Paranoid
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LolaDeeDaisy23
Posts: 383 Member
Ever since I started this WOE, I've become a lot more paranoid when I order my food. I need to watch the barista pour the heavy cream in my coffee so I can feel safe it's not half and half.
Tonight for dinner, I got so excited seeing ahi tuna and cauliflower mash on the menu, that by the time I finished devouring my plate.. I questioned if it really was cauliflower mash or just regular mashed potatoes!!
If it were really mashed potatoes, that's approximately another 100 grams of carbs. Putting me at almost 200g today. Is there a tell tale way of knowing you got kicked out of keto? Do you become bloated? Tired?
Tonight for dinner, I got so excited seeing ahi tuna and cauliflower mash on the menu, that by the time I finished devouring my plate.. I questioned if it really was cauliflower mash or just regular mashed potatoes!!
If it were really mashed potatoes, that's approximately another 100 grams of carbs. Putting me at almost 200g today. Is there a tell tale way of knowing you got kicked out of keto? Do you become bloated? Tired?
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Replies
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You'll probably see a ridiculous/seemingly-impossible overnight jump on the scale. It's water. Fake weight. Extra carbs suck up water. Don't worry about it. It will go in a couple days.
You might feel tired or bloated. Feel jittery/anxious. Or have some gastric upset. It's a YMMV thing.
I doubt they'd sneak mashed potatoes instead of cauli mash. They could get some real trouble on them doing stuff like that. There's always the potential of hidden sugars when dining out, though. Do the best you can, and if you've done your best, don't sweat it.
It's natural to be a little paranoid. I am. Be vigilant, but try not to drive yourself nuts. Control what you can control, and calmly handle it when what you are tripped up by things outside of your control. It's a nuisance and an inconvenience, but not the end of the world.
If you are kicked out, do what you can to avoid it in the future, keep an extra tight reign on your carbs, exercise a little extra, and you'll be back in soon and heading toward your goal again. Some people fast part of the next day, do HIIT, or keep the carbs super-low for a few days. Regardless, returning to ketosis-level carbs will get you back there in 3 or 4 days.
Life hands us lemons now and then. And sometimes, life hands us beat-up ugly lemons! So we take the bad lemons and make the best-damn-keto-lemonade we can out of it. And it will be ok.
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@LolaDeeDaisy23 - Honestly, I'd be inclined to think that the paranoia has more to do with other aspects of your life beyond your control (I know that's where it all started for ME). In my opinion, most eating disorders (not saying that's what's going on here AT ALL - just follow my thought here) BEGIN with things being out of control in our lives. Then, at some point, we realize that we CAN control what goes into our mouths or doesn't. We CAN CONTROL it...or so we think...
That being said, if you think your paranoia is beyond what you can tolerate, I'd talk to a doctor. There are many times that going low carb can uncover underlying issues that were kind of muffled by a "carb fog" of crappy symptoms. I think at first, we're all a little "gung ho" about being perfect, until we realized that we can do things about the concerns in our control, and all we can do when things are beyond our control is educate ourselves, make decent choices, accept any consequences, and just keep rolling on!
But yes, when our foods taste good, and we feel good, we have that guilt reflex that kind of kicks in and makes us doubt things... Human nature and society tell us that if something feels/tastes good, it must be bad for us - guilt is necessary to enjoy life - and misery is necessary to lose weight or be healthy. This WOE/WOL belies that completely. Sounds like it is time to do some journaling and deep thinking about where the lack of control is, whether the paranoia is tolerable (like are you losing sleep or your enjoyment of things with it?), and to decide if you can banish the old way of thinking and kick that guilt/misery cycle...
(HUGS)2 -
As to the HWC vs. half and half...I always use HWC at home. However it's a huge hassle and long explanation every time I go to Starbucks or Dunkin so I just let them use half and half. For the amount I get in my iced coffees it's negligible since I generally keep my overall carbs so low. Per cup HWC is about 6 carbs and HnH is 10. I'm not drinking levels that even come close to a cup so it's all good! I have never been kicked out of ketosis because of half and half.
For most people 50 carbs and under will have them in ketosis. For really active people it could even be higher. Different people have a level that they feel best at so that takes some time and trial and error to figure out but shouldn't be a cause for panic.2 -
I would also say that if you are keto-adapted and have been doing this for a while, its pretty easy to pop back into ketosis when you eat within your usual carb limit because your body knows that fat is a preferred fuel source.
And I agree with KnitorMiss that attending to the degree to which the paranoia is causing you discomfort is important. Anxiety is no fun and it shouldn't be part of what you are worrying about when it comes to how you eat.2 -
LolaDeeDaisy23 wrote: »Ever since I started this WOE, I've become a lot more paranoid when I order my food. I need to watch the barista pour the heavy cream in my coffee so I can feel safe it's not half and half.
If by "paranoid" you really mean "vigilant", then you're doing yourself a favor, IMHO.
Restaurants are a mixed bag, and it's hard to judge an unfamiliar joint where you don't know the management and/or kitchen staff.
But, yeah, if a restaurant is featuring tuna and mashed cauliflower, it's probably not making its $ off the McD's crowd (and can't risk losing the customers that eat like we do).
According to Stephen Phinney, you can work off a one-off carb excursion with a serious exercise session.
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I have had type 1 diabetes for more than 2 decades, so the concern for me regarding unknown carbs at restaurants relates directly to how much insulin I need and how high my BG can get. If the drive-thru gives me a regular soda instead of diet, it could make me very ill and possibly even end up in the hospital. Your results may not be as extreme, but I had that concern before eating low carb and have been watching such things for a very long time. Trust me that it gets easier to notice when something is off over time. For now, being hyper-aware is not necessarily a bad thing unless it is adversely affecting you in another way.6
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I've become more watchful when I eat out now too. Forgetting that even if I order a burger bunless they may still put ketchup on it etc. Even the mustard may have sugar.
SO I do my research beforehand and ask questions along the way. Then I give a really good tip for being one of "those people": lol.2 -
Thx, @midwesterner85 - Any specific tips you'd care to offer?
I wonder if you get better at detecting trouble food in the outside world the more you prepare your own LC meals...??
On a side note - Just yesterday, I was at a friend's party. Among the folks in their family are adults with IBS, prediabetes, liver cancer, and depression, and they tend to be more careful than most about what they eat.
Though there were plenty of salads, almost all of them had stealth sugar (balsamic vinegar, sweet mustard, sweetened coffee creamer in a cucumber salad, etc.).
Not being at a restaurant, I rinsed off the carbage and drowned the colorful remnants in salt & olive oil. (Just try that trick at Red Lobster!)2 -
With soda, if there is a suspicion it is the sugared kind, some of us can test with our glucose meters. With some meters, it won't work anyway... it used to be there were urine glucose test strips. I'm not sure if there still are, but they can be stuck in the soda to see if there is a high concentration of sugar.
For other foods, be attentive to what is on / in the food. For cases of smaller amounts than can be noticed easily through sight or taste, how you react is unfortunately the final method. So if something you didn't think had carbs knocks you out of ketosis or makes you gain a bunch of weight the day after you eat it... assuming no nutrition facts are available to confirm... then you might avoid that food in the future.1 -
@midwesterner85 I find diet soda to have a distinct smell. Maybe my nose is weird though because I have developed an aversion to artificial sweeteners.1
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I don't know about smell, but it tastes different and is noticeably thicker when accustomed to diet.1
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It was a surprise to me, too, @anglyn1! But the concoction disappeared quickly enough.
The amateur caterer-daughter in charge likes creamy dill sauce and/or a touch of lemon or lime with her cukes, and she reported that lime juice & coffee creamer don't fight (at least not with one another).1 -
Sí. Not a major tragedy, but it would be nice if 'twere otherwise!1
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As soon as a regular soda hits my tongue, I almost gag from the taste. I've found ordering unsweetened tea & keeping stevia in my purse has taken away that fear from me. Cutting sodas all together helped, as aspartame & sucralose give me major munchies that I just don't want to deal with!2
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I keep Stevia and my reduced sugar ketchup in my purse...has saved me many times1
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I can taste the difference between regular and diet in an instant, too. Artificial sweeteners tend to trigger my migraines, so I learned very young to detect them. But, I hear you on the hidden carbs. I can't tell you how many times I order a burger plain and have it come out dripping with ketchup. Or order an iced coffee, cream only, and get handed one that CLEARLY has sugar in it. Very frustrating.0
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I never have a problem sending back what's made incorrectly. I hate mayo and always have - every freaking burger has mayo on it so I'm a pro at sending stuff back. They never leave the mayo off. Now that I order everything without a bun, no ketchup etc...yeah...sending it back when it isn't right. But yes, it is frustrating.1
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@RalfLott Yes by paranoid, I mean vigilant. I used to order sugar free vanilla syrup with my iced coffee but I swear, 1/3 of the time someone will give me regular vanilla syrup instead of sugar free. Now I'm used to drinking black iced coffee soo it's less of an issue for me now lol
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