Nutritional Ketosis (LC/HF/MP) Challenge Anyone?

[mom2zeke]

Good morning everyone!!

In the great nutritional ketosis experiment I decided to track ketones during TOM to see if they are effected at all. Today's morning ketone reading was 2.0.

Everything seems to be going smoothly this week so far. I'm going to get back on the scale on Friday after TOM leaves.

How is everyone else doing?

[drjlocarb]

I finally got around to the testing this morning.

BK 0.7
BG 110
Urine stick was deep purple

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

This calculator is great!! Really helpful. I feel like we need to create a faq for this WOE! There's so much great information in this thread, but it's not that easy to navigate.

I'm glad you like the calculator. And, yes, you should create an FAQ for this WOE.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

Rebecca I like exporting your excel pages to see exactly what you've eaten.
Do you have software you're using you like enough to recommend?

I used to use ******, but there are so many foods on there that I just don't eat, so I put the info for the foods I eat all the time into an Excel spreadsheet. That info is at the bottom of each menu page, but I delete that part before I upload each week to boxnet, because I figured people were not interested in that part.

So, basically, I just use an Excel spreadsheet with data from ****** to make it easier to use. Does that answer your question?

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by 3Kids4me

Hey all,

I'm still around, lurking now and then, just not online much. I'm down 6 lbs since focusing on nutritional ketosis. But had a few days off plan a couple of weeks ago. I'm at 1.1 on the blood ketone meter right now and that feels pretty good.

Almost to a size 12 and out of the 190s!

Great info in this thread. I'll try and check in more regularly.

LOVE the fat bombs, thanks for that recipe Rebecca.

Congratulations on the size 12. Good for you! And you are welcome for the recipe.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by drjlocarb

I finally got around to the testing this morning.

BK 0.7
BG 110
Urine stick was deep purple

Was that a fasting BG? 110 is high for fasting. Actually, you would want to aim for keeping your BG below 100 even after eating.

Have you had sugar issues in the past? Is this 110 evidence that your BG has gradually been coming down?

I'm wondering how many grams of protein and carbs you are currently eating, if you don't mind me asking.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

I used to use ******.com, but there are so many foods on there that I just don't eat, so I put the info for the foods I eat all the time into an Excel spreadsheet. That info is at the bottom of each menu page, but I delete that part before I upload each week to boxnet.com, because I figured people were not interested in that part.

So, basically, I just use an Excel spreadsheet with data from ****** to make it easier to use. Does that answer your question?

I use ****** and once I got the food I normally eat in it was easy to click on the foods from previous days to populate the current day. I also have all my custom foods in there.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

I'm glad you like the calculator. And, yes, you should create an FAQ for this WOE.

Maybe one day when I get more than a few minutes here and there to post.

[RebeccaLatham]

As a little aside, I entered menopause a year ago. A few weeks ago, I exited it, heading in the "wrong" direction. I have been having no trouble sleeping for the past year, and now that I am pre-menopausal again, I am suddenly having symptoms. I am getting hot flashes again, night sweats, and, for the past several days, trouble sleeping, which is getting worse every day.

Last night, I lost the ability to sleep altogether. I went to bed at 10:30 pm, and laid in bed WIDE AWAKE until 3:00 am, when I finally got up and took 10mg of melatonin, which did nothing. At 3:30 am, I got up. I felt like I was losing my mind. I watched TV and surfed the web until 5:00 am, went back to bed and finally fell asleep, only to wake up a half of an hour later. GRRR. I kept dozing and waking up until 10:00 am and now I am up for the day. I would sleep more (I'm really tired and sleepy), but I have to work today, and besides, if I slept any later this morning, it would just make it that much harder to fall asleep tonight.

I have no idea what I am going to do about this. The same thing happened the last time I entered menopause. It's a miserable thing not to be able to sleep. If it goes like it did the last time, it will be months before my sleep normalizes again.



By the way, my weight is at the lowest it has been since starting NK, so I'm happy about that. I had a little bump up yesterday morning, but this morning it bumped back down again to where it was two days ago. So no complaints there!

[JMCM1]

"I use ****** and once I got the food I normally eat in it was easy to click on the foods from previous days to populate the current day. I also have all my custom foods in there."

I don't know how to use the multi-quote feature - sorry.

Thanks to both of you. I use ******, too, and find it cumbersome. Rebecca, someday I'll do what you did and just create my normal foods in an excel spreadsheet.

Thanks to both of you.

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

As a little aside, I entered menopause a year ago. A few weeks ago, I exited it, heading in the "wrong" direction. I have been having no trouble sleeping for the past year, and now that I am pre-menopausal again, I am suddenly having symptoms. I am getting hot flashes again, night sweats, and, for the past several days, trouble sleeping, which is getting worse every day.

Last night, I lost the ability to sleep altogether. I went to bed at 10:30 pm, and laid in bed WIDE AWAKE until 3:00 am, when I finally got up and took 10mg of melatonin, which did nothing. At 3:30 am, I got up. I felt like I was losing my mind. I watched TV and surfed the web until 5:00 am, went back to bed and finally fell asleep, only to wake up a half of an hour later. GRRR. I kept dozing and waking up until 10:00 am and now I am up for the day. I would sleep more (I'm really tired and sleepy), but I have to work today, and besides, if I slept any later this morning, it would just make it that much harder to fall asleep tonight.

I have no idea what I am going to do about this. The same thing happened the last time I entered menopause. It's a miserable thing not to be able to sleep. If it goes like it did the last time, it will be months before my sleep normalizes again.



By the way, my weight is at the lowest it has been since starting NK, so I'm happy about that. I had a little bump up yesterday morning, but this morning it bumped back down again to where it was two days ago. So no complaints there!

I am 54 and 3 months away from "official" menopause. I sleep like I've never slept in 30 years - I sleep well. Big surprise to me. Not sleeping feels like torture to me and believe me, I've got lots of experience with not sleeping.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

I am 54 and 3 months away from "official" menopause. I sleep like I've never slept in 30 years - I sleep well. Big surprise to me. Not sleeping feels like torture to me and believe me, I've got lots of experience with not sleeping.

Sleeping like a rock every night has been my experience until recently, too, and it is such a relief after going a few months unable to sleep last year. Sleep is such a wonderful thing and I hate to see it slipping away!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

Thanks to both of you. I use ******, too, and find it cumbersome. Rebecca, someday I'll do what you did and just create my normal foods in an excel spreadsheet.

Thanks to both of you.

Have you tried going over to recent foods, scrolling down to the bottom and clicking "more." It brings up all of your recent foods with check boxes. You can then check the boxes of all the past foods you want to add to today's foods and enter them all at once.

When I discovered this it made using ****** so much easier!

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

Have you tried going over to recent foods, scrolling down to the bottom and clicking "more." It brings up all of your recent foods with check boxes. You can then check the boxes of all the past foods you want to add to today's foods and enter them all at once.

When I discovered this it made using ****** so much easier!

WHOA! - no I have not. Thank you!

I have lots of custom foods on there, but I use the free version and I'm considering buying the software or whatever they offer to keep the ads from loading. The choices they offer when I add something new are so...weird.

Judy <--- impatient!

[DiggingDogFarm]

Wow!

I received the Nova Max meter today, just 4 days after ordering!!!


~Martin

[drjlocarb]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

Was that a fasting BG? 110 is high for fasting. Actually, you would want to aim for keeping your BG below 100 even after eating.

Have you had sugar issues in the past? Is this 110 evidence that your BG has gradually been coming down?

I'm wondering how many grams of protein and carbs you are currently eating, if you don't mind me asking.

That is what my fbg does when I am in ketosis. It will fall to 80-90 by the time I go to bed and never goes up more than 10 points after meals. My A1C was 5.6 when I tested in Jan 2012.

If I am not in ketosis, fbg will be 80-90 in the mornings and NEVER goes over 100 at any time. After 4 months out of ketosis,( Jan-July) my A1C dropped to 4.9.

I have been LC,MP,HF for 3 weeks and my fbg is right back up.

Yesterday I had 6 oz of protein and 4 carbs.

[JMCM1]

I don't know if the free version has the "more" function. I could not find it and don't have the time to go all through the forums there. Do you use a paid version?

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

I don't know if the free version has the "more" function. I could not find it and don't have the time to go all through the forums there. Do you use a paid version?

Yes, I use the free version. I see three dropdown menus, Food Browse, Recent Foods, and Custom Foods. The "more>>" is at the very bottom of the dropdown menu on the left for "Recent Foods." Click on it and it should take you to a listing of all your recently used foods.

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

Yes, I use the free version. I see three dropdown menus, Food Browse, Recent Foods, and Custom Foods. The "more>>" is at the very bottom of the dropdown menu on the left for "Recent Foods." Click on it and it should take you to a listing of all your recently used foods.

Weird.

Mine has no dropdown menus - only tabs entitled "All" "Recent" and "Custom".
Clicking the "Recent" tab does give me my 75 recent entries, but no way to select more than one at a time. That would be great. But even checking my browser page for the word "more" turns up nothing.

Oh my gosh! I was using ****** Beta - I clicked on ****** classic and now I see what you are seeing! Thank you!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by JMCM1

Weird.

Oh my gosh! I was using ****** Beta - I clicked on ****** classic and now I see what you are seeing! Thank you!

I'm glad you found it!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by drjlocarb

That is what my fbg does when I am in ketosis. It will fall to 80-90 by the time I go to bed and never goes up more than 10 points after meals. My A1C was 5.6 when I tested in Jan 2012.

If I am not in ketosis, fbg will be 80-90 in the mornings and NEVER goes over 100 at any time. After 4 months out of ketosis,( Jan-July) my A1C dropped to 4.9.

I have been LC,MP,HF for 3 weeks and my fbg is right back up.

Yesterday I had 6 oz of protein and 4 carbs.

I wonder what's going on? Have you had a full hormone panel done? Something doesn't seem right in all of this.

[drjlocarb]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

I wonder what's going on? Have you had a full hormone panel done? Something doesn't seem right in all of this.

No panels, no doctors. Just trying to make sense of all this. I have read that the high fbg is normal, but I don't really think that an A1c of 5.6 is "normal". This is my problem here. I went off LC to see what was "normal" for me and I was not happy with the outcome.

[svenskamae]

Originally Posted by drjlocarb

No panels, no doctors. Just trying to make sense of all this. I have read that the high fbg is normal, but I don't really think that an A1c of 5.6 is "normal". This is my problem here. I went off LC to see what was "normal" for me and I was not happy with the outcome.

I don't have any health care training, just a bit of reading background as a lay person, but it seems surprising to me that your blood sugar would go up substantially when you were in ketosis. I remember reading on another thread that you had a similar experience when you tried the keto diet (which I assume is the one for people who eat VLC to control epilepsy). Is having a hormone panel checked an option for you?

Have you ever tried any Glucophage/Metformin or some other drug (not insulin) that increases one's sensitivity to insulin? I was reading Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution book before going out of town, and I recall him saying that he put patients on drugs like Glucophage or a couple of other options (including one that was non-prescription) to help if they failed to lose weight while limiting both protein and carbs ... I can post more details when I have the book again, in a few days, if that would be of any help.

Sorry that you are facing this no-win situation of having increased blood sugars when in ketosis--it must be so frustrating!

[Tatsnook]

Today I am leaving for 3 weeks trip. Not sure what will be available there (Russia and Turkey) to eat, but I am brining a jar of coconut oil with me :-)
For the last 3 weeks on and off on ketogenic diet I lost 4.6 pounds. I am planning to keep going even during the trip.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by Tatsnook

Today I am leaving for 3 weeks trip. Not sure what will be available there (Russia and Turkey) to eat, but I am brining a jar of coconut oil with me :-)
For the last 3 weeks on and off on ketogenic diet I lost 4.6 pounds. I am planning to keep going even during the trip.

Congratulations on the loss!

Have a great trip. Have you been there before? What an adventure!

[mom2zeke]

Good morning everyone! I'm still sticking with the program. No testing today. Since I'm eating the same things and seem to be pretty steadily in ketosis. I only have 11 strips left so I need to use them wisely.

DiggingDogFarm--That was fast! Have you tested yet?

drjlowcarb--Your reaction to ketosis is the opposite of so many people. Perhaps being ketogenic is not the right program for you?

Rebecca--Congrats on the loss!

Rebecca and others dealing with menopause and reversal of menopause. When I started LC it completely changed my cycle. I went from a very long, unpredictable cycle to 28 days on the nose every month. For the past few years it has been 26-28 days which my naturopath tells me is normal heading into menopause. When I had my hormones tested I was high normal on most and high on estrogen and cortisol. I have reduced the estrogen and cortisol with supplements and stopping the progesterone that an earlier ND had me take for heavy periods (caused by Thyroid, not low progesterone!).

Anyway, my point is that this WOE has a powerful effect on hormones. It's not surprising that it would send you backwards Rebecca! Have you ever thought about doing bioidenticals? I know a lot of people are opposed to them, but for some people they work wonders. I went to my new doctor specifically to get them along with getting my Thyroid working. It turns out I didn't need them...yet. But when the time comes I'm not going to hesitate to use them if necessary.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by Tatsnook

Today I am leaving for 3 weeks trip. Not sure what will be available there (Russia and Turkey) to eat, but I am brining a jar of coconut oil with me :-)
For the last 3 weeks on and off on ketogenic diet I lost 4.6 pounds. I am planning to keep going even during the trip.

Good luck with that! I hope you can find food that will fit with what you are trying to do.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

Anyway, my point is that this WOE has a powerful effect on hormones. It's not surprising that it would send you backwards Rebecca! Have you ever thought about doing bioidenticals? I know a lot of people are opposed to them, but for some people they work wonders. I went to my new doctor specifically to get them along with getting my Thyroid working. It turns out I didn't need them...yet. But when the time comes I'm not going to hesitate to use them if necessary.

I started BHRT in 2009.

I usually have a testosterone implant put in every 4-5 months (I make barely any of my own), but due to a recent financial setback, I stopped doing that for now until money becomes available again. Currently, I am on BHRT progesterone. I was also on thyroid, but it began disagreeing with my system, so I had to take a break.

Even though my insurance covers a portion of all my and my husband's treatments (he injects T once a week, because he makes very little of his own, either), between the two of us, we are out of pocket around $5,000 per year, and we just can't afford it right now. Maybe in the next couple of months, we can resume.

[RebeccaLatham]

I decided to take some magnesium and a PS cap before bed last night, and waited for them to start to take effect. I started feeling a little woozy around 11 pm and went to bed, but it still took 30 minutes to fall asleep. I woke up 6-7 times throughout the night, but was able to fall back asleep. I'll take those two supplements again tonight.

My measurements did not change this morning, so still holding steady at 33.9% body fat. I did not test this morning, because, like Kristn, I can see that I am in ketosis and the strips are expensive!

I have to work today, so I took my oil and lemon cocktail at 9 am and I will eat a bacon and eggs breakfast around 11:30 am. I have one fat bomb left from my last batch, so I will take that to work with me to eat at my break around 3:30 pm. My husband is not home this evening, so I will probably eat more eggs when I get off work. Pretty boring food day, but that's okay.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

I started BHRT in 2009.

I usually have a testosterone implant put in every 4-5 months (I make barely any of my own), but due to a recent financial setback, I stopped doing that for now until money becomes available again. Currently, I am on BHRT progesterone. I was also on thyroid, but it began disagreeing with my system, so I had to take a break.

Even though my insurance covers a portion of all my and my husband's treatments (he injects T once a week, because he makes very little of his own, either), between the two of us, we are out of pocket around $5,000 per year, and we just can't afford it right now. Maybe in the next couple of months, we can resume.

Hopefully you will be able to continue the T therapy soon.