Another can't get into Ketosis post - need help!

#21

Yes it’s counter intuitive. And it takes a few days to burn off stored glycogen so you would not be in ketosis for half the keto week. You would just be in limbo.

Cycling between carbs/keto may work best for her, but the keto doctors and scientists who are experts in ketosis don’t recommend that.

They say if you are allergic to nuts, would you eat them every other week? If you are lactose intolerant would you drink milk every other week? Would a coeliac eat wheat, at all?

If you are carbohydrate intolerant should you overdoes on insulin every other week?

I someone did 11 months keto and 1 month carbs then maybe

(Frank) #22

That’d be a hard pass for me even as far along as I am. The only grains that have any part of my life have been mashed, fermented, and carbonated.

(diana barrett) #23

so two weeks later…I have lost not one pound. I’ve been fully compliant, eating less than 20…eating the prescribed macros at each meal. Perhaps there are some people who simply don’t do well on Keto?

(Todd Batitis) #24

This could very well be it. When I was doing LCHP and targetting around 85g carbs and 160g protein and not worrrying about what my fat was, it was important for me to restrict calories or burn them to be able to keep seeing a loss. My calories were set right around 2160 calories.and worked to keep it between 1500-1800 if possible.

Doing keto and 20:4 Intermittent Fasting, I still keep that 2160 range in mind but have lost as much as 6 pounds in a week doing 2200-2800 calories. The difference being that those calories are keto and my insulin is being kept low for a very long time each day due to IF meant that even with very little activity, I continue to lose weight.

And again, when it comes to ketosis and BHB in the blood specifically, keep in mind that different people are different. Richard Morris of the 2 Keto Dudes podcast is a champion keto king and does fasting regularly. If I recall it correctly, the only way he can get into really deep ketosis above 1.0 mmoL is during extended water fasts. For me, I see 2.1-2.6 daily. Does that mean one of us is doing it better? No, just that our bodies react differently.

Keep Calm and Keto On!

(Delbert Carr) #25

I know this is old but I’m hoping for some support. I have been on keto for a little over 2 weeks. I have been focused on under 20 carbs a day and Mt macros appear on target. My numer of ketones have been 1.1 after a 48 hour fast. A couple days ago I over ate on prime rib and I knew that it could raise insulin so the next day I fasted 20 hours and the next morning my morning numbers were 103/.7 then this morning 108/.6 technically out of ketosis. I’m super discouraged

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #26

No Sugar No Carbs No rise in insulin or blood glucose. Meat is zero carb … you may get about 1g of carbs in an egg.
It’s always worth doing a search if your unsure. I made lots of mistakes when 1st starting. assume nothing.
If your under 20g of carbs your almost defo in ketosis

(Edith) #27

First, I think two weeks in is a little too soon to be worrying about fasting. It takes about 6-8 weeks for the body to start to become fat adapted and then a few more months after that to become completely fat adapted.

Radically changing your diet and your body’s energy source can be stressful. I would suggest don’t stress. Eat your 20 grams of carbs a day, and give your body a chance to adapt. Once you are fat adapted, you may find you fall into an intermittent fasting pattern naturally. Eat when hungry and don’t eat when you are not hungry. Listen to your signals. Forcing fasting mostly likely will result in overeating especially during the early adaptation phase.

In addition, if you are making ketones at 0.5 mmol/l (or whatever the units are) then you are in ketosis even if your blood sugar levels are a little higher than expected. Under stress your body releases glucose from the liver to handle whatever is causing the stress. The other time the liver releases glucose is early in the morning. It is a natural process. An early morning release of cortisol causes the liver to release glucose to prepare us for the start of the day. It is called the dawn phenomenon. The dawn phenomenon tends to be a little higher in people with type 2 diabetes. Again, if you have 0.6 or 0.7 ketone measurements, you are burning fat.

I guess it boils down to “Let go and let Keto”. Your body it making a lot of adjustments right now. Give it a chance to work through all the changes with as little stress as possible.

(Delbert Carr) #28

Thank you for your thoughtful response. I checked my numbers after a walk and a shower and they were 98/1.1 so that felt much better. It’s just that Dr. Boz says to check first thing in the morning but due to dawn phenomenon maybe I shouldn’t. In regard to IF I am pretty familiar with it and feel comfortable with two meals a day.

(Delbert Carr) #29

I had read somewhere that protien can cause an insulin spike if you eat too much at once. Thank you for your response. I’m going to check into it some more.

(Megan) #30

Hi @Delbert_Carr welcome to the forum. As @VirginiaEdie said you need to give your body time to adjust, adapt (and in many cases start healing). It can be helpful to place less importance on the numbers during this time. Discouragement = stress and stress isn’t helpful when your body is already stressed adjusting to your new way of eating.

People respond to a big meal of protein differently. For me (I eat carnivore) eating a lot of meat (i.e. a lot more than my protein requirements) can lower how many ketones I produce, for others it has no effect. For you it is too soon to say, after only 2 weeks of eating this way. But I’d be very loath to skimp on protein if I were you, it’s essential for the adapting and healing your body is currently doing. If you want to find out how much protein your body does well on, and how much is “too much”, do that experiment in a few months.

It can be annoying to keep hearing “give it time”, “keep calm and keto on” etc when we want changes and answer now, but it really is the best advice anyone can give in the beginning. Hang in there and let us know how you’re doing.

(Alec) #31

I am not sure this is possible :joy::joy::joy:.

I’ve been keto for 6 years… my advice is forget about “being in ketosis”. It is really not that relevant. The aim of the keto diet is not to create ketones. The aim is to burn fat. Ketone creation is a by-product of that process.

How do you make sure you are burning fat? Don’t eat carbs. That’s it. If you eat less than 20g of carbs you have to burn fat. Your body has no choice. Therefore you are in the right place.

The results you desire may take a while: you are teaching your body to do something new. This takes time. Your body may also need to do some serious healing before it wants to lose the weight. Be patient, stay the course, keep the carbs low, it will happen.
Cheers
Alec

(Robin) #32

Perfect explanation

(Delbert Carr) #33

@MeganNZ Thank you! I guess I shoukd have been clear that it was an all you can eat prime rib buffet and I had at least 36 oz but I didn’t weigh it but I cut myself 3 huge slabs lol

(Delbert Carr) #34

@Alecmcq Thank you! It was about 36 oz of prime rib. I did notice it didn’t make me feel very good the next morning.