January Nutritional Ketosis...Are you in the zone?

[shelley]

Originally Posted by lowcarbella

hi Shelley if you want any ideas for Fat fast,I can post it in a different thread.I have Dr Salernos menu,Atkins Fat fast and a few of dana's recipes.I find that when I have some variation of menu ideas I can stay on it longer.No idea if I will have success though since I just started out.

Oh, that would be lovely to have that information. I only have macadamias and SFjello with cream cheese/cream as my ways to get there. A variety of items would be wonderful! Thanks! (I'm betting that others would also like to have these things to have on occasion even if it's not for a fat fast) Thanks!

[Buffy45]

Quick update:

Cardio found during sonogram that I have thickening of the walls of my heart. Don't know much about it yet, will research it tonight, but that is caused by HBP and in turn, causes HBP. Had kidneys checked at the hospital. Noone has mentioned adrenals yet. On yet MORE meds to get me out of these danger zone and see cardio again on Friday.

Got to get some rest now.

[Mobear]

Buffy saying a prayer for you

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by LarlaB

Quick question for Kristn... I know you reached goal and then made adjustments to maintain. Care to share what those adjustments were? It seems obvious, to simply add more fat while keeping protein moderate & carbs low, but I wanted to double check.

I really want to remain in ketosis for running purposes and frankly I just feel really good with this WOE, but all I know how to do is lose- LOL. I woudl REALLLLLLLLLLY love to add more carbs/veggies but know that I need to keep it low enough to curb cravings. I am below goal and ready to see if I can find a new way of eating....

I tried upping my protein and carbs a bit, but wasn't able to really stay in ketosis very well that way. Now I eat a lot more fat but keep protein moderate and carbs low. For me that means keeping my protein pretty low also. I'm not 100% loving it, but it's better than gaining.

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Quick update:

Cardio found during sonogram that I have thickening of the walls of my heart. Don't know much about it yet, will research it tonight, but that is caused by HBP and in turn, causes HBP. Had kidneys checked at the hospital. Noone has mentioned adrenals yet. On yet MORE meds to get me out of these danger zone and see cardio again on Friday.

Got to get some rest now.

Thanks so much for checking in. I'm glad that they're figuring out what's wrong with you. I hope that you're feeling better soon!

[MerryKate]

I'm praying for you, too Buffy.

[bjjcaveman]

Weight: 180.4 -> 182 -> 181.8 -> 180.6 - 179.6
AM Ketones: 1.6 -> 0.8 -> 0.5 -> 1.7 -> 0.7

Forgot to post today.

Please take care Buffy.

[portcop01]

Merrykate was you ever in England??you look like someone I knew there.
Down another lb this morning 2 lbs to go to get back to my weight before my cheat day! One day and half to gain 6 lbs and 5-6 days to lose it

[Mobear]

Morning all . Still trying to lose the 5# I gained just before Christmas. Weight is now bouncing between 188-190 and this morning I was at 190

So I'm not testing yet but from the hunger and lack of real movement on the scale I am guessing I'm not in NK!

My plan is to keep trying. It is really hard to keep protein below 50g but I haven't given up.

[mom2zeke]

Good morning everyone!

Stats starting 1/2/13:
Weight: 147.6 ->148.2 ->148 ->147 ->147.2 -> 147.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 146 -> 145.4 -> 146.4 -> 146.2 -> 147 -> 146.8 -> 147.6

AM Ketones: 0.2 -> 0.2 -> 0.1 -> 0.2 -> 0.3 -> 0.3 -> 0.8 -> 1.0 -> 1.2 -> 1.1 -> 1.4 -> 1.7 -> 1.2 -> 1.5 -> 1.1

I am exactly the same weight I was 2 weeks ago, but I am in ketosis. I know that I'm eating too much fat to lose any weight, but I'm pretty sure I know how much I need to maintain.

How is everyone else doing?

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by Mobear

Morning all . Still trying to lose the 5# I gained just before Christmas. Weight is now bouncing between 188-190 and this morning I was at 190

So I'm not testing yet but from the hunger and lack of real movement on the scale I am guessing I'm not in NK!

My plan is to keep trying. It is really hard to keep protein below 50g but I haven't given up.

Hang in there Maureen! I've got the bounce too and I'm definitely in ketosis. It's becoming very apparent to me that I don't have the leeway that some younger/fitter/less metabolically deranged people have to go off-plan.

[Georgette76]

Sending you prayers, Buffy. That was the name of my best friend all through school.

I've figured out my macros for the day and these are the numbers that I have: 1469 total calories, 132g fat, 53g protein, 13g carbs. If 136g fat is what I should be striving for, is the 132g fat ok or should I find a way to get the 4g fat?

[bjjcaveman]

Weight: 180.4 -> 182 -> 181.8 -> 180.6 - 179.6 -> 181.2
AM Ketones: 1.6 -> 0.8 -> 0.5 -> 1.7 -> 0.7 -> 1.1

Day 10 of nutritional ketosis!

[mom2zeke]

Originally Posted by Georgette76

Sending you prayers, Buffy. That was the name of my best friend all through school.

I've figured out my macros for the day and these are the numbers that I have: 1469 total calories, 132g fat, 53g protein, 13g carbs. If 136g fat is what I should be striving for, is the 132g fat ok or should I find a way to get the 4g fat?

There doesn't seem to be any good reason to eat more fat than you're hungry for. I would definitely not worry about 4g of fat within your daily menu.

[Georgette76]

It's really odd how good I feel right now. My sleep is the best its been in a long time. I don't get very hungry at all anymore. I am keeping water consumption between 80-100oz a day.

[Georgette76]

Originally Posted by mom2zeke

There doesn't seem to be any good reason to eat more fat than you're hungry for. I would definitely not worry about 4g of fat within your daily menu.

Thanks for that. I'm trying to get as close as I can to 136g of fat a day without going over.

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by portcop01

Merrykate was you ever in England??you look like someone I knew there.

I've gone there on vacation a couple of times...wish I could move there! Cambridge is my favorite place in the world.

Originally Posted by portcop01

Down another lb this morning 2 lbs to go to get back to my weight before my cheat day! One day and half to gain 6 lbs and 5-6 days to lose it

I know the feeling. I gained 9 lbs. at Christmas, being off low-carb for only a week, and I'm still not back to my pre-Christmas weight. This is a hard lesson to learn...but it will definitely help me resist temptation next time!

[MerryKate]

Checking in. My ketones were at 0.7 this morning, but my weight hasn't whooshed. :/ My macros have been in the 75/15/10 range all week...think it would make a difference if I pushed the carbs down lower still? I'm eating around 22 net carbs per day.

[Buffy45]

Hey everyone!
Wow, why is it so much harder to lose than to gain? And, to fall out of ketosis, which then makes it really hard to not overeat.

Georgette, yes I agree with Kristn, those numbers are what you shoot for but except for going too low on protein, just eat to where you are comfortable. While you are getting settled in though, having those numbers to shoot for it how you learn how to portion out your different foods and then you know where to start tweaking from. I really wish I had the energy and the desire to continue to log every day, I really think it is a great learning tool. I did it for 2 1/2 months and am so glad I did. Of course right now I don't feel like doing half the stuff I really need to be doing, let alone anything extra.

[Buffy45]

I hadn't checked my ketones or BS for a couple of days. Knew I was eating right and had way too much else to worry about, but when I came in to the computer my stuff was sitting here so I tested. Got a 2 on my ketones!!! I hardly ever ever get that high and I am not eating anything different. The only thing I can think is that my meds could be messing with things, don't know, don't care at this point. Just anxious for them to do some more tests and figure out what is wrong with me. But, in the meantime, they have my BP down in the safe zone. You would not believe the amount of medicine I am on though, I have all my usual ones and supplements in my weekly pill boxes, AM and PM, and then their are 4 new ones on the counter with tablets and pencils to make down when I take them, how much I take, etc. One every 8 hours, 1 every 6 hours, 1 twice a day and now a new one that is once a day.

Sorry about all my whining and thank you all for your caring wishes. It does mean a lot to me.

[Georgette76]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

Georgette, yes I agree with Kristn, those numbers are what you shoot for but except for going too low on protein, just eat to where you are comfortable. While you are getting settled in though, having those numbers to shoot for it how you learn how to portion out your different foods and then you know where to start tweaking from. I really wish I had the energy and the desire to continue to log every day, I really think it is a great learning tool. I did it for 2 1/2 months and am so glad I did. Of course right now I don't feel like doing half the stuff I really need to be doing, let alone anything extra.

Most days, I fall between the 62-71 go of protein a day. I'm trying to keep it lower just because I know how easily I can over do it on protein. It seems like a catch-22, eat fat bombs to get your protein in, or you go over on protein.

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

You would not believe the amount of medicine I am on though... One every 8 hours, 1 every 6 hours, 1 twice a day and now a new one that is once a day.

Sorry about all my whining and thank you all for your caring wishes. It does mean a lot to me.

No need to apologize. Dealing with medical issues always feels like a trip down the rabbit hole. I'm glad that at least you got a high ketone reading, and that your blood pressure is at a healthy level. Just take care of yourself and REST.

[Buffy45]

Georgette, I agree, keep your protein on the low side of your range. Along the way, if you are losing too quickly (who the he(( ever does that????) you can up your protein then. And the fat bombs are the way to go at this point to satisfy you. Now, that is just my opionion.

I am the odd duck here, I guess I am not a big meat eater anymore and I have more trouble making sure I eat enough protein. I only eat 2 meals a day and as I got further and further into this, my appetite just got smaller and smaller. Yesterday I fixed a small salad with some cheese and brisket cut up on top, could not even get through it all.

[MerryKate]

Originally Posted by Georgette76

It seems like a catch-22, eat fat bombs to get your protein in, or you go over on protein.

Actually, you can make your fat bombs pretty close to protein-free, if that would help you - just leave out the nut butters.

[UnstrungHarp]

Today's update will be a bit of a downer (sorry). But I'm trying to think of everything in a positive way, so whatever is wrong today can be used as a lesson for making things right tomorrow.

Scale weight is still a big question mark because I haven't had the chance to try returning my scale yet...it will probably be next week before my job will allow me to have much free time. So it's boxed up and ready to go, and I've returned to my old analog scale. This morning I think it weighed me 145ish, maybe 144.5, basically the same as it was before I got the digital scale right after Christmas.

Ketones are still pretty high at 2.7 today, but down from yesterday's all time high of 3.5. Yesterday was a typical on-plan day for calories and macros, although fat was higher than I would have liked (140g).

Now for the depressing yuck. I have this pair of jeans that have become in recent years my measuring stick for weight loss (or really body composition, to be more precise). I guess at the time I bought them they must have fit okay, but I don't remember buying them (was it 10 years ago? 8? dunno...). They've been washed a lot over the years, and we know that jeans shrink, so that is some consolation I suppose. Anyway, at some point I stopped being able to wear them comfortably, and I have no idea when or why that happened. Then I went through times of being able and completely unable to wear them or somewhere in between during the past several years. Since I wasn't paying diligent attention to whatever I specifically was doing when it comes to diet or exercise, I can't correlate either of those factors to times when the jeans fit and times they didn't.

To try and wrap up this long, sad story, today I tried the jeans for the first time in many months (way prior to starting NK), hoping they would tell me something the scale didn't. The result...can't even get them past my hips. It seems unreal that these jeans ever fit me at all, and I can't imagine fitting into them ever again. It just looks like something physically impossible. What is so baffling is that I don't remember ever feeling much smaller than I am now. I am not aware of feeling bigger or heavier today than 10 years ago. For all of my teenage and adult years, I've felt like I wanted to lose weight, but at any given time I felt about the same as I always have. This is why it is so surreal to see the cold, hard truth in the mirror when trying to put the jeans on.

Now for the positive, I guess. I'm going to make a much more concentrated effort to drink more water throughout the day. That has been nagging at the back of my mind for a while. I need to to set a goal of how many ounces to drink every day, because if I do that, I will hit it. Does anyone have any idea how to figure out how much water I should be drinking? Just wondering if NK makes you need more. I drink a 16oz bottle every time I work out, but other than that I don't know how much I drink daily on average.

Lastly, a while back I made a mental note to try cutting back fat grams to see if that gets the scale moving, but I never set a strict maximum or figured out practical ways of sticking to it. That is changing today. If that means my protein has to come up slightly to compensate (so my calories don't go below 1200 or so), so be it. My ratios may start to look more like 65/30/5 or something....I don't know yet.

Gotta wrap up this novel and get back to work. I hope I didn't bring anybody down with all this "woe is me" business. Good luck to everybody and hope you all have a great day!

[Buffy45]

Originally Posted by MerryKate

Actually, you can make your fat bombs pretty close to protein-free, if that would help you - just leave out the nut butters.

Oh yes, MerryKate, very good point. I make one that is just cocoa, CO and butter with some splenda.

[bjjcaveman]

Originally Posted by UnstrungHarp

Today's update will be a bit of a downer (sorry). But I'm trying to think of everything in a positive way, so whatever is wrong today can be used as a lesson for making things right tomorrow.

Scale weight is still a big question mark because I haven't had the chance to try returning my scale yet...it will probably be next week before my job will allow me to have much free time. So it's boxed up and ready to go, and I've returned to my old analog scale. This morning I think it weighed me 145ish, maybe 144.5, basically the same as it was before I got the digital scale right after Christmas.

Ketones are still pretty high at 2.7 today, but down from yesterday's all time high of 3.5. Yesterday was a typical on-plan day for calories and macros, although fat was higher than I would have liked (140g).

Now for the depressing yuck. I have this pair of jeans that have become in recent years my measuring stick for weight loss (or really body composition, to be more precise). I guess at the time I bought them they must have fit okay, but I don't remember buying them (was it 10 years ago? 8? dunno...). They've been washed a lot over the years, and we know that jeans shrink, so that is some consolation I suppose. Anyway, at some point I stopped being able to wear them comfortably, and I have no idea when or why that happened. Then I went through times of being able and completely unable to wear them or somewhere in between during the past several years. Since I wasn't paying diligent attention to whatever I specifically was doing when it comes to diet or exercise, I can't correlate either of those factors to times when the jeans fit and times they didn't.

To try and wrap up this long, sad story, today I tried the jeans for the first time in many months (way prior to starting NK), hoping they would tell me something the scale didn't. The result...can't even get them past my hips. It seems unreal that these jeans ever fit me at all, and I can't imagine fitting into them ever again. It just looks like something physically impossible. What is so baffling is that I don't remember ever feeling much smaller than I am now. I am not aware of feeling bigger or heavier today than 10 years ago. For all of my teenage and adult years, I've felt like I wanted to lose weight, but at any given time I felt about the same as I always have. This is why it is so surreal to see the cold, hard truth in the mirror when trying to put the jeans on.

Now for the positive, I guess. I'm going to make a much more concentrated effort to drink more water throughout the day. That has been nagging at the back of my mind for a while. I need to to set a goal of how many ounces to drink every day, because if I do that, I will hit it. Does anyone have any idea how to figure out how much water I should be drinking? Just wondering if NK makes you need more. I drink a 16oz bottle every time I work out, but other than that I don't know how much I drink daily on average.

Lastly, a while back I made a mental note to try cutting back fat grams to see if that gets the scale moving, but I never set a strict maximum or figured out practical ways of sticking to it. That is changing today. If that means my protein has to come up slightly to compensate (so my calories don't go below 1200 or so), so be it. My ratios may start to look more like 65/30/5 or something....I don't know yet.

Gotta wrap up this novel and get back to work. I hope I didn't bring anybody down with all this "woe is me" business. Good luck to everybody and hope you all have a great day!

Sorry to hear about your difficulties... it's great that your ketones are still so high though! Hopefully the water will help with everything also.

Any chance the jeans shrank from JUST coming out of the wash?

[Georgette76]

@Unstrung Harp. In regards to water, you typically want to take your body weight and divide by 2 and that will be the number of ounces of water you need in a day. For example, I weigh 210. Take 210/2=105. I should drink 105oz of water. Try that and see if that helps.

The only fat bomb I really eat are the cream cheese clouds or I typically eat a teaspoon of coconut oil here and there that I have to chase with a hot drink. I'm not a fan of nut butters to begin with except for PB.

[UnstrungHarp]

Originally Posted by bjjcaveman

Sorry to hear about your difficulties... it's great that your ketones are still so high though! Hopefully the water will help with everything also.

Any chance the jeans shrank from JUST coming out of the wash?

Thanks. I've done very well with water intake so far today - drinking my fourth bottle now (16.9 oz each). For now, I'm not planning on giving up my other beverages (3-4 cups of regular coffee in morning, 1-2 cups of decaf in the afternoon, and usually one 12 oz can of diet caffeine free Mountain Dew at some point). I also drink a can of chicken broth each afternoon.

I have no idea when these jeans were last washed, because it's been an incredibly long time since I would have been able to wear them. I guess they could have been washed after the last time I wore them...who knows? They've just been hanging in my closet for what feels like forever.

[UnstrungHarp]

Originally Posted by Georgette76

@Unstrung Harp. In regards to water, you typically want to take your body weight and divide by 2 and that will be the number of ounces of water you need in a day. For example, I weigh 210. Take 210/2=105. I should drink 105oz of water. Try that and see if that helps.

Thanks for the tip! Sounds like I should shoot for 72oz each day. I get quite a bit of free bottled water from my dad who works at a water bottling plant, so I measure my water intake by those bottles (16.9 oz each). So, if I get in 5 bottles a day, that should cover it...probably adding another bottle to that on the days I exercise.