Need all the help I can get to start out the year after a 15 pound gain.

CW: 188
GW Jan 31: 178

On day 3. My diary is public.

I'm in too! Had a couple bad days over Christmas break (not terrible, just some junk Christmas candy and whatnot). Thankfully I didn't gain any weight. I definitely didn't lose any for a week though...

CW: 225
GW Jan 31: 215
GW June 30: 195

I'm interested in knowing how others in the group approach drinks? Does anyone have success with drinking diet soda? Is it true that Aspartame can trick your body into thinking you are ingesting sugar?

Started again (3rd time) on Jan 2nd. Need to lose 100lbs+
SW: 277
GW: 170
Would like to be down 15 lbs by end of January

HairTie1 wrote: »

mountainrun73 wrote: »

HairTie1 wrote: »

I'm in. On a journey to qualify for Boston at Chicago Marathon in October using fat for fuel. Had 4 weeks of solid ketosis from Thanksgiving to Christmas, then I punted for a week with two days of major binge in there. Back on the wagon as of December 31st and seeing my first detectable ketones this morning. Woot!

Current: 184 pounds
Target end of January: 176 pounds (assumes 4 pounds of water weight will slide off this week)
Racing weight for 2017 season: 170 (goal to be here and stable by end of March for a half marathon PR)

Giddy-up!
Nick

Hey, I'm glad to encounter another distance runner here! Have you done a marathon before while on low carb? I'm curious about your experience and any tips you might have.

This is my first keto experience as an endurance athlete, so I can't help you with tips. I'm doing my own research though and my plan includes:

1. Base period (next 5 months). One month driving to optimal ketosis (1.5 to 3.0). 3 months experimenting with fueling for long runs... only fuel prior to runs, not during. Want to continue to train body to prefer fat for fuel late in runs. (UCAN + VESPA)
2. Build + Peak period (20 weeks prior to race through race day). As long runs get longer adapt fueling strategy to include UCAN and VESPA during run. Thoroughly test this fueling combination and check ketones before and after each long run.
3. Adapt if either UCAN or VESPA is not working for any reason (bonks, GI issues, ketone levels not where they should be, etc.)
4. Pre-race, do some very light "carb sneaking" (reference VESPA guidance) the day before. Morning of, UCAN bar + liquid fats (heavy MCTs) for breakfast, UCAN liquid + VESPA pre-race. Probably only one redose of UCAN + VESPA mid-race.

NOTE: This is an expensive approach. These supplements are not cheap. However, they seem to have credible bodies of scientific evidence behind them and plenty of fat-fueled elite athletes seeing the benefits.

Cheers,
Nick

Congrats on going for a serious tryout on keto adaptation ☺ You seem to have a clear plan. If you don't mind, I have a suggestion.
1. Try establish a baseline first, before you start using exogenous ketones. Why?
1a. If you first establish the acclaimed enzyme and mitochondria upregulation as a MECHANISM in the body, you force the body to get really good at burning fat and therefore produce ketones as byproduct. By giving exogenous too early....you might miss out on the rumored "extra benefits" after appx. 6 months in keto adapted state.
1b. Forget about performance the first month...or two. Let your body transition. Then ramp up whatever pace or time goals you have.
1c. Only a guess but if you give the body any substance you want the body to produce, I don't know how that affects the mechanism you desire to take place. Test the extra ketones now and then, but not on every training session.
2. If you're able, I highly recommend phasing in fasted training after a while.
3. Ask in r/ketogains many there use a boost up before training. I'm really not sure if you need it as a marathon runner.
4. Take collagen to help connective tissue and joints.

I'm not a coach or a runner or athlete, but did the transition in fall 2014. And I used to train 2 hrs daily for over a year.

Edit: Forgot to say. Look up FASTER study with Volek and Ben Greenfield's site if you want more info about keto and endurance. Good luck whichever choices you make!

HairTie1 wrote: »

Foamroller wrote: »

HairTie1 wrote: »

mountainrun73 wrote: »

HairTie1 wrote: »

I'm in. On a journey to qualify for Boston at Chicago Marathon in October using fat for fuel. Had 4 weeks of solid ketosis from Thanksgiving to Christmas, then I punted for a week with two days of major binge in there. Back on the wagon as of December 31st and seeing my first detectable ketones this morning. Woot!

Current: 184 pounds
Target end of January: 176 pounds (assumes 4 pounds of water weight will slide off this week)
Racing weight for 2017 season: 170 (goal to be here and stable by end of March for a half marathon PR)

Giddy-up!
Nick

Hey, I'm glad to encounter another distance runner here! Have you done a marathon before while on low carb? I'm curious about your experience and any tips you might have.

This is my first keto experience as an endurance athlete, so I can't help you with tips. I'm doing my own research though and my plan includes:

1. Base period (next 5 months). One month driving to optimal ketosis (1.5 to 3.0). 3 months experimenting with fueling for long runs... only fuel prior to runs, not during. Want to continue to train body to prefer fat for fuel late in runs. (UCAN + VESPA)
2. Build + Peak period (20 weeks prior to race through race day). As long runs get longer adapt fueling strategy to include UCAN and VESPA during run. Thoroughly test this fueling combination and check ketones before and after each long run.
3. Adapt if either UCAN or VESPA is not working for any reason (bonks, GI issues, ketone levels not where they should be, etc.)
4. Pre-race, do some very light "carb sneaking" (reference VESPA guidance) the day before. Morning of, UCAN bar + liquid fats (heavy MCTs) for breakfast, UCAN liquid + VESPA pre-race. Probably only one redose of UCAN + VESPA mid-race.

NOTE: This is an expensive approach. These supplements are not cheap. However, they seem to have credible bodies of scientific evidence behind them and plenty of fat-fueled elite athletes seeing the benefits.

Cheers,
Nick

Congrats on going for a serious tryout on keto adaptation ☺ You seem to have a clear plan. If you don't mind, I have a suggestion.
1. Try establish a baseline first, before you start using exogenous ketones. Why?
1a. If you first establish the acclaimed enzyme and mitochondria upregulation as a MECHANISM in the body, you force the body to get really good at burning fat and therefore produce ketones as byproduct. By giving exogenous too early....you might miss out on the rumored "extra benefits" after appx. 6 months in keto adapted state.
1b. Forget about performance the first month...or two. Let your body transition. Then ramp up whatever pace or time goals you have.
1c. Only a guess but if you give the body any substance you want the body to produce, I don't know how that affects the mechanism you desire to take place. Test the extra ketones now and then, but not on every training session.
2. If you're able, I highly recommend phasing in fasted training after a while.
3. Ask in r/ketogains many there use a boost up before training. I'm really not sure if you need it as a marathon runner.
4. Take collagen to help connective tissue and joints.

I'm not a coach or a runner or athlete, but did the transition in fall 2014. And I used to train 2 hrs daily for over a year.

Only fools are not open to suggestion! A beginner's mindset may be the single most important mental attitude for success.

1. Great add. I was thinking of only using pure MCT supplementation prior to shorter anaerobic workouts. Training quality is so important in breakthrough workouts that I don't want my energy source to be a limiter. Threshold mile repeats are head enough as it is. ;-)

2. I'm already on board with fasting training. September through December I did it pretty consistently twice a week. Problem was I did it before higher intensity, shorter workouts which resulted in poor performance. That's okay during prep/base period, but I can't do that once I get in season so I'm going to have to reconfigure the fasting days before longer z1/z2 training.

3. Is "r/ketogains" another forum group here?

4. Will look into it.

R/Nick

Fasted training requires even more sodium than lowcarb without exercise. I claim that lack of adequate salt is the number 1 reason people feel crappy on lowcarb.

-r/ketogains is a subreddit on reddit.com. for people on keto who exercise. There's also the century bicycle rider on 2ketodudes.com. You can also do a small carbup booster 15 min before anaerobic work. Like 15 g dextrose powder. I use Haribo... But a lot is placebo too, lol. I can do 3 hrs fasted training starting with 1 hr of sprints... IMO the people who feel like *kitten* doing anaerobic work, didn't salt enough preworkout. The FASTER study reports that keto adaptation actually refills glycogen in muscles on a regular basis in endurance athletes. So it's a myth keto depletes glycogen (permanently). I'm in a hurry for a party. But pm me if you want more info how I did it.

Oh I'm in as well! I have rheumatoid arthritis, and have been dealing with appetite messing side effects from a medication for months now. For a while, literally all I could bear to think of eating was gluten free bread or potatoes, though I'd force myself to eat veggies at lunch. I'd wander other aisles in the grocery store feeling nauseated and upset. But I seem FINALLY to be over this, and I want to get back to keto eating! I've felt better eating keto than any other way of eating, so fingers crossed it helps my energy this time.

If I'm perfectly honest, I'm not in this to lose weight (and I am fat, I've always been fat, it's just how I'm built, and I don't own a scale) but I will share meals and macros!

Ok so here are my stats.
Cw 145
Gw by 31 Jan 139 (an extra lb just cos I don't wanna be in the 140s any longer!)

I'm supposedly having a dry January but already have 2 dos arranged that I need to attend

Day 2 of 90% fat went well! I am sitting here sipping on a cup of salted broth with cayenne pepper. Tomorrow I will bump up to 20gm total carbs and hold there for a while to see what my body does. Headed to the garage in a few min to throw around some weights, I have been looking gforward to deadlifts all day! Have a good evening everyone!!

You are right. I should really switch to decaf. Though I wonder if I can find organic decaf as I've read somewhere that decaf is achieved through an unhealthy process?
But right now I'm in a vicious cycle. Because I end up not sleeping much I need the caffeine to feel right. Once in a while I quit coffee and then I feel like I can't get any work done.

I'll take melatonin tonight to try to sleep earlier.

kpk54 wrote: »

solska wrote: »

I'll have bpc now -- which really keeps me full and well, though messes up my sleep at night.

I hope you're drinking decaf coffee since you have previously mentioned sleep issues on several occasions. Caffeine does tend to disrupt the sleep of many.

Sounds like everyone is doing well! Keep up the good work and stay focused.

I actually lost weight while on vacation and haven't gained it back; trying to keep it that way. Unfortunately, the cold weather just makes me want to eat comfort foods - for me... pasta! I will keep trying to resist.

CW: 203
GW: 193 (Jan)

I'm trying to beat this sugar addiction guys. I'm on day 8 of no sugar and I got a headache today.

Withdrawal....

I didn't do great this week with either diet or exercise but it was better than last month. Lost 1.6 of the 2.8 lbs I had gained.

2.6 pounds to the last lowest pre-Christmas weight of 194.6. Hope to wake up tomorrow morning with that gone too. Happy to be back on track though of course. I wish the last couple of weeks were about more progress rather than trying to get back on track but also good to see that I can get back on track even when I stray a lot. And also good to remember, it sucks to lose progress because I wasn't prepared when away from home. Let the 180s come so I can believe I didn't fail at this, then 170s, 160s and so on. Still hoping to hit that End of January and April 1st goal before the final goal.