Sigh - I’ve just started getting into intermittent fasting, and I’ve seen a lot of progress in just under a week. Which is great. However, I’ve been experiencing some numbness/coldness in extremities (fingers, feet) and mild dizziness that I’ve read is a sign of hypoglycemia, or perhaps an early symptom of ketosis?
I typically do 1200 calories and 16:8 daily if I can. I did transition to eating more of a Keto type diet, trying to ramp down my carbohydrates and up the proteins and fats yesterday, also. I landed under 1,200 kcal yesterday, also (~1,000).
I decided today to cut my fast short (at around 13 hours) and eat some food to hopefully stop the cold/numb feelings. ~4 hours later, the numbness is just now going away.
Wondering if any of you have experienced this before, and what might be the cause of it? Any solutions?
Am I right in thinking it has to do with my sudden change in carb intake? Or perhaps it’s about doing calorie restriction as well as the fasting and my body is just adjusting? Do I need to start taking electrolytes if I never fast for even over 18/19 hours? Maybe I need to do fasting not every day, but every other day? Should I just push through it, if this is just a sign of ketosis starting, and once my body starts burning ketones it will go away?
Stats: 26F | 5’7” | SW:191 | CW:173 | GW: 130
Sorry that’s a lot of questions - I don’t want to give up on fasting, I have a long way to go and this is the first thing that I’ve been able to really stick to, but I definitely want to listen to my body and dizziness/numbness isn’t a good sign. I wanted to ramp up to doing a 24 hour fast, but it seems I’m doing something wrong.
Edit: I forgot I tend towards iron deficient anemia as well! That may be the culprit
Answer
Blood pressure is a big deal when dealing with these issues. If you’ve been given a clean bill of health previously and you’re just now getting these symptoms, you may want to read up on dizziness as related to diet. Are you tracking your intake? Iron deficiency can cause weakness, too. And if you’re not minding your electrolyte intake, it may be a good idea to do some research into it.
Answer
when did you start cutting the carbs? sometimes it helps to make one change at a time. cutting carbs for a month before starting to incorporate IF might make for a transition that isn’t so hard on your body all at once. :)
Answer
I recommend you have a chat with your doctor to make sure you don’t have any thing serious going on.
If that’s not an option, try taking electrolytes. When I first started fasting I’d feel “yuck” after 42 hours. Time and electrolytes helped a lot!