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

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by 3Kids4me

I tracked my calories yesterday which was a big eating day. I think I need to scale back to smaller meals at lunch and dinner or just have one meal and basically fast lunch. I like my morning coffee with the CO and cream and that holds me till 2pm or so. But I also think sitting down with the family and eating a real dinner is important. Maybe just a small snack at 2pm would work. I'm trying to stay under 1500 calories right now, but I'm okay with a zig zag of 2000 on really hungry days after lifting and running or 1000 on less hungry days. And keeping carbs under 20 g. with Induction rules for cheese, cream, no nuts or nut butters for this month. I'll add them back in in September.

Finding the right balance is tough. I think you can do 2 meals with a fat snack and still have dinner with the family. That's pretty much what I do.

Planning to have a last diet soda today. Just a farewell to my friend. September goals--going to push really hard and try and drop 15 lbs, I'm still holding about 5 lbs of water and I think I can drop 10 lbs of fat at my weight if I'm working out hard and keeping the carbs low. That would put me at 178 lbs and 70 lbs down from my starting weight. I have a 5k to run October 6th, so I want to be ready for that. And the big one is no artificial sweeteners for September. I'm trying to decide about my 85% Green and Black chocolate bar. 1 square a day mixed in with CO or Cream Cheese is 1.25 carbs, but it is sugar, even if just a tad. Thoughts? As long as I count it? Avoid all sweet or treat tastes for a true Induction month?

Ordered 10 more sticks! I can't use them quickly, maybe test twice a week?

Good luck with your plan!! If you keep your goal in mind you can do this. I would avoid the chocolate if you are going completely off sugar.

You can probably taper off the ketone strips if you are strictly watching your food intake. Once I got going I only used them once a week or when I ate something different than my usual plan.

[mom2zeke]

I just did a bit of searching and found this on another blog from Dr. Volek regarding TNT vs. NK:

“People vary widely in their ability to metabolize carbohydrate in a healthy way, and even within a person that ability can change with age and other lifestyle factors. So it is difficult to make generalizations. Some athletes can tolerate and benefit from the intermittent use of carbohydrates as was presented in TNT, whereas I have come to appreciate that others may not be able to without disrupting their metabolism. At the end of the day, it comes down to personalization and finding out what works for you.”

I think I'm going to stick with NK for now since it's worked so well. I probably will push the protein and carbs over the next few weeks to find my threshold for NK. Thank goodness for the meter!

I only have a couple of strips left. Hopefully my new supply will arrive today.

[svenskamae]

Hi, Kristn and Doggygirl. I've been doing pretty much lowcarb primal, and I'm hoping that I can continue to do that while testing for nutritional ketosis (which I am promising to make myself start doing this weekend). So I guess I don't think there's necessarily a conflict between primal/paleo/whole30 and lowcarb ketosis, but it can certainly be a challenge to be super-disciplined on multiple fronts at a time.

I have been trying to keep my protein in the 50-55 grams range for the last few days, and have finally experienced my hunger being reduced or manageable without eating a lot more protein than that. Could it be that I'm finally in nutritional ketosis and accessing my plentiful fat stores? I hope that's the case; I'll try testing over the weekend and reporting back here.

Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by svenskamae

Hi, Kristn and Doggygirl. I've been doing pretty much lowcarb primal, and I'm hoping that I can continue to do that while testing for nutritional ketosis (which I am promising to make myself start doing this weekend). So I guess I don't think there's necessarily a conflict between primal/paleo/whole30 and lowcarb ketosis, but it can certainly be a challenge to be super-disciplined on multiple fronts at a time.

I have been trying to keep my protein in the 50-55 grams range for the last few days, and have finally experienced my hunger being reduced or manageable without eating a lot more protein than that. Could it be that I'm finally in nutritional ketosis and accessing my plentiful fat stores? I hope that's the case; I'll try testing over the weekend and reporting back here.

Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone!

I'm glad to hear that you have finally experienced manageable hunger with reduced protein. I think it's kind of like Atkins induction where you have to give it a few days or weeks for it to really start working. But that lag time can be pretty uncomfortable.

It will be interesting to see what your meter has to say. With the changes you've noticed I'll be you're in NK.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by shelley

I have read the Phinney/Volek book and am now ready to do the test strips, but have no idea what is the best meter/strips to get. I see the American Diabetes Wholesale is having a sale on a freestyle freedom lite meter and strips, but don't know how to determine the right "type" or strips. Can someone help me. I can't find the free ones from Jimmy Moore's site from July...no doubt that is over. Thanks.

Shelley!

You can still get the free Nova Max Plus meter and ketone strips. Google "Free Nova Max Plus Meter" to find the offer. You get 2 ketones strips with the meter and 2 when you register it. Additional Nova Max Plus ketone strips can be purchased at American Diabetes Wholesale for $24.00 for 10. They also have pretty good prices on combo ketone strip/glucose strip/monitor packages.

The other meter that people are using is the Precision Xtra. Look around for the best price on the meter. The ketone strips for this meter are expensive if you buy them online through the regular channels.

Not all of the glucose meters test for ketones. These two are the ones that we know can be used for that purpose.

The strips that you buy are specifically for the meter that you have and will be called ketone strips. Don't buy glucose strips (unless you want them).

I hope that helps!

[mom2zeke]

Happy Friday afternoon everyone! I'm looking forward to the holiday weekend.

Darn it! It looks like my TNT Diet book got donated in the big purge over the winter.

I hesitate to repurchase it as I don't know how useful it will be. I may see if it's still on the thrift store shelves.

In other news, my new bathing suit arrived today. I love it! But it reinforces my desire to work on body composition. I feel great from the waist up--but the bottom half could use some toning up. The bathing suit bottom, while skimpier than I'm used to wearing, covers up the worst of my lower abdomen loose skin. It's just those darned thighs! I have 5 weeks to get them in better shape before hitting the beach. But, all in all, I really like the suit.

I can also feel PMS creeping up on me. I stopped at Macy's on the way home this afternoon to try on sale clothes. I only tried on size 8s and they all fit--but when I looked in the mirror I still looked fat. Definitely my mind is playing tricks on me. It always happens right before TOM.

[miker295]

Hi all,

After four days of reading I finally caught up to the end of this thread. I feel like that in and of itself is a small victory!

I have a few questions that I don't know have been addressed yet:
- Do you use virgin CO or refined CO? Do you find a difference in results if you use virgin? I was using refined initially, then noticed better results with virgin and have been sticking to that. But virgin REALLY tastes like coconut and I can only take so much of that!

- It seems like many of the meal plans I've seen folks post have a fair amount of dairy in it - sour cream, butter, cheese, cream cheese. Has anyone found that this stalls their efforts? I seem to recall that on Atkins specifically they recommend leaving out soft cheeses like cream cheese until after induction, which seems counter-intuitive if induction is most similar to a ketogenic diet.

- Has anyone seen a FAQ on this board or elsewhere for the ketogenic diet? There is a TON of awesome information just in this thread but I bet it would be helpful to organize it in a streamlined format. I could possibly draft up an outline if others want to help with the authoring or editing, but I'm not quite sure how FAQs work on this board.

I received my NovaMax today and am .8, so I am in the zone right?! Still undoing the damage from last weekend's vacation binge, so we will see what happens when the dust clears from that. The NovaMax package actually came with 6 extra strips, not the 2 people kept referencing, so I guess I hit the lotto on that one!

Thanks all!

Mike

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by miker295

Hi all,

After four days of reading I finally caught up to the end of this thread. I feel like that in and of itself is a small victory!

Mike!

- Do you use virgin CO or refined CO? Do you find a difference in results if you use virgin? I was using refined initially, then noticed better results with virgin and have been sticking to that. But virgin REALLY tastes like coconut and I can only take so much of that!

I use both depending on what I am doing with it. When I make mayo or cook eggs I use refined. Fat bombs I use virgin. I use coconut cream in my coffee and have actually grown to love it!

It seems like many of the meal plans I've seen folks post have a fair amount of dairy in it - sour cream, butter, cheese, cream cheese. Has anyone found that this stalls their efforts? I seem to recall that on Atkins specifically they recommend leaving out soft cheeses like cream cheese until after induction, which seems counter-intuitive if induction is most similar to a ketogenic diet.

There are differences between Atkins induction and NK. Atkins is an ad libitum diet and he put some limits on things during induction (dairy, nuts). Atkins didn't limit protein, but protein is closely controlled in NK. We are tracking pretty closely what we're eating and some of us are using dairy to meet our daily fat requirements. Dairy isn't necessary, but it is an easy way to get fat without too much protein.

Has anyone seen a FAQ on this board or elsewhere for the ketogenic diet? There is a TON of awesome information just in this thread but I bet it would be helpful to organize it in a streamlined format. I could possibly draft up an outline if others want to help with the authoring or editing, but I'm not quite sure how FAQs work on this board.

Not so far. I don't know how they work on this board either. Links are okay as long as it's not a commercial site. I would love to help if you wanted to draft an outline.

I received my NovaMax today and am .8, so I am in the zone right?! Still undoing the damage from last weekend's vacation binge, so we will see what happens when the dust clears from that. The NovaMax package actually came with 6 extra strips, not the 2 people kept referencing, so I guess I hit the lotto on that one!

6 strips--woo hoo!! And yes, you're in the zone. What time of the day did you test? Do you have a plan for NK? Have you figured out your protein requirements?

[mom2zeke]

Good Morning Everyone!

Yesterday my (maintenance) intake was:
Protein: 85.1 (13.2%)
Carbs: 24.8 (3.8%)
Fat: 223 (77.7%)
Alcohol: 24.8 (7.6%)
Calories: 2584
This morning:
Weight: 150.4 (up .8)
Ketones: 2.4

As you can see, everything was up yesterday! I definitely ate more than I planned, but thankfully I'm still in ketosis. I had a few cocktails and that combined with PMS led to me eating a combo of mascarpone cheese and chopped up fat bombs. It was actually really yummy--but not something for every day. It did, however, significantly increase my fat and calories for the day.

Today I'm right back on my regular plan. I am glad to see that I can push my protein up and still stay in ketosis. That will be helpful information for my body composition goals.

How is everyone else doing?

[paulabob]

Originally Posted by miker295

Do you find a difference in results if you use virgin?

- Has anyone found that this stalls their efforts? I seem to recall that on

Welcome Mike! I actually prefer the taste of coconut. But my family doesn't! I generally go through fairly equal amounts of ghee, olive, and coconut. Plus bacon fat when I have it on hand. I do like ghee quite a bit...and it's got vitamins a, d, and k2 in it. I cook the butter down till it reaches that carmel stage so our ghee tastes like buttered popcorn.

I have no issues with dairy. If it's a problem there are definitely alternatives but I find it makes this WOE very tasty. I do have to avoid too much cheese but because of the protein.

Still fighting off this bug my DH gave me. My voice is croaky and nasty. At least I didn't get the high fever he had, and the kids are still healthy.

[Zyllah]

Morning everyone!

Sorry for the absence my eldest munchkin started preschool so I'm still trying to figure out how to fit everything in. However good news! I weigh 148 currently so NK is working for me. I'm amazed considering it's very close to TOM for me. I finally got over my desire for an over abundance of protein, I found a fat bomb that I actually like to eat (cream cheese clouds) so that's been helping quite a bit. I am using that diabetes excel spread sheet to make sure I'm eating at a ketogenic ratio. I won't know till I talk to the dishwasher repair guy if I can really spend the money on the test strips right now. My protein has perhaps been a bit too low and in the 50's. I do want to keep all my muscle. Anyway....

Kristn: I don't mind eating mostly the same foods either. It's just easier hahahah yeah I would have bought duplicates too. Mostly its a couple of skirts and a very few dresses that bother me. Although I love thrift stores the ones around here are just terrible. That's true about the sales...I just I have to admit I am not much of a shopper...although some of that might be alleviated by things fitting and looking good You certainly beat the odds...with maintaining. I think that's so awesome. I think the key to maintaining is experimentation. I'm thinking 70-80 for protein and maybe 30-35 for carbs. I however do not even want to try any maintenance strategies until I get to my goal. I think the trick is just realizing you never get to go back to eating whatever you want in whatever amount you want. On the maintaining front...currently I'm eating and losing on 1500. I'll be curious to see what I have to go up to to stop losing. I've wanted to exercise the week it just only happened 2x. I also really love LC food since I asked myself the same question you did and steak won hands down. Don't you think its weird that they accept paleo but hate on atkins?

Paula: Best prices on cream I've found is costco or sams. Costco is better IMO.

Doggygirl: Sure I don't blend mine since my blender broke and I'm waiting to get a decent one. I also do add a TB of cream to mine since I find it helps it avoid being an oil slick. Oh I also sub coconut oil for the MCT oil since I have it in the house already. HAH at least your husband will eat LC. Mine does not and my kids will not so I end up making 2-3 dinners. I couldn't find a local doc to even give me something other than synthroid. I had to resort to ordering it off the net. One thing I did do tho was start taking it with selenium. Congrats!! I love that spreadsheet. Ahhh Jewel I used to shop there when I lived in Chicago.

Rebecca: You did the best you could given the options.

3Kids4me: Homeschooling is hard work I'm trying to convince my husband to go that route but we'll see. I love dairy and although I have had friends do whole 30 they didn't actually lose any weight. The main one works out like a fiend too. I still drink diet soda and Mio. I've tried to cut it out but I find I just don't drink enough without it and it doesn't seem to affect how I'm losing. I do know its better for me but on the scale of things it's lower on my list of things to fix. I wish the test strips were cheaper too. I did find a site that offers a discount if you buy in bulk so it ends up being 50 of them for a 100. I know what you mean about fitness communities and low carb eating, I usually just say I eat primally. I couldn't eat the way some of those people do since I avoid shakes and bars. I'd so much rather have real food. I love Attia...I find working out is important to me too. Although I have the added bonus of having to defend what I do for fitness since people either love or hate the woman. I'll have to look at the TNT diet book.

Mike: Hiya! I limited dairy for a long time but I've been adding it back and still losing.


Jen

[Zyllah]

Oh yeah and Hi to anyone I missed.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by Zyllah

Morning everyone!

However good news! I weigh 148 currently so NK is working for me. I'm amazed considering it's very close to TOM for me.

Woo Hoo! Remind me of your starting weight/stats. It's hard to keep track of everyone.

I won't know till I talk to the dishwasher repair guy if I can really spend the money on the test strips right now.

I'm crossing my fingers that you'll be able to get the strips! We have had so many repair/maintenance men in this summer--I can totally relate to needing to wait until you get the bill before spending money.

My protein has perhaps been a bit too low and in the 50's. I do want to keep all my muscle.

I think retaining/building muscle is the biggest question with this WOE. My experience so far is that lowering it to get firmly into ketosis may be necessary. But once you're in ketosis for a while you may be able to up it without losing ketosis. Just a thought without anything to back it up but my own experience.

I just I have to admit I am not much of a shopper...although some of that might be alleviated by things fitting and looking good

I'm not much of a shopper either--but this new low weight actually makes it kind of fun. I do have a limit on shopping though. Once I've been in the store fo 45 minutes to 1 hour I start getting impatient and ready to leave. I've walked out on clothes in the dressing room before. Even a few I was planning to buy! When I'm ready to leave I just need to get out of there ASAP.

Don't you think its weird that they accept paleo but hate on atkins?

Yes! So many people do not understand Atkins at all. Decades ago he was talking about so many of the things that Paleo folks now talk about. I think the Atkins products were really a detriment to the Atkins brand. Atkins himself in the books was a believer in real, unprocessed foods.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by miker295

- Has anyone seen a FAQ on this board or elsewhere for the ketogenic diet? There is a TON of awesome information just in this thread but I bet it would be helpful to organize it in a streamlined format. I could possibly draft up an outline if others want to help with the authoring or editing, but I'm not quite sure how FAQs work on this board.

I was thinking that if we made a FAQ we could start a new thread and post or link to the FAQ at the start of the thread. That way people wouldn't necessarily have to wade through all of the pages to get an idea of what we're doing here. I actually have some room on my personal web pages at Comcast where we could post a FAQ and then link to it.

[RebeccaLatham]

My weight and inches remain unchanged this morning.

I haven't really talked about it in detail, but I have noticed in the past week that my hunger has pretty much disappeared. My goal is to eat 135g fat, 54g protein and 27g carbs every day. As you will see if you look at my update and menu (that I will post tomorrow), I have not been eating enough. There was one day that I only made it to 110g fat, 40g protein and 22g carbs. That is way low on fat and protein.

It seems that after I eat my normal breakfast, I just can't get myself to eat the rest of what I "need" to hit my goals. At dinner time, I might need to eat 4-5 oz. of meat, but all I can manage is 3 oz, or I feel like it is too much.

I am experiencing NO HUNGER when I am at work, and I spend a lot of time there speed walking. If I have a meal break there, I just eat my tiny meal - yesterday it was a can of tuna with homemade mayo and dill relish - and I am set for the rest of the day. Sometimes when I get home, I look at my numbers for the day, see that I have not eaten enough, but do not want to eat any more. Just not hungry.

I have never had this experience before of trying to get up to a certain amount of food. I guess this is the effect of deep ketosis (2.2 average on the keto meter).

At this point, I have decided to up my fat and protein at breakfast so that I do not have to eat so much protein at night. I want to be done eating a few hours before bed, but oftentimes I am home from work around 10pm, and it's just to late to eat something to hit my goal.

I have also decided to up my daily protein from 54g to 57g to meet the Phinney/Volek minimum requirement. I know it's not much, so it shouldn't hurt.

I just read the part in the book that says that too much protein is problematic on NK, but too little protein is also. I think I need to concentrate on getting my protein up to 57g at least every day. Eating only 40g that one day is just ridiculous.

Any thoughts?

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

I was thinking that if we made a FAQ we could start a new thread and post or link to the FAQ at the start of the thread. That way people wouldn't necessarily have to wade through all of the pages to get an idea of what we're doing here. I actually have some room on my personal web pages at Comcast where we could post a FAQ and then link to it.

That's a good idea, Kristn! Get right on that, will ya?

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

That's a good idea, Kristn! Get right on that, will ya?

Since Mike said that he'd start it, I don't mine helping/posting. I don't have it in me to get it started though...

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

I have also decided to up my daily protein from 54g to 57g to meet the Phinney/Volek minimum requirement. I know it's not much, so it shouldn't hurt.

I just read the part in the book that says that too much protein is problematic on NK, but too little protein is also. I think I need to concentrate on getting my protein up to 57g at least every day. Eating only 40g that one day is just ridiculous.

Any thoughts?

I think that getting protein "just right" is crucial! In Phinney's interview he was concerned that people eating too little could lose muscle very fast. I would think that applies to too little protein.

I have been able to up my protein over the past week and still stay in ketosis (85g protein, 25g carbs yesterday and still 2.4 on the meter this morning). My thinking is that once your body is fully adapted it may be able to handle more protein--especially if you're exercising regularly.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

I think that getting protein "just right" is crucial! In Phinney's interview he was concerned that people eating too little could lose muscle very fast. I would think that applies to too little protein.

I have been able to up my protein over the past week and still stay in ketosis (85g protein, 25g carbs yesterday and still 2.4 on the meter this morning). My thinking is that once your body is fully adapted it may be able to handle more protein--especially if you're exercising regularly.

[atcgirl42]

Hello All!

I first heard about NK this past week in the Main Lobby in Kristn's thread about reaching her goal. I've ordered the books and read this thread. While waiting I've adjusted my food ratios, cutting back on protein and getting plenty of healthy fats. In 4 days I've lost 3 pounds! I can't believe it! I only wanted to lose 10-15 to begin with and this has been effortless.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by atcgirl42

Hello All!

I first heard about NK this past week in the Main Lobby in Kristn's thread about reaching her goal. I've ordered the books and read this thread. While waiting I've adjusted my food ratios, cutting back on protein and getting plenty of healthy fats. In 4 days I've lost 3 pounds! I can't believe it! I only wanted to lose 10-15 to begin with and this has been effortless.

And congratulations on the quick start!

Just to clarify a point, it is not about ratios with NK. Your protein grams and carb grams are an absolute number, not a ratio or percentage of your total calories. The only thing that is a percentage is the fat, which should be between 70% and 85% of your total calories, based on your level of activity.

[miker295]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

:
I use both depending on what I am doing with it. When I make mayo or cook eggs I use refined. Fat bombs I use virgin. I use coconut cream in my coffee and have actually grown to love it!

I will have to give the regular CO another go as I like the neutral taste in several circumstances. Right now my main delivery device for the CO is a protein shake, and I think I need to cut back on protein some more (see below). The first fat bombs I made I did not like. I don't think I used enough liquid splenda. I'm going to give it another go.

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

:
There are differences between Atkins induction and NK. Atkins is an ad libitum diet and he put some limits on things during induction (dairy, nuts). Atkins didn't limit protein, but protein is closely controlled in NK. We are tracking pretty closely what we're eating and some of us are using dairy to meet our daily fat requirements. Dairy isn't necessary, but it is an easy way to get fat without too much protein.

Thanks all for the dairy comments. I'm going to try to fold some of that back in and see what happens.

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

:
Not so far. I don't know how they work on this board either. Links are okay as long as it's not a commercial site. I would love to help if you wanted to draft an outline.

I'll toy around with an outline and will post it here for feedback.

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

:
6 strips--woo hoo!! And yes, you're in the zone. What time of the day did you test? Do you have a plan for NK? Have you figured out your protein requirements?

I was bummed this AM when I tested .3. So it would appear I am not in the zone quite as strongly as I'd like. It's been 4 days since I've been back from vacation and I've tracked each day. My overall comp is 74%F/23%P/3%C. My carbs are insanely low - my net carbs this week were 9, 11, 14 and 12 across the four days.

The only thing I can think of is that protein is too high. As far as I can tell my LBM is 135 so that puts my daily ratio between 81 and 135, right? And so far this week I was 112, 105, 102, 93. So I am right in the middle but maybe I need to drop to the lower end.

I've had very few veggies this week too, so maybe that is part of it. Any other ideas?

Mike

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by atcgirl42

Hello All!

I first heard about NK this past week in the Main Lobby in Kristn's thread about reaching her goal. I've ordered the books and read this thread. While waiting I've adjusted my food ratios, cutting back on protein and getting plenty of healthy fats. In 4 days I've lost 3 pounds! I can't believe it! I only wanted to lose 10-15 to begin with and this has been effortless.

atcgirl42--glad to have you here!

And Woo Hoo on the weight loss! You're off to a fantastic start.

[RebeccaLatham]

Originally Posted by miker295

The only thing I can think of is that protein is too high. As far as I can tell my LBM is 135 so that puts my daily ratio between 81 and 135, right? And so far this week I was 112, 105, 102, 93. So I am right in the middle but maybe I need to drop to the lower end.

I would suggest going down to 81g of protein and see if it helps. Stay there for at least a week then test ketones again. You will no doubt have to ditch the protein shakes.



Is 135 pounds of lean body mass your goal, or what you think it is now?

You should do the math (LBM x 0.6) on your goal LBM, not your current LBM.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

I would suggest going down to 81g of protein and see if it helps. Stay there for at least a week then test ketones again. You will no doubt have to ditch the protein shakes.



Is 135 pounds of lean body mass your goal, or what you think it is now?

You should do the math (LBM x 0.6) on your goal LBM, not your current LBM.

Mike--most of us have found that we need to start on the lower end of our protein requirement to get into NK. Once you've been there for a while you may be able to start increasing protein. I wouldn't worry so much about the carbs. Keeping them low is also good when you're starting out. Like protein, if you want to increase them wait until you get firmly into NK and then use your meter to judge how high you can go.

[miker295]

Originally Posted by RebeccaLatham

I would suggest going down to 81g of protein and see if it helps. Stay there for at least a week then test ketones again. You will no doubt have to ditch the protein shakes.



Is 135 pounds of lean body mass your goal, or what you think it is now?

You should do the math (LBM x 0.6) on your goal LBM, not your current LBM.

Oh how I wish I hadn't just ordered $100 worth of protein powder the other week! I will try swapping out the protein shakes with tea for a week to see if that kick starts anything further.

The 135 LBM is where I am now based on the calculators I've used. This fall I'll start lifting again and hopefully that will go up. But I'll drop the protein down to the low 80s for the next week or two and see what that does.

I had the refined CO in tea this morning and that was far more palatable than the virgin for me, so that's a good change potentially.

Here's a first crack and an outline for the FAQ. What do you all think?

1. Introduction to Nutritional Ketosis
a. What is Nutritional Ketosis?
b. How is NK different from other low carb programs?
c. Isn’t a diet high in fat supposed to be bad for us?
d. Do doctors ever prescribe NK diets?
e. What is the difference between ketosis and ketoacidocis?
f. Should I go on a NK diet if I’m diabetic or pre-diabetic?

2. Eating for NK
a. What are common food types on NK?
b. How much protein should I eat on a NK diet?
c. What do typical meal plans look like?
d. Why is Coconut Oil so often recommended for NK?
e. Where do I find CO in my grocery store?
f. What are the best ways to consume CO?
g. What are “fat bombs” and how do I make them?

3. Methods for measuring NK
a. Good – understanding symptoms of NK
b. Better – ketosticks
c. Best – keytone testing

4. Learning more about NK
a. What brand name diets are essentially NK diets?
b. What books focus on NK?
c. What bloggers are on NK?

[shelley]

Thanks for the info on the ketone meter and strips and the sale this weekend Kristn (and the welcome).

Mike, I'm impressed you read all 29 pages! I have only read the first few and then skipped to the end. I have read the book (Volek/Phinney) and listened to his podcast with Jimmy Moore and think I understand it all. I've done Atkins induction for what seems like years, but no weightloss. But I feel healthy, and FAT! How do you determine the calories for your body? I was told 1600 for me at my height/age, but I think that is why I just never lost anything. I have dropped down to 1200 and am finally seeing minute losses....2# in a few weeks which is fine....but 1# of that was 4 days on the Fat Fast (which was fun for me). I'll try to catch up on the other 20+ pages here and then will probably have more questions answered. Seems like you are all very young....I'm in my 60's. Thanks for the welcome!

[shelley]

Wow Mike...I'm impressed. Might I suggest another division under taking ketone readings...how it's done, what type of equipment is necessary and possibly places to get them? That's where I am now after a year of using the ketostix and then after reading the book realizing that I'm probably keto adapted and so the ketones are not showing up any more on the ketostix? Good job!!!!

[paulabob]

I think a FAQ might also mention why protein may have to be limited for ketosis. That's an important one...as I think it's one of the reasons this is working for so many of us who have stalled longterm on other lowcarb plans. There do seem to be people who can eat unlimited protein (thinking young male and not too overweight)...but for many of us that simply drives our insulin up too high and converts too much to glucose.

[3Kids4me]

Definitely add a point about supplements on NK. Proper sodium and magnesium keep a lot of "Atkins flu" symptoms under control. Sodium for me is especially a key one for me.