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I started Paleo 3 weeks ago to be more healthy. Generally I had a pretty good diet and lift 4 days a week. I've been having real bad sleep issues for 6-12 months and for last 6 weeks or so have not been able to maintain sleep for longer than what seems like 45 minutes. I estimate i get about 10 hours of sleep and week and its getting ridiculous. This was the reason for my switch to paleo. But after 3 weeks i feel even worse. I feel terribly depressed, have low libido and so run down i can't operate like a normal human. Im finishing college in a few weeks but im having such a hard time even focusing my eyes on a page or even driving for that matter. I'd been feeling terrible after workouts for a while and after a really bad one last week i haven't been back. I did chest only and have never been that sore in my tris and shouldrs and didn't go any harder than normal. I've been sore for 5 days in my triceps which never happens. I dont know if im just having a really hard go adjusting to protein / fats or has my new amount carbs maybe exposed an underlying problem?? I did have a sleep study done yesterday but won't hear results for another week. I'm 24 years old. 5'9 165 lbs (was). I was eating 3300-3900 cals a day with a heavy emphasis on milk (4-5 gallons a week). Now on Paleo i'm eating way less cals with about 40-60 g carbs mostly from a banana, nuts, and veggies (not as much as i should), about 150 grams protein and 200 g fat. i've dropped to about 156 lbs as well, seemingly some muscle loss, but noticeable fat loss.

Should I just press on through workouts and life and just hope ill be adjusted soon? Are there some different supplements or vitimens i should be taking on Paleo? I take a multi, fish oil, creatine

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thx

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 probably someone can give you some better advice, but my first impression is you should add more carbs through sweet potatoe perhaps. Make sure your fat ratio stays around 60+% of what you take in, and balance the carbs and proteins around that. I wonder if you have a bit of carb flu (assuming you were eating a SAD diet before with processed carbs), this would account for that foggy feeling and lack of concentration. Has to be rough if finishing school and trying to stay focused....my suggestion, back off the exercise and focus on the diet, when you get that right, start back up and adjust – Kelly Apr 10 2012 at 19:59
appreciate the response. I guess the reason i haven't tried eating more carbs again is because of how sick i felt at the gym last week. I had a banana right before lifting and about 35 g complex carb supplement in my protein shake. In terms of my previous SAD diet i guess i was but it didn't seem that bad. Breakfast was usually eggs, banana, english muffin. Lunch was usually on the go so much of it was bear naked trail mix, protein bars (both bad i know) and usually i'd have a late lunch cheeseburger (from home) and for dinner i'd eat beef / fish with veggies and avocado. – Danny Apr 10 2012 at 20:08
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 It's either overtraining, not enough carbs, carb flu from the not-enough-carbs thing, you're not eating enough, all of the above, or the sleep deprivation is pounding you into the ground. – NewEra Apr 10 2012 at 20:16
Are you eating enough calories total? You say you are eating "way less cals" - if you are exercising without taking in enough food, you are going to feel terrible. – JeJ Apr 10 2012 at 22:20
Carbs are definitely the answer if you're doing high volume bodybuilding-type training. 200 grams of fat is WAY excessive. Drop the fat. Opt for lean meats, healthy fats (avocado, some eggs, mixed nuts, olive oil) and unprocessed carbs. Your libido, muscle mass, and abs will thank you. – foreveryoung Apr 10 2012 at 22:25
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Dude. You've had sleep problems for 6-12 months. They've been really bad for six weeks. You've been doing paleo for three weeks.

Why would you think any of this has anything to do with paleo? Wouldn't a more accurate title be: "Felt terrible for 6 months. 3 weeks of paleo hasn't helped"?

Wait for the results of your sleep study. Please.

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No no no. YOu misread. He feels WORSE after 3 weeks paleo. Not the same bad, but WORSE. – foreveryoung Apr 10 2012 at 22:26
No, he says even worse, but the problem has existed for up to a year. If he's had extreme sleep deprivation for six weeks, the fact that the last three weeks have been particularly bad would seem to have little relation to paleo. The problems of sleep deprivation are cumulative. – tdgor Apr 10 2012 at 22:32
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I assume you are under treatment by a doctor if you are getting a sleep study done? Remember, not everything is caused by diet. You should make sure your doctor checks your thyroid too. Also, you might want to try seeing a therapist. There is an underlying anxiety here that could drive a lot of this. You sound a lot like the guy in the Colpo post. You could also be overtraining.

Until your doctor rules out medical conditions, I would stop your training program, stay active by walking around, and try eating a normal diet without unnecessary gallons of milk/protein powders/etc. Just eat a diet that allows you to get enough calories and has foods that you like. When you go back to discuss the results of your sleep study with your doctor, you can discuss whether you should experiment with a low-carb paleo diet.

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You have suddenly gone low carb. You will feel terrible unless you add some salt. Any modern responsible low carb diet tells you that you need salt when you switch from carbs for energy to low carb or you will terrible. Do some research.

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appreciate the responses again... i have done research. Any recommendations for readings would be great though, always looking to to learn. As far as salt, i have not cut it out of my diet at all. I'm not sure if you're talking about sea salt, but i eat a lot of lean bacon thats pretty high in sodium and i add kosher salt to most meals. Should i be doing more than that?

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