September Nutritional Ketosis Thread!

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

I take 800mg before I go to bed. Start slowly with magnesium, it can cause bathroom issues for some people.

Wow, how long did it take you to work up to 800? I just upped mine from 200 a night to 400, didn't have anything in between, so hoping it doesn't cause any bathroom issues. If it does, I will just skip a day now and then.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by amlyjo

Hey everyone,

No loss to report. In fact I'm up about 2. I have not cheated or done anything different but...TMI...bathroom issues. My ferritin is quite low and my doc has me back on iron supplements. I HATE THEM. They make me nauseous and constipated. Ugh. I already take 1200mg of magnesium! Partly for the bathroom side-effect as well as the benefits of mag. Gonna have to work on this issue.

Staying the course!

I am sure the constipation is prob why you are up about 2. Things will work out, pun intended

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by mom_2_4

Good morning everyone!!! Sorry I have been MIA for a few days, just been really busy at work and at home so I hadn't had time to read or check in but before I got to far off track with the thread, since it moves so fast, I figured I better make time!!!

Since I last posted.....

I had that outing Saturday, I ate before I went and drank lots of water but I did snack some while we were there, I tried to select lower carb things but it wasn't easy and I KNOW I went over on my intake because it showed on the scale and my urine ketone strips went back down to none and trace I also saw an increase on the scale of 3 pounds!!!! That was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not worth it, especially since I am just starting off so I WILL NOT be doing that again!!! I think it would be easier to swallow had I lost 30 pounds and gained back a few but I nearly gained back half of what I had lost so far!!!! Not good I got right back on track Sunday and it was literally just that one meal that made the difference, just fyi for anyone in that same boat. If you waiver at all it makes a big impact with this woe. I believe it was Buffy who warned me it would and boy was she right. I am a little discouraged by the weight gain but not enough to give up I just need to keep moving forward and hopefully before to long I will begin seeing a loss again!!
I also think I need to increase my fat intake for the day. Below is my intake for the past three days while I was MIA
Sunday:
Cal:1132
C:12.9 (5.3net)
F:99.7
P:53.1
Monday:
Cal:1063.1
C:20.5 (5.3 net)
F:107
P:51.6
Tuesday:
Cal:1493.6
C:24.4 (13.4 net)
F:141
P:56.1

So what do y'all think? Increase the fat??

okay, off to work I go. Glad I made the time to stop in and sey hello!! I have missed you all!!!!

Glad you checked in. I don't know of one person who hasn't or doesn't slip up like that once in a while but as I tell my DD's, LC is not very forgiving, as you just learned. But, not to worry, we all do it and we all learn each time which makes us stronger to resist the next time.

I wonder if you calories are a little low for your current weight? Are you hungry? If you are, you have some wiggle room I think and can add some more fat to help fill you up, which makes it much easier to avoid temptations.

When you are out with friends or at a meeting, gathering, always, always have a drink in your hand to help you not graze the food. Coffee, ice tea, diet soda or if it is happy hour, drink a diet something with a twist of lime, you will be happy and feel better the next day. Give you something to put in your mouth while others are mindlessly snacking away. And, always eat before you go.

And, my favorite advice, eat more buttah!

[clairie]

Originally Posted by amlyjo

Hey everyone,

My ferritin is quite low and my doc has me back on iron supplements. I HATE THEM. They make me nauseous and constipated. Ugh.

Staying the course!

Hi!
I am anemic as well - have been my whole adult life. I take Ferro Sequels brand. they have a little stool softener in them that helps SO much!! they are in a green box. I bet Amazon has them. Good luck! I know when my iron is low I have a really hard time with my metabolism.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Wow, how long did it take you to work up to 800? I just upped mine from 200 a night to 400, didn't have anything in between, so hoping it doesn't cause any bathroom issues. If it does, I will just skip a day now and then.

I can't even remember, I've been taking it for about a year. I think I upped it by 200 every week until I got too high. Everyone is so different on this. My DH can hardly take 200mg.

[zay]

Originally Posted by route66

totals for today:

cals: 1603
C: 26 (ha ha...lower than usual, but I had 1 C lettuce, 1-2 oz each carrot and celery, 1/2 C cabbage/cole slaw and 1 more C lettuce at dinner...lots of veggies!!!)
P: 56
F: 153

I've been craving McDs, sigh, so I got 2 mcdoubles and a side salad, threw away the buns and chopped it all up with 1T ranch dressing. Cured me. For now.......

Last weekend I ordered Mushroom and Swiss Angus without bun and side salad. They served the burger on a plate for me. I believe low carb requests are not uncommon for them. They served me sausage and round eggs a la carte on a plate before also. They were $1 each. You can also order scrambled and folded eggs as well. Not the best choices but certainly a help when in a pinch and need something fast.

[bizzymommy2430]

Hi! I just wanted to post a little bit more about water retention. I'd been having trouble sleeping and going to the bathroom (still haven't for like five days or so). Anyway, I read about the magnesium and started supplementing. Has helped me sleep, but yesterday I woke up bloated and so I read about the potassium. I am going to increase veggies to get the proper minerals because potassium supplements are extremely low. In addition, I still gained more weight (mostly water) since yesterday. I did a little google searching this morning and saw something about low protein. I do recall that causing bloating now that I read that. I had learned about it in anatomy/physiology class last year. That's why poor kids in 3rd world countries have those big bellies, they are so low on protein and it's causingg the water retention. Anyway, I ate low protein the past couple days..yesterday was 41 grams. I think the day before was 50 and I've been keeping it around there. I am going to increase my protein and do carb cycling. With the high days coming from veggies and even the low days being around 50. I suppose that means I'm not in nutritional ketosis anymore, but if you guys don't mind I may stick around and read the posts or comment from time to time. I just wanted to point out how the minerals and protein make a big difference in our water weight retention, thus the number we are seeing on the scale. Hormones aren't the only reason we can have this problem.

[zay]

Magnesium Stearate or Sulfate???

Which should we take?

Thanks!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by zay

Magnesium Stearate or Sulfate???

Which should we take?

Thanks!

I take citrate and my DH takes Malate.

[ebeads]

bizzymom. Thank you so much for the post. I have been keeping the protein low , probably too low and have just started having water retention. Before I restarted LC ... I ate lots of salty stuff and always had zero problem with water. Though I have been big my whole life, always had "skinny" ankles. So it was quite alarming to me that I was holding a LOT of water even though there is virtually NOTHING in my diet with much sodium and there is no salt shaker in my house.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by bizzymommy2430

Hi! I just wanted to post a little bit more about water retention. I'd been having trouble sleeping and going to the bathroom (still haven't for like five days or so). Anyway, I read about the magnesium and started supplementing. Has helped me sleep, but yesterday I woke up bloated and so I read about the potassium. I am going to increase veggies to get the proper minerals because potassium supplements are extremely low. In addition, I still gained more weight (mostly water) since yesterday. I did a little google searching this morning and saw something about low protein. I do recall that causing bloating now that I read that. I had learned about it in anatomy/physiology class last year. That's why poor kids in 3rd world countries have those big bellies, they are so low on protein and it's causingg the water retention. Anyway, I ate low protein the past couple days..yesterday was 41 grams. I think the day before was 50 and I've been keeping it around there. I am going to increase my protein and do carb cycling. With the high days coming from veggies and even the low days being around 50. I suppose that means I'm not in nutritional ketosis anymore, but if you guys don't mind I may stick around and read the posts or comment from time to time. I just wanted to point out how the minerals and protein make a big difference in our water weight retention, thus the number we are seeing on the scale. Hormones aren't the only reason we can have this problem.

It's important to find what works for you! This thread has always been in favor of finding the right amount of protein for the individual. Not too low or too high. Going too low isn't helpful as you've found out.

It's good to look at the different methods of calculating protein to get a starting number. You can tweak from there if you're too high or too low. Phinney/Volek actually have quite a wide range to work within while staying in NK.

[bizzymommy2430]

I'm glad that info helped at least one person! When I woke up this morning I was thinking, I don't want to look all bloated everyday and I need to get this resolved. I had totally forgotten that information about the protein and from your experience and mine, we can see it is true.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by ebeads

bizzymom. Thank you so much for the post. I have been keeping the protein low , probably too low and have just started having water retention. Before I restarted LC ... I ate lots of salty stuff and always had zero problem with water. Though I have been big my whole life, always had "skinny" ankles. So it was quite alarming to me that I was holding a LOT of water even though there is virtually NOTHING in my diet with much sodium and there is no salt shaker in my house.

As strange as it sounds, not having enough salt can make you retain water also. Don't go too low on protein. Use the calculators to help find the right amount for you and tweak from there.

[bizzymommy2430]

Hey! I do add salt to my foods and I even drank salty water last night to try and help thinking salt was another possibility. However, I just gained more water weight as reflected on the scale. I guess I am an all or none thinker sometimes. I thought if protein turned into glucose in excess, I'd limit it to the low end of the range and the 40 grams yesterday wouldnt be a problem. I figured it would possibly counteract extra carbs from veggies yesterday. Well, after re-learning that lesson about protein, I'm upping my protein. My line of thought was not working.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by bizzymommy2430

Hey! I do add salt to my foods and I even drank salty water last night to try and help thinking salt was another possibility. However, I just gained more water weight as reflected on the scale. I guess I am an all or none thinker sometimes. I thought if protein turned into glucose in excess, I'd limit it to the low end of the range and the 40 grams yesterday wouldnt be a problem. I figured it would possibly counteract extra carbs from veggies yesterday. Well, after re-learning that lesson about protein, I'm upping my protein. My line of thought was not working.

I think that's the "diet" mentality that we all learned--lower is better. But you need a certain amount of protein to support your lean body mass so that you don't lose muscle.

In Dr. Phinney's interview he really stressed not going to low on protein or calories (not below 1200). Both of those things can actually be counterproductive when you're trying to lose.

[bizzymommy2430]

Yeah mom2zeke I think you're right. The diet mentality gets sort of stuck in my head..lower the better. There definitely has to be a balance though and I will be making my focus figuring out the balance of what I need to feel and look my best and healthiest. All while avoiding refined carbs and processed food. Except, maybe I might have a diet soda...with some guilt about having it. I have been doing good about avoiding them.

[sheri81428]

Hi all -- I'm new to lowcarbfriends and found this thread. Since I've seen that you all are sharing what plans you're on, I thought I'd share what I've been doing... I've been eating LC (a plan of my own) since '03. I had read Atkins, Protein Power, Zone and Carbo Addicts back then and had decided I needed to try something myself because I absolutely hate to count anything. So in '03 I simply cut bread, potatoes, pasta, sweets and deep fried from my diet and created a new eating lifestyle. My mistake was that I didn't cut beer! Hence my need to take off 20-25lbs right now. Without the beer, I've been able to take off 9lbs since 8/27 and am at 151 now (5'4"), my goal is to reach 125-130 by January 1st. Back in January '03 I started at 190 and lost 45lbs by November 1, without counting anything and just eliminating the above from my diet.

So, I'm sticking to that plan again because I can go anywhere and be able to be satisfied. It's also taken away any desire for sweets. My struggles are with still sometimes desiring salty and deep fried so I'm going to try some of the LC alternative recipes for those types of foods.

I'm so glad to have found an active forum and all the advice that I've seen here.... and learned. I had never heard of 'oil pulling' ... trying to decide if I can put a teaspoon of oil in my mouth -- sounds yucky.

[clackley]

Anyone using Glycosolve or berberine and if so, do you think it is helpful in the weight loss dept????

[shelley]

Originally Posted by clackley

Anyone using Glycosolve or berberine and if so, do you think it is helpful in the weight loss dept????

Google it and read the side effects/interactions, etc. That's what I did when I heard the name.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by sheri81428

Hi all -- I'm new to lowcarbfriends and found this thread. Since I've seen that you all are sharing what plans you're on, I thought I'd share what I've been doing... I've been eating LC (a plan of my own) since '03. I had read Atkins, Protein Power, Zone and Carbo Addicts back then and had decided I needed to try something myself because I absolutely hate to count anything. So in '03 I simply cut bread, potatoes, pasta, sweets and deep fried from my diet and created a new eating lifestyle. My mistake was that I didn't cut beer! Hence my need to take off 20-25lbs right now. Without the beer, I've been able to take off 9lbs since 8/27 and am at 151 now (5'4"), my goal is to reach 125-130 by January 1st. Back in January '03 I started at 190 and lost 45lbs by November 1, without counting anything and just eliminating the above from my diet.

So, I'm sticking to that plan again because I can go anywhere and be able to be satisfied. It's also taken away any desire for sweets. My struggles are with still sometimes desiring salty and deep fried so I'm going to try some of the LC alternative recipes for those types of foods.

I'm so glad to have found an active forum and all the advice that I've seen here.... and learned. I had never heard of 'oil pulling' ... trying to decide if I can put a teaspoon of oil in my mouth -- sounds yucky.

to the forum sheri! On this thread we are mostly following the Phinney/Volek Art and Science books to get into nutritional ketosis to lose. You can read more on the first page of this thread here. I'm not sure if this group will be helpful for you, but you are more than welcome to join in! You might want to check out the Main Lobby. There's always lots going on there and you may find people who are following a similar plan.

[Buffy45]

Cathy, isn't that what Jimmy Moore is taking?

[clairie]

hi,

woke up with higher ketones and a small loss!

ketones: 3.3
weight: 169

I'll take it!
#'s for today:
cal: 1491
fat:119
pro:53
carbs:24 -total not net..

eating the coconut butter has 5 g or so fiber, so net would be 14 if you subtract for it and the fiber in my zucchini.
all in all a good day.

workout was a double bell KB routine.

I got labwork back from my endo about my thyroid and found I am in range T3 and T4, but I am low in B12! never been low in that before. I need to take 1000mcg now as a supplement. So weird. I will do it though! My energy has been off and I figured it was thyroid.

cheers,

[portcop01]

Do any of you go a wheel and not lose any thing or gain?

[clackley]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Cathy, isn't that what Jimmy Moore is taking?

Yes it is. I wonder if it is not helping him with weight loss seeing as he is not diabetic. It is for blood sugar control.

[portcop01]

Sorry weeks....

[SouthernGirl61]

I have had the same issues with bloating, retaining fluids, and after beginning to measure and count, I realized my protein was way lower than I thought! I have gradually added magnesium (citrate, malate, aspartate are good healthful types, oxide helps with the potty issues!)....now at 600-1000mg daily, which is where my fav natural doc says to be. then the potassium came in, taking about 500 daily, and Mike is right, the thirst goes down! But today I feel 1000% better with protein going to 63g.
Kristn, as much as you have said "get it right for you" I guess I thought winging it would be close enough!
Sven - thanks for the location in the grocery store -- would never have gone down the PB aisle for that! But I wondered around the fats and cold area....
Sheri, welcome! We sound like "sisters"....my plan for years was the same as yours, sans the beer, mine was wine...can't seem to drink it much right now!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by portcop01

Do any of you go a wheel and not lose any thing or gain?

When i was actively trying to lose I would often go a week or more without any losses and often a small gain.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by clairie

hi,

woke up with higher ketones and a small loss!

Woo hoo! Congratulations.

I got labwork back from my endo about my thyroid and found I am in range T3 and T4, but I am low in B12! never been low in that before. I need to take 1000mcg now as a supplement. So weird. I will do it though! My energy has been off and I figured it was thyroid.

cheers,

Hopefully you'll be feeling more energetic soon with the B12!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by SouthernGirl61

I have had the same issues with bloating, retaining fluids, and after beginning to measure and count, I realized my protein was way lower than I thought! I have gradually added magnesium (citrate, malate, aspartate are good healthful types, oxide helps with the potty issues!)....now at 600-1000mg daily, which is where my fav natural doc says to be. then the potassium came in, taking about 500 daily, and Mike is right, the thirst goes down! But today I feel 1000% better with protein going to 63g.
Kristn, as much as you have said "get it right for you" I guess I thought winging it would be close enough!
Sven - thanks for the location in the grocery store -- would never have gone down the PB aisle for that! But I wondered around the fats and cold area....
Sheri, welcome! We sound like "sisters"....my plan for years was the same as yours, sans the beer, mine was wine...can't seem to drink it much right now!

I'm glad you're feeling better with the higher protein! It is hard to get it right, but once you do it really makes a difference.

I may up my potassium as well. I've been getting a few cramps while working out.

[amlyjo]

Originally Posted by clairie

Hi!
I am anemic as well - have been my whole adult life. I take Ferro Sequels brand. they have a little stool softener in them that helps SO much!! they are in a green box. I bet Amazon has them. Good luck! I know when my iron is low I have a really hard time with my metabolism.

Thanks for the tip! Today I had to cut my iron pill in half. I will have to work up to it I guess.


Hey - Question for anyone... what do I do with coconut cream? I found it in the international foods isle. 3g carbs for 1/2 c serving, and it's 20g fat, so I think it will fit in nicely with the plan, but I don't exactly know what to do with it. I don't really like coconut flavored coffee. Other thoughts? Should I just go the recipe area?