Meticulous May?
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »If you want to be on a keto diet you must limit your carbs to 20 g or less is what I read. It also takes approximately two weeks to get into ketosis. And if you go over carbs even one time can derail you and you have to start all over. This is not an easy way for most people to eat. You have to make a sincere commitment to live this way. Otherwise, there is The diet of LC HF where you probably will not be burning fat but you can drink alcohol and eat carbs a little bit more freely.
There are Way too many excuses for eating carbs. If there isn't anything but carbs around don't eat! It isn't going to kill you to wait until you find some protein and fat. You can buy beef sticks at any gas station or convenience store along with several varieties of nuts. No more excuses! However if you do eat then you ruined what you worked so hard to accomplish. This is your kick in the pants to stop.
@flash0826 I eat 20-50 grams of carbs a day and maintain keto levels. I generally drop back into ketosis within 2-4 days, depending on how off plan I was, though completely re-adapting again can take longer and has for me at least twice - once when I started last year, and once when I rebooted this year... But it really depends on each individual how applicable those restrictions are. I actually have found (as other very active athletes have found and shared) that if I eat a slightly higher carb meal, if I exercise immediately (within 30 minutes or so) and fairly intensely, I don't knock myself out - or if any carb indulgences are separated by many off plan days (so few and far between) and/or the longer I'm ON plan, the less impact any minor carbage days affect me long term.
For the record, I am insulin resistant and not overly active, though I'll get back to my workouts once my current "rash" condition has resolved. I say this because my metabolism is even less flexible than most... I'm not sure to which message yours was a response, but I just wanted to share my 17 or so months of experience.
Thanks for the information. How do you determine that you are in ketosis? In response to who I wrote my post toward, no certain individual. I just considered this thread a challenge and instead of hearing success all I was hearing was failure. I know that life happens but it is very easy to make excuses. I right now am battling two diseases that are similar arthritis and MS. As far as the side effects. I also travel and stay at hotels a lot. We also have two preemies in the hospital fighting for their lives. We all have reasons to go off this diet plan. If you really want to accomplish something you plan ahead and there is always food available for anybody to eat that fits in with this diet plan. Unless everybody just want somebody to hold there hand and not push them to be successful then…
Sorry I am not like that, I will push you to be your best and to be successful and I hope that you would do the same for me. I am sorry that people are going through hard times. But, you are responsible for what you put into your body and I am going to encourage you to lay off the carbs! According to everything that I have read it is not that easy to get into Ketosis and it is very easy to get out of it by a carb binge. and then it takes most people one to two weeks to get back into it. You are an unusual case according to experts. Hopefully I will be like you but I don't want to wreck the progress I am making by checking it out.0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »If you want to be on a keto diet you must limit your carbs to 20 g or less is what I read. It also takes approximately two weeks to get into ketosis. And if you go over carbs even one time can derail you and you have to start all over. This is not an easy way for most people to eat. You have to make a sincere commitment to live this way. Otherwise, there is The diet of LC HF where you probably will not be burning fat but you can drink alcohol and eat carbs a little bit more freely.
There are Way too many excuses for eating carbs. If there isn't anything but carbs around don't eat! It isn't going to kill you to wait until you find some protein and fat. You can buy beef sticks at any gas station or convenience store along with several varieties of nuts. No more excuses! However if you do eat then you ruined what you worked so hard to accomplish. This is your kick in the pants to stop.
@flash0826 I eat 20-50 grams of carbs a day and maintain keto levels. I generally drop back into ketosis within 2-4 days, depending on how off plan I was, though completely re-adapting again can take longer and has for me at least twice - once when I started last year, and once when I rebooted this year... But it really depends on each individual how applicable those restrictions are. I actually have found (as other very active athletes have found and shared) that if I eat a slightly higher carb meal, if I exercise immediately (within 30 minutes or so) and fairly intensely, I don't knock myself out - or if any carb indulgences are separated by many off plan days (so few and far between) and/or the longer I'm ON plan, the less impact any minor carbage days affect me long term.
For the record, I am insulin resistant and not overly active, though I'll get back to my workouts once my current "rash" condition has resolved. I say this because my metabolism is even less flexible than most... I'm not sure to which message yours was a response, but I just wanted to share my 17 or so months of experience.
Thanks for the information. How do you determine that you are in ketosis? In response to who I wrote my post toward, no certain individual. I just considered this thread a challenge and instead of hearing success all I was hearing was failure. I know that life happens but it is very easy to make excuses. I right now am battling two diseases that are similar arthritis and MS. As far as the side effects. I also travel and stay at hotels a lot. We also have two preemies in the hospital fighting for their lives. We all have reasons to go off this diet plan. If you really want to accomplish something you plan ahead and there is always food available for anybody to eat that fits in with this diet plan. Unless everybody just want somebody to hold there hand and not push them to be successful then…
Sorry I am not like that, I will push you to be your best and to be successful and I hope that you would do the same for me. I am sorry that people are going through hard times. But, you are responsible for what you put into your body and I am going to encourage you to lay off the carbs! According to everything that I have read it is not that easy to get into Ketosis and it is very easy to get out of it by a carb binge. and then it takes most people one to two weeks to get back into it. You are an unusual case according to experts. Hopefully I will be like you but I don't want to wreck the progress I am making by checking it out.
@flash0826 - I mainly determine it anecdotally, not scientifically. I don't use the urine sticks, as they are inefficient and only test what is wasted. I don't blood test or breath test - I just don't have the funds. But, I do stick to what I know works. I go for simple, repeated meals. But my biggest test is whether I get sluggish or lethargic with meals (a big deal with my insulin resistance - I would get postprandial somnolence and I would literally narc out/nod off 30-90 minutes after a meal with little to no warning. My body would overload and just shut down to process things. It could be as little as jerking my head up after a dip of my neck, or as long as a 15-30 minute nap - this was at home, late at night, etc.). If I don't react to my normal, low carb food this way, I know my insulin is more balanced and level, and therefore my body is functioning normally - well, my new normal anyway.
Also, I judge this by whether I get an electrolyte imbalance after an off plan food (often called "keto flu"). If I don't get that feeling, I find it hard to believe that I slipped out of ketosis "completely" or whatever it is scientifically called.
Another factor I use is this determining factor is the different body hiccups and adjustment that come with fat adapting. Days 2-4, 7, 14, 21, 28, etc. - spikes in hunger, increased need for sodium, killer carb cravings out of nowhere, messed up female cycles, etc. These are all huge signs of the body converting to being a "fat burner" rather than a "sugar burner." So when I don't encounter these stages again, I don't consider myself to be "out."
Though, in reflection, I guess that I am really referring to being in a "fat adapted state" rather than whether or not I am technically in "nutritional ketosis," etc. My body can slip in and out of that NK state without too much consequence, as long as I don't slip out of the the FA state, I guess.
For example, despite previous outdoor activity that threw my body off so much that it took weeks to get back to normal, I spent 3 days at least partially outdoors/in the heat (at least 2-4 hours steady each time, closer to 6 once or twice) with minimal consequences, and that included a highER carb meal (for me, so around 50-100 grams of carbs in a single meal) without the feelings of getting out of ketosis and back in that happen for some.
So I guess that my terms are a little different, considering my own background/history/medical issues. As long as I'm fully functional/firing on all cylinders, I consider that since this is my plan to eat in some form of low carb for life that I have to find a way to make that sustainable and enjoyable. Yes, that means that my losses are a slower rates than that of others, and that is fine by me. My bloodwork is steadily improving (I'm currently getting tested every 6 months by my endocrinologist), and I feel great, and I can still have the occasional "life happens" moments, making realistic decisions when faced with crossroads, without too far of a set back.
But, I also have the mindset that this is my way of life, this is my NORMAL now... I learned the hard way what it meant to go off plan for weeks instead of bites, and it set me back quite a bit - enough for me to be able to say, "uh uh - not happening again, no sir!" My subconscious mantra is, "The next bite is on plan - no matter what the last bite was." Combined with, "indulgences should be choices, finite choices, with time limits and firm plans to return to plan at a specific instance." For whatever reason, when I choose to eat something not great for me, as long as I acknowledge the choice, and say, "this meal/day is all that will be off plan, my next meal will be on plan," etc., it works for me. Because I've always been the type who would mentally rebel the more I tried to force myself to comply - even when the plan was mine. When I just "mentally sell myself" that this IS the plan, it bypasses the inner rebel to some degree.
All of that long-winded answer, I hope to help you in some degree, to understand what I meant, rather than the letter of what I said. I am very sorry to hear of your personal struggles and of those of your two dear ones! I guess I am lucky in that my mindset has shift in that I take comfort in my dietary plan most of the time in stressful times. There's one decision I don't have to make. It makes it easier for me to "cope" with my situations without "losing my mind," etc. I have a bit of a different mindset than most, though. And I still stress eat and eat things I shouldn't. I don't have the blessing/curse combo of conditions like MS and RA that will respond immediately to let me know I'm non-dietary compliant.
As I mentioned before, I plan for this to be a life long way of eating for me - so I have to figure out the ins and outs of what I can and can't tolerate, what will make this plan OPTIMUM FOR ME, etc. That means testing, and slow going, and all of that.
However, I can be a total whip-cracking type of person when someone expresses dismay at slipping or lack of progress, or what have you. But I'm a more flexible type - and while my default setting is "tough love," I tend to find that no one response works for someone all the time. I try to be supportive of the person slipping, projecting confidence that they will return to their plan, all while encouraging them to do better next time - and still love and forgive themselves, too, I guess. We're all human. We will all fail. And when we get back up, we don't need always someone beating us up. Maybe we need an example or a partner or a mentor or a cheerleader. What everyone needs is different. But I'm not going to be a browbeater, because that isn't comfortable to me. If chewing your tail off with some tough love and reality doses helps, that's fine, but maybe this time, you need someone to remind you that to err is human, make a better plan and improve performance next time... I try to tailor my responses to the personalities of those I know - or to verbiage that that person is either "getting" or another angle from what they are "not getting."
To me, this post was full of success because everyone learned from mistakes, corrected errors that started, and found coping methods/techniques for stressful times. And those that might have faceplanted, well, they still dusted themselves off, stood up, and came back swinging again... And to me, that's the true life long winning....
I wish you the best of luck as you continue on your life's journey. Experimenting to find what works best for you is that best thing you can do. And setbacks aren't failures. They are data - data you can learn from and use to modify your "game plan," etc. To me, when we stop learning and adapting, that is when we fail. Not when we have a setback. We only fail when we don't learn from something. Some of my best progression has come from falling flat on my bo-hiney.
Best of luck.2 -
Knitormiss- thanks for the information. I had no idea that there was anything but either being in the state of ketosis or out of it. I didn't know that there was a gray area. I am new to this.
Also I thought that this thread was specifically to be meticulous which I took as a challenge thread where you wanted to be very successful. Otherwise I can do a good share of handholding as well.1 -
Knitormiss- thanks for the information. I had no idea that there was anything but either being in the state of ketosis or out of it. I didn't know that there was a gray area. I am new to this.
Also I thought that this thread was specifically to be meticulous which I took as a challenge thread where you wanted to be very successful. Otherwise I can do a good share of handholding as well.
Absolutely, there are thresholds and all along this process. We had a former member who could maintain ketosis at over 200 carbs a day due to his massive exercise load (20 mile bike rides, etc.). It's all about individual success rates and how it works for you. Some people lose better at 100 grams of carbs than 15 grams of carbs. It's all about how your body handles it. There are a few technical benefits to going ketogenic versus just traditional low carb, but most of us find that line to be blurred once we find our individual carb thresholds and such. Be sure to check out the stickied "Launchpad" post on the main page for a HUGE number of reading resources that can explain this much more scientifically than I can.
Ketosis is a low carb plan, but not all low carb plans are ketogenic. Ketogenic plans are generally <50 grams total, usually <20 grams total to start. Low carb includes any conscious action to reduce carb consumption, and medically that starts at <150 grams of carbs a day, generally <100 carbs a day. So there are so many ways to make it work under that umbrella. As many of folks around here say, what works for you will be a N=1 scenario. Your plan will never ever be identical to anyone else's naturally occurring plan. I wish you luck finding all the fun things to try and play with to make this plan ROCK for you.
And you are right, this thread is about aiming for Meticulous tracking - and I agree, they were going for success, but I feel that you can learn from a "failure" sometimes better than a success, so my opinion is that as long as there are takeaways that can be translated to REAL LIFE after this month, it's still a successful program.
Good to know you'll fit right in here with the rest of us wacky folks! LOL 2 -
I had another super hungry day. I went over my own goals for carbs and calories but still technically low carbs and still below maintenance calories, so I can live with that.
I also worked hard for an hour at PT today (bike, elliptical, strength) and am on track to hit 10,000 steps on top of that.2 -
Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
You can't make this stuff up: now Grams (now mind you, she's 89, and in the past year she has lost a daughter-in-law, her youngest daughter, a leg, watched her oldest daughter in and out of the hospital, and now her oldest daughter is on her deathbed) has taken a turn for the worse and is refusing all further medical treatment. She is coming home on hospice today. She's 89, been without her husband for 17 years (liver cancer), and has just had too much heartache.
I'm still on-plan. I won't be tracking today or this weekend as we are camping and there is no wifi at the campground, though thankfully there is cell/text service there so I can hear from Dad.
When it rains....it dumps a small ocean on your head.
Before (the ominous "before") I would have long been derailed and well on my way back to 100lb overweight. I've learned a ton about life and about myself since then though. Every time I slip up, I learn or figure out something. LIFE HAPPENS. It's how we deal with the barrage, and how we pick ourselves doggedly and persistently up, after being mowed down by the universe, that makes us. Fall down 7 times? Well get up that 8th time then, damn it! We learn how to better hang onto that wagon we fell off of next time, or how to more quickly scramble back on it without being run over when we do fall.
We challenged ourselves to Meticulously track this month, but as long as we are learning and don't give up, we are succeeding. Humans goof up. It's what we are good at. Smart and stubborn ones troubleshoot and keep thinking outside the box to make it better the next time life smacks us in the face.
We are doing this, guys. As long as we are still fighting!
I always say, "No guilt! But no excuses." Yeah, you mess up. But do you lay there in the mud? Nope. Back to work? Yes? Good!
Keep Calm and LC On.
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". And those that might have face planted, well, they still dusted themselves off, stood up, and came back swinging again... And to me, that's the true life long winning...."
Let's hear it. Can we get a heck ya?!, I say now, Can we get a heck ya!
Ohhh He$$ yea. Praise the word! You got it. Amen sister.
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I agree wholeheartedy with baconslave's post. This was my challenge and I've been one of the worst participants. But you know what I've learne? Tracking makes me binge. It triggers something in my brain that causes me to make poor choices.
Instead if I cook low carb food, and portion it out appropriately (I log each recipe to see its calories and then split into as many portions as I need to make it about 500) then I don't need to log.
I can just go about my business l, low carbing, without feeling restricted somehow.
I don't understand it, but I can learn and improve all the time.2 -
@slimzandra heck yeah.
My husband advises that 4 letter word combines hell and the F word. Probably entirely appropriate choice.
I get down, i get up again, etc song running in my head.
@baconslave has my full admiration. I slipped onto a carby slope when I wanted something that did not cause a headache and wasnt just fresh meat n butter. I Cant eat bacon n canteen lunch was down to a choice of boiled egg n lettuce
Bloated n uncomfortable. Back on track today. 1 -
I learned that I'm very dishonest about logging my binges. Or at least I just don't make the corrections to my daily log diary and just note, "binge" in the food notes. This is different than the first year I did this woe, when I was uber honest and also not binging. I think I'm mostly back on track and trying to review what the heck happened to me this past 3 months - to keep it from happening again.
This challenge has been very eye opening for me, kind of reminding me big time what a big bad eating disorder I'm up against. Lest I let my guard down.
So what's up for the June challenge? I'm really loving these.2 -
Two celebration days this week. Friday my husband and I took a day trip for our tenth anniversary. I indulged in a sushi roll with rice and a gluten free cupcake. Yesterday I drove 4 hours to TN and back with my mom for a family reunion/pig roast. There I was low carb aside from a bowl of homemade ice cream! They had a neat vintage ice cream maker so it was worth it to have a bit! I feel good. I don't feel like I cheated...more that I am finding good balance while staying low carb!2
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Been logging every day still. Had a kind of high sodium day yesterday and went from 142.4 to 145.0 overnight (eek). Today and tomorrow we are bbqing (pulled pork today, ribs and chicken tomorrow). I will make some carby sides for those who want them, but also cole slaw and deviled eggs for me. Will be working in a few beers tonight
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Back to work after a "meh" long weekend. It's going to be a busy day, so it should go fast. The weather wasn't good this past weekend and I was hoping to do more than marathon watch TV. Did laundry, shopping, dishes, cooked meals for the week, all the TO-DO stuff done. I'm feeling like my life is so mundane and unfulfilled. I know more exercise tends to help with that.
I think to get me out of this funk, I'm going to plan a trip for this summer. Thinking Canadian Horseshoe Falls might be something to look forward to. I've been there before, but want to take kiddo while he's still OK with hanging out with mom. It's a 7 hour drive for us, should not be too bad. I enjoy driving.
Staying steady with weight, no loss, no gain. Hopefully, this week will be good for some outside walks.0 -
SW (May 1): 146.4
May 9:145.2
May 16: 145.2
May 23: 144.6
CW (May 31): 146.8
GW - 138-145
So I was down to 142.4 Saturday morning, but "gained" over 4 lbs over the weekend... A bit of watermelon, a few beers Sunday, helping my six year old learn to ride her bike without training wheels (picture running back and forth multiple times in 80+ degree temps with high humidity)... Pretty sure most of that is water. Im not going to bother logging today (it really hasn't helped me, lol). Hope everyone had better results than I did.
Is there going to be a challenge for June?0 -
Well May is officially over so I am going to reflect on the challenge...
...although it didn't go very well for me I have realised that not logging is ok too.
I have been taking part in "meal prep sunday" so my breakfast and lunch each day is taken care of, and I cook dinner each night from a low carb recipe so that keeps everything under control.
In effect this is logging without logging!
I was not successful in elimiating artificial sweetners, and in fact avoiding them led to binges on real sugar items so I now have a few atkins bars stashed in my desk at work for times that I am going to give in to a real sugar item.
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StephieWillcox wrote: »Well May is officially over so I am going to reflect on the challenge...
...although it didn't go very well for me I have realised that not logging is ok too.
I have been taking part in "meal prep sunday" so my breakfast and lunch each day is taken care of, and I cook dinner each night from a low carb recipe so that keeps everything under control.
In effect this is logging without logging!
I was not successful in elimiating artificial sweetners, and in fact avoiding them led to binges on real sugar items so I now have a few atkins bars stashed in my desk at work for times that I am going to give in to a real sugar item.
Sounds like a successful challenge to me. You learned more about what works for you and what doesn't. You have formed actionable habits.
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tlflag1620 wrote: »SW (May 1): 146.4
May 9:145.2
May 16: 145.2
May 23: 144.6
CW (May 31): 146.8
GW - 138-145
So I was down to 142.4 Saturday morning, but "gained" over 4 lbs over the weekend... A bit of watermelon, a few beers Sunday, helping my six year old learn to ride her bike without training wheels (picture running back and forth multiple times in 80+ degree temps with high humidity)... Pretty sure most of that is water. Im not going to bother logging today (it really hasn't helped me, lol). Hope everyone had better results than I did.
Is there going to be a challenge for June?
Nobody has said anything to my knowledge, but I'll throw something up there in minute. If no one joins me, that's fine for me. Probably "Just the Basics" June or somesuch.
oh. And I feel you on the bike stuff...oh mercy. The kids give me more and more gray hairs every day.
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I will join you guys for June. Just the Basics June works for me. May was "Meh May". No progress, but it wasn't bad either. Leaving with the same weight I came in with. I need a Jumpstart June. 1
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[quote="flash0826;36603698" I just considered this thread a challenge and instead of hearing success all I was hearing was failure. I know that life happens but it is very easy to make excuses. I right now am battling two diseases that are similar arthritis and MS. I also travel and stay at hotels a lot. We also have two preemies in the hospital fighting for their lives. We all have reasons to go off this diet plan. If you really want to accomplish something you plan ahead and there is always food available for anybody to eat that fits in with this diet plan. Unless everybody just want somebody to hold there hand and not push them to be successful then…
Sorry I am not like that, I will push you to be your best and to be successful and I hope that you would do the same for me. I am sorry that people are going through hard times. But, you are responsible for what you put into your body and I am going to encourage you to lay off the carbs! .[/quote]
I see the ways we all find different comments helpful or unhelpful, motivating or dispiriting.
I am not typically motivated by being pushed..However, reading your words about what you are dealing with was in fact very motivating. Sometimes just a reminder of the challenges that others are navigating, like you and @baconslave, and of course many of us, kind of keeps my own life in perspective, and leads me to want to be better. Perhaps like Ghandi's words
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
And seeing you 'be focussed through challenges' evokes positive change in me.4 -
I see the ways we all find different comments helpful or unhelpful, motivating or dispiriting.[quote="flash0826;36603698" I just considered this thread a challenge and instead of hearing success all I was hearing was failure. I know that life happens but it is very easy to make excuses. I right now am battling two diseases that are similar arthritis and MS. I also travel and stay at hotels a lot. We also have two preemies in the hospital fighting for their lives. We all have reasons to go off this diet plan. If you really want to accomplish something you plan ahead and there is always food available for anybody to eat that fits in with this diet plan. Unless everybody just want somebody to hold there hand and not push them to be successful then…
Sorry I am not like that, I will push you to be your best and to be successful and I hope that you would do the same for me. I am sorry that people are going through hard times. But, you are responsible for what you put into your body and I am going to encourage you to lay off the carbs! .
I am not typically motivated by being pushed..However, reading your words about what you are dealing with was in fact very motivating. Sometimes just a reminder of the challenges that others are navigating, like you and @baconslave, and of course many of us, kind of keeps my own life in perspective, and leads me to want to be better. Perhaps like Ghandi's words
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
And seeing you 'be focussed through challenges' evokes positive change in me. [/quote]
That is so true.
The bad news is, you are the only one who can make this happen.
The good news is: you are the only one who CAN make this happen. You have that power! To me that is liberating and empowering to know I have that much influence over my life even though stuff happens to me I can't control.
I think everybody gets the impression by now that I'm all about keeping it real.
I'm not going to "rainbow and unicorn" everything. There IS a time and place for that, like in us supporting each other and encouraging one another. But life is real, too real sometimes. And it isn't going to stop being all "*kitten* is getting real." It's like that. I'd do everyone a disservice pretending that everything is easy. Some things are hard, it's going to happen off and on, we are going to mess up, we are going to plateau here and there even when we don't mess up, life is going to smack us in the face, and what we need to learn is how to deal with that. How to survive and keep on track despite, and TO SPITE, all the hard. And we absolutely CAN do it. I was 252lb. 2 years later, to the day, I'm 159lb. And the most fit I've been in my entire life, even more fit than when I played basketball as a teen. If I can beat depression, carb addiction, chronic fatigue, and all the other messed up stuff I've had to handle and do this, anyone can do this. It takes work, perseverance, and time. But it is entirely possible.
Overweight is hard. Maintenance is hard. LIFE is hard. Choose your hard.
And kick that hard in the face like the warrior you are and make it work even when life gives you beat-up, nasty lemons to work with! THAT is how you lose the weight AND keep it off. Plain stubborn refusal to let life get you down, no matter how much ugly you're handed. We will make the best ugly-lemon lemonade that can be made. And it will be glorious. 2
