I was doing great on a Paleo diet and lost about 20 pounds in about 6 weeks. I was at 310 pounds and am now at about 290. I still have a long ways to go and I thought I found my answer with the Paleo diet.

The diet is so effective that I find myself only really able to eat about twice a day. Breakfast: 2 eggs and about 5 slices of bacon; and dinner about 6 hours later, which is about 8 oz of a protein and about two cups of vegetables. About two hours after that I go to bed which is when I find myself unable to sleep. I toss and turn for hours and then I found the solution: A cup of Greek yogurt with about a teaspoon of honey. The reason I happened on the solution is I learned from low carbing in the past that after about two months of success, it sends my body into a normal state of insulin resistance.

From Mark's Daily Apple: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/does...lin-resistance/

However, going very low carb – to around or below 10% of calories, or full-blown ketogenic – can induce “physiological” insulin resistance. Physiological insulin resistance is an adaptation, a normal biological reaction to a lack of dietary glucose. As I’ve said in the past, the brain must have glucose. It can use ketones and lactate quite effectively, thus reducing the glucose requirement, but at the end of the day it still requires a portion of glucose. Now, in a low-glucose state, where the body senses that dietary glucose might not be coming anytime soon, peripheral insulin resistance is triggered. This prevents the muscles from taking up “precious” glucose that the brain requires. The brain’s sensitivity to insulin is preserved, allowing it to grab what glucose it needs from the paltry – but sufficient – levels available to it.

However, the honey and yogurt is pretty much derailing my weight loss. Can anybody help me figure out a way to side step this biological reaction and get my weight loss back on track?

Thanks in advance,
Lisa Marie

I've had “physiological” insulin resistance for about 2.5 years, and the only evidence of it is with my higher and rising BGs, both fasting and through out the day.

What often causes the insomnia is being in ketosis, giving you energy to spare. Google Ketosis and Insomnia for more info. Many people do find it helpful for sleep to eat a few carbohydrates right before bed. Since Paleo does not have to be VeryLC, maybe try a root vegetable, like sweet potatoes.

Or supplement with magnesium just before bed. I do and have the soundest sleep ever.

Your body can create all the glucose it needs from protein, and even from fat (a little). So it isn't that your brain is starving for energy.

Thanks for the input. I went out and bought Natural Calm to see if it would help me settle down at night. I'm going to try and add a cup of salad before I go to bed at night and see if that would help me get to sleep.

I'm curious if anybody else reading this have problems sleeping while in ketosis? If so, what do they do about it?

Also Nancy LC, I am curious about your response. If that is true, then what is the cause of adaptive insulin resistance?

Thanks for all of your responses.

PIR is a completely benign state happening for a good reason reason briefly explained here. http://ketopia.com/physiological-insulin-resistance/. For a more thorough explanation, read some of the links in that article, the ones by Peter at Hyperlipid were reassuring (though I admit, rising BG numbers can be irritating anyway)
However, until you have reached and remain at your goal weight for a while, you likely have not reversed all actual insulin resistance. More helpful than Fasting blood glucose is to monitor post-meal BG readings, and get your HbA1C low first. I would suggest keeping your Paleo diet to a very low carb Ketogenic version until you are at a healthy BMI. Magnesium before bed is the best solution I have found for insomnia too.
Also consider updating your profile and stats to reflect your restart and change of program. To lose weight, I followed Dr Westman's very LC, Atkins based diet while also eating only "real foods" or primal, allowing a little cream, no artificial sweeteners, no processed seed oils, make my own mayo, etc.

This morning I was in deep ketosis, I have a breath meter and it was red before any food. I knew I was as I had a few leg cramps last night AND woke up at 3:30 - 4:00 when I usually sleep well until 5am. WIDE awake....

Ugh, I woke up in the middle of night too last nite with a leg cramp. I guess salt water before bed tonite. That's always helped me in the past, though I wake up with a terrible dry mouth

Maybe you're just eating dinner a bit too close to bedtime. At times when I've aimed at very high protein, and eaten too late at night, I've had trouble getting to sleep.

I can drink a cup of heavy cream, and go to bed ten minutes later. I can't do that with 800 calories worth of pork chop.

It's also possible that you're having a bit of a hypoglycemic response to your largest meal of the day--so your body's pumping out cortisol, adrenaline etc., to try to get your blood glucose up, and that's interfering with getting to sleep. A slight bit of honey in that state would actually be a pretty good hack--if your body's heading in the hypoglycemic direction, the insulin response to the honey would be less than usual, and the honey would mean that less of a counter-regulatory response would be necessary to keep your glucose from dipping too low.

Mum, get your salt throughout the day, a cup of broth in mid-morning and afternoon is tasty and filling. I also take magnesium in tablet form at night, both help with cramps, no thirst. Good thread on salt: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=445775