Started a Ketogenic Diet Today :)

sara_xo · October 2010

So today is day 1 of my 30 day ketogenic diet. For those that don't know what this is here is a brief summary of it;

"The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet mimics aspects of starvation by forcing the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Normally, the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is particularly important in fuelling brain function. However, if there is very little carbohydrate in the diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies pass into the brain and replace glucose as an energy source. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood, a state known as ketosis, leads to a reduction in the frequency of epileptic seizures."

The diet itself is along these lines:

"In 1921, Rollin Woodyatt reviewed the research on diet and diabetes. He reported that three water-soluble compounds, β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate and acetone (known collectively as ketone bodies), were produced by the liver in otherwise healthy people when they were starved or if they consumed a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. Russel Wilder, at the Mayo Clinic, built on this research and coined the term ketogenic diet to describe a diet that produced a high level of ketones in the blood (ketonemia) through an excess of fat and lack of carbohydrate. Wilder hoped to obtain the benefits of fasting in a dietary therapy that could be maintained indefinitely. His trial on a few epilepsy patients in 1921 was the first use of the ketogenic diet as a treatment for epilepsy.

Wilder's colleague, paediatrician Mynie Peterman, later formulated the classic diet, with a ratio of one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight in children, 10–15 g of carbohydrate per day, and the remainder of calories from fat. Peterman's work in the 1920s established the techniques for induction and maintenance of the diet. Peterman documented positive effects (improved alertness, behaviour, and sleep) and adverse effects (nausea and vomiting due to excess ketosis). The diet proved to be very successful in children: Peterman reported in 1925 that 95% of 37 young patients had improved seizure control on the diet and 60% became seizure-free. By 1930, the diet had also been studied in 100 teenagers and adults. Clifford Barborka, also from the Mayo Clinic, reported that 56% of those older patients improved on the diet and 12% became seizure-free. Although the adult results are similar to modern studies of children, they did not compare as well to contemporary studies. Barborka concluded that adults were least likely to benefit from the diet, and the use of the ketogenic diet in adults was not studied again until 1999."

So and example of the diet is as follows:

Breakfast: egg with bacon (28g egg, 11 gbacon, 37g of 36% heavy whipping cream, 23g butter)
Snack: peanut butter ball (6g peanut butter and 9g butter.)
Lunch: tuna salad (28g tuna fish, 30g mayonnaise, 10g celery)
Snack: keto yogurt (18g of 36% heavy whipping cream, 17g sour cream, 4g strawberries and artificial sweetener)
Dinner: cheeseburger (no bun) (22g minced (ground) beef, 10g American cheese, 26g butter, 10g lettuce)
Snack: keto custard (25g of 36% heavy whipping cream, 9g egg and pure vanilla flavouring)

Haha some people look at it and this its crazy. But I want to kind of keep a log here.. can be moved if I"m in the wrong place...

anyways..

Starting Weight; 168.1lbs

My diary is public so you can take a look at it

:)

xo
Sara-

sallyLunn · October 2010

Are you an epileptic child? This sounds like pretty much the Atkins diet to me.

danmullen · October 2010

It definitely is Atkins.

FelipaJ · October 2010

That's what I was thinking.

sgeorgia · October 2010

this IS the Atkins diet - and while it will work for the short turn i don't know anyone who has ever been able to maintain it. There is really only one healthy way to lose wait and that is by eating properly and lowering your calorie intake along with exercise. This diet is a fad and not maintainable. I urge you NOT to do this diet.
Every person in my family has been on it at some point and while all had lost a substantial amount of weight they all became MUCH heavier when they could not go back to eating normally.

Birdnicaj · October 2010

Yup, it's Atkins. But no matter what you call here are two facts: you WILL lose weight (it's inevitable) if you allow your body to go into ketosis. You WILL GAIN IT ALL BACK if you ever decide to start eating like a normal human being again. BTW, I have a son with juvenile diabetes and we try to avoid letting his body go into ketosis at all costs - BECAUSE IT IS SO UNHEALTHY FOR YOU! Besides burning fat for fuel, you will damage (burn) your kidneys, liver and heart). Good luck with this one! I'd rather be fat.

sara_xo · October 2010

thx guys.. and the atkins diet came from the keto diet.

I will never "Purchase" atkins food. and carbs are staying less than 5% of my daily intake.

no I'm not epiliptic, and I took 4 years of nutrition so I'm well aware of the "balance" I'm being monitored by doctors as we are trying to figure out the best way for my body to loose the extra fat since I've been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism.

But thanks for the non-positive feedback.

khk2010 · October 2010

Just curious as to why you are trying this diet.

FemininGuns · October 2010

Good luck on your 30 day

My new diet the last 5 weeks were suppose to be with 2 Keto days. Well, my brain was fried by the time I got to week 3. My personal trainer, after telling her of my symptoms, said that it was because I was getting little carbs on those days. My first thought was "I want to feel HEALTHY, not sluggish and like I'm losing my mind!" So, I am only doing it one day per week. Granted, I was probably doing more exercises than recommended. So on the day that I do Keto, I don't do cardio or weights.

I am preparing for a fitness competition in April, I know that they (oh, and I guess that means ME - yikes!) go Keto 3 weeks out. I hope I don't have demanding things during that period, cause I will probably be like a walking zombie!

Anyway, looking forward to see how you do on this diet. I am sending a request to add you

JustAmy · October 2010

There were a lot of negative answers!!

Especially since you are working with your doctor with this!

I want to wish you the best of luck!:flowerforyou:

mzenzer · October 2010

Good luck with that. Seems to me there are easier, and not to mention healthier ways to lose weight. These crazy diets always really get to me, because truly there really isn't any magic to losing weight, just eat healthy because you should anyway, and maintain a calorie deficit. That's all you need to do. Oh and workout like a fraking banshee so you can eat like one too!!!

Keep us up to date. I'd really like to know where you stand in 6 months as opposed to 30 days.

blessedbirdie · October 2010

All the unhealthy fat sounds dangerous to me. I was on Atkins and yes I lost 60 lbs in 6 months and also did damage to my liver and then gained theaweight all back plus more. It did not help me to learn to eat the right foods for my health.
I am not higher protein plan now but do NOT eat all the unhealthy fat and it is working for me this time without the liver problems.
If you are have epilepsy then great to have a diet to help. If not then you might want to do more research.
Just a thought. There are healthier ways to lose.
I too have hypothyroidism for over 30 yrs now. Add me as a friend and see my food diary and the loss of 40 lbs since July.
birdie

lutzsher · October 2010

People are not being negative in their view, just realistic as many of us (myself included) had already tried every "fad" diet known to man in our past . . . and none of them is sustainable enough to keep the weight off. Most are just a quick jump start to make you think they work but you cannot continue to eat like that as it is either not possible, or not healthy, to do so. As a result the weight will just come back . . . we have all been there.
Your best bet for losing weight is to log every morsel, drink that water, and move more . . . sounds easy . . . and it is if you stick to it as Im living proof. No more fads, just honest hard work and dedication, eating a well balanced diet of ALL nutrients. Many of these fads lure you in with the promise of initial quick loss . . . and can deliver on that . . . but unfortunately that is all they offer, not life-long sustainable health.

mzenzer · October 2010

I'm hypo-thyroid as well. I was about 238 in February of this year, and I'm 208 now with 17% body fat. I'd like to get to 10% and that would put me at 196 pounds or so. The fat certainly hasn't gone away as fast as I would like, nor as fast as it has in the past when I've had to cut weight, but I also realize I'm getting older and nothing is as quick or easy as it used to be. That being said, plain healthy eating and good old fashioned sweat inducing workouts has been working for me, hypo-thyroid and all. I'm not being negative as someone else suggested some posters were, and I don't think they were being negative, it's probably just that A) there is now a lot of disdain for Atkins and Atkins like diets due to more modern information that we all know, and

the traditional medical industry is in my opinion quite a bit behind the curve in what it takes to lose weight.

Again, good luck, and check in at 30 days but really I'd like to know if you can keep it off.

Also I take a natural supplement for my thyroid and my numbers are normal, plus sublingual B-12 and a B complex. I have no fatigue issues due to my thyroid and in fact my energy is through the roof. Do you take anything for your thyroid? Is it synthroid or natural? PM me if you want to keep that private, I'm just curious I have 3 hypo-thyroid people in my family.

Birdnicaj · October 2010

There were a lot of negative answers!!

Especially since you are working with your doctor with this!

I want to wish you the best of luck!:flowerforyou:
[/quote]

Just because a doctor is involved does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that any of this is ok. Learn to question your medical professionals and get a second opinion!

sara_xo · October 2010

I LOVE how everyone read the first post and then nothing in between... read I've responded to why I'm doing this.. or I'm gonna have to edit the first post and then maybe people won't be so harsh.

Thanks to those that are supportive.

I will say it one more time;

I AM HYPOTHYROID, MY DOCTOR AND I ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON THIS. I HAVE TAKE 4 YEARS OF NUTRITION AT POST SECONDARY (not stating I"m a nutritionist because I'm STILL working on finishing was part time).

SO, I will also mention that ANY time i eat carbs I get terrible heart burn. (Dr doesn't think I'm "allergic" just sensitive. So we're experimenting)

Again I will say thanks, I know about BALANCE which I will follow what my doctors tell me. They are monitoring me.. I'm not oblivious to the diet world. THANKS! I am a figure competitor as well as a horseback rider. Now, if you plan to tell me to eat balanced again.. then don't bother. thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and to FemininGuns good luck darling!

It's tough, but if it were easy to give up almost every good food, and sauce, for 20 + weeks out of a comp, then EVERYONE would do it.. AND no one understands what it's like

BUT I DO!! XO

HealthyChanges2010 · October 2010

'Some' of the 'doctors' also support hcg...so...what's that saying about docs? There are good ones and ignorant ones!:noway:

Second thought that comes to mind? It's a public message board where there will be many schools of thought, some see a response as being negative while others will merely feel it is giving their feedback. Just another way to think of it...:flowerforyou:

JustAmy · October 2010

I guess I should have also mentioned that my sister did the Atkins diet 8 years ago, lost 50 pounds and has kept it off by slowly adding back in the carbs.

I'm not saying I endorse or do not endorse it, I was just rather amazed at how mean the comments seemed. This is suppose to be a support system and there are nicer ways of expressing opinions!

HealthyChanges2010 · October 2010

ahhh yes, the magic is in taking it off in a healthy way and KEEPING it off in a healthy way

HealthyChanges2010 · October 2010

Wow, that would SO NOT fuel my workouts, I'd be on the ground. But then that's just me:flowerforyou:

HealthyChanges2010 · October 2010

[/quote] OMG YES! Especially seeing what's going on with the crazy doctor diets on the boards here the last few months. Most definitely don't take a doctors word as god. They are human and some are very very good at what they do but they are human and some simply don't have a clue and give out very poor advice to these poor unspecting ppl that want to drop their weight in a day!:huh:

HealthyChanges2010 · October 2010

This is a VERY supportive community for those that are looking to lose weight in a healthy manner, there will be many ppl that post if they see ppl wanting to drop weight in unhealthy manners. I think that is a caring community not an unsupportive community. So many of us have gone the 'fad diet' route and wish that others could steer clear of that, I believe that's why there are responses like there are when ppl bring up quick scheme weightloss methods. It's not cold and uncaring, it's caring but if ppl don't agree with the person then it's called 'unsupportive'? I disagree...:frown:

sallyLunn · October 2010

You got non-positive feedback that was gently stated with concern for your wellbeing.. You also didn't mention that you are being monitored by doctors. I hope that is the case.

No matter, if you do this diet, be ready to shower and brush your teeth a lot. It makes you SMELL and have bad breath. (think rotting meat.) Its the ketosis.

NOLA_Meg · October 2010

I just want to point out that the main purpose of the diet is to prevent seizures and not to lose weight. It is not a "fad" diet. As a person with epilepsy, I know that it is an extreme situation that works for some people when they do not respond to other treatments or it is used with other treatments. Some seizures however are triggered by low blood sugar and so any changes in diet need to be monitored closely. With that said, she has consulted her doctor about using this diet for reasons other than seizure control and I think that this comes down to her personal choice and her doctor. Particularly since hypothyroidism often comes with radiation treatments, I think it is ok to explore other options in treatment for your conditions.

sgeorgia · October 2010

When you post on a public board on a site where folks have tried MANY different ways to lose fat, you should expect to get all kinds of feedback. The fact that people like myself took the time to even comment speaks to the supportive nature of this site.
I wanted to share with you what i've seen and experienced with with diet and it was in fact negative. Had it been positive, that's what you would have heard.
And again, since the majority of feedback you have received is by people who have lost a good amount of weight doing it the tried, true and maintainable way, you might want to consider that this is in fact not a terribly healthy way to lose weight regardless of what your health issues may be.
just a thought.

sara_xo · October 2010

DAY 2 OF KETO

WEIGHT: 167.5 (-0.6)

Feeling good today

Regardless of the comments, it won't hinder what my doctor and I are trying to achieve. I am very content with no carbs, and honestly I could care less if they are there. No heartburn or indegestion... But. Just letting you know that I will keep updating this as a personal help for myself to stay on track.

xo
Sara-

buggaboo73 · October 2010

Yep, you cal always count on the MFP boards for non-positive feedback.

Try the unconditional support group, we welcome all types of dieters based on the (gasp...shocking!) idea that we are all grown ups who don't need lectures about the paths we choose to take for weight loss because (another shocker) you and only you / your doctor know what is best for you, your lifestyle and your body.

So c'mon over if you want. :happy:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/124679-unconditional-support-group-october

sara_xo · October 2010

thanks darling

MrOutfit · November 2010

The longer you stay on the Ketogenic diet the better. I did it for a long time, I went thru a heavy induction period, I was forgetting things, I was real sluggish for the first 3 weeks but after that point I every time I ate my body was raging with energy. Currently I have upgraded to Primal eating which is low carb instead of very low carb, like a ketogenic diet, good luck to you. Oh and one other thing, on my ketogenic diet, I only ate beef, chicken, fish, tons of bacon, and I would barely cook the meats. Good luck ketogenic diet works but its more of a lifestyle change than anything else.

Started a Ketogenic Diet Today :)

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