Electrolyte deficiency on Keto is no joke, I didn't even know I had it while it was silently ruining my life. Heavy legs, poor exercise performance, fatigue, sleep issues - all due to inadequate magnesium/potassium. Weird thing is blood tests came fine so I never suspected it.

I know everybody stresses to take electrolytes, but I didn't know why. What's the fuss? "Electrolyte deficiency symptoms are obvious and I don't have them". Also, I did blood tests and they came fine.

Turns out it's not that simple, it's not all or nothing. I'll try to make this as short as possible: I had two Keto attempts, the second time I even lasted almost a year but all the time felt like shit. My running performance came to a grinding halt - whenever I'd go for a run, after 5 minutes my legs felt heavy as lead, it was like moving through molasses. I'd barely come home walking. It was that bad. I rationalized it all as "my body running poorly on ketones", as some say that their exercise performance is reduced. Well, mine wasn't "reduced", it was almost non-existent.

Also, my sleep was terrible, I would be waking up every hour or so. I was exhausted all the time. There really are no words to describe the oppressive fatigue and brain fog that I was feeling. The thing is, I did Keto because I wanted to improve my health, so I took the worsening as maybe being due to the condition itself.

Eventually, I quit. I started sleeping better, my running performance recovered. However, it wasn't really an improvement, it was actually a reversal to a previous unsatisfactory state, but better than infinite "terrors of Keto".

This time, I decide to do Carnivore. Not only beef and water thing, a bit expanded but all animal products and zero carbs. Some herbal teas here and there. There comes my 3rd day, I get into ketosis and, immediately I fall down into the same symptomatology: heavy legs, poor sleep, etc. "This cannot be happening", I was thinking to myself. I know it's not just the "flu" because it's happening all over again. I go over every possible thing that I might not be doing properly and realize that I'm not taking any electrolytes. I'm 99% convinced it isn't that (I have my labs), but to hell with it, I'm gonna buy some Lite Salt (potassium) and take some Magnesium Citrate, even though for some reason I'm convinced it's all placebo. I made it into a routine to take my electrolytes and didn't think much about it.

Few days after I go for a run, I don't notice anything. The next day, I climb a hill, no issues. Then it dawned on me. "Wait a second, I'm not having any issues, this is weird. Why am I not tired, why do my legs feel so light?". Then I figured out that it must be because I was taking electrolytes. In that moment I really felt like a total fool. I put myself through months of needless suffering because I was too lazy (or whatever) to actually take some electrolytes. Because I believed I don't need it.

Now my issues are basically resolved. Simple as that. However, it impossible to describe the magnitude of change that I feel. Life on Keto was misery, now it's actually good, and I enjoy the benefits of Keto on mental clarity, energy etc. Before, it was all "hard work", busting my ass to respect the macros yet it wasn't working out and I felt even worse.

There are a few questions, however. If my blood electrolyte test came fine, how come I still needed to take them? Obviously what is measured in the blood is not what really matters. Also, many people claim that Keto perturbs electrolyte levels so maybe I just need more while in ketosis? I don't really know but here's the thing: don't take it for granted, just take some extra and be sure.