Keto Fatigue: How Long Until I Feel Refreshed?

The keto diet is a popular, effective way to lose weight and improve your health. However, it is common for people to experience fatigue when starting this diet. This is often referred to as the keto flu and is caused by your body adjusting to much lower amounts of carbohydrates. The good news is that this fatigue is usually short-term and should go away within a few weeks. There are also several things you can do to combat keto fatigue, such as increasing your salt and water intake, eating more calories and healthy fats, and taking supplements.

Keto Flu

The "keto flu" is a collection of symptoms experienced by some people when they first start a ketogenic diet. This occurs when the body is forced to switch from burning carbohydrates (glucose) for energy to burning fat, which can be a shock to the system. Symptoms can include fatigue, headaches, nausea, dizziness, sugar cravings, cramping, muscle soreness, irritability, trouble sleeping, poor focus and concentration, and brain fog.

The keto flu can start within the first few days of cutting back on carbs and can last from a few days to several weeks, and in extreme cases, up to a month. However, depending on genetics, some people may never experience the keto flu.

• Ease into the diet: Instead of going "cold turkey," start with a typical low-carb diet and gradually reduce your carb intake over time.
• Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water to help with headaches and boost energy levels.
• Replace electrolytes: Add plenty of electrolytes like salts, potassium, and magnesium to your diet, as a keto diet can lead to a loss of electrolytes.
• Get plenty of rest: Try taking an Epsom salt bath to soothe and relax your muscles, and improve electrolyte absorption.
• Try light exercise: Light activities like yoga or leisurely walking can help relieve muscle pain and tension and boost your mood.
• Eat enough fat: Ensure you are consuming enough healthy fats, as fat is the primary fuel source on a ketogenic diet.

While the keto flu can be unpleasant, these strategies can help reduce its impact and make the transition to a ketogenic diet more manageable.

Not eating enough calories

While on a keto diet, it's easy to undereat because your appetite is suppressed. Ketosis suppresses your appetite, making it easier to stay in a calorie deficit throughout the day. This can lead to a reduction in your body's production of thyroid hormone and other energy hormones, and over time, it can even crash your metabolism.

If you're cutting too many calories, your body may not be producing enough energy hormones, leaving you feeling weak and lethargic. This is a relatively common problem for people new to keto dieting.

To avoid undereating, try eating more calories. Even if your goal is weight loss, you can experiment with eating more calories to boost your energy levels and fight fatigue. For the next 2-4 weeks, eat healthy keto-friendly whole foods and allow your appetite to guide your food intake. You may be surprised to find that your tiredness vanishes without slowing down your weight loss results.

If you're worried about your metabolism, don't be. It's usually not a big deal on keto. Evidence shows that people often burn fat and lose weight on keto without counting or intentionally restricting calories.

To calculate your daily calorie needs, you can use a formula like the Harris-Benedict equation, which will give you a rough approximation of your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns in a day, based on your exercise habits and movement levels. If you eat close to this number, you'll maintain your current weight. If you're following a keto diet to improve your energy but also want to lose weight, don't cut your daily calories by more than 500 calories less than your daily BMR. This should keep your energy levels high and result in weight loss of approximately one pound per week.

If you're practising intermittent fasting, you need to be mindful of your total calories consumed in a week. On fasting days, you'll be well below your BMR level of calories, but that's fine as long as you make it up on non-fasting days by eating more than your BMR suggests. For some people, intermittent fasting is only going to decrease energy. If you don't feel good fasting, don't do it.

Once you have a rough idea of how many calories you need in a typical day or week, you can stop counting and move back towards intuitive eating. Eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full, but only do this after you're confident about how much you need to eat in a typical day or week.

Dehydration

To combat dehydration, it is important to increase your salt intake and ensure you are consuming enough water. Aim for more than 2.7 litres of water per day if you're a woman, and more than 3.7 litres if you're a man. You can also add small amounts of salt or electrolyte supplements to your diet.

In addition to dehydration, there are a few other factors that could be contributing to fatigue while on the keto diet:

• The keto flu: This is a short-term adjustment period when your body switches from burning carbs to burning fat. It usually lasts about a week and can cause fatigue, headaches, and other minor side effects.
• Not eating enough calories: The keto diet can suppress your appetite, making it easy to undereat. Not consuming enough calories can reduce your body's production of energy hormones, leading to fatigue.
• Intense cravings for carbohydrates: Restricting carbs can lead to tiredness and lethargy as your body craves whole grains and other carb-rich foods.
• Not getting enough fat: On the keto diet, most of your energy comes from fat. If you're not consuming enough dietary fat, you may feel exhausted.
• Not eating regularly: Eating at regular intervals helps the body burn fat and use it for energy. Skipping meals or combining the keto diet with intermittent fasting can lead to energy depletion.

Eating dirty keto

Eating "Dirty Keto"

Dirty keto is a version of the ketogenic diet that follows keto macros but allows for the consumption of unhealthy foods. While it may be tempting to reach for those "keto-friendly" snacks and fast food, eating dirty keto can be detrimental to your health and may worsen fatigue. Here's why:

Artificial Ingredients and Additives

Dirty keto often involves consuming highly processed foods that are loaded with artificial ingredients and additives. These unnatural substances can have negative effects on your body and may contribute to fatigue over time.

Imbalanced Nutrient Intake

Following a dirty keto diet can lead to omega-3 and omega-6 imbalances, as well as vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These imbalances and deficiencies can have a detrimental impact on your overall health and may exacerbate feelings of fatigue.

Excessive Energy Intake

Dirty keto-approved products often exceed your daily energy needs. While the keto diet is meant to be a low-carb, moderate-protein, and high-fat diet, dirty keto can easily tip the scales toward excessive fat and protein consumption. This can hinder your body's ability to stay in ketosis and may contribute to fatigue.

Lack of Nutrient-Dense Foods

Dirty keto often prioritizes convenience and macro counts over nutrient-dense whole foods. By choosing these highly processed options, you may be missing out on the nutritional benefits of fresh vegetables, high-quality proteins like fish and steak, and healthy fats. This can result in a lack of essential nutrients, which can impact your energy levels and overall health.

Tips to Avoid Dirty Keto:

• Prioritize whole, unprocessed foods: Choose fresh vegetables, high-quality proteins like fish and steak, healthy fats, and dairy products like yogurt and cheese.
• Read labels carefully: Be mindful of artificial ingredients and added sugars. Opt for foods with minimal processing and a short list of recognizable ingredients.
• Prepare meals in advance: Meal prep can help you stay on track and make healthier choices. It ensures you have nutritious keto-friendly options readily available, reducing the temptation to reach for convenience foods.
• Consult a healthcare professional: If you're new to keto or struggling with fatigue, consider consulting a dietician or nutritionist. They can provide personalized guidance and help you create a keto meal plan that supports your health and energy levels.

Hormone dysregulation

The keto diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that causes your body to enter a fat-burning state called nutritional ketosis. In this state, your body uses fat, rather than carbohydrates or glucose, as its primary energy source. This can lead to weight loss and improved metabolic health.

One of the key hormones affected by keto is cortisol, often referred to as the body's 'stress hormone'. Cortisol performs many helpful tasks, such as providing you with energy during intense workouts or stressful situations. However, too much cortisol can be problematic, and it's important to keep your levels in check. A keto diet can help with this by stabilising your blood sugar and reducing sugar rushes and crashes, allowing your body to stay in homeostasis.

Keto also positively impacts thyroid function by lowering T3, a thyroid marker hormone that can cause your cells to use more energy. Lowering T3 can reduce free radical production and may even lead to a longer life.

Additionally, keto may improve the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is critical for overall health. The HPA axis can be thought of as the 'nexus of the universe' when it comes to internal health. Keto may improve hypothalamic stimulation and use a different metabolic pathway than normal glucose signalling, optimising the function of the HPA axis.

In summary, a ketogenic diet can positively impact hormone regulation, particularly cortisol and thyroid function, and may also improve the function of the HPA axis.

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