--- Erik Hill <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I guess this
is a question for me.  I am a computer
> programmer by trade,
> and have been on the paleo diet now for 4 or 5
> years.  What I've found
> is that ketosis makes me anxious and irritable, so I
> avoid it.  I
> noticed also that, while my endurance in ketosis is
> very good, my energy
> seems low in general.  Also I do have some small
> trouble concentrating,
> but it does not make it impossible to program
> computers, which is a task
> that requires quite a bit of sustained focus.
>
> Erik
Hullo all - I have spent some weeks reading all your
posts with great interest after joining this list, and
trying to get an understanding of your exepriences
during that time. I first tried eating based on
Neanderthin 2 years ago, and can relate to some of
what has come up in this ketosis discussion. This
surprised me, because I never thought I could have
possibly have been in ketosis, as I was eating a lot
of fruit! I actually experienced some very severe
versions of what some of you have reported about
ketosis, plus other symptoms, and was forced to give
up pure Paleo eating after about 4 weeks for that
reason, as some of these symptoms (initial
irritability and sleep difficulties, progressing to
severe hair-trigger temper, nightmares and then even
severe daytime anxiety), created havoc in my life -
and disappeared overnight after eating some grain
foods, as no amount of fruit/veg or (I think) fats
(e.g. I was having plenty of fatty fish, nuts &
avocado, i THINK) helped. I have finally decided to
post to this list to see if anyone can throw any light
on these problems. I should say that I was very slim
and was already doing a mixture of aerobic exercise &
weights 3 times/wk, and I was eating an organic diet
with lots of fruit/veg, whole grains (brown rice &
whole buckwheat), salads, organic Australian lamb &
chicken, avocado, salmon & other fish, some tofu &
legumes, lots of green tea. Not a lot had to be left
out of this to make it Paleo, but the change was
eventuall y disastrous for me.
Now all I can do is alternate from day to day, between
Paleo eating and my "original" diet, as I acnnot
afford to have such a terrible experience again. The
other symptoms I experienced were extreme gnawing
hunger which kept continually recurring and made any
sort of mental work extremely difficult, no matter how
long I peresevered with the diet. After reading some
of your posts, I recently thought that perhaps I had
not been eating enough fat (though I thouhgt I was
having a lot - e.g. fatty fish, lamb & chicken, adding
olive oil to breakfast & flax oil to dinner, eating
nuts in between & often avos with meals) when Paleo,
and am experimenting with eating more fat on Paleo
days (when I can sometimes experiance a mild form of
my symptoms under controlled conditions!) to see if
this helps. Other symptoms were a kind of rosacea that
appeared around my nose and mouth, gradually becoming
redder and spreading, then eventually progressing to
actual acne on my chest - I have never had pimples in
my life! I certainly didn't lose any wieght, if
anything I may have gained a little. I noticed
increased flexibilty, strength & muscle recovery from
exercise, but overall eventually experienced a lack of
energy generally.

Help, anyone? (and for all the Aussies out there - did
you see the SBS doco on Neanderthals last night?)
Thanks - this is a great discussion group!
Ozzie

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