Undoing my hard work?
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llfretwell
Posts: 218 Member
I have been doing good with eating low carb (I think) for the past month and a half, but every so often I knock myself out of ketosis by giving in to carb cravings. I always get back onboard with the low-carb eating the next day. My questions is, am I helping myself at all as far as being in keto but not staying in it long until Im kicked out? Is it pointless if I'm not going to STAY in ketosis for super long periods of time? I haven't weighed myself in about 3-4 weeks (depresses me), and I never took measurements (depresses me), so I'm just going by the way my clothes fit at this point. I DO feel like they are fitting a little better.
I guess I'm just kind of feeling like I do so very good with eating healthy, low carb foods for a week or two, then I mess it all up. I feel like I keep undoing all of my hard work..
I guess I'm just kind of feeling like I do so very good with eating healthy, low carb foods for a week or two, then I mess it all up. I feel like I keep undoing all of my hard work..
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I think that kicking yourself out of ketosis once in a while isn't going to be harmful, like maybe once every 3 months or so. That's what I am doing, allowing myself one cheat meal every three months. Since you have less to lose, maybe for you it would be every month? I know that when carb cravings hit, I need to do 2 things:1) Eat some carbs, as in vegetables. If I eat a salad with a small amount of carrots and tomatoes and onions (all have a lot of carbs) in it, then my cravings go away. 2) Plan ahead what i want for my cheat meal. My birthday is coming up in 3 months, so I already know what my cheat birthday meal will be. Knowing that I WILL get sweet potato fries is enough to keep me going.
Also, never, ever go shopping when you are hungry, that is a recipe for disaster. I think as long as you stay away from the big bad no-nos (sugar, grains, potatoes, etc.) you should find the cravings are more manageable. Hopefully!!
As for me, I am starting to learn that I am truly addicted to carbs. Like a heroin addiction. It's hard. I have to stay as far from them as possible, or I don't know if I'll ever get the willpower to stay away. Also, I noticed I felt horrible after my one cheat day so far. Maybe if you stayed away from carbs long enough for your body to clean them out of your system you'd find the same thing and you wouldn't want them anymore. Just a thought.
Anyway, I know this was a long, rambling post. It's early and I'm not thinking clearly, LOL.0 -
I am DEFINITELY addicted to carbs too. No doubt about it. Last night I gave in and had a small bowl of cereal...which led to 3 small bowls of cereal. If it weren't for my husband, I would keep any and everything bad-carb-related out of my house. He has given up a lot of foods being kept in the house (because of my addiction), so I try not to be too picky about the cereal.
I find that I do SO WELL in the morning with my eating, and then between lunch and dinner I struggle with snacking all day. I have been doing pretty good with keeping it low-carb healthy snacks, but I wish I could stop the excessive snacking altogether. I try to keep myself busy so I don't think about it.
I guess I just worry that I'm messing myself up with not keeping myself in ketosis for long enough. I hope it's doing some kind of good. Thanks for your advice
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I do believe that going in and out of ketosis may hamper your progress. You're not allowing yourself to become fully keto-adapted. It takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months to be fully keto adapted and reap the full benefits of this lifestyle. By dipping in and out, you're forcing your body to switch back and forth from carbs to fat for fuel. I don't know if you've noticed, but dipping in and out can cause gastric discomfort, fatigue, headaches, and exhaustion during exercise. It's definitely not optimal.
Fluctuations in your insulin levels by dipping in and out may eventually make some cells insulin resistant. I've also read that the stress constant switching can put on your body may contibute towards heart disease, but I'm wary considering I haven't looked up any contributive studies and I know that cyclical keto dieting works for those that work out heavily.
Most importantly, you're denying yourself serious progress through the dips in and out of ketosis and not allowing yourself to fully adapt, and you can be causing yourself some psychological distress. Disordered eating is serious. I have an addiction to sugar, and even though I denied it for years because I'm not a cookie fiend, I've come to terms with the fact that I had to go cold turkey for anything to work. You need to make these decisions on your own, though.
I don't know if you're necessarily undoing all the work. One day isn't going to go back on months of work. It's about averages. You're not undoing it, but you're hampering your progress in more ways that one. I honestly believe the psychological one to be the most important. If I wasn't emotionally ready to fix my carb addiction, it wasn't going to ever work.0 -
As far as I know, this is kind of a dicey subject in the keto community. Some people are proponents of a cyclic ketogenic diet. Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Diet and John Keifer's Carb Nite approaches come to mind. IIRC, the main reasons for purposly kicking yourself out of Ketosis would be to improve or "reset" hormone levels and provide a minimal amount of glucose for your body.Am I helping myself at all as far as being in keto but not staying in it long until Im kicked out?
IMHO any amount of time you spend in a ketotic state should provide some benefits. Is it optimal, perhaps not, but I wouldn't write it off as pointless.Is it pointless if I'm not going to STAY in ketosis for super long periods of time?
Just do the best you can.I guess I'm just kind of feeling like I do so very good with eating healthy, low carb foods for a week or two, then I mess it all up. I feel like I keep undoing all of my hard work..
Not to make things more difficult for you, but how are you monitoring ketosis? Perhaps others can comment on how they know when they are in or out of ketosis. Purely an assumption on my part but I would guess you aren't using a blood ketone meter and don't really know if you are in our out of ketosis. I would recommend either making the decision to not worry about it or purchase a meter and test strips so you know when you are in/out of ketosis for sure.
Hope that helps. Feel free to let me know if anything is confusing and you need more info.
Good luck!0 -
I do believe that going in and out of ketosis may hamper your progress. You're not allowing yourself to become fully keto-adapted. It takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months to be fully keto adapted and reap the full benefits of this lifestyle. By dipping in and out, you're forcing your body to switch back and forth from carbs to fat for fuel. I don't know if you've noticed, but dipping in and out can cause gastric discomfort, fatigue, headaches, and exhaustion during exercise. It's definitely not optimal.
Fluctuations in your insulin levels by dipping in and out may eventually make some cells insulin resistant. I've also read that the stress constant switching can put on your body may contibute towards heart disease, but I'm wary considering I haven't looked up any contributive studies and I know that cyclical keto dieting works for those that work out heavily.
Most importantly, you're denying yourself serious progress through the dips in and out of ketosis and not allowing yourself to fully adapt, and you can be causing yourself some psychological distress. Disordered eating is serious. I have an addiction to sugar, and even though I denied it for years because I'm not a cookie fiend, I've come to terms with the fact that I had to go cold turkey for anything to work. You need to make these decisions on your own, though.
I don't know if you're necessarily undoing all the work. One day isn't going to go back on months of work. It's about averages. You're not undoing it, but you're hampering your progress in more ways that one. I honestly believe the psychological one to be the most important. If I wasn't emotionally ready to fix my carb addiction, it wasn't going to ever work.
Thanks so much for your response. Honestly, I think subconsciously I'm just hoping someone will say "Oh, it's totally fine that you have binges every couple of weeks". I NEED to strap down and stop giving it. I am weak and I need to work on my sugar addiction. I agree that the psychological aspect is the most important and most dangerous. I struggle.0 -
As far as I know, this is kind of a dicey subject in the keto community. Some people are proponents of a cyclic ketogenic diet. Dave Asprey's Bulletproof Diet and John Keifer's Carb Nite approaches come to mind. IIRC, the main reasons for purposly kicking yourself out of Ketosis would be to improve or "reset" hormone levels and provide a minimal amount of glucose for your body.Am I helping myself at all as far as being in keto but not staying in it long until Im kicked out?
IMHO any amount of time you spend in a ketotic state should provide some benefits. Is it optimal, perhaps not, but I wouldn't write it off as pointless.Is it pointless if I'm not going to STAY in ketosis for super long periods of time?
Just do the best you can.I guess I'm just kind of feeling like I do so very good with eating healthy, low carb foods for a week or two, then I mess it all up. I feel like I keep undoing all of my hard work..
Not to make things more difficult for you, but how are you monitoring ketosis? Perhaps others can comment on how they know when they are in or out of ketosis. Purely an assumption on my part but I would guess you aren't using a blood ketone meter and don't really know if you are in our out of ketosis. I would recommend either making the decision to not worry about it or purchase a meter and test strips so you know when you are in/out of ketosis for sure.
Hope that helps. Feel free to let me know if anything is confusing and you need more info.
Good luck!
You're right, I am using the ketostrips. I have been reading how inaccurate they are and considering getting the blood ketone meter. How often does someone check with a meter? Every day? I just don't know if I like the idea of pricking my finger..0 -
Thanks so much for your response. Honestly, I think subconsciously I'm just hoping someone will say "Oh, it's totally fine that you have binges every couple of weeks". I NEED to strap down and stop giving it. I am weak and I need to work on my sugar addiction. I agree that the psychological aspect is the most important and most dangerous. I struggle.
IMHO, binges aren't good but in most cases there is a reason behind it. Maybe not eating enough calories or missing some important vitamins or minerals. I would encourage you to try and figure out something that helps rather than beating yourself up about being weak and addicted. We all struggle with various things, so don't feel bad.
I would seriously consider doing a more cyclic approach like I mentioned earlier. If you can have a pre-set day and time when you "binge" it might help. Over time you may be able to reduce the frequency of your carb re-feeds if you choose to do so. Shoot me a PM if you need help finding details on the Carb Nite or Bulletproof diet approaches to keto.0 -
Calorie restriction when you are trying to start Keto usually means snacking. I was eating 50% more calories when I went Keto. But after 2-3 weeks I stopped snacking altogether. Having two or three big meals should keep you from being hungry unless something else is going on.0
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Calorie restriction when you are trying to start Keto usually means snacking. I was eating 50% more calories when I went Keto. But after 2-3 weeks I stopped snacking altogether. Having two or three big meals should keep you from being hungry unless something else is going on.
I think we have a winner!
I went and took a look at your diary and if it is accurate, you are being way to restrictive on the calories. I'm seeing days where you are only logging 600 calories. Hopefully you are eating more than this but if not, start eating more. I think your macros are OK based upon some assumptions I made using your profile but if you want to explain where your calorie target and macros come from then we can help.
Also, keep in mind that the carbs are NET carbs. If you pick vegetables high in fiber you can have a very large amount of food to eat, which may help keep you satisfied. 20 g NET carbs will be a lot of broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, onions, mushrooms. Just dump the fat of your choice on them and don't be afraid to have some vegetables.0 -
Yes, I am definitely not only eating 600 calories a day. This girl loves to eat, trust me! I'm going to eat any and every calorie I'm allowed!
My goal is 1500 calories: Fat: 125 grams, Protein: 75 grams, Carbs: 19 grams (It usually ends up being between 20 and 30 grams, though).
I got my macro-goals from scoobysworkshop.com.
Last year I was very active. Ran every day, did insanity, etc. Then I switched to Paleo and basically stopped all exercise, which made me gain weight. I have just started getting back into some light exercise (walking/running) the past couple of weeks.
When I began keto, I was DEFINITELY afraid of the vegetables. I LOVE vegetables but I was avoiding them because of the carbs. I'm now realizing that the NET carbs in them won't hinder my keto-state, so I'm eating more greens.0 -
May be try this for couple of weeks. Forget the calories, eat 80 fat every meal not getting the fat in take in one meal. Eat a fatty meal till you are full, just in case if you need to snack, use a fatty snack. It usually takes 3 weeks to break a habit and cheat days will set you back in to same habits or cravings.0
