Tholian

I posted the following in the General Low-Carb forum for 'Trinsdad' last week. You sound like one of those people described in Anthony's article:-


This is an excerpt from an article by Anthony Colpo from his site www.theomnivore.com

I suggest you read the entire article here as it may explain the way you're feeling:
http://www.theomnivore.com/how_low_should_carbs_go.html


While I think the harmful connotations made over ketosis are largely a bunch of bollocks, I also happen to think that ketogenic diets are not for everyone.

Why?

Because some people simply do not seem to do well at the carbohydrate intakes generally believed necessary for inducing ketosis. From reading the popular low-carb literature, people who fall into this category are often led to believe that they simply need to give their bodies more time to adjust to their newly-lowered carbohydrate intake. Indeed, many people feel a little hazy for the first 2 or 3 days after swapping to a ketogenic diet, then feel perfectly fine from that point on. Others, like myself, will simply feel progressively worse the longer they adhere to such low-carb intakes, becoming tired, lethargic, irritable, and mentally 'foggy'. These folks do not experience any relief until they increase their carbohydrate intake, often causing them to question the validity of the whole low-carb phenomenon. Some of these failed ketogenic dieters become so disillusioned with their experiences they go on to become fanatical diet book authors hell-bent on alerting the world to the alleged 'dangers' of low-carb diets, but I digress.
I believe that some people are simply more efficient than others at producing sufficient glucose when dietary carbohydrates are very low, a process known as gluconeogenesis. Does that mean that those who experience no joy from ketogenic diets must resign themselves to a life of rice cakes and fat-free cookies?
Of course not.

Those contemplating low-carb diets should know that low-carbing does not begin and end with ketosis. In fact, there are at least two books I am aware of that recommend adhering to a carb intake of around 70g per day. No induction periods, and no piddling on ketostix every morning! One of these is Life Without Bread by Christian Allan and Wolfgang Lutz, the latter a German physician who has successfully used low-carb diets with thousands of patients for a variety of ailments, including weight loss.