Insomnia and Ketosis -- How to make it better without more carbs???? page

[Stephanie A.]

Help!

I love PB and will lose steadily in ketosis... but I suffer from terrible insomnia. It takes a long time to fall asleep, I don't sleep soundly and wake up multiple times a night getting only around 4 hours of sleep. This will go on for weeks... until I eat more carbohydrate, kick myself out of ketosis and weight loss stalls.

How do I continue to lose weight, get the great benefits of PB and sleep? It only takes about 80g - 100g of carbs a day for me to stop losing. Plus, it is hard to get that much from veggies. Adding in more than 1/2 cup of berries a day or adding starch brings the binge monster out. For me the carbs are more of an all or nothing proposition. I feel great at 40-50 net a day from one small fruit serving and the rest from veggies.

Background: 46, female, BMI just fell below 30 last week (yay!). I have lost 70+ pounds over the last 14 months or so with another 40-50 to go. I am extremely carb sensitive both relative to weight and food reward/binge cycle eating.

Is anyone else experiencing the same thing? Has anyone figured out the answer? After about 10 days of poor sleep, I get pretty cranky and have trouble focusing at work.

Thanks much!

[quelsen]

magnesium, vitamin d, sodium. check those

[namelesswonder]

Have you tried non-fruit options to increase carbs, like the occasional serving of white rice or some starches like sweet potato? Plenty of winter squash options as well, as those are fairly high-carb. Maybe this will not trigger a binge as much, since there's less sugar than fruit.

[quelsen]

Have you tried non-fruit options to increase carbs, like the occasional serving of white rice or some starches like sweet potato? Plenty of winter squash options as well, as those are fairly high-carb. Maybe this will not trigger a binge as much, since there's less sugar than fruit.

it isnt the "sugar" is it the number of total number of carbs.

but great thought. how long have you been in ketosis?

[Stephanie A.]

I was in ketosis for around 3 weeks the last time before I had to eat more carbs so I could sleep. More carbs will end my weight-loss... it doesn't just slow it down.

Magnesium, vitamin D and sodium are all good. Last check on vitamin D was 63. It is the ketosis that keeps me from sleeping. It has been an ongoing problem. I have read that the body will adjust, but mine never has... I get wired and do not sleep. It is pretty frustrating.

Thanks for the ideas, though!

[jammies]

There are some older threads on this that, if I recall correctly, had some good suggestions. I believe Natural Calm magnesium 1-2 hours before bed was the most popular. I have also read that a small carb/protein combo snack before bed can assist with sleep. This will pass eventually on its own - but not sleeping it horrible

[quelsen]

I was in ketosis for around 3 weeks the last time before I had to eat more carbs so I could sleep. More carbs will end my weight-loss... it doesn't just slow it down.

Magnesium, vitamin D and sodium are all good. Last check on vitamin D was 63. It is the ketosis that keeps me from sleeping. It has been an ongoing problem. I have read that the body will adjust, but mine never has... I get wired and do not sleep. It is pretty frustrating.

Thanks for the ideas, though!

The D is OK. it may interest you to know that D is a hormone that is made at the end of the line of all the other hormones. That your D is 63 (low) says to me that your adrenals may be tired which would explain the lack of sleep. If you can do a salivary cortisol test. I bet you find that they are too high at night.

[jo]

Dr Eades recommended a small carb snack before bed to get around this. A teaspoon of honey, something like that. Take the carbs from one of your other meals so you don't go too high.

[Stephanie A.]

Hmmm... Vitamin D Council indicates optimal levels falling between 50-80 ng/mL and I am 63, so I don't think the Vitamin D is the problem.

I will try a snack before bed and see how it goes.

[MudLily]

I, too, find a snack before bed helps me sleep, but it doesn't need to be carbs. Pretty much anything will work well