. I cannot afford a diet with much variety. Really it's just a salad with nuts, two eggs for breakfast or plain yogurt and that's it. I am losing a lot around the waiste as well as my shorts are now getting really lose. Still I feel exhausted and feel like I'm going to faint when I play basket ball or run around the block. This was not so much a problem when I was on some carbs. But I have to say there's been more mental improvement or being able to focus without distraction. This is my 8th day I think.

It wouldn't be a vitamin deficiency caused by a change in diet over such a short period, it would take a lot, lot longer to deplete your stores and start suffering the effects.

It sounds like you have gone cold-turkey on all the high GI foods and are suffering 'sugar withdrawal'. All the sugary stuff is processed into the blood stream really quickly so your body is used to coping with massive spikes in sugar levels and having to even them out.

When you switch overnight to low GI foods it takes 3 weeks to a month for your body to adapt, throw in the reduced number of calories in your diet and you are going to feel pretty sh***y.

You could always try carrying a bag of chopped up fruit with you to snack on so you are still getting the sugar spikes and then reduce the snacking gradually over a month to 6 weeks to zero. Even a little bag of sugar so you can lick your finger and have a quick dip would do the trick.

I've been on a low carb diet for a while now, mainly because I take Seroquel and it's notorious with one gaining weight - which I have unfortunately. It's a bit of a catch 22, coz i need my meds in order not to go completely bonkers with anxiety, but it does have a lot of side effects including giving me bad dreams and being almost dead for most of the day with exhaustion. I do eat a bowl of oats (my only form of gluten), and rice because I was feeling really run down with absolutely no carbs. I think I'm anemic too, so i probably lack iron. Taking blackstrap molasses has certainly helped with making me feel a bit more energetic, as it's high in iron, and perhaps be something you could try. Are you on any meds MC? People tell me that my meds will strip me of some of my nutrition so I do take a multivitamin and the molasses is high in vitamins too. (Just a warning though it tastes pretty awful, as does brewers yeast which is high in vitamins too)

If you are feeling tired from the diet, it is not going to improve your depression.

Humans, like cows, love carbs as our major calorie/energy source; unlike a feline, who's major food source is protein.
You should try adding slow-digesting carbs into your diet. That way you do not have a huge energy bust that your body decides to store it instead of using it. Not all vegetables are slow digesting carbs.
instant oatmeal packages with lots of flavor/sugar do not count. Quick oats or rolled oats is what you want. (and is very very cheap too).

Oatmeal is one. Eat oatmeal. It will digest over a very long time, your body will use its slowly digesting carbs for energy for hours, and you will feel great! As DC said, you went cold turkey; and you don't need to go cold turkey.

If you are playing/working out through basketball. You need protein to recover. Again, your body needs protein to recover from a work-out. Your muscles will either grow or maintain itself with protein, or they will find no protein and grow smaller; making you weaker and tired.

Cheapest route for protein: beans.
You could eat more beans for protein, but that will be at the cost of eating more calories. Luckily Tofu is made from soybeans and is low calorie and cheaply priced.

Lowest calorie route for protein: Unflavored Whey protein
Put it in water and drink it; for least calories. Put it in milk for a longer term energy; but with slightly more calories.

Yeah, I agree with this for the most part--though personally I'd avoid taking refined sugar.

Back in the day when I lost all that weight, something that helped me was taking a Vitamin B complex supplement. I felt like I had more energy when I did that. I also would take one of those baby aspirins and ginko biloba. Not sure that really helped or not, or if it was just a placebo effect, but supposedly it's a mild natural blood thinner and naturally enhances brain function.

But yes, it does take time to adapt. Just speaking from my own experience, taking something like tylenol or excedrin as needed might help you get over the "hump." Also, something I've started doing is fasting once a week. Like, nothing but one (1) glass of milk, some soluble fibre, and water, and it lasts from one sunset to the next sunset. So I pig out Friday afternoon and have a nice meal Saturday night, and a good breakfast on Sunday. I dunno why, it just makes me feel good!

Thanks.

I do have a history of binging on sweets and then going off food completley or eating little to no food. So it could be my body's not use to abstaining from sugar. I've never done this before and so far it's definitely been an experience. I will continue to see what happens.

Hi blue. Yeah I'm on meds, antidepressants Effexor and Clonazepam for anxiety. I take fish oil Vitamin D and a multi-vitamin. I'm trying to avoid carbs and sugars completely all together but like you I use to just have oatmeal and some whole wheat breads. I'm just seeing if this might help me with my fatigue and mental issues. Lately I have been noticing that I am able to focus better than I was. I think may have ADD as I was diagnosed with this way before the question of Aspergers came up. Would love to eventually get off meds but I know that's going to take a lot of work aside from a doctor and commitment on my part.

Yeah the meds could be a factor with your fatigue. I hope it does lessen coz i know how hard it is to try and function when you're completely flat and down. Your routine could also be a factor, as it is with mine. Sleep early and wake up early is best, and keep yourself (mind mainly) occupied throughout the day. Easier said than done, I know, as my routine is completely upside down.

Withdrawals from wheat and sugars is pretty common when going low carb, from what I've read.

Dr. Eades, a weight loss doctor, wrote a couple articles about tips on overcoming the initial run down feeling when first beginning low carb dieting that might be helpful. Good luck!

"Tips & tricks for starting (or restarting) low-carb Pt I"

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/keto ... carb-pt-i/

&

"Tips & tricks for starting (or restarting) low-carb Pt II"

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/satu ... arb-pt-ii/

I had exactly the same reaction to the no-carbs diet as you, MissC. some people thrive on it though. I guess it's just not for everyone? autism often correlates with gluten intolerance and that makes the symptoms worse but that still doesn't mean that everyone who's on the spectrum should be gluten-free.

it's good that you tried, maybe try to make it a whole month, to let your body get used to the new diet. if it doesn't work for you though, then why keep doing it?

no matter what the textbooks say I feel most energised after a meal that's high in carbs, even though it's supposed to make one feel sleepy.

it's good that you're taking fish oil though - omega 3's do wonders to alleviate the symptoms of ADD, at least they have for me.

I've been through sugar and caffeine withdrawal at the same time, went cold turkey as you people say, it was not fun. But you ain't going to be working at optimal on low carb with or without withdrawal. As the glycogen storages will be low in your muscles. Your brain won't work as well since it ain't getting much glycogen either.

I've been low-carbing and yeah the first few days are the toughest, you'll feel weak and dizzy. My diet consists of chicken breasts, egg whites, grilled seafood, skim milk and ofcourse, lots of veges, especially green leafy veges (no potatos...carrots and peas in small amounts).

This is very important too::

Take a multivitamin pill!

I drink 2 glasses of skim milk a day, but if you're going to eliminate dairy as well, then you should also consider a calcium supplement. Drink lots of water as well, 12 glasses a day is best...this will help control hunger pangs. If you're not drinking enough, you get dehydrated which in turn gets mistaken as hunger.

I would definitely encourage you to to eat more than 3 times a day. In fact, eating every 2-3 hours is ideal because it prevents drops in blood sugar, which will help you to feel better physically and emotionally. Also, not eating frequently enough decreases your body's metabolism, which will make any type of diet or weight loss plan more of an uphill battle. I'd eat your three small meals, plus incorporate a small morning and afternoon snack of about 100-200 calories. Maybe a small handful of almonds or other nuts, some celery sticks and a tablespoon of peanut butter or a hard-boiled egg. Getting a little fiber and protein, plus drinking some water with every meal or snack will help you feel fuller for longer on fewer calories.

I'd also mention that not all carbs are bad for you and some can be eaten in moderation. You just have to choose ones that are not heavily-processed and that have some fiber and good nutritional value. Things like quinoa, buckwheat, steel-cut oats, baked yams (prepared without butter and sugar) or any type of bean (prepared in a healthy way), for example, are really good for you and won't spike your blood sugar. It's the heavily-refined grains and carbs prepared with a lot of chemicals and other crap on them you have to watch out for. (A good rule to make for yourself is to read any and all labels on food packages and to not eat anything containing chemicals you cannot identify or pronounce). I think that if you don't allow yourself a couple of carb-y comfort foods to eat every once in a while, you might go crazy.

I hear what you are saying about not having a lot of money for food. I've found that a lot of the time buying whole foods and preparing them myself at home saves money over buying processed convenience foods, ie. buying bulk steel-cut oats is a lot cheaper than a box of instant oatmeal packets, which will be lower in nutrients and higher in sugar anyway. I'd recommend trying to read up on nutrition and research new recipes online. Being more mindful of what I'm buying and preparing my own foods from scratch takes up more time and felt like a chore initially, but became second-nature after a while. Also, depending on where you live, buying in-season produce and purchasing non-perishables in bulk might save money, too.