Blog

1

My husband and I just began going paleo/Primal and we have seen a pretty huge difference in only a few days-- my husband has lost weight and slept better being mostly paleo. I've been a lot stricter- no grain products at all- because if I don't go cold turkey, it's just not happening. I've lost eight pounds along with "puffiness" (for lack of a better description), and have more physical energy... but I'm so sleepy, all the time. I tried napping (which I never do, because falling asleep during the day has always made me feel sick), I'm getting slightly more sleep than I was before... it doesn't feel like the descriptions of "carb flu" I've read about. It's just an overwhelming desire to sleep that doesn't translate into napping or falling asleep any faster than standard for me.

I'm wondering if I'm perhaps missing a nutrient or something? Has anyone else experienced this while transitioning to Paleo?

To aid in answering my question: I'm a 25yo female one week paleo (aside from Hometown buffet this morning-- but I think aside from whatever the eggs were cooked it I managed to eat ok), probably pre-diabetic (family history of diabetes, personal history of sugar crashes, brain fog, sometimes shaking if I didn't eat soon enough), coming from a previous diet that was lower in grains and sugars than the average but prone to the occasional grease binge (fried chicken, oh, how I loved thee). The past week has mostly been locally produced bacon and steak, a bazillionty avocados, some salads, lots of almonds, bell peppers, onions, eggs, squash. Consuming the same amount of caffeine as I was before.

I love the rest of how I'm feeling, but I just can't seem to get anything really done with as sleepy as I am. :(

flag
I had this also. I do like the approach of cooking a grass fed protein, a root vegetable with kerrygold, and a bit of greens. – Heather Jul 8 at 3:04

3 Answers

1

Might be the "low-carb flu". Some people say it goes away once your body adjusts to using fat/protein instead of carbs as its primary energy source. I found it necessary to add some more carbs back in my diet.

link|flag
Do you mind if I ask how much more? Part of me (admittedly, the perfectionist overachiever part) feels like balking at that, after all, I'm eating my veggies and everything! ...I'm scared of going back in the other direction and stalling my weight loss, I guess. – Sparrow Jun 24 at 2:23
Well, you would feel really crappy. – Chinaeskimo Jun 24 at 2:27
Sparrow, you'll have to tinker yourself to find what works for you - the people on this site eat a wide range of carb intakes. I eat some starchy carbs at every meal - like a banana with breakfast, some carrots/beets in my salad at lunch, a 1/2 cup a rice at dinner. Because starches have soluble fibre, they also keep my IBS more stable. – Renee Jun 24 at 17:31
1

Welcome to PaleoHacks!

I wonder if perhaps you're having trouble digesting fats. It took me months to not get sleepy after consuming them. Depending on what your pre-paleo diet was, if you weren't eating tons of fat then and you are now then that's something to look at. You could try a day or two of healthy lean meat and veggies and see if you notice less sleepiness. If it turns out that fat is causing you problems you could start look into digestive enzymes, or slowing down on the fats and giving your body a chance to handle them better.

If you're pre-diabetic that's a red flag that you probably have problems not just with carbs but with digestion in general. If you search the archives there are lots of discussions of digestion issues and how people handled them.

Good luck!

link|flag
Thank you for the suggestion! That was not something that had occurred to me. My previous diet was higher fat that most women of my age, but it was also all tied into the carbs and grains I was consuming... so that may well be a factor. I'll have to go read up on those digestive posts... thanks! – Sparrow Jun 24 at 2:32
0

Well, just a thought, but maybe your levels of serotonin is rising, similar to what happens when you first start an anti-depressant(an SSRI).

That kind of sleepy is nice, contented kind of sleepy and it goes away as your body adjusts.

link|flag
That's something I hadn't thought of-- I wonder if it could also be that I'm trying to extend the paleo concept into my life as a whole, shutting down electronics earlier in the night and getting more sun during the day. ...Now that I think about it, I wasn't sleepy at all when I was at the farmer's market today. I wonder if sunlight is part of it... somehow... – Sparrow Jun 24 at 2:11

Your Answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.