So…keto.
I’m three or four weeks in. After the first week, I was stabilizing around 2 mmol/L, while eating one giant meal once a day (2700 calories).
I didn’t get used to gorging myself like that, so I started eating throughout the day. I also discovered I could maintain nutritional ketosis (0.5 mmol/L or higher) while eating 90 total carbs per day. This isn’t nearly the strictest interpretation of keto, but it was super easy.
I ate as I needed to throughout the day, and my energy levels maintained the same consistency they had previously.
In general, I’d consider consistent energy levels (no afternoon doldrums) a big plus. I was also able to do physical work after occupational work with interest, focus, and without needing to come in for a meal.
I have had a few concerns as I’ve done this.
Sex drive is close to zero. I’m interested in whether this has affected testosterone levels, but I don’t have that data. Change in sex drive isn’t something I’ve seen associated with keto eating, so this may be a me-specific outcome.
Decreased desire to exercise. This is probably due to the week or so necessary to get into ketosis and to adjust (keto flu). Taking a week off always decreases this, but my interest in exercise hasn’t come back.
Increased shortness of breath. This makes sense for trained athletes (I’d claim I am not any longer) who rely on aerobic energy. Burning fat consumes more oxygen than burning carbs, so increased need to breathe would follow if there are no carbs in the diet.
Constant catch in the throat. I always feel like I need to clear my throat. It feels like there is something stuck in it. This started during my keto flu period and I assumed it would go away over time. It hasn’t.
No discernable change in mental state. I had hoped eating once a day would be freeing from always thinking about food. It was, but I definitely had to plan that meal ahead of time to balance nutrients and calories. Additionally I was hoping for more mental clarity than I’d previously had. This didn’t seem to be the case.
And constipation. Not like hard to get a log out. More like “I really feel like I have to go” and then nothing comes. Most disconcerting feeling I’ve had in a long time.
I did notice however at about 1.5 mmol/L I could focus better through the afternoon than I had previously. This was a relatively difficult point to maintain, and I’m not sure the benefit was worth it.
I also noticed my joints, especially knees, ached more than normal. This was strange because I had been exercising legs prior to starting this, and my knees were more sore on keto than before.
I’m very impressed by the breadth of things the human body can consume and maintain capabilities.
Final thoughts. As a consistent thing, keto probably doesn’t make sense for me. I think there are huge benefits from occasionally getting into a fasted state and burning out all the glucose from the body.
This is likely attainable by fasting on a monthly basis for 48 hours (after which I reached 3.0 mmol/L)
I need to get back to consistent exercise and focusing on rebuilding the body. It’s possible that a different balance or increasing protein intake could be beneficial to rebuilding my body.
Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. I don’t intend to be one here. Your results may vary.