Just a few questions for a newbie
sparksgirl1
Posts: 6 Member
I have been reading books and following #keto trying to gain knowledge. Are there some favorite books or websites you can recommend? Because I just finished chemo and have both RA and Fibromyalgia my body has stopped being my own and ballooned into someone I don’t recognize and it’s time to fight back. I discussed the diet with my doctors and have their full support. Right now the keto flu has me feeling like I had another round of chemo even though I increased my sodium and water intake. If you have suggestions please share.
This first week has been like a serious detox for my body with sweating, peeing and constant bowel movements which from what I read is normal. Are the Ketosis urine strips okay for trying to see if your in Ketosis? I finally got it to turn pink lol😉 I finally got brave enough to get on my enemy the scale and was shocked I have lost 12 lbs So I am really excited that for once I’m not hungry and I’m losing weight. Again I am just glad to be here and look forward to being a part of the group.
This first week has been like a serious detox for my body with sweating, peeing and constant bowel movements which from what I read is normal. Are the Ketosis urine strips okay for trying to see if your in Ketosis? I finally got it to turn pink lol😉 I finally got brave enough to get on my enemy the scale and was shocked I have lost 12 lbs So I am really excited that for once I’m not hungry and I’m losing weight. Again I am just glad to be here and look forward to being a part of the group.
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Replies
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Welcome. This way of eating does great things for the body overall.
A few points:
Websites are too cookie cutter with their one size fits all approach and I found them to not help me outside of a few recipes here and there. I think you are right where you need to be as the folks on this keto board are great. I'd suggest scrolling through and reading the older post, it's what I did.
Keto Flu wise stock up on Powerade Zero. It helps to balance out the keto flu effects and is cheap and quick.
I wouldn't waste another penny on urine strips as I found them to be fairly useless. Keto blood meters are better for the first 2 months on Keto but are pricey. After two months you should be fat adapted if you followed the low carb requirement which is the goal and the diet will likely be more of a keto-low carb hybrid as your body makes the change to using fat for fuel.
Think of the first 10 pounds as water weight leaving the body. It's nice to see on a bathroom scale but more than half of that can come back at any point for a while if the body retains fluids for it's needs especially if you workout. That tends to depress folks.
On the topic of bathroom home scales, they are a piece of junk and do more damage long term. If you have access to Fit3D type scans I'd suggest those once a month. In Orlando where I live it's like 5 bucks a month for the membership. It's easy to say woohoo I lost 20 pounds but if 19 of it is lean mass that is horrible for your body. You want to lose fat fat and more fat while retaining or building you lean mass.
Protein: Do not listen to any of the noise. Your body needs this. Hit this macro every day or even pass it or you risk your lean mass plus protein does a great job of limiting hunger. The goal in the first two months is really to restrict Carbs not protein. Fat can be adjusted and you shouldn't be trying to hit that macro every day but rather to stay at or under it.
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I like Tuit Nutrition web site with Amy Berger. She has a lot of information and is also amusing to read. Good luck with all this, sounds as if you've been having a rough time
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Add me and I'll gladly answer any Keto Questions you may ever have as I lost 125 pounds on the Keto and Intermittent Fasting way of Life
, so far you seem to be on track so stick with it - your Keto Friend John. 3 -
You probably need more sodium if you still have "keto flu" symptoms. Most need a minimum of 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day; there is 2300 mg of sodium is one teaspoon of salt so you need at LEAST 2 teaspoons of salt. Try eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with water in addition to extra salt on food or eating salty boullion. Once you get enough, the difference it makes is amazing. I know it sounds like a crazy amount of salt, but if you get too much you will just excrete it out.
For me, it's all about the books. The Ketogenic Bible was good and so was The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living. I enjoyed Big Fat Surprise and Good Calories Bad Calories. The Metabolic Approach to Cancer was interesting and so was Cancer Therapies Outside the Box. Wahl's Protocal is a veggie heavy low carb plan for autoimmune disease, and Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution is a great book on how to keep BG and insuin lower.
I recently got into the carnivore diet for my arthritis (some AI and some OA) and it made quite a difference in about 2-3 months. I've been doing it since the spring and am continuing on for the near future - it's boring but helps a surprising amount.
Welcome and good luck!
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@nvmomketo sorry to hear about the arthritis; but glad to hear things are looking better. With the carnivore diet, does it cut out seasoning or “only” some of the other stuff that Keto uses to help minimize boredom? Thank you for the book references as well0
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@nvmomketo sorry to hear about the arthritis; but glad to hear things are looking better. With the carnivore diet, does it cut out seasoning or “only” some of the other stuff that Keto uses to help minimize boredom? Thank you for the book references as well
Some peopel who have used carnovore to reduce arthritis symptoms go hard core, 100% carnivore. No spices, no coffee, no stevia, no mayo on a burger patty. Those people either like the simplicity or that's how far they needed to go to get relief.
I consider myself to be mostly carnivore. I made meatloaf the other day and used spices, and my sauce had some sugar free ketchup and worchestershire sauce - all come from plants. I also drink coffee, and like to put a good plain protein powder in my coffee, but it has flaxmeal in it. For me, these steps seem to be enough. I may get even better if I cut spices and coffee and the occassional bit of sauce, but I'm not going there yet. I'm not a meat lover so this diet is a real stretch for me as it is. LOL
Some find lots of plants works really well for their joints and AI issues. I'm just not one of them .
I actually went off diet for a few days before Halloween and had some candy. I'm still paying for it a few days later. I injured my knee in basketball (felt something give) and my hips and joints ended up really inflamed so I looked like I was walking on peg legs. Just a month ago I played more basketball, and longer, but I was carnivore without cheats at the time, and I had almost no extra joint pain - I actually was able to play hard enough to get some muscle soreness! It's quite a difference. Was it just diet, or the fact that I have had a stressful time at work, or that I am fighting off a cold, or a different time of the month? Who knows, but I suspect diet played a role.
Joe Rogan has interviewed a few carnivores like Jordan Peterson, mikalia Peterson, shawn baker and such. Zero Carb Life is a good story on one lady. There's many anecdotes out there. Some tried it and found success. We probably aren't hearing about the failures. 2 -
I read that some people drink water with salt daily to avoid keto flu. As an Asian, we use this to recover from sore throat and other illness so I'm quite used to it.2
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thank you, @nvmomketo
sorry to hear you injured your knee while playing; hopefully it gets better sooner than later.0 -
Thanks. 0
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I like to visit different low carb sites for recipes and then use pinterest to save them. I have boards for Keto mains, keto treats, fat bombs, keto sides, keto instant pot, keto slow cooker, keto desserts etc. I find that when eating LCHF it's so important to plan ahead or else it's easy to slip or get fed up with eating the same things. I like choosing recipes for the next evening's supper so I can take meat or fish out of the freezer if needed or make a note on my phone if I need to pick up any ingredients at the grocery store on the way home. Some sites I like for recipes are ruled.me, castironketo.net, peaceloveandlowcarb.com, carbwars.blogspot.com, ibreatheimhungry, thebigmansworld.com, alldayidreamaboutfood.com.2
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I have been eating keto for over two years now. I have never used strips or the blood meters to test for ketosis, but I am at 20 net carbs a day or less, so I am confident I am there.
I track sodium and try to have the logged sodium between 4000 and 5000 mg a day. I also liberally salt food, and that does not get logged.
I find there is a fixation on the fat macro starting out. I played around with the macros and became aware of the need for protein to preserve lean body mass. I set my protein macro to be approximately 1 g protein for every pound of lean body mass, and I try to always meet or exceed it. I stay under the fat macro - sometimes by a lot. I have HWC in my first cup of coffee in the morning but don't do fat bombs. Sometimes I will have some nuts as a snack, and those are pretty much a fat bomb I guess.
FWIW, my actual consumed macros today were 55% F, 3% C, 42% P.
I have lost over 130 lbs and am in maintenance now. I find this diet very satisfying and sustainable. Part of my happiness with it may be that I found a combination that seems to work well for me. You may have to play around a little and figure out your body's happy place.
I have personally never liked most of the keto web pages or Youtube videos. I typically feel as if I am being sold a bill of goods.4 -
Wow so much knowledge between everyone. Thank you so much for all the responses and the homework because there’s a lot I don’t fully understand but I can learn 👍🏻 I am watching my macros and keeping my net carbs less than 20 as for the fat protein ratio some days I need not protein then it says but once I eat it I feel revitalized 🤗🙏🏻 thank you Connie2
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You probably need more sodium if you still have "keto flu" symptoms. Most need a minimum of 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day; there is 2300 mg of sodium is one teaspoon of salt so you need at LEAST 2 teaspoons of salt. Try eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with water in addition to extra salt on food or eating salty boullion. Once you get enough, the difference it makes is amazing. I know it sounds like a crazy amount of salt, but if you get too much you will just excrete it out.
For me, it's all about the books. The Ketogenic Bible was good and so was The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living. I enjoyed Big Fat Surprise and Good Calories Bad Calories. The Metabolic Approach to Cancer was interesting and so was Cancer Therapies Outside the Box. Wahl's Protocal is a veggie heavy low carb plan for autoimmune disease, and Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution is a great book on how to keep BG and insuin lower.
I recently got into the carnivore diet for my arthritis (some AI and some OA) and it made quite a difference in about 2-3 months. I've been doing it since the spring and am continuing on for the near future - it's boring but helps a surprising amount.
Welcome and good luck!
@nvmomketo is my go to for book recommendations. As I have just finished "Good Calories Bad Calories". This list gives me some new ones to try. One that is missing that I enjoyed is "Tripping over the truth".0 -
This group, and the low Carber daily, is where I got most of my book recommendations.. I love books. There are a few good websites too, but I like the more linear direction of a book over a website. 3
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Hi everyone thank you for the replies. I am busy reading and learning because I thought that Ketosis and fat adapted were the same. Actually I had heard the phrase “fat adapted” but did not have a clue. So I am really glad I found this group and now back to reading old posts.1
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I wish they would pin down the term fat/keto adaptation soon. I've seen it (wrongly) called just being in ketosis, but I've also seen that it depends on refilled glycogen stores, improved mitochondrial health and blood uric acid levels.
Either way, it seems to take 1-4 months.
This is one website I do like: https://blog.virtahealth.com/keto-adapted/2 -
Check out: https://mariamindbodyhealth.com. She has a lot of great information and knows a lot about a lot of different health issues.0
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I actually went off diet for a few days before Halloween and had some candy. I'm still paying for it a few days later.
Oh man, I can can relate. I did a cheat day for Halloween... well... because Halloween is one of my favorite days. I'm still paying for it.
I had some small sandwiches and Reece's peanut butter cups and the next morning my hands and other joints were all inflamed and red again. Fortunately I didn't get any migraines but it did do a number on my digestive tract as well. Definitely won't be having another cheat day any time soon. Perhaps Thanksgiving or Christmas but even then I'm not sure if it's worth it.
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Seems like it took me three months + to feel like I had energy to run comfortable.0
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"Lshelbydodgeguy wrote: »I actually went off diet for a few days before Halloween and had some candy. I'm still paying for it a few days later.
Oh man, I can can relate. I did a cheat day for Halloween... well... because Halloween is one of my favorite days. I'm still paying for it.
I had some small sandwiches and Reece's peanut butter cups and the next morning my hands and other joints were all inflamed and red again. Fortunately I didn't get any migraines but it did do a number on my digestive tract as well. Definitely won't be having another cheat day any time soon. Perhaps Thanksgiving or Christmas but even then I'm not sure if it's worth it.
Ouch.
I'm planning a few sugar free treats for Xmas, mainly crustless cheesecake and a few fat bombs. Even then, I'm not making lots. Hopefully Xmas will be close enough to Halloween for me to remember the sugar consequences. Lol 1 -
I am really enjoying Lyle MacDonald's "The Ketogenic Diet". I like how he goes into not only what ketogenic diets are, but why and how they work, without getting too crossed up in either overly technical terminology or overly simplified generalizations.0
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Welcome. This way of eating does great things for the body overall.
A few points:
Websites are too cookie cutter with their one size fits all approach and I found them to not help me outside of a few recipes here and there. I think you are right where you need to be as the folks on this keto board are great. I'd suggest scrolling through and reading the older post, it's what I did.
Keto Flu wise stock up on Powerade Zero. It helps to balance out the keto flu effects and is cheap and quick.
I wouldn't waste another penny on urine strips as I found them to be fairly useless. Keto blood meters are better for the first 2 months on Keto but are pricey. After two months you should be fat adapted if you followed the low carb requirement which is the goal and the diet will likely be more of a keto-low carb hybrid as your body makes the change to using fat for fuel.
Think of the first 10 pounds as water weight leaving the body. It's nice to see on a bathroom scale but more than half of that can come back at any point for a while if the body retains fluids for it's needs especially if you workout. That tends to depress folks.
On the topic of bathroom home scales, they are a piece of junk and do more damage long term. If you have access to Fit3D type scans I'd suggest those once a month. In Orlando where I live it's like 5 bucks a month for the membership. It's easy to say woohoo I lost 20 pounds but if 19 of it is lean mass that is horrible for your body. You want to lose fat fat and more fat while retaining or building you lean mass.
Protein: Do not listen to any of the noise. Your body needs this. Hit this macro every day or even pass it or you risk your lean mass plus protein does a great job of limiting hunger. The goal in the first two months is really to restrict Carbs not protein. Fat can be adjusted and you shouldn't be trying to hit that macro every day but rather to stay at or under it.
@qweck3 As for the advice about protein intake, doesn't that defeat the purpose of the diet? Keto is always described as a "high fat, moderate protein" diet...?1 -
@chrisjthomas721 Your body needs protein to protect your lean mass. You really have to tinker with the %'s until you find the perfect spot for you. My perfect spot was 10% carb/45% fat/45% protein.3
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chrisjthomas721 wrote: »Welcome. This way of eating does great things for the body overall.
A few points:
Websites are too cookie cutter with their one size fits all approach and I found them to not help me outside of a few recipes here and there. I think you are right where you need to be as the folks on this keto board are great. I'd suggest scrolling through and reading the older post, it's what I did.
Keto Flu wise stock up on Powerade Zero. It helps to balance out the keto flu effects and is cheap and quick.
I wouldn't waste another penny on urine strips as I found them to be fairly useless. Keto blood meters are better for the first 2 months on Keto but are pricey. After two months you should be fat adapted if you followed the low carb requirement which is the goal and the diet will likely be more of a keto-low carb hybrid as your body makes the change to using fat for fuel.
Think of the first 10 pounds as water weight leaving the body. It's nice to see on a bathroom scale but more than half of that can come back at any point for a while if the body retains fluids for it's needs especially if you workout. That tends to depress folks.
On the topic of bathroom home scales, they are a piece of junk and do more damage long term. If you have access to Fit3D type scans I'd suggest those once a month. In Orlando where I live it's like 5 bucks a month for the membership. It's easy to say woohoo I lost 20 pounds but if 19 of it is lean mass that is horrible for your body. You want to lose fat fat and more fat while retaining or building you lean mass.
Protein: Do not listen to any of the noise. Your body needs this. Hit this macro every day or even pass it or you risk your lean mass plus protein does a great job of limiting hunger. The goal in the first two months is really to restrict Carbs not protein. Fat can be adjusted and you shouldn't be trying to hit that macro every day but rather to stay at or under it.
@qweck3 As for the advice about protein intake, doesn't that defeat the purpose of the diet? Keto is always described as a "high fat, moderate protein" diet...?
Just because we're saying "enough protein" doesn't mean "low-fat." Neither does it mean "high protein." It's not a magic ratio of protein to fat that makes keto-folk in ketosis. It's the lack of carbs. The original ketogenic diet was developed to treat neurological conditions. The ratio of fat to protein was very heavy on the fat side and strict in order to create certain conditions in the body. It was often 80-90%. Keto for athletics and weight loss or maintenance doesn't need to have fat so high. With too little protein, which your body can NOT make, it will cannibalize your lean muscle if you do not eat enough. Weight loss also includes a loss of lean muscle as part of the process. To preserve muscle, we eat adequate protein. At least those of us who are veterans mostly do. I never got my fat higher than 70%. It mostly rode around 63% with protein 27%. I was able to preserve my muscle. I was in prime position to begin building some muscle and recomping during maintenance.
Keto can provide benefits but we also need to look at the overall picture of our health, which includes our lean muscle condition. There IS a happy zone where we can have both high fat (which is anything over 50% IMO) and adequate protein. The body only synthesizes glucose from protein at a fixed rate, as far as the current studies show, and that's only about 3g even for a large portion, which is then most likely gobbled up immediately by our brains. Because they are whiny turds that still actually need some glucose. Wimps.
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I have a question too! When counting carbs, do you count the carbs of vegetables too?? ALSO what kind of salty snacks do you guys eat? I’m a huge chip lover anddd it’s been a struggle.0
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alyssadawnxo wrote: »I have a question too! When counting carbs, do you count the carbs of vegetables too?? ALSO what kind of salty snacks do you guys eat? I’m a huge chip lover anddd it’s been a struggle.
Yes. A carb is a carb. Some veggies are lower in carbs, but many people if given unlimited veggies would end up above their carb goals. KWIM?
I've used porkrinds for a snack. I also love veggies with a tasty sourcream dip. I love salty nuts as a snack but I can overeat that VERY easily. Lately my snacks are usually leftovers, cheese or pepperoni.1 -
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I just discovered Cheese Whisps and Parmesan Crisps. I will never need a potato chip again!!2
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alyssadawnxo wrote: »I have a question too! When counting carbs, do you count the carbs of vegetables too?? ALSO what kind of salty snacks do you guys eat? I’m a huge chip lover anddd it’s been a struggle.
Quest protein chips are pretty dang good. Good snack size. I've made my own pepperoni and cheese chips before. There are recipes to do cheese chips on a baking sheet/jelly pan at home using piles of shredded cheese.2 -
CentaurusSoter wrote: »There are recipes to do cheese chips on a baking sheet/jelly pan at home using piles of shredded cheese.
OMG! Never thought of making them for myself. What a fabulous idea. DUH!1
