Advice for newbie?

(Anne) #1

I’m on day 7 and I’m eating fewer than 20g net carbs- my diet has consisted primarily of cattier proteins and high fiber vegetables with the only indulgence for my sweet tooth being sugar free jello. I’ve been faithfully logging everything I eat and drink and staying well under my caloric limit- approx 200 calories under, mostly, I think, because I’m not having the easiest time getting the recommended protein.
I’m 3 pounds below the weight on my scale from when I started and although I’m sure that that isn’t necessarily fat, I’ll still take it. :ghost:
However, according to the urine test strips, I’m not getting into ketosis. Strips are indicating light at the very best.
Any thoughts?

(Bob M) #2

I wouldn’t get too upset. Those aren’t the best. Try them at different times during the day, that could help.

Do you mean fattier proteins? I’d just concentrate on keeping carbs low and eating real food. If the jello does not cause you to want to eat more, then it should be ok (assuming carbs are low). (I personally avoid anything sweet.)

(Jane Reed) #3

Here’s something I realized a few months ago–and I’ve been at it more than two years:. Don’t leave the fat in the pan! I would fry a hamburger patty, eat it, and not feel particularly satisfied. I should have scraped out all the pan juices, which included the fat that melted out of the patty. Then I would have had more flavor as well as the fat I needed. Duh!

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #4

As @ctviggen says, don’t get upset over your ketostix colours. You’re in 7 days and may or may not be in ketosis yet, and even if you are in ketosis the colour may remain light. Any colour at all indicates the presence of ketones which is a positive sign. If you stay consistently sub-20 grams of carbs per day, you will be in ketosis consistently eventually if not already. If you want to jump start ketosis read this.

(Susan) #5

Welcome to the forum, Ann!

I am wondering if you are getting enough fat, and that could be why you are not in Ketosis yet. I had that problem before. I rectified it (and appeased) my sweet tooth, by making Keto Fat Bombs.

We have a recipe section here on the forum, where there are many recipe ideas to make them =).

(Anne) #6

The jello has zero carbs. I have a serious sweet tooth and having these makes me feel better. I only eat one, after dinner, and I don’t think they make me crave anything. My appetite is actually quite manageable- so much better than when I was eating carbs indiscriminately.
I also just gave up alcohol, which I’d become far too fond of. I started the Keto so that I could be cleaning up my act all the way around.
I’m testing at different times.
But thanks for the encouragement! I certainly feel better and if the three pounds are actually just one of fat, I’m fine with that. I’m 56 and gained 20 pounds after a badly broken ankle, and I’ve struggled to lose weight since. I never had a weight problem till then, and it’s been so frustrating! This past week has resulted in a better result than anything else I’ve tried!

(Carl Keller) #7

Hi Anne.

Seven days isn’t very long in the metabolic scheme of things. It takes time to get our hormones behaving how they are supposed to and until then, they might be reluctant to let go of body fat. Be patient and let your body heal by eating single item whole foods as much as possible.

Sugar free jello is processed and has malodextrin and aspartame in the ingredients. The first ingredient can cause blood glucose spikes which is the last thing we want to do if we are trying to lose weight. The second may or may not cause your insulin to spike, with insulin being the fat storge hormone we want to keep passive as much as possible because this is the key to unlocking fat storage, but eating foods that are artificially sweetened is adding confusion that your metabolism and brain are better off without.

My suggestion is to trade in your sweet tooth for a meat tooth. Jello is not going to pacify hunger or accomodate your long term energy needs. Fat and protein are your greatest allies so make single item whole foods your focus for best results. I know it’s not easy to let go of our love for sugary tasting things but try to rememeber, those things don’t love you.

Keep your carbs low and make sure you are not going hungry and remember that a number on a scale only defines your relationship with gravity. Most of the good things that happen when we go LCHF cannot be measured.

(Brian) #8

Forget the ketone levels. And forget the calorie counting. Relax on that stuff.

Eat real food. Fatty meat, maybe a little non-starchy veg. And keep the carbs low.

I did find that eventually, the idea of having to have sweets at every meal was kinda holding me back. But I also found that if I ate good amounts of protein, the sweets weren’t nearly as big of a temptation, being full from eating good food. (To me, protein is what satisfies me the most. Some say it’s fat. I don’t mindfully change much about real food other than if I happen to have something like a chicken breast, I’ll often have it with copious amounts of real butter, not because I’m trying to hit a macro, but because it’s good that way.)

But that’s just me.

Starting out, there was a whole lot of stuff going on and it took probably several months to get into a groove. First, I was super hungry. Then I wasn’t hungry at all. And the #2 went through changes, too… quite loose for a while. All that stuff worked itself out in time and at this point (a little less than 2 years in), we just eat real, low-carb food. Most of the time, we’re keto. We have the occasional meal that’s not but it’s occasional.

Hoping that being able to just relax and go with it will become your new norm. :slight_smile:

Good luck!

(Anne) #9

Thanks for all of the advice!
The meat thing admit, is hard for me, too. I’m not a big carnivore. Tend more to seafood and while I’ll eat meat occasionally, couple of times a week, I don’t see me making it a daily thing. As it is, I buy the humanely raised or else I feel horribly guilty- it’s available at my local farmers market- and it’s cost prohibitive for the long term.
What about cholesterol? Mine is high already. How long would one give it before having it checked again? I do not want to end up on a statin.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #10

I’ve had trouble getting my fats in, so I’ve relyed on drinking heavy cream w/ some flavored MCT powder. Also, don’t try to go under on calories, this is not a calorie restriction diet! If you post examples of what you are eating we can help you analyze it and see what can be improved.

Don’t stress on the not eating red meat or chicken thing. Butter, coconut oil, avacado, etc can all be good sources of non-meat fat. Use butter liberally when cooking. You can even cook broccoli in butter and then add some good fatty olives (Kalamatta, it think) to it with some goat or feta cheese! Drizzle some olive oil, or your favorite low-carb, high-fat dressing and its yummy!

On the cholesterol note, don’t stress on it. Wait at least 6m before having your lipid panel & others run. It can take that long for those markers in the blood to properly settle.

(Carl Keller) #11

High cholesterol isn’t a bad thing if you have high HDL and low triglycerides and if you consider the Framington study where it was reported that a higher LDL was found in people who lived the longest (especially women). There’s also the fact that most people who suffer heart attacks who end up in the ER, have what’s considered “healthy” cholesterol levels.

The bottom line is it’s a doctor’s job to say you should go on statins if your LDL is higher than 190 but nobody can force you to take them. Doctors are bound to procedure and what they are taught, even when they know it’s wrong. Just remember that there is no honest science that shows that lowering your cholesterol and/or taking statins will improve your health. There is plenty of science that shows the opposite.

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2017/07/25/how-to-lower-your-cholesterol/

(Ken) #12

Mixing melted cream cheese into the jello when you make it adds more protein and fat. You can top it with whipped cream. Nuts are optional.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

Wait until you’ve been keto for at least six months, unless you want to establish a baseline now. But it takes about six months for bloodwork to settle down after going keto, though some people react more quickly.

There is also evidence that cholesterol is not nearly the indicator of heart disease risk that people claim it to be. There are a couple of researchers who claim that the real risk factor is how likely our blood is to clot (which is controlled both by genetic factors and by how much carbohydrate we eat). There are even large, government-funded studies that appear to indicate that a high cholesterol level actually has a protective effect, go figure! And the real measure of your cardiovascular health is how calcified your coronary arteries are, which can be determined by a simple, inexpensive scan.

So for right now, just concentrate on getting in the keto groove. You can wait until later to deal with all that other stuff.