October Nutritional Ketosis Thread!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by shelley

Kristn....hope you day went well (presentation and all) and that you are all ready to go on your trip. Have a great time!!!!

Thanks Shelley! The presentation went well and I sailed through the rest of my day yesterday. I was too worried about not getting everything done, so I was finished with everything early.

This is my last morning of testing and weighing for 10 days. It will be interesting to see what the numbers are when I get back. I plan to stick to plan but still enjoy a few Island treats (small amounts of fruit, but not too much). This morning I was 148.4 (down a bit) and ketones were 3.5 (highest I've seen in a long time).

I will be checking in from time to time, but I don't know how much I'll have to report. I love seeing everyone's progress, so it's hard for me to stay away!

You guys are an amazing group. Have fun while I'm gone!!

[cfine]

I'm back today after a horribly bad week. I've eaten potatoes, rice, apple pie, ice cream, pretty much anything and everything. Hopefully I will feel human again soon

[JMCM1]

Kristn, after all you've accomplished, I actually hope you do stick close to plan - because it's such an easy way to get through each day.

And I hope you have a relaxing enjoyable, laugh-filled trip.
If anybody has earned this, you have earned it.

[drjlocarb]

Originally Posted by shelley

Hope you won both softball games drjlocarb!! And if you weren't playing, hope you had fun watching! :-)

We won one and lost one. It is an adult co-ed league and I play 3rd or catcher depending on who else is there. I get to play ball twice a week from April thru Nov. I got 2 doubles last night. One in each game. *pats self on back*

[Pot Pie]

Yesterday I felt really hungry and ate a bunch more than I usually do. After dinner I had a square of 85% lindt chocolate, ranch dip with cauliflower, and colby cheese with spicy cream cheese. I totaled about 1900 calories 70g protein (10g over my goal not too bad) and still lost weight this morning. TOM also arrived today so that probably explains the hunger since I was not feeling hungry before really. I'm happy!

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by Pot Pie

Yesterday I felt really hungry and ate a bunch more than I usually do. After dinner I had a square of 85% lindt chocolate, ranch dip with cauliflower, and colby cheese with spicy cream cheese. I totaled about 1900 calories 70g protein (10g over my goal not too bad) and still lost weight this morning. TOM also arrived today so that probably explains the hunger since I was not feeling hungry before really. I'm happy!

You did a good job in finding things to satisfy that feeling and stay true to our WOE.

I had that same feeling yesterday and my calories were over 1600 which is high for me, but, all within things that were allowed. My fat percentage hit over 80% for the first time, but alas, I did not show a loss this AM. I am also dealing with that monthly hormonal swing so I attribute the hunger and the weight gain to that.

Also, the Dr. lowered one of my BP meds, which is a good thing, but it is the one with the diuretic in it so I also showed a small gain from that change, but that is a good thing and I will just have to allow for that and move forward.

[theLossgirl]

I think Svenskamae asked someone to get this book and post info? Okay, I borrowed this book for free on my kindle and read it last night (it's super short).

I would only recommend it if you didn't know much at all about HFLC living. For people just starting out, though, it's a great little read. Because the author is not a doctor, science or nutritionist, almost none of the science behind this way of eating is discussed. Instead, she shares her amazing success at losing a lot of weight in a relatively short amount of time, and keeping it off. I don't think the lack of science talk is a bad thing, because many people who are considering or just starting a HFLC diet just want to know what they can eat, and get a few recipe ideas. As we all know, many other books discuss the science for those interested in learning more.

When reading food labels, she explains how she uses a rule of less than 5 grams of carbohydrate for every 100 grams of food, which I think over complicates things a little. Reading how many carbs per that food's definition of a serving seems much simpler.

The author is adamantly opposed to all artificial sweeteners.

I did really like that when she talked about units of measurement (such as stones, celcius, centimeters, kilograms etc.), she automatically provided the equivalent in American terms of measurement. 9 stones? I mean, I can do the math but glad I didn't have to!

Okay, that's the end of my little book report, lol. If anyone has more specific questions about the book, I'll be checking the thread or you can just PM me.

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by theLossgirl

I think Svenskamae asked someone to get this book and post info? Okay, I borrowed this book for free on my kindle and read it last night (it's super short).

I would only recommend it if you didn't know much at all about HFLC living. For people just starting out, though, it's a great little read. Because the author is not a doctor, science or nutritionist, almost none of the science behind this way of eating is discussed. Instead, she shares her amazing success at losing a lot of weight in a relatively short amount of time, and keeping it off. I don't think the lack of science talk is a bad thing, because many people who are considering or just starting a HFLC diet just want to know what they can eat, and get a few recipe ideas. As we all know, many other books discuss the science for those interested in learning more.

When reading food labels, she explains how she uses a rule of less than 5 grams of carbohydrate for every 100 grams of food, which I think over complicates things a little. Reading how many carbs per that food's definition of a serving seems much simpler.

The author is adamantly opposed to all artificial sweeteners.

I did really like that when she talked about units of measurement (such as stones, celcius, centimeters, kilograms etc.), she automatically provided the equivalent in American terms of measurement. 9 stones? I mean, I can do the math but glad I didn't have to!

Okay, that's the end of my little book report, lol. If anyone has more specific questions about the book, I'll be checking the thread or you can just PM me.

Thanks for the book report Deborah!

[JMCM1]

Originally Posted by theLossgirl

I think Svenskamae asked someone to get this book and post info? Okay, I borrowed this book for free on my kindle and read it last night (it's super short).

I would only recommend it if you didn't know much at all about HFLC living. For people just starting out, though, it's a great little read. Because the author is not a doctor, science or nutritionist, almost none of the science behind this way of eating is discussed. Instead, she shares her amazing success at losing a lot of weight in a relatively short amount of time, and keeping it off. I don't think the lack of science talk is a bad thing, because many people who are considering or just starting a HFLC diet just want to know what they can eat, and get a few recipe ideas. As we all know, many other books discuss the science for those interested in learning more.

When reading food labels, she explains how she uses a rule of less than 5 grams of carbohydrate for every 100 grams of food, which I think over complicates things a little. Reading how many carbs per that food's definition of a serving seems much simpler.

The author is adamantly opposed to all artificial sweeteners.

I did really like that when she talked about units of measurement (such as stones, celcius, centimeters, kilograms etc.), she automatically provided the equivalent in American terms of measurement. 9 stones? I mean, I can do the math but glad I didn't have to!

Okay, that's the end of my little book report, lol. If anyone has more specific questions about the book, I'll be checking the thread or you can just PM me.

I give you an "A" and I thank you that I do not have to read that book!

[theLossgirl]

Thanks Buffy and Judy! Gotta brush up though, because I did forget two important things. One was the author's name, Lydia D. Skog.

And duh, what she says you can and can't eat. But like I mentioned, it's pretty basic for those of us who are already eating LC.

Can eat: oils, butter, mayo, full fat cheeses and dairy, meats (especially fatty ones)

Can eat but watch portion sizes of: vegetables that grow above ground, nuts, seeds

Include in your diet but in very small amounts: fruits

Never, or very rarely eat: vegetables that grow below the ground, pasta, bread, rice, grains

Never eat: candy, cakes, cookies, or anything sugary of that nature. Also never eat anything that is artificially sweetened in any way.

She follows these rules and never counts calories, only carbs. She eats 20 - 40 grams of carbs per day.

[Buffy45]

Just had 1/2 an avocado for lunch, with lemon pepper on it, wow, love those things!!!

[shelley]

Originally Posted by drjlocarb

We won one and lost one. It is an adult co-ed league and I play 3rd or catcher depending on who else is there. I get to play ball twice a week from April thru Nov. I got 2 doubles last night. One in each game. *pats self on back*

Excellent!!! I'll pat you on the back too for that. 2 doubles is amazing. Most people can't even connect the bat with the ball! :-)

I would not want to be catcher though! Scary! thanks for telling us.

[clairie]

I love avocadoes! makes me want to go buy one!

Great book report Deborah! thanks so much for sharing. Saved me an hour to not have to read it!!

I had a good day yesterday. Thought I'd be down for sure. Blood sugars were awesome. Woke up today 78. - which is awesome for me. Scale said only down .4 from yesterday, but I am still up 2 from a week ago... so I'll try to repeat my awesome day and hope the downward trend continues.
Made a new fat bomb. I mixed in a blender cream cheese with coconut oil and a couple splenda drops. I made sure it was all melty before I mixed it up. Then put in fridge to harden. One spoonful really makes the appetite go away!

I also didn't eat much at dinnertime - just a couple spoons of the new fat bomb. I was not hungry at all for anything later, which is weird for me. I can usually eat continually little snacks all evening. I might be on to something! Listening to my body and waiting for hunger was a good idea for me yesterday.

Happy travels Kristn!!!

[EllaP]

Finally got my free Ketone Meter (Nova Max Plus) and decided to test both Ketones and glucose immediately. Ketones are 5.3 and glucose is 56. A little low on the sugars but not sure of the reliability of this machine for sugars and I feel fine, so I won't worry about it. (I'm not diabetic)

I haven't eaten yet today (it's almost 4 pm), but that's typical for me. I always have coffee first thing in the morning with 13 g of Coconut Oil (any more than precisely 13 g and I feel nauseated for a couple of hours) and then chicken broth at lunchtime with hot sauce and 5 g of Coconut Oil. I prefer to eat between 5 and 8 only. Seems to work well for me. Calories range from 1000 to 1300, always HF/MP/VLC. Have been losing from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds a week on average so I figured I was in NK, just wasn't expecting that high of a reading - perhaps its just the CO. Will check again in am before CO. I mostly wanted to be able to check ketones once I hit maintaining so I can see what foods I can add without leaving NK.

[Buffy45]

Wow Ella, what you are doing seems to be working very well for you. Do you mix the hot sauce and CO into the broth?

Those ketones are really high, and glucose really low. Will be anxious to hear how your next few readings go.

KUTGW and share as you do, looks like we can learn a lot from you.

[svenskamae]

Originally Posted by cfine

I'm back today after a horribly bad week. I've eaten potatoes, rice, apple pie, ice cream, pretty much anything and everything. Hopefully I will feel human again soon

Welcome back, cfine. I know that it was a horrible week in many ways, including your daughter being in the hospital, and I hope things go better for you now. It sounds like you are very ready to get back on plan, so congratulations for keeping the damage down to just 1 week.

[shelley]

Originally Posted by clairie

I love avocadoes! makes me want to go buy one!

Great book report Deborah! thanks so much for sharing. Saved me an hour to not have to read it!!

I had a good day yesterday. Thought I'd be down for sure. Blood sugars were awesome. Woke up today 78. - which is awesome for me. Scale said only down .4 from yesterday, but I am still up 2 from a week ago... so I'll try to repeat my awesome day and hope the downward trend continues.
Made a new fat bomb. I mixed in a blender cream cheese with coconut oil and a couple splenda drops. I made sure it was all melty before I mixed it up. Then put in fridge to harden. One spoonful really makes the appetite go away!

I also didn't eat much at dinnertime - just a couple spoons of the new fat bomb. I was not hungry at all for anything later, which is weird for me. I can usually eat continually little snacks all evening. I might be on to something! Listening to my body and waiting for hunger was a good idea for me yesterday.

Happy travels Kristn!!!

Clairie...what a fabulous post. I'll have to try your version of the fat bombs with the cream cheese. I want to get away from the chocolate and definitely away from the nut butters. I love cream cheese, so this sounds good. Wonder what it would be like adding a little butter into the mix...I do love butter!

Congratulations on your fabulous results!

[shelley]

Originally Posted by EllaP

Finally got my free Ketone Meter (Nova Max Plus) and decided to test both Ketones and glucose immediately. Ketones are 5.3 and glucose is 56. A little low on the sugars but not sure of the reliability of this machine for sugars and I feel fine, so I won't worry about it. (I'm not diabetic)

I haven't eaten yet today (it's almost 4 pm), but that's typical for me. I always have coffee first thing in the morning with 13 g of Coconut Oil (any more than precisely 13 g and I feel nauseated for a couple of hours) and then chicken broth at lunchtime with hot sauce and 5 g of Coconut Oil. I prefer to eat between 5 and 8 only. Seems to work well for me. Calories range from 1000 to 1300, always HF/MP/VLC. Have been losing from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds a week on average so I figured I was in NK, just wasn't expecting that high of a reading - perhaps its just the CO. Will check again in am before CO. I mostly wanted to be able to check ketones once I hit maintaining so I can see what foods I can add without leaving NK.

Wow!!!! Amazing first test! I'm jealous, but very happy for you. Great results.

I need to see how much 13 g of CO is now.....anyone have a quick conversion for me in tsp, TBSP?

Edited to add: Found my answer: 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil = 13.05 grams.

[svenskamae]

Thanks for the reports on the Skog book, Deborah and others! There's one more book about the LCHF approach translated from a Scandinavian language, called "Diabetes? No Thanks," and I've ordered that from Amazon and will report on it after reading it.

I had meetings with food for the past 2 days but managed to stay on plan; fortunately, as the project manager, I got to pick the menu for the buffet and approve the restaurant choice. I tried to be considerate of all likely woes--vegan, vegetarian, no gluten, no dairy, kosher, no pork, lowcarb--in the food choices for me and others. Tonight I have to go to a colleague's house to eat Thai food as we decompress from the meeting, and that may be a bigger challenge. I ate some coconut oil and brie cheese, so I at least won't be very hungry when I walk in.

Kristn, have a great time on vacation! Clairie, impressive job on your blood sugars! Hi to everyone else here, too.

The Swedish Doctor Andreas Eenfeltd maintains a blog about eating lowcarb, has begun testing blood ketones, and reports that his ketones dropped after drinking diet Pepsi. "Can artificial sweeteners from diet soda affect your weight? My six hour experiment the other day implies that the answer might be 'yes' ... If nothing happened to my blood sugar, the effect on my ketone levels were more dramatic. Fifteen minutes after drinking the [diet] Pepsi, my ketone level appeared to drop ... until it had dropped by almost 50 percent (after 2.5 hours). After that the ketone level started rising again. But when I stopped the experiment, almost five hours after drinking the soda, it still was not back where it started."

This implies to me that AS will work against being in ketosis and should be dropped by those having trouble getting into ketosis, at least on a trial basis. Google "Is Pepsi Max Bad for your Weight" to pull up the full information.

[EllaP]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Wow Ella, what you are doing seems to be working very well for you. Do you mix the hot sauce and CO into the broth?

Thanks Buffy. Yes I do mix them together. I love CO in broth or butter or both. Makes it taste just a little richer.

[clairie]

Originally Posted by shelley

Wow!!!! Amazing first test! I'm jealous, but very happy for you. Great results.

I need to see how much 13 g of CO is now.....anyone have a quick conversion for me in tsp, TBSP?

Edited to add: Found my answer: 1 Tablespoon of coconut oil = 13.05 grams.

great! I was curious too how much 13 g is. I think there is a fine line between enough and too much CO at a time! I get a lump in my throat after too much. But- that keeps me from eating more than I should, so I guess that's a good thing! That doesn't happen to me with butter!

Shelly- thanks! and good idea about adding butter to the CO CC bomb. I bet it would taste great!.

[SouthernGirl61]

Originally Posted by clairie

great! I was curious too how much 13 g is. I think there is a fine line between enough and too much CO at a time! I get a lump in my throat after too much. But- that keeps me from eating more than I should, so I guess that's a good thing! That doesn't happen to me with butter!

Shelly- thanks! and good idea about adding butter to the CO CC bomb. I bet it would taste great!.

I make this with butter, 3 T melted, then add the cream cheese, then CO. I found some drops of Stevia flavored english toffee, wonderful. DH loves it, takes a scoop nightly!

[shelley]

Originally Posted by SouthernGirl61

I make this with butter, 3 T melted, then add the cream cheese, then CO. I found some drops of Stevia flavored english toffee, wonderful. DH loves it, takes a scoop nightly!

OOooooh ooooooh ooooohhhhh.......I'm not a chocolate person and love toffee, caramel, butterscotch, etc.,, and have a bottle of SF Davinci's English Toffee. Going to try this tomorrow. Thanks!!!!!

[One maur time]

Originally Posted by miker295

Welcome Maureen,

Many of us have switched to this method after encountering a stall. The protein may indeed be too high, as you've been suspecting - this is what I encountered as well as others on this thread. Once I lowered my protein from about 100g a day to about 80g per day I was able to get consistently into ketosis. That is near the low end of the amount that Phinney/Volek recommend for my target lean body mass. The ratio is .6 to 1g per lb of lean body mass. Try cutting the protein down to .6 ratio for a week and see if that helps break the stall. If hunger increases, add fat before adding protein. And congrats on your amazing loss to date!

Mike

Dear Mike
Thanks for the words of encouragement. The payoff in this system when are stalled at losing is at least you get to eat real food. I find adding fat difficult. I do have 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the am and coconut cream in coffee. I have been having 2-3 tablespoons of butter ( in coffee better than expected- seems gross but actually ok). I struggle with how to get fat and avoid adding extra protein. Any thoughts appreciated.
Best,
Maureen

[One maur time]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

Thanks Shelley! The presentation went well and I sailed through the rest of my day yesterday. I was too worried about not getting everything done, so I was finished with everything early.

This is my last morning of testing and weighing for 10 days. It will be interesting to see what the numbers are when I get back. I plan to stick to plan but still enjoy a few Island treats (small amounts of fruit, but not too much). This morning I was 148.4 (down a bit) and ketones were 3.5 (highest I've seen in a long time).

I will be checking in from time to time, but I don't know how much I'll have to report. I love seeing everyone's progress, so it's hard for me to stay away!

You guys are an amazing group. Have fun while I'm gone!!

Have a great trip! Enjoy!
Maureen

[reddarin]

Originally Posted by One maur time

Dear Mike
Thanks for the words of encouragement. The payoff in this system when are stalled at losing is at least you get to eat real food. I find adding fat difficult. I do have 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in the am and coconut cream in coffee. I have been having 2-3 tablespoons of butter ( in coffee better than expected- seems gross but actually ok). I struggle with how to get fat and avoid adding extra protein. Any thoughts appreciated.
Best,
Maureen

Maureen the easiest way is to eat fatty protein sources. Bacon, sausage, pork rinds, fatty beef cuts. If you start off with a protein source that has a high fat content then it is much easier to reach target macro ratios with a little added fat.

[One maur time]

Originally Posted by EllaP

Finally got my free Ketone Meter (Nova Max Plus) and decided to test both Ketones and glucose immediately. Ketones are 5.3 and glucose is 56. A little low on the sugars but not sure of the reliability of this machine for sugars and I feel fine, so I won't worry about it. (I'm not diabetic)

I haven't eaten yet today (it's almost 4 pm), but that's typical for me. I always have coffee first thing in the morning with 13 g of Coconut Oil (any more than precisely 13 g and I feel nauseated for a couple of hours) and then chicken broth at lunchtime with hot sauce and 5 g of Coconut Oil. I prefer to eat between 5 and 8 only. Seems to work well for me. Calories range from 1000 to 1300, always HF/MP/VLC. Have been losing from 1.5 to 2.5 pounds a week on average so I figured I was in NK, just wasn't expecting that high of a reading - perhaps its just the CO. Will check again in am before CO. I mostly wanted to be able to check ketones once I hit maintaining so I can see what foods I can add without leaving NK.

Dear Ella
You really hit it out of the park! Any thoughts on why there is a crossover on the volume of coconut oil. I know that coconut oil has MCTs. Anynother thoughts about the nausea ?
Congrats!
Maureen

[EllaP]

Originally Posted by One maur time

Dear Ella
You really hit it out of the park! Any thoughts on why there is a crossover on the volume of coconut oil. I know that coconut oil has MCTs. Anynother thoughts about the nausea ?
Congrats!
Maureen

I'm not sure, Maureen, about the Coconut Oil and nausea with me, but it's always been that way. I've used it off and on for a couple of years and any time I went over that 1 T at a time, I was ill feeling for a couple of hours. I never have problems with it cooking, but too much straight, which it essentially is when dumping in coffee with nothing else, and I'm nauseated.

[clackley]

Ella I had the same reaction to C.O. as you describe but over time, I have become used to it and have no negative reaction. I had to start with .5 tsp daily and slowly up it.

[EllaP]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Those ketones are really high, and glucose really low. Will be anxious to hear how your next few readings go.

Checked again this morning before any Coffee with Coconut Oil... Ketones 3.3, BS 74.

Down a pound today to 161.5 (my scale only goes in 1/2 pounds increments) I didn't fit in any vegetables yesterday because I didn't get home until 7:15 and don't eat past 8. Unfortunately, I always lose better after a no vegetable carb day, but I don't purposely eat that way. That's not a WOE I want to sustain on and I try to diet the way I want to eat always, whether for weight loss or not. Yesterday's calories were 1000 with macros of 77f/20p/3c.

This NK definitely works for me. About 2 1/2 years ago I lost 90 pounds in 8 months almost effortlessly. I was walking about 8 miles a week and VLC eating. I went back through my food log for that time frame and I didn't know it at the time, but I was essentially eating HF/MP/VLC then, too.

Then I got cocky, because it was so easy, and started allowing myself cheats when traveling, cheats on holidays, grandchildren's birthdays, funerals/memorials, cheats when in a hurry, etc. I gained back 45 pounds. It took me at least a year to get my head back into the game of losing. That's always more my battle than the actual dieting - getting back in the groove. I always do a couple of days then quit again. Once I get into it for real, I'm very happy with it, so here I am back at it again, since August 3 at 185 pounds, more aware this time of what works for me and enjoying it more, realizing this time that this can be a WOE with no cheats needed. Weight loss probably will not be quite as fast in the next few weeks as it was a couple of years ago because I'm not walking anymore, but I am enjoying my WOE much more this time, looking forward to the days of maintenance and doing it right this time, perhaps around the new year.