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Fridays Food Report. Does this look right?

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Johnsprime
Johnsprime Posts: 18
in Social Groups
I set some custom values in MFP and I thought I would ask the low carb experts here if I am doing everything "right"



friday.gif



I never make the calories, protein or fat values even though I feel like I am eating all day long.

Also, the carbs show me 15 over, but the fiber in the carbs should make the net carbs total be 23 (21g of fiber in the carb foods)

Would love to hear any advice.

Replies

  • Jay_Jay_
    Jay_Jay_ Posts: 194 Member
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    One of the great things about eating low carb is the satiating quality of the foods we eat and breaking the cycle of sugar cravings. If you aren't hungry, don't force yourself to eat. If you're hungry, eat. Try not to worry so much about the exact calories you're eating and try to hit the macros as best as possible.

    My only advice would be to throw in more fat and protein, use some fatty dressings instead of flax oil, add more salmon, chicken, etc. for protein. Cover your salad in bacon if you have to. You are more than covered for your daily veggies and fiber.

    Check out this guide to setup your MFP for low carb eating, it's a huge help to see your daily values.

    http://cavemanketo.com/configuring-mfp/
  • mstorvik
    mstorvik Posts: 356 Member
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    Jay, I agree. All of that looks good - but I know my fat is much higher than that. Actually, the more I read about how protein can turn to sugar in your body if you over-consume it, the more apt I am to eat fat over protein. I get in about 100 g protein a day, the rest goes to fat. And Jay is right - eat when you're hungry (some days you will be very hungry, others you won't) and keep doing what you're doing with the carb count!
  • Jay_Jay_
    Jay_Jay_ Posts: 194 Member
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    Jay, I agree. All of that looks good - but I know my fat is much higher than that. Actually, the more I read about how protein can turn to sugar in your body if you over-consume it, the more apt I am to eat fat over protein. I get in about 100 g protein a day, the rest goes to fat. And Jay is right - eat when you're hungry (some days you will be very hungry, others you won't) and keep doing what you're doing with the carb count!

    That's true, but only if you are eating a very high protein diet. If you have your macros set, anything over 60% fat should not ever be a problem. I have a 65/30/5 split, but I never limit my fat either, i'll usually be between 65-75% fat. Going 40% protein a day or two a week isn't a big deal at all. You would need to be doing high protein, moderate/low fat, low carb on a daily basis for that to happen, and thats VERY unhealthy since your body needs either carbs or fat to fuel itself. I would never worry about going over on your protein, so long as you are getting plenty of fat. :) And of course, if you are hungry, eat more fat!
  • mstorvik
    mstorvik Posts: 356 Member
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    Jay, I agree. All of that looks good - but I know my fat is much higher than that. Actually, the more I read about how protein can turn to sugar in your body if you over-consume it, the more apt I am to eat fat over protein. I get in about 100 g protein a day, the rest goes to fat. And Jay is right - eat when you're hungry (some days you will be very hungry, others you won't) and keep doing what you're doing with the carb count!

    That's true, but only if you are eating a very high protein diet. If you have your macros set, anything over 60% fat should not ever be a problem. I have a 65/30/5 split, but I never limit my fat either, i'll usually be between 65-75% fat. Going 40% protein a day or two a week isn't a big deal at all. You would need to be doing high protein, moderate/low fat, low carb on a daily basis for that to happen, and thats VERY unhealthy since your body needs either carbs or fat to fuel itself. I would never worry about going over on your protein, so long as you are getting plenty of fat. :) And of course, if you are hungry, eat more fat!

    Have you been following Jimmy Moore's n=1 experiment? He basically cut out most of his protein because his body is so sensitive to it. I don't think that everyone is the same... but there are people who, when even eating moderate protein, will not be at the ketosis level that is good for losing weight.

    Here is a link to a list of what he's doing. I almost think he's doing a 'fat fast' - and what he's seeing is that he actually is rarely hungry.... so there' this whole debate about if it's the fat he's eating (his macros) or if it's the fact he's not eating as much as he was. I have no idea, but it's all really interesting.

    http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/n1
  • Johnsprime
    Johnsprime Posts: 18
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    One of the great things about eating low carb is the satiating quality of the foods we eat and breaking the cycle of sugar cravings. If you aren't hungry, don't force yourself to eat. If you're hungry, eat. Try not to worry so much about the exact calories you're eating and try to hit the macros as best as possible.

    My only advice would be to throw in more fat and protein, use some fatty dressings instead of flax oil, add more salmon, chicken, etc. for protein. Cover your salad in bacon if you have to. You are more than covered for your daily veggies and fiber.

    Check out this guide to setup your MFP for low carb eating, it's a huge help to see your daily values.

    http://cavemanketo.com/configuring-mfp/

    Thanks for the advice.

    I am having a bit of trouble for the last two days, and perhaps you or someone reading this will be able to help.

    I am getting terrible headaches and for some reason, even though low carb diets are supposed to act like a diuretic, I am retaining water. I have leg edema pretty bad and my hands are puffing up.

    I have begun salting my meals with Himalayan salt (natural pink salt) because I read that you will need extra salt on this diet because of the diuretic effect and that it flushes salt out of your system.

    To be honest I began low carb to treat my nasty heartburn, and it worked! I barely have any acid reflux anymore, and my throat is not burning and I don't get acid in my mouth, and this is really a God-send!!!

    The weight loss is an awesome side effect of this diet, but I don't really know what I am doing since the book I read:

    (link to book is below)

    http://goo.gl/6G34T

    I know I am not getting enough calories, could that be why I am getting the headaches?

    I don't eat things like Bacon, because of the high sodium content, and I am salt sensitive and now retaining water water like crazy (yet still coming down on the scale, strange eh?)

    Yesterday I only got 1,146 calories, partly because I was in town during lunch, but I ate like a pig for dinner and still didn't make enough calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Johnsprime?date=2013-01-09

    I made the diary publicly available and will start tracking daily again.

    Maybe I need more water?
    Maybe I need more fat? (not sure how.... animal is gross and I always trim it off anything I eat with visible fat)
    maybe my electrolytes are off?

    Maybe I need a good run down on this diet besides just "keep your carbs low"

    According to the book above I can increase my carbs back up to 45 now that my heartburn is gone, but I want to make sure I continue to lose weight, so I don't know if that is a good idea or not.

    I can only set it up to 5% carbs or 10% carbs, so I can not pick an exact number in mfp anyway.

    LASTLY, I do have high blood pressure and I thought low carb would lower that as well, but it seems to have gone up a bit.

    Wishing for the best, and appreciating your input greatly,

    -= JOHN =-
  • mstorvik
    mstorvik Posts: 356 Member
    Options
    One of the great things about eating low carb is the satiating quality of the foods we eat and breaking the cycle of sugar cravings. If you aren't hungry, don't force yourself to eat. If you're hungry, eat. Try not to worry so much about the exact calories you're eating and try to hit the macros as best as possible.

    My only advice would be to throw in more fat and protein, use some fatty dressings instead of flax oil, add more salmon, chicken, etc. for protein. Cover your salad in bacon if you have to. You are more than covered for your daily veggies and fiber.

    Check out this guide to setup your MFP for low carb eating, it's a huge help to see your daily values.

    http://cavemanketo.com/configuring-mfp/

    Thanks for the advice.

    I am having a bit of trouble for the last two days, and perhaps you or someone reading this will be able to help.

    I am getting terrible headaches and for some reason, even though low carb diets are supposed to act like a diuretic, I am retaining water. I have leg edema pretty bad and my hands are puffing up.

    I have begun salting my meals with Himalayan salt (natural pink salt) because I read that you will need extra salt on this diet because of the diuretic effect and that it flushes salt out of your system.

    To be honest I began low carb to treat my nasty heartburn, and it worked! I barely have any acid reflux anymore, and my throat is not burning and I don't get acid in my mouth, and this is really a God-send!!!

    The weight loss is an awesome side effect of this diet, but I don't really know what I am doing since the book I read:

    (link to book is below)

    http://goo.gl/6G34T

    I know I am not getting enough calories, could that be why I am getting the headaches?

    I don't eat things like Bacon, because of the high sodium content, and I am salt sensitive and now retaining water water like crazy (yet still coming down on the scale, strange eh?)

    Yesterday I only got 1,146 calories, partly because I was in town during lunch, but I ate like a pig for dinner and still didn't make enough calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Johnsprime?date=2013-01-09

    I made the diary publicly available and will start tracking daily again.

    Maybe I need more water?
    Maybe I need more fat? (not sure how.... animal is gross and I always trim it off anything I eat with visible fat)
    maybe my electrolytes are off?

    Maybe I need a good run down on this diet besides just "keep your carbs low"

    According to the book above I can increase my carbs back up to 45 now that my heartburn is gone, but I want to make sure I continue to lose weight, so I don't know if that is a good idea or not.

    I can only set it up to 5% carbs or 10% carbs, so I can not pick an exact number in mfp anyway.

    LASTLY, I do have high blood pressure and I thought low carb would lower that as well, but it seems to have gone up a bit.

    Wishing for the best, and appreciating your input greatly,

    -= JOHN =-

    Funny - I had serious heartburn constantly when working out... Went low-carb... and it went away. Ate carbs... it came back. I am with you on that one.

    Not sure what to tell you about sodium. If I forget to eat 5000 mg a day, I get really bad leg cramps, headaches and I get really run down. But I am not salt sensitive.

    Here is a thread from somewhere else talking about it: http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/main-lowcarb-lobby/707022-salt-sensitive.html

    I don't know if that will help?
  • EricCowperthwaite
    EricCowperthwaite Posts: 450
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    I am having a bit of trouble for the last two days, and perhaps you or someone reading this will be able to help.

    I am getting terrible headaches and for some reason, even though low carb diets are supposed to act like a diuretic, I am retaining water. I have leg edema pretty bad and my hands are puffing up.

    From everything I know (admittedly not an expert at all) you need to make sure you are getting plenty of electrolytes and water. I was retaining water pretty badly after my first 30 days of low carb diet. I started drinking Power-Ade Zero (1 g carb in 16 oz) and the water retention went away. I drink about 6 cups of water a day, plus 16 oz of the Power-Ade. Make sure it is the Zero, the regular stuff is full of sugars.
    I know I am not getting enough calories, could that be why I am getting the headaches?

    I don't eat things like Bacon, because of the high sodium content, and I am salt sensitive and now retaining water water like crazy (yet still coming down on the scale, strange eh?)

    I am eating about 1300 calories a day, on average, and generally full all day. I haven't had an issue with headaches since the first 30 days when I definitely suffered "Atkins Flu". I eat bacon because it's a great way to easily raise my fat content and it tastes fantastic, of course. :-)
    Maybe I need more water?
    Maybe I need more fat? (not sure how.... animal is gross and I always trim it off anything I eat with visible fat)
    maybe my electrolytes are off?

    Like I said above, I think more electrolytes is a good idea. Chicken broth will do the trick, so will Power-Ade Zero. Lots of options there. Also, more fat. The healthiest hunter-gatherer societies we are aware of tended to eat Fat/Protein/Carbs of 70/30/10. The Inuits, as recently as 1975 were eating 80/20/0 and had essentially zero heart disease. They adopted the "western diet" and one generation later had all the heart disease, diabetes and obesity issues that everyone else in the US has.

    I would suggest that you may want to do a really hardcore "induction" and then see how your tastes have changed. You may discover that you enjoy animal fat after you have brought about significant diet and body changes. THen again, you may not. That's okay, you can raise dietary fat with vegetable fats. Coconut oil, grapeseed oil, pistachios, olives, avocados and many other things will provide you with high fat content.
    Maybe I need a good run down on this diet besides just "keep your carbs low"

    I highly recommend Gary Taubes. Read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" and "Why We Get Fat" .... all about the science of your body as an metabolic engine. Very enlightening.

    I also highly recommend "Practical Paleo" for understanding what all different sorts of foods, minerals, supplements, etc. do.

    For a very hardcore induction phase, check out a Whole 30 regimen: http://whole9life.com/2012/08/the-whole30-program/

    The link you gave didn't take me to a book, so I'm not sure what book you are reading.

    Hopefully some things in here that will be helpful to you :happy:
    LASTLY, I do have high blood pressure and I thought low carb would lower that as well, but it seems to have gone up a bit.

    How long have you been low carbing? And I think low electrolytes and sodium will not help with BP. Also, if you have your protein too high, you're body is going to slowly starve and this will contribute to high BP also. See this article on Rabbit Starvation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

    Eric

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