Excuse my pile of dead fairies

[Paulb]

You asked about blood tests regarding insulin resistance…

Here is information on such a blood test, from FxWellness.com (which allows you to order your own tests) :

About HOMA-IR SCORE

The homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) is a mathematical model that is used to quantify your levels of insulin resistance (IR). The HOMA-IR calculation takes both glucose and insulin levels into account. Under normal conditions, insulin signals cells to transport glucose from the blood into the cell. Chronically elevated blood glucose causes the pancreas to overproduce insulin leading to high blood levels of insulin. High insulin in the blood results when cells no longer respond to insulin in the same way; a state referred to as insulin resistance. HOMA-IR looks to quantify insulin resistance numerically. A higher HOMA-IR score means that you are more insulin resistant. Chronic insulin resistance may mean you have metabolic syndrome and may lead to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and possibly stroke.

[megan_g]

I don’t swear quite as much as you (and I’m Aussie), but I fucking loved your post! that’s all.
I’m in the camp of - you are metabolically healing, then the weight loss will come.
keto on! and keep us updated. then get the guys to have you on the podcast - can’t [spoiler]fucking[/spoiler] wait for that one!

[dlc96_darren]

then get the guys to have you on the podcast - can’t [spoiler]fucking[/spoiler] wait for that one!

Are you kidding? That would be just one big bleep sound!

“Hey Jackie, welcome to the show.”

“Thanks guys, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, keto, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep,bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, my weight, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep.”

[Eleonora_Fois]

Intermittent fasting should be a way out trying to delay eating any type of food and only drink black coffee or black tea, up to 3-5 days. This should block the plateau and you would loose weight but you need Gp support and drink electrolyte’ drinks with no sugar especially Potassium it is extremely important but also all the other electrolytes…good luck

[Michael_King]

Hi ClaraJTeixeira,
What does KCKO mean?
Thanks!
MK

[KetoLikeaLady]

GIRL, this is me, to a “T”. I have been doing keto for almost 2 years now and I have bobbed up and down the same 5lbs the whole time. You’ll find a slew of (probably less entertaining) posts all over this forum screaming about all your frustrations. The difference for me is - I feel the same now as I did pre-keto (in that I felt great before as well). There have been a couple improved factors but nothing life-changing.

I’ve already guided new ppl through this WOE and watched them lose weight with ease.

THIS, YES. I have started SO many people on keto and the weight melts off them like the bacon grease from a proper keto omelet. I am so happy for them, yet I also want to strangle them with their now too-loose belts. I just spent a week on vacation with some friends who I started on keto - they both decided to drop keto for the week and just eat ALL the carbs. They texted me last night that they both maintained their weight and dropped back into ketosis like nothing as soon as they got home. I am so [spoiler]FUCKING[/spoiler] happy for them…

I have thrifty genes, so any attempt to reduce calories results in my body converting everything it can into fat for the inevitable famine. I gain weight after fasting. I have yet to figure out how to flip that particular epigenetic switch.

Yes, this too. I fast and lose weight (barely) and then those pounds miraculously show back up with a few new friends a few days later. I fasted for 5 out of 7 days before vacation. I lost 5lbs, which are back with a vengeance after my vacation (even though I ate keto and worked out EVERY day, plus did ALL the physical activity all week long while my friends relaxed with cocktails and carbs by the pool).

I started at 224 on Jan 14 this year. I then bounced up and down the same 3 pounds until the end of Sept. In the 7 weeks between the end of Sept and today, I’ve lost 21 lbs. There’s no rhyme or reason; I think my body just finally got with the program (or my insulin levels finally dropped. Whatever).

This is encouraging.

3- Extended fasting: works, almost by definition. If you don’t eat for days - you WILL lose fat… Read the blog on idmprogram.com for guidance…

Except when it doesn’t.

@atomicspacebunny - your posts are always helpful, even though most of them are over my head. I also have the MTHFR gene, but I do take methylated B vitamins. I’ll have to look at all my food to see if I’m eating something that’s got too much folate/folic acid.

Speaking of which, to the guy who said he’d happily gain weight for the healing benefits of keto: You obviously haven’t carried around DD cup mams for the last 15 years until you’ve sustained nerve damage to your shoulders from the weight of them. I don’t want to resort to surgery. Everyone else loses weight this way, I should be able to, too!

GIRL, YES. I get so frustrated when people say this [spoiler]shit[/spoiler]. It’s like…congrats - you’re a better person than me and keto has been a magic pill for you. Well, guess what - it isn’t for everyone and it’s [spoiler]
fucking[/spoiler] frustrating.

Peter Attia talks about how a sizeable minority of his patients don’t respond well to keto. He specifically worries about lipid hyperresponders. But you also have people who just don’t lose fat on such diets. Don’t believe the dogma that this is necessarily right for everyone.

I’ve heard him mention this. I would really like to set up an appointment with him, TBH. I’m a hyper-responder as well. But…regular dieting didn’t work for me either, and at least now I get to eat bacon.

Lastly, @JackieBlue - if you haven’t, get your hormones tested. I got mine done and it turns out my body just isn’t producing progesterone or testosterone…like, barely at all. My doc put me on bio-identicals and I’m praying for a change in the near future here (been on them for 6 weeks).

I didn’t read all the posts, but let me know if you learned anything that you’re going to apply and keep me in the loop!

[Dipper_Actual]

drink lots of water (and still get up to pee 7 or 8 times a night! When does that hellish little perk stop?!)

Big point here that @SlowBurnMary and @AmandaJ brought up that I’d like to expand upon, if you’re hydrating this much, either cut back or get it all drunk a couple hours before bed. Sleep and de-stressing is rather important to burning fat too.

By waking up that often, or not getting continuous deep sleep, you are keeping your cortisol levels up and stressing your body. For the same reason that it’s well nigh impossible for a sugar burner to not gain weight when given oral steroids, provoking that stress hormone chronically will make it hard for you to lose.

[ctviggen]

Also, you can’t really say that a keto diet will not cause certain people to lose weight without knowing what those people ate.

Consider diet 1: eats lots of store-bought salad dressings; fat bombs; bullet-proof coffee; dairy; fake sugars.

Diet 2: meat and vegetables.

Both are “keto”, but the outcomes will likely differ.

[CarlKeller]

What does KCKO mean?

Keep Calm Keto On.

[Michael_King]

Thank you. I think I’ll use KCFO. Probably already been invented.

[Michael_King]

Or KCKFCO!
Keep Calm KFC On!

[Bondy]

I’m loving this post thread, I’m the same age and have similar frustrations (but without the house full of children and the irksome shrinking-easily husband).
Do you ever get time to just chill out for five minutes? Because reading your posts it just reminds me of times when I literally can not switch off, cannot take a few deep breaths and just reset my brain.
It’s the old fight/flight theory (and no - I’m not suggesting you need to learn yoga - I can’t fit that in either)
The old Sabre-toothed tiger conondrum of our very modern lives - where we’re so busy rushing about that we’re always in fight mode. So everything is on hold while we zoom about, with increased cortisol levels etc. On the very odd occasion I do get to yoga, I start to giggle when about 5 minutes in everyone’s stomachs start to gurgle (the instructor is in her 80s, it’s hatha style - although she can do anything, but as she’s generally wearing a leotard and fishnets I’m always torn between awe and ‘awkward’).
There’s also a secondary liver pathway theory, which is that our livers do the essential urgent functions (which is also part of the stress conundrum above) and don’t have time to break down the ‘old/out of balance’ hormones - so they just get stored for later like a hoarder into fat cells.
The only link between our sympathetic and parasympathetic systems is our diaphragms, which is why deep breathing is the simple solution (but I can’t picture you sitting in a ‘rebirthing’ room, under your pyramid, incense wafting around chanting positive mantras…) it’s just 2 minutes of focus on yourself, a few times a day.
Because you seem to be hot mess hormone-wise (but you have your shit together on every other level, big time - I’m in awe of your knowledge level) maybe this will resonate with you. I’m a fan of Libby Weaver for explanations of the hormone stuff (DrLibby.com) but prefer a clean eating keto plan (Libby is a nutritional biochemist - she does have books and supplements but I ignore them). Rushing Woman Syndrome is the book that might resonate with you - and no, I’m not thinking either of us is going to achieve Zen in our lifetimes - just giving yourself space to chill the fuck out for a few minutes a few times a day and breathe.
What can it hurt, it’s free (well, the breathing part anyway), and we can’t just cross our fingers and hope menopause is going to be brief…ooh, the breathing breaks are supposed to reduce the duration/intensify&occurrence of hot flushes…because your hormones haven’t exactly been friendly to you so far!
Anyhow, I’m doing the over the weekend fast - from Thursday dinner to Monday dinner. The first time my ketones were .4/.6 and it was 2.4 then higher, down 3kg at the end of fast period (had bone broth and coffee/tea with small amounts of cream). I’m trying to reduce my caffeine intake - but I fear for the safety of my colleagues and my patients/patience. But I figure that keep calm and keto on won’t happen until I can actually achieve calm…and I keep forgetting to fast for my blood tests because I NEED that first cup. Sigh.

[rippledmind]

Hi, I love your writing style…if it’s Keto you’re doing, aiming for, its gonna be good. I can only speak for me. I have ten years more experience…sunshine and f***ing rainbows…

I eat once a day, and that’s when I’m hungry. I don’t count anything, test anything. I only eat real food. Steak , fish , cheese, lamb chops, lambs liver, chicken … maybe too much cheese and I drink coffee, red wine sometimes. Ok so it’s a bit carnivore… for now… I don’t feel like anything else.

I am not losing weight, but not gaining. For me I only lose when I fast for three days through the week prior to steak night. I stopped the keto changing foods, almond meal, gluten free, fat head pizza… I just want to lose weight and learn what works… you eat more than I do… I also enjoy life, meditate and my only exercises are jumping to conclusions and running up bills…

[autbrat]

Hi JackieBlue, you have said you haven’t lost any weight, but did you measure yourself when you started? Have you lost any inches??? The thing about weight loss is that 1lb of muscle is a lot smaller than 1lb of fat. So as you replace fat with muscle that scale may not budge, or it could even go up and down like a yoyo. It sounds like keto IS working for you as you said

I feel better than I have in years. Arthritis inflammation improved, sleeping better, mental clarity, better mood, more energy and stamina, dreams like going to the movie theater every night.

Before and after photos are great too because if you don’t think you are doing anything and then you see a before and after, it gives you that “aha” moment!!! Please don’t give up on keto, you will get there!!!

[Lucrecia]

Thanks for a very informative (and entertaining!) read. Great thread with some wonderful thoughts expressed. Here are mine:

Iodine/thyroid issues - a simple thing like doing plain old iodised table salt has helped me a lot.
Adding a tiny amount of salt to every cup of water I drink has also helped - anything up to a 1/4 tsp sometimes, depending on thirst/heat/sweating levels. I too used to get up multiple times a night to pee. Now it’s once a night.

It took my body almost a year to fat adapt properly and then it STILL wouldn’t budge the excess weight.

Sweeteners are not your friend. In any shape, form or description.

Carbs are not your friends, including fibre. Have you considered just eating beef for awhile? Reason being, you’re talking mega bang for your buck with beef in terms of nutrients and building blocks for your body. Technically, there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, only amino acids and fatty acids.

Pretty much just eating ribeye might be the way for you to go… that way you are getting the protein you clearly need - all that baby bearing and feeding has taken a toll on your beautiful body.

Definitely be doing different things every day so your body doesn’t get a chance to predict what’s coming.

When fasting, put nothing but water into your body. Seriously. Anything else will trigger an insulinemic response. Even broth. And lemon is not a good idea either because carbs/sugar. All forms of sweetness are a bad idea because of this. (I well and truly fucked my body up by being strict keto for 3 years AND using stevia.)

Also that MTHFR business is definitely something to look into. Could be causing a host of issues for you. Eating fresh cooked beef (nothing from the deli), could really help you a lot. (Says the woman who was once a vegan!! Talk about dead fairies!)

Another reason for the beef suggestion: plants, as you know, contain lots of anti nutrients, might more bother than they are worth to eat them for the good stuff they do contain. There is nothing that can’t be gotten out of animals, that can only be found in plants.

And yes, your body is healing and that takes time. Men are lucky bastards and they just don’t seem to have the hormone issues that we have to contend with!

I’m in a rush, so pardon the scattered-ness of my response. (Also, do you get migraines at all?)

Hope something here helps you. What a precious gem you are JackieBlue!

[Dirk_Beszia]

Attia was taking about a gene mutation that makes saturated fat difficult and dangerous for the carriers of that genotype. In the podcast he puts them on mufas instead of sfas and they start responding. I am one of those people who can do keto with olive oil, avocado oil, fish, etc and feel sick and unwell when taking in coconut oil, heavy cream, fatty meats, bacon, cheese, etc.
It is the podcast with Rhonda Fitzpatrick.

[JulieH]

Try electrolytes. I’ve had episodes where I gained when I knew there was no way I should and drinking Powerade Zero started the loss again.

[Jackieone]

Your observations had me snickering, then laughing out loud! Me too! Have done everything correctly and just bounce around the same 3 pounds since June (5 months now) and it’s so annoying. Love your style! I haven’t given up, but I find it impossible to maintain my intensity anymore. I’ll let you know if anything changes next year…

[HeleneH]

I am sorry for your frustrations. But I would suggest your problems with your periods are not related to keto. When I was your age (almost 30 years ago), I had exactly those problems and I was eating healthy foods but a standard diet. My doc said it was “normal” pre menpause. It was horrible, but eventually went away. If your body is going through these hirmonal changes, it is probably affecting weight loss. But should stabilize before long. Good luck.

[JodyC]

I admit I skimmed through replies, so this may have been mentioned before, but Karen Mangiacotti (sorry if I mangled the spelling here) didn’t have any kind of love from the scales for a hella long while before things started shifting for her. If you’re generally feeling better then maybe your body is doing its thing to heal itself before losing the pounds.
Sorry - I don’t have any kinda practical advice or anything, but just wanted to throw some support and encouragement your way.