Just a share and a thanks to 2KetoDudes for motivating me into Keto. The 4th annoying ad from Carl on .Net Rocks coupled with hitting a frustration point with my weight got me to listen to the first few 2KetoDudes shows. Within 2 weeks, I had made the decision to give it a one month try.
About me:
- 48
- Software developer/architect that mostly lives on conference calls with no real physical activity
- Clogged arteries on my father’s side of the family have made me feel like like I had an internal time bomb. I’m 25 years younger than my father and 22 years ago, he had a triple bypass. His father did the same, but later in life. Note, a couple of years ago, I had a calcium test and scored a 0. Until 2KetoDudes, I didn’t know the value of that result.
- I’ve always been sensitive to sugar swings and figured out, carbs in the morning led to late morning challenges(shakes and feeling really bad). Late onset diabetes on my mothers side, reminded me that I’m heading down that path as well.
- 5’6" - generally, been over weight my whole life
Summary:
Six months in, 28lbs down. Seems low given the success stories I see, but I also hear about people that make little progress. Not sure where I am in the spectrum of results.
Some data:
You can see where I started Keto (yes, right before Christmas).
Data is all morning weights until about Feb of this year when I got Withings scale leading to morning and night weights.
Peak morning weight til now is about 28lbs
Prior to this graph: In 1995, I was in the 240s. My father had his bypass, I got married, I cleaned up my diet for two years getting down into the 190s. Since then, I gained an average of 4-5 lbs a year, but settled for a fair amount of time back in the 240s.
A close up of the keto time period. Areas of low movement, like April were a bit frustrating
The trendline makes is seem better than it was at the time. My losses, even at a monthly view (1-2lbs) were less than the noise. For the last few weeks, losing about 1-2lbs a week, though I’m not sure how long it will continue.
Other biomarkers. I had a checkup in November, before Keto, and then just a few weeks ago. In summary triglyceriods down dramatically, but not many other significant changes.
I’m on 10mg Simvastatin, and still believe its a reasonable trade-off of risk/benefits for me. I got there after trying several others and higher doses and had a variety of issues, which is why there were so many tests in 07. I also learned how much eating the week before the test impacted the results. Also, why, making smoked pork shoulder became a once a year event for me.
Glucose
I was a bit annoyed to see glucose go up, but I’ve heard there is enough variability in the test that I shouldn’t get overly focused on the increase. I home to see improvements in the future as this would be a bad trend. I want to stay on Keto or LC because its good for me, not to keep me from being a diabetic and all that goes with it.
Things I’ve learned - not really
- I overeat
- I eat when I’m not hungry…just because I enjoy shoving food in my mouth. Under keto that’s meat, cheese and nuts, but I still eat when I don’t need to.
- To lose weight, I do need to restrict. I have to control portions and minimize snacking. I have to wait to get hungry before eating. Sounds easy…it isn’t. I meal prep for the week, and it has been my biggest opportunity to affect my weight. I don’t eat breakfast during the week. Evenings are mostly snacking on meat, cheese and nuts instead of a proper meal.
Other Challenges:
- Electrolytes have been hard to balance. I was having some heart palpitations. A potassium pill and Magnesium have helped. I try to add more salt when cooking, but I’m not sure how much of a difference I’m making. I used to have the palpitations every now and then in the past. I suspect I’ve always been borderline.
- I’m a homebrewer. I really only miss beer on this lifestyle. I’ve had the equivalent of 1 beer a month since I started. I have decided I won’t pass up special occasions. I think, long term, it will be more prevalent in my diet, but for now, outside of vacations and special opportunities, it will be a reasonably rare item. Getting into whiskey and other spirits has been interesting (started a few years ago), but I still prefer beer.
Benefits:
- I feel good when I’m losing weight. I’m convinced its in my head and not really a reflection of my body affecting my perspective. I love hitting milestones and seeing the change. But, other than the biometrics, I can’t claim some great improvement in my life or health.
In closing:
As for goals, I don’t have any. I’ve picked desired numbers and timeframes, but I don’t take them very seriously. I want to keep getting better. I want a manageable and happy lifestyle, not a diet. I have no interest in falling off Keto, but I think if I did, I’m pretty sure I would stay low-carb. I don’t miss those foods, other than the beer. While I love bread and carb-snacks, I can live without them or consume them rarely. Knowing what they do to me should be enough to keep that lifestyle from returning.
There is no need for encouragement or feedback. I decided I wanted to do something at my 6 month milestone some time ago. I didn’t see a lot of people reporting numbers like mine, so I thought it might be useful for somebody else.
Thanks again Keto Dudes and the community, especially the recipe writers/posters.
Jim
