2,220 days...and all is well


(Bob M) #1

I see so many threads about failure. Well, as encouragement, today is my 2,220th day on low carb/keto, since starting 1/1/14.

Have I had plateaus? Many of them.

Have I changed what I ate? Absolutely. I went from low carb to paleo to resistant starch (anyone remember tiger nuts?) to super high fat (Jimmy Moore’s Keto Clarity) to high protein (Ted Naiman) to super high saturated fat, low PUFA (currently). I’m about to test high saturated fat and mashed potatoes in a cyclic ketogenic diet to see if that helps with muscle growth but still keeps me in ketosis.

If I wrote a list here of everything I’ve tried, this would be another hundred or so lines long.

I’ve gone from fasting tons of 4.5+, 3+ days, to 36 hours, to not being able to make it more than a day lately. (Hope to get back into it…but my high saturated fat diet seems to have upped my metabolism…I burn up at night, even with no covers, and we keep the temp in the low 60s.)

Have I had times off the diet? Every time I go on vacation. Every holiday. I’ve made these shorter over time, though. But I don’t worry too much about these excursions.

I just switched into a smaller pants size and had to buy a new winter coat, as my old one was too big.

So, if you’re down in the dumps for some reason, and wondering whether you can continue the keto diet. You can. Just keep plugging away.


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

Today is 1125 days for me on keto (1/1/17). It works for me so I ain’t fixin it. :sunglasses:


(Bob M) #3

You know, I think I should’ve waited until Sunday to post. Then, it’d be 2,222 days. Ha!

Michael, I see you also started on 1/1. Seems to be a common denominator…

Good to hear that someone else is still going (strong, I think) on keto.


(Natasha) #4

Thanks so much for this, so encouraging! And congratulations on 2,220 days!


(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #5

Bob, pretty cool.

594 days in for me and in a long wt stall but losing visceral fat and gaining muscle.

I can binge too much when stressed. But it is keto binging. So that makes it a tad better.

I’m going to keep this WOL.


#6

Congrats!! It fits nicely with 02.02.2020. :wink:

643 days for me, I’m looking forward to the day I can say 2,222 days :slight_smile:


(Kristen Ann) #7

Any returning aches or pains with adding potatoes to your diet?


#8

Nice!

I don’t remember the YEAR I went keto for the first time but it doesn’t matter anyway, I do low-carb since about 9 years and have keto periods since 2016 or earlier (I looked at some notes. I surely did keto then, in February). I really liked my previous low-carb diet and the difference was tiny after fat adaptation, now I know it’s due to my too high carb intake on keto but I went as low as I could back then and it was enough for ketosis… Now a new era begins with drastic changes and I probably will consider my new, significantly lower-carb keto my new default instead of my old low-carb diet. That was nice but I can’t go back to it and it’s the same with my old keto. It’s odd, I only had this feeling with high-carb before…

I am still sure keto isn’t for everyone but it works well for many. Just because it seems too hard for someone, it’s not necessarily due to keto. Maybe they follow the wrong style of keto, not the one that suits them. Or they just need time. My current keto is nothing like my original and I needed long breaks to get used to some restrictions (I don’t know if it’s “abnormal” but when I went off keto, I kept practicing my new keto habits and when I did keto again, it was easier). I already knew very low-carb is for me so I just had to figure out how exactly I should/could do it. After a drastic change things may get harder, now I need to learn new things again… But better this than a sudden jump I am not ready for.

There are so many potential things we should be careful with and we have our limits, circumstances or whatnot… It’s not always easy but if we are sure it’s our way, we should persevere. And maybe experiment. That might solve problems we have been struggling since ages.


(Bob M) #9

I have not tried it yet. This weekend, I made a high stearic acid butter as per the Fire in a Bottle website’s instructions, then peeled potatoes and made mashed potatoes for the first time ever (when I was on a low fat diet, I never had potatoes, as any method to cook them uses fat – probably rightly so, I think now; even on SAD, I didn’t really eat potatoes).

I will try eating them only after my workouts, which are usually Tuesday and Thursday (body weight “lifting” + HIIT) and Saturday (HIIT + “cold therapy”, where I walk outside with a light covering of clothes).

I’ve tried high saturated fat and keto, and this does seem to blunt my appetite. I would like to try high saturated fat + starch to see if that helps any. But I still want to remain keto if I can. Unfortunately, my ketones are so low anyway (as in 0.2-0.5 mmol/l in the mornings), I’m not sure I’ll be able to tell much. We’ll see.

For me, I’m not eager to eat mashed potatoes, except to see if high sat fat + starch is better than high saturated fat and to see if eating some carbs sometimes helps with recovery and strength. (For both of these, I think not, but we’ll see. I’ve been wrong before.)

If it wasn’t so freaking hard to get a CGM, I’d LOVE to see what happens to my blood sugar. Unfortunately, I have to call the Dr’s office to get a prescription renewed, then call pharmacies to see if they have them and what the prices are…

In Sweden and other locations overseas, they are over the counter, so that’s where I got my first batch of them.


(Sylvia) #10

Thanks, I went out to dinner tonight for the first time since starting keto, I wasn’t perfect, I had more oz of beef and I am not sure about the blue cheese salad dressing. I appreciate your encouragement about being flexible while continuing to move forward. I am losing, 15 lbs since 12/25/19 and my jeans are getting baggy. I also appreciate your talking about vacation, I have been concerned about that, I am heading to Florida soon and it helps to hear that you have been able to jump back in. Thanks!


(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #11

For vacations we went to disney a year ago and researched the area a lot.

We did

  • IF - skipped breakfast
  • bought chicken wings and cheese bricks and ate them for lunch out of the back of the car, and other food
  • ate mexican and latin food most nights out. Found local places and really talked through the choices with wait staff
  • we went back to a mexican one twice - carne asada (steak). Two of us lost weight.

(Bob M) #12

You can definitely eat low carb on vacations. I have been limiting myself to a few not low carb meals. If you are walking, swimming, or doing anything “athletic”, it probably won’t hurt. Of course, if it could set you off on a binge, don’t splurge.

It can be tough sometimes, though. Some places on Cape Cod, for instance, have tons of fried food. That’s a challenge, but salads can help.

For me, the issue is getting enough to eat, especially if I have something like fish. They never give you enough fish. So, I go to a grocery store and get cold cuts and cheese or something else.


(Rebecca ) #13

That’s impressive that you know how many days!!! I appreciate your encouragement…I think we all need that at one time ir another. I should add: Congratulations on the new coat and pants!:partying_face:


(Rebecca ) #14

See that you know your number of days makes me want to count mine!!


(Rebecca ) #15

I just counted…273 days…I’m still in the "Infancy Stage " !!


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #16

@Rebj Naw… toddler stage. :wink:


(Central Florida Bob ) #17

Yeah, it makes you want to do that. If I started when I think I did, I’m at 1763 days. If not the exact day, it’s close enough.


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #18

If it helps, 2016 and 2020 are leap years. Make sure you get that extra day to your credit. :smirk:


#19

Congratulations on the amazing commitment! I’m a real newbie at 179 days but I’ve lost 86 pounds doing fully committed keto and one meal a day. I max 20g carbs a day and don’t use net carbs. My alcohol consumption is down by 99% in fact I haven’t had a drink since Christmas. That’s a real turnaround from last year when I was drinking too much beer and wine for sure. Lots of great information on this website and people like you that show that it can really be a long-term lifestyle and I truly believe that is where I will be too. I bought a ketone breath tester on Amazon and I am usually between 2.1 and 2.8 when I test it first thing in the morning.


(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #20

@KetoDad2020 Congratulations on your progress. 86 pounds in 179 days is very good. At that rate, you will disappear before the end of the year! :flushed:

Not that I’m encouraging you to do anything that might get in the way. You might find this interesting: