I have been doing low carb for about 5 weeks now, and have been realyy happy in general with all the results. I am at a weight I am almost completely happy with, hav no real cravings for carbs, and until recently felt really good.
But the last three or four days I have felt completely washed out- no energy, a bit 'spaced out' etc. I'm sitting here trying to psyche myself up to go to the gym, but i just don't have the oomph...
I take one solgar multi-vitamin a day, and started taking potassium magnesium aspartate solgar tablet 4 times a day from yesterday (it recommends 1-4 tabs a day.)
Help! I really really want to continue doing this, but I'm afraid i may be proving my friends right when they said they knew people who had done it and were knackered all the time.
What's your experience?
Abi x

My experience is that I have been knackered on this and when I am the following things sort it out.

Potassium (400mg a day for about 4 months, now 200mg)
you haven't been taking your potassium for long enough for it to make a difference yet, give it a few more days. If that doesn't do it try:

lots of water - at least 2 litres a day
more carbs

I'm not knackered any more and have been LCing for a year.

The only time I have problems now is when I seriously up my exercise - I've learned that I need to up my carbs then too.

The problem is soluble, don't listen to those friends! All the people on this forum wouldn't be LCing if it left them permanently knackered.

Hope you sort it, let us know, Jay

I get very weary at times too but i dont take any supplements at all what would you recomend as a daily help towards maintaining this way of eating. Last year when lc'd i took a multi vit and milk thistle. But i would like to know what works for others.
sorry 'avlev' not meaning to take over your thread just wanted to ask the same questions

cheers

If your not eating enough carbs you can have an insulin reation just like a diabetic.

You can be just tired for a number of reasons, but tired and spaced out is very characteristic of someone having a reaction. For a diabetic, a bit of hard candy or some sweet juice sorts out the situation in minutes. There are a lot of diabetics in my family so I know this well.

Make sure you are eating your allowance of carbs and space them out through the day to avoid this. If it does happen then a piece of hard candy, banana, or some juice is a quick fix and shouldn't be enough to jeopardize your weight loss. Better though to have some berries or extra veggies through the day particularly if you are exercising regularly.

Corvidae and Avlev,

Type 1 diabetics get this because they have to inject insulin and then eat accordingly - if they don't eat enough, the insulin packs away the blood sugar they needed to run on, so they 'crash' - low blood sugar, feeling weak and wobbly. As you rightly say Corvidae, eating sugar sorts this out.

Type 2 diabetics get this more rarely, since they don't inject insulin - their problem is more of insulin resistance, so they suffer more from high blood sugar than low.

The low blood sugar insulin reaction doesn't happen in non-diabetics because 'ordinary' people release insulin in appropriate amounts for the carbs they've eaten - so not knocking blood sugar levels lower than is reasonable.

Folk who have become insulin resistant release too much insulin but their bodies don't respond properly - they are more likely to suffer from high blood sugar (which can make you feel headachy and lethargic, similar to having eaten a huge meal) than low.

The fatigue you feel when you haven't eaten enough carbs is simply that your body needs some to run on - and you aren't giving it the right fuel. Though we can run on fats by and large, there are limits. Exercise exacerbates this, particularly intense exercise, since you can only burn fat so fast. Any faster energy requirements need carbs.

Izzy,

folk take a hundred and one supplements but the ones I have come to find essential are:
a good mulitvitamin
potassium (400mg in the early months, 200 thereafter)

some people seem to be better with added magnesium too - and I take a combined magnesium/calcium cos I restrict my dairy intake and don't want crumbly bones.

After that, I think its what works for you.

Hope this helps, like you Corvidae, we've got lots of diabetics, hypoglycaemics (incl. me) and insulin resistants (incl. me) in the family, so you become quite 'in the know' about it all.

Jay

Hi Abi

Sorry to hear that you are feeling a bit washed out at the moment. It is interesting that it has taken this long at low carbing before you get to this stage, so I think that you can be easy that it is not really a low carbing problem.

I agree with much of what has been said. I do not know how many carbs you are having a day, but I would recommend that it should be at least 30 g a day by now. If you do a lot of exercise then you will need more. Your body does need some carbs and it needs to produce some insulin to keep the other beneficial hormones in balance. Plenty of water is also a good idea.

I do find that on some days when I am coming home from work I do feel a bit tired and washed out and it is my bodies way of saying that I'm ready for my next meal, so do not leave it to long between meals. Add in snacks, if appropriate.

On the supplements front I have always taken a multi vitamin and mineral tablet daily. I get mine from Holland and Barret where they contain many minerals. Over time I have added chelated potassium, 99 mg a day, as I was getting dizzy spells at the gym and magnesium, to help with leg cramps. Your body needs time to take these in and to make use of them throughout your body, but this is quite quick, three or four days. For completeness I also take a cod liver oil capsule and have always had extra vitamin C. In the past I have had extra chromium, but have not found this particularly beneficial.

I hope that you are soon feeling energised. I am happy to have been low carbing for nearly 2 years now and really love it.

Hi everyone,
Thanks so muh for all the advice and support- it's much appreciated. The last 3 weeks (post-induction) I have introduced lots of different non-induction foods into my diet, but have been trying to keep below 20g of carbs a day- maybe i will up that to 25-30, as I do go to the gym pretty regularly. I'm just a little worried that if I do i'll have to start watching my calorie and fat intake more carefully...
As for the supplements, the one I have says it provides 50mg elemental potassium per tablet (it's in the form of potssium aspartate- about 260mg), and i take 4 a day. maybe I should take some extra potassium just by itself?
Anyway, I'll give it all a bit more time to work, and see how it goes. I'm just interested to hear from people who've been on this woe for a long time. Seems like the symptoms do go away eventually...
Thanks for all your help

Just a comment about the potassium aspartate Abi - that is the best way to take it (or fastened to any other amino acid). Taking 'inorganic' potassium isn't as easy for the body to absorb.
You'd be taking 8 tablets a day though - can you find some that give you more? I currently have some Solgar ones which are 99mg - though I have had some (can't remember the make) which were 200mg, which is what I took when I needed 400mg. I'll try to find out where I got them from, I ordered them on the web.
All the best, Jay

hi all
i've read the bits about diabetis with interest as both my parents developed it in later life (weight related) so i'm always a bit wary incase i too get it, having beeen heavy for a good many years.
thanx for the advice on suppliments i will start off with a good multi and some potassium i think
thanx guys

That would be a great help. Would be a little excessive to be taking 8 pills a day, plus multivit! I would seriously rattle. A 200mg pill would be perfect, if you could let me know what make that is, and if any shops sell it. Any chance that Holland and Barrett do a high dosage? Or has anyone come across the 'No-Salt' stuff I keep hearing about (potassium 'salt' that you put on your food. Would save on the pills!)
Abi x

You should be able to get the no-Salt in your supermarket. I've seen it in Sainsbury's with the salt. Just look carefully on the packets and if it is low sodium and high potassium, then that is the one to get.

I've been feeling really tired this week but think it is because it is my TOM at the moment. Could this be why for you too?

I'm actually due my TOM at the moment, but no show as yet. I'm about 3 days late, but as i've never been at all regular, I'm not that worried really (oh, and def not pregnant btw!
I went to my docter today, though, and he took my blood pressure, which he said was very low. I mentioned to him that I thought I might be low on potassium, and he took some blood, so I should be getting the results through in a bit.
Will keep everyone posted...
Anyone else out there with low blood pressure. Know what exactly that means?
abi x