Reta and Low Carb equals Some Dizzy Spell?

[BNLFL]

So, after Reddit was mentioned in another thread, I popped over. YIKES! Anyways, one had mentioned getting light headed and passing out, along with a few others. This got me thinking, as I've had like 2 of slight light headed deals in the last week, nothing major and goes away quick. Now, we've really cut back on the carbs, no pasta, bread, blah blah. I still have anywhere from 2-4 beers (carbs) a day. I was just at the docs office on 2/11 for my blood work tests. Everything was spot on, BP 125/70 and HR of 70bpm. Only other thing I can think of, is I busted my ass digging a footer for a 25' flagpole, and put in 6-60lb bags of concrete. The ground was hard as hell due to it not raining in forever here. It beat the shit out of me.
TL;DR Am I not getting enough carbs taking Reta?

 

[Calm Logic]

May not apply, but there's something called pseudohypoglycemia:

Symptom	True Hypoglycemia (Danger)	Reta Pseudo-Hypo (Resetting)
Feeling Faint	Slow "fade out"; leads to passing out.	Sudden "head rush" when standing up.
Blood Glucose	< 70 mg/dL	Normal (80–100 mg/dL)
Blood Pressure	Usually normal until late stages.	Low / Drops suddenly (Dehydration).
Heart Rate	Rapid and weak/fluttery.	Pounding / Strong thumping.
Vision	Darkening or "tunnel vision."	Sparklers, spots, or "graying out."
Immediate Fix	Sugar (Juice/Glucose tabs).	Salt, Water, & Laying Flat.

May want to test BP immediately next time (as with orthostatic hypotension). Check urine color for any signs of dehydration:

Step	Action	What it Reveals
1. Glucose Check	Finger prick or CGM check.	If >75 mg/dL, it is NOT a sugar crash.
2. BP Check	Test while sitting vs. standing.	If it drops >20/10 mmHg, it is Orthostatic Hypotension.
3. Hydration	Check urine color.	Darker than "pale straw" indicates Dehydration.

 

[BNLFL]

I have a home BP cuff and O2 deal. My wiz is normal. I drink crap loads of water these days.

 

[Calm Logic]

I drink crap loads of water these days.

Which can sometimes make the problem worse if you aren't also replacing your electrolytes:

Google Search

All GLP medications lower blood pressure directly, and in many reduce fluid intake by direct action on brain thirst centers. Plus the loss of fluid and electrolytes from initial weight loss, all make postural hypotension more likely, which is the more likely cause of the symptoms. If it goes away sitting or lying down , that would confirm it . Doing what you are doing - having a drink and something to eat is fine as a way to deal with it . But I would suggest paying more attention to fluid and salt/electrolyte intake as important to prevent it from continuing to happen.

 

[BNLFL]

I just ordered some electrolyte power mix.

 

[woundcarping]

So, after Reddit was mentioned in another thread, I popped over. YIKES! Anyways, one had mentioned getting light headed and passing out, along with a few others. This got me thinking, as I've had like 2 of slight light headed deals in the last week, nothing major and goes away quick. Now, we've really cut back on the carbs, no pasta, bread, blah blah. I still have anywhere from 2-4 beers (carbs) a day. I was just at the docs office on 2/11 for my blood work tests. Everything was spot on, BP 125/70 and HR of 70bpm. Only other thing I can think of, is I busted my ass digging a footer for a 25' flagpole, and put in 6-60lb bags of concrete. The ground was hard as hell due to it not raining in forever here. It beat the shit out of me.
TL;DR Am I not getting enough carbs taking Reta?

Exertion on Reta likes carbs to keep blood sugar from getting low (hypoglycemia). I’ve had a couple times I felt off, some quick carbs took care of the symptoms.

Anecdotal reports of similar experiences including loss of consciousness are relatively common for the more severe side effects than just GI issues.


Out of curiosity, what is the reason for cutting carbs?

 

[tubby]

I mean you're kind of being a jerk to your metabolism here.

First you take away all the carbs that it's used to getting every day, which is already going to take a few days to a week to adapt to and get used to going without. Then you lie to it with this false GLP-1 signal that keeps getting fed to your brain screaming "I just ate," so it naturally assumes more carbs are getting dumped into your stomach, which (due to not existing) it can't absorb. It kicks out a little extra insulin to help manage those imaginary carbs as well.

Don't be surprised when it's jerk right back to you for a little bit.

 

[BNLFL]

Exertion on Reta likes carbs to keep blood sugar from getting low (hypoglycemia). I’ve had a couple times I felt off, some quick carbs took care of the symptoms.

Anecdotal reports of similar experiences including loss of consciousness are relatively common for the more severe side effects than just GI issues.


Out of curiosity, what is the reason for cutting carbs?

Yeah, I beat the crap out of myself, and pushed too far. I'm 66, not 45. As far as the as the carbs, weight loss, and cutting back a bunch, not totally. I normally don't do that much hard work anymore, just write checks.

 

[BNLFL]

I mean you're kind of being a jerk to your metabolism here.

I do appreciate it. Let me clarify, still getting good carbs, just not white stuff. Also cut out the ice cream, cookies and sweets. I started this thread pretty based on the stuff I was reading on Reddit and when I overdid it last week.

 

[woundcarping]

My two times feeling off were both before exertion, but I hadn’t eaten much at that point of the day.

On Reta, my daily minimum guidance macros are 150g protein, 100g carbs, and 50 grams of fat, under 2200 calories.

Yesterday most of my carbs came from French fries, a soft serve ice cream cone before lifting, and a blow pop after.

 

[Calm Logic]

I’ve had a couple times I felt off, some quick carbs took care of the symptoms.

Not to mention general, daily tirz/reta fatigue from eating less carbs/calories (and whatever else from the GLPs that can cause fatigue), even with doing absolutely nothing (which can increase the GLP brain fog):

Factor	Mechanism of Fatigue/Fog	Adaptation / Resolution
Nutritional Gap	Lower carbs/calories mean less immediate glycogen for the brain.	Manual Adjustment: Does not "adapt" away; requires intentional nutrient timing or small snacks to fuel the brain.
Metabolic Shift	Forcing the body to burn fat (ketone production) is "harder" work than burning sugar.	4–8 Weeks: Mitochondria become more efficient at fat oxidation ("fat-adapted"), making the process feel less taxing.
Inactivity	Lack of movement reduces the "pressor" effect that clears brain metabolic byproducts.	Behavioral: Fog persists as long as you stay sedentary; "breaking the seal" with light movement is usually the only fix.
CNS Signaling	Direct effect on the hindbrain reduces dopamine "drive" and alertness.	6–12 Weeks: Central Nervous System (CNS) desensitization. The "muted" feeling usually lifts once you stop titrating up.

 

[BNLFL]

All of this, is why I joined here. You don't find this kind of info on-line.

 

[GLP1Pharmacist]

My strong guess is low blood sugar, body may burn alcohol over production to keep blood sugar high enough. If my RS has 3 drinks then 2-3 hours later a consistent lowering of blood sugar way to low. Even 2 can impact significantly, so either one or none. Test blood sugar...

 

[woundcarping]

Not to mention general, daily tirz/reta fatigue from eating less carbs/calories (and whatever else from the GLPs that can cause fatigue), even with doing absolutely nothing (which can increase the GLP fog).

So far I’ve been fortunate that energy levels have been decent or better as best I can remember. Some of that fortune is probably related to starting TRT 5 weeks in on Tirz. I started tracking calories and macros the same day as TRT and my carb average since then is around 130g/daily with the lowest week being 113g. Down 13lb since starting trt, 28lb total with GLP since 12/10/25.

Since January, the only days I missed exercising were 3 days recovering lifting DOMS (first day hitting legs went a bit wild), and one day traveling/being lazy.

 

[tubby]

I do appreciate it. Let me clarify, still getting good carbs, just not white stuff. Also cut out the ice cream, cookies and sweets. I started this thread pretty based on the stuff I was reading on Reddit and when I overdid it last week.

I'm mostly just giving you a hard time there, but the reality is that your body needs time to adapt to any significant changes you make and throwing two big ones at the same time is going to challenge it a little more. There's nothing wrong with doing low-carb on reta and some might argue it's a superior approach, to the extent it gets you out of the habit of eating the more addictive processed foods you may have been eating before.

 

[tubby]

My strong guess is low blood sugar, body may burn alcohol over production to keep blood sugar high enough. If my RS has 3 drinks 2-3 hours consistently lowers blood sugar way to low. Even 2 can impact significantly, so either one or none. Test blood sugar...

That's a good point that I missed on my first read of OP. "2-4 beers a day" could mean having them during the day when he's running into this problem, VS having them later in the day, which I assumed on my first reading.

When you have both alcohol and a GLP pushing average blood sugar levels down, that does make the valleys dip just a little bit deeper when you hit them.

 

[BNLFL]

Yeah, the beer thing has been on my mind for while, it honestly just fills me up and isn't really enjoyable anymore. While it hasn't been a real issue in the past, it makes sense since I started this early Feb. As I've mentioned, I do appreciate everyone's input.

 

[Calm Logic]

Yeah, the beer thing has been on my mind for while, it honestly just fills me up and isn't really enjoyable anymore.

Yeah, as they say now, "there is no healthy amount of alcohol." I used to have a glass of wine sometimes when dining out since it was seen then as good for the heart (with the buzz as a bonus), but now I just stick to free water mostly or hot black coffee.

Anyway, @BNLFL, have you tried the zero-alcohol beers? They aren't bad at all. For a buzz, marijuana gummies used to seem almost healthy to me, but they are unhealthy for the endothelium according to a small study (CANDIDE study, 2025).

There is a liver doctor on Reddit that says the best "supplement" for the liver is drinking black coffee. NAC is a good supplement in general, but especially for the liver:

If you are using NAC specifically to protect your liver from alcohol, timing is everything:

Take it BEFORE drinking: Taking NAC an hour or two before alcohol can help prime the liver and prevent damage.

Avoid it DURING/AFTER drinking: Some studies suggest that taking NAC after you’ve already started drinking (or while hungover) might actually increase liver stress or toxicity. It’s best used as a "pre-game" preventative rather than a "morning-after" cure.

 

[tubby]

Yeah, as they say now, "there is no healthy amount of alcohol." I used to have a glass of wine sometimes when dining out since it was seen then as good for the heart (with the buzz as a bonus), but now I just stick to free water mostly or hot black coffee.

Anyway, @BNLFL, have you tried the zero-alcohol beers? They aren't bad at all. For a buzz, marijuana gummies used to seem almost healthy to me, but they are unhealthy for the endothelium according to a small study (CANDIDE study, 2025).

There is a liver doctor on Reddit that says the best "supplement" for the liver is drinking black coffee. NAC is a good supplement in general, but especially for the liver:

I'll throw out there that I'm highly skeptical of those studies on alcohol that suggest "no healthy amount." Not because I've dug into them at a deep level, but simply because it's an impossible conclusion to reach from observational data. So unless China has locked people into rooms and forced some to drink and others not (which would be the only way reach an absolute conclusion on this subject) and I never heard about it, then I'm going to assume the researchers are using weak observational data and pretending it's more definitive than it really is.

That said, I probably only drink alcohol 3 or 4 times a year (it just isn't usually interesting to me) so I have no personal interest in the outcome other than calling out bullshit results when I smell them.

 

[jungletech]

I find low carb really difficult personally and my energy gets very low. I think I need to either be fully keto or moderate carb.

 

[randompersonrandom]

Anyway, @BNLFL, have you tried the zero-alcohol beers? They aren't bad at all.

My second husband was an alcoholic, and I kept those in the house at all times as a compromise-on-offer for when I badly needed him to not be drunk for something or other. (note: that doesn't work, but I was young). I drank them myself in "solidarity" and developed a taste for them that persists to this day. It's soda except not ridiculously sweet.

 

[Calm Logic]

Only 5g of carbs and non-alcoholic:

https://athleticbrewing.com/collections/shop-all/products/athletic-lite

Arguably a health drink with the antioxidants (hop polyphenols).

For comparison, V8 has 9 carbs, BBQ sauce up to 20 grams, and my favorite electrolyte drink has 4 carbs (BodyArmor Lyte peach mango).

 

[BNLFL]

Anyway, @BNLFL, have you tried the zero-alcohol beers? They aren't bad at all. For a buzz, marijuana gummies used to seem almost healthy to me, but they are unhealthy for the endothelium according to a small study

I don't care for the taste of the N/A stuff. 100% honest, it's not the buzz, I just liked the stuff. I already mentioned it just fills me up anymore, and will probably drop it. This turned into a drinking beer thread. 🤣

 

[Calm Logic]

This turned into a drinking beer thread. 🤣

And hopefully sugar-free BBQ sauce, haha.

 

[BNLFL]

And hopefully sugar-free BBQ sauce, haha.

We actually have some of this, and have been using it for years.

 

[Calm Logic]

And hopefully sugar-free BBQ sauce, haha.

Oh wow. And he's got steak sauce, teriyaki, etc.

 

[Nabster]

I mean you're kind of being a jerk to your metabolism here.

First you take away all the carbs that it's used to getting every day, which is already going to take a few days to a week to adapt to and get used to going without. Then you lie to it with this false GLP-1 signal that keeps getting fed to your brain screaming "I just ate," so it naturally assumes more carbs are getting dumped into your stomach, which (due to not existing) it can't absorb. It kicks out a little extra insulin to help manage those imaginary carbs as well.

Don't be surprised when it's jerk right back to you for a little bit.

What I have noticed is if I stay low carb on reta or other GLP1s my metabolism completely shuts down eventually

I need a period of refeeding of carbs, I dunno like a week or more, and then I can go back to losing weight

Atm, i have reintroduced carbs and we shall see, but at the very least I have lost a pound and not completely stalling like I was on low carb and reta

I also find it impossible to satiate my hunger being low carb and reta

 

[GLP1Pharmacist]

The joy of GLP1s is the ability to eat a reasonable amount of carbs.

 

[lessthanhalf]

It does not necessarily have much to do with reta. I do not know how much exercise or physical work you usually do. But it is more than possible to have episodes like that just from unaccustomed hard physical work or exercise plus not many calories ( or enough fluids/electrolytes ). It is pretty obvious your body is not very happy with what you are doing to it, whatever is exactly going on at a physiological level. Rest fluids food are presumably what it wants.
I certainly remember both puking and fainting after going to the gym after not eating anything much that day a few times when I was younger.

 

[Calm Logic]

Rest fluids food

Very zen.