One toe in keto, one toe out

ab6046

Hi Everyone,

I’m just curious what your thoughts are on going in and out of ketosis? I tried LCHF for a while and it was amazing, but then the holidays happened and I had an impossible time getting back on track. I’ve learned a lot about myself over the last few months and although many people see great successes with this way of eating, I’ve realized it’s not for me for the long-term. That being said, I’ve traditionally eaten a diet low in carbs with almost all of my carbs coming from vegetables and the occasional fruit. I want to lose the weight that I gained, and am curious if any of you purposefully eat keto a few days a week, and then eat lower carb (around 100 grams) the rest of the week. I suppose it doesn't matter much whether or not I am technically in ketosis or not, as long as I'm losing weight.

I’ve done a bunch of reading about LCHF as well as some reading on carb cycling (which is a lot more extreme than I plan on doing), but am curious to hear about personal experiences.

daylitemag

You probably won't ever be in Ketosis eating as you describe, but if you are getting the results you want then it doesn't really matter. I think most people eat varying levels of carbs on a day in day out basis.

wabmester

I did exactly that. Targeted 100g/d carbs and found myself in ketosis pretty often for a few reasons:

1) exercise
2) some days or weeks my carbs would drop much lower
3) unintentional intermittent fasting, due to lack of hunger

I'm not sure there's any advantage, but I liked the flexibility, and I figured our ancestors did the same thing.

In theory, it might give you greater metabolic flexibility. I.e., you'll keep enzymes and mitochondria around that are able to deal with both fat and carbs.

In terms of weight loss, not a big difference for me. Maybe a bit less hunger during ketosis. I recently had my fasting insulin tested, and it was about 1/2 the national average, so higher carbs doesn't necessarily mean higher insulin (at least once your insulin sensitivity improves).

auntstephie321

I'm all over the place. Much less controlled than your plan, but it ends up being similar. I would say I'm a casual ketoer. Lots of times during the week I'll be producing bunches of ketones , then weekends I'll be higher. In The beginning I was advised that it would cause issues being in lc limbo. For the most part I only struggle if I try to go ultra lc, because I don't adapt quickly and I have low bp and thyroid issues which then cause sodium issues. If I stay around 40g carbs during the week and 100g or more on weekends I'm fine and likely producing ketones almost all of the time.

juliacougarrrr

auntstephie321 wrote: »

...If I stay around 40g carbs during the week and 100g or more on weekends I'm fine and likely producing ketones almost all of the time.

See, that sounds so doable as a long term WOE to me! For now I think I am being stricter with the carbs, if not exactly Keto, because I am trying to really control my diet to enhance weight loss now. But later, for maintenance...nice to see that it works well for you and you feel its sustainable :0)

nicintime

Would never work for me.

Being a binge eater I need the appetite control it provides. Oh, that and starting at over 350 pounds and almost 60 means I didn't have time to dink around.

And besides, ketosis is so awesome, that being prone to obesity (being fat for 30 years IS being "prone" to obesity, right?!?) and being insulin resistant, why would I eat any other way?