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Hello everyone I've been following the paleo diet for about a month now and find I'm not really missing carbs, but I'm experiencing something I don't understand. When I eat my meals about 2 hours later I feel very tired and sleepy. The only carbs I'm consuming is vegetables not even fruit. For example, this morning I had 1 egg with egg whites. 4 pieces of nitrate and antibiotic free bacon. about cup of spinach cooked in coconut oil. coffee with cream and 4 packs of stevia. yesterday for lunch I had 8oz sirloin steak medium well with broccoli. i felt sleepy afterwards. i don't drink soda its strictly water.

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What's your question? – Anonymous Chump Feb 12 2012 at 15:17
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Coconut oil could cause this if you're not used to it (it took me a while to tolerate the amount of coconut oil I eat now). Never forget : paleo is not low-carb! – Bruno Feb 12 2012 at 15:22
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Well, Paleo doesn't have to be low-carb. Perhaps you need more carbs at your breakfast, like a starchy veg. Also, you may still be going through the "low-carb flu". I felt super tired after breakfast for the first couple weeks, then it went away. But I also an orange or 1/2 grapefruit and some sauteed mushrooms to my spinach, bacon and eggs. – Renee Feb 12 2012 at 15:31
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How do carbs stop anybody from feeling sleepy? – Warren D Feb 12 2012 at 16:29
How much sleep are you getting? Are you well rested? If you are, could this just be your body being happy because you're now eating more nourishing food? I certainly feel calm and content after meals, although I'm not sleepy--but I am very well rested. – Nance Feb 13 2012 at 2:37

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There is no such thing hardly as nitrate free bacon unless you make it so yourself. If its labeled as nitrate free, it merely means they are using natural nitrates such as celery juice/powder which legally don't have to be declared on the package as nitrates even if the nitrite concentration is higher than would have been otherwise.

And your 4 packs of stevia probably contain alot of starch as filler, dextrose or maltodextrin. I prefer liquid stevia to avoid all the fillers.

Your problem I am guessing is that you are eating too much protein and not enough fats. For instance, why the egg with (addtional?) egg whites? Why not multiple full on eggs with yolks? The yolks are much healther as a complete food. As for the steak, thats a good start.

I think you are still under carb-flu, your body may be spending more energy turning protein into glucose for energy than trying to burn fats via ketosis. Your meal plan is definitely very low-carb by the looks of it.

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It's hard, when you start, to let go of that "fat=bad" mind frame. I'm 4 months in, and really just embracing it now. – DThoris Feb 12 2012 at 17:05
Is this the nature of carb-flu (body spending more energy for gluconogenesis than ketosis)? I wonder if one can become unadapted by eating carbs again after having become fat adapted for a long ZC period? – animaleater Apr 21 at 8:15
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Let me go out on a limb here. Is it possible you get sleepy because your body needs ... sleep?

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4 packs of stevia is turning your coffee into the equivalent of coffee flavored soda. One packet of stevia is two servings, so you are essentially putting 8 servings of sweetener in your cup. I would suggest cutting it back to one serving, or eliminating it entirely.

Are you exercising at all? You may actually need more carbs if so.

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yeah i was going to post that you need to eat more carbs and exercise – holly Feb 12 2012 at 16:17
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i went through a phase where eggs made me sleepy -- i stopped eating them for a few months (they had become kind of unappetizing for some reason anyways). after i reintroduced them again that problem had totally gone away. now i eat eggs on days where i do have breakfast (may 2x a week) and i don't have that problem anymore. maybe try subbing out the eggs for a different protein to see if you have the same reaction?

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Eggs would make me super sleepy, especially when I was consuming like 6 for breakfast on a daily basis. – ROB Feb 12 2012 at 23:11
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Depending on the stevia you're using, there may be other thing cluttering up the content that contain starches. I believe (and this is from memory, so it's VERY open to debate) that malodextrose or perhaps just dextrose is a common "filler". If you're intent on sweetening your coffee, you may want to look into a purer form of stevia.

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I only srink coffee in the morning. I get this sleepy feeling after every meal. If im eati.g too much protein and not enough fats how do I fix this? E,amples?

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Examples of too much protein: eating egg whites vs. whole eggs, eating skinless chicken breast, eating skinless salmon. Now, if that's the way you like to eat you can use lots of butter on your vegetables (and meat) and eat lots of sardines with olive oil, etc. – Nance Feb 13 2012 at 2:36

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