Hi!

(Bacon4Lyf) #1

Semi-obligatory intro post here, as dictated by the dynamic and unwritten rules of the interwebs. :wave:

[SWF, 45, Oregon, {embarrassing weight here}]

Is that how that goes? :rofl:

So, I’ve been keto since June 20. 3 weeks today. I should mention this is actually my second time on keto - the first time around I misunderstood some things and didn’t get it quite right. I ended up giving up, as is my typical fashion in the diet arena. Since I couldn’t seem to make up my mind on which ‘diet’ was ‘right’ for me, I did several different ones and completely messed up my metabolism.

I happened to find the dudes podcast recently, after a particularly strong bout of depression. I’m talking about wailing out loud and sobbing in my car so hard I had to pull over :angry::unamused: I started at episode 1 and was hooked! I haven’t caught up to the latest one yet but it won’t be long. I really love the science and I feel like I almost know the dudes and some of the regular guests :laughing: If not for them I wouldn’t have discovered I was doing it all wrong and would still be miserable.

Some day I’ll tell my story, but for now I just want to say that I’m very thankful to have found the dudes, the podcast and the forums. I’m trying to pay it forward, too. I’ve gotten a co-worker onto keto and we’re going to start having meetings because she really needs support (she doesn’t get ANY support at home; in fact it’s downright horrible imo). I guess I’m starting a keto support group! There’s already someone else interested. I’m excited but nervous because I don’t want to steer anyone wrong. However, I also know exactly where I can go to find the info I need :wink:

I’m not fat-adapted yet, and am barely seeing results, but I’m happy to be here and look forward to chiming in now and then. I am a little discouraged but I know that it just takes time, and eventually I’ll be a success story too. This is a life change. No “I’m a size 48, help me fit into a size 2 in 4 days so I can show off at the reunion and then face-plant into a cake when it’s over” here. I’m here for support, science, facts and accountability. And, of course, all the :bacon::bacon::bacon::drooling_face:

KCKO! :purple_heart:

(Ben Swanson) #2

Welcome and you’ve absolutely got this, this time around! This way of eating is incredible. It’s done so much for me in my life. I’m trying to pay it forward as well!

I’ve got my old roommate and my parents interested in it as well! Continue to inspire and KCKO!

(Katie the Quiche Scoffing Stick Ninja ) #3

Haha, I love your style of writing, you made me laugh a few times.
This is my second attempt too, I’m on week 10.
Good on you for giving it another go and sharing the keto love with a co-worker.
I haven’t gotten around to the dudes podcast but I’ll be starting that this week.
There are so many knowledgeable, influential and down right awesome people on this forum.
If you ever get stuck, want to cheat, feel crap, come back here and we will remind you how well you are doing.

#4

I originally started my journey into this light for weight loss; but the deeper you go the more you realise that’s just one of the benefits/side effects, and if you’re wanting this to be a life time change then there’s no need to put major pressure on yourself this early on for ‘results’.

I’m still learning, probably making mistakes and unintentionally misunderstanding or misinformed on some things, but another thing to remember is that there are clearly common agreement on some aspects of the ‘diet’ but so far as I’m aware there is no hard fast cemented rules that everyone must follow (this is not a cult; and what works for one person may not work for another).

My baseline is ditching refined carbs; this is the very foundation for me. All the other ‘Keto’ techniques are something that I aim for and wish to achieve but there is always going to be a degree of experimentation and variation I believe how you wish to adapt and implement them, and no doubt those variables that you incorporate will change regularly over your life time.

Welcome to the revolution!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

Welcome to the forums, and thanks for sharing some of your story!

It’s good that you realize that a ketogenic diet is more a way of eating that a crash weight-reduction scheme. The primary benefit of this way of eating (which people often abbrviate WOE, which I consider unfortunate, since keto has been far more a source of joy to me than of woe) is metabolic health, part of which is the metabolism of excess fat stores. But think of it not so much as a weight-loss diet as a weight-normalization program.

Women in particular, partly because of the hormonal changes involved, often do not have rapid, spectacular weight loss. Often there needs to be some metabolic healing and hormonal regulation before the fat starts to be burned, and another factor is that women who have consistently restricted their caloric intake for some time often find that their body puts on lean muscle mass, which confounds the scale reading. Furthermore, although one generally becomes ketotic quite quickly, it generally takes the body six to eight weeks (or longer) to become fat-adapted, which is the point of the exercise, so this is a long-term process.

The underlying science involves the body’s reaction to the macronutrients we eat. Carbohydrate in the quantity recommended by the current U.S. dietary guidelines stimulates excessive insulin production, and insulin is the chief fat-storage hormone of the body. As the body becomes more insulin resistant, insulin levels rise and interfere with the hormonal signaling that is supposed to tell the brain that we don’t need to eat for a while, so we feel constantly hungry. So keeping carbohydrate intake at a minimum (we recommend under 20 g/day) keeps insulin secretion at a minimum, which allows the metabolic healing and fat metabolism I mentioned earlier.

In particular, it is important to avoid sugar in all its forms, particularly high-fructose corn syrup. The sucrose molecule is a glucose molecule bonded to a fructose molecule. When these are cleaved in the stomach, the glucose enters the bloodstream and triggers the secretion of insulin. The fructose travels to the liver to be metabolized. Sugar in quantity (say if you drink a couple of cans of soda), stimulates heavy insulin secretion and overwhelms the liver’s ability to metabolize all that fructose. And all this leads to liver disease, diabetes, obesity and many other metabolic diseases.

Protein stimulates insulin secretion at about half the rate at which carbohydrate does. We need to have some protein in order to live, but the idea of a well-formulated ketogenic diet is to keep protein moderate. Excessive protein will stimulate insulin, and really too much protein can even be toxic, so don’t overdo protein (the exact amount we need is not a settled matter; you will see many different recommendations on these forums).

Fat is our friend. Of the three macronutrients, it stimulates insulin secretion the least and so is the safest source of calories. It may seem ironic to eat fat in order to burn fat, but if you keep your carbs low and your protein moderate, eating fat to satiety will give your body the energy it needs to heal, while encouraging it to burn off any extra fat it has been storing.

Good luck, and keep us updated on how you are doing. :bacon::bacon:

(Aimee Moisa) #6

Hey @AprilS , stop reading my diary and posting it all over the internet for everyone to see! :slight_smile:

Welcome to our club, I’m right here with you. I started keto on 5/20 and am doing this forever. I’m about the same age as you and also of an embarrassingly high weight, so if you’re interested in chatting a bit to share our ups and downs I’d welcome the company on this “voyage of discovery” through the inner cosmos of our eating selves.

(Bacon4Lyf) #7

Thank you! I appreciate the encouragement. I am so happy that it’s working for you and you’re able to spread the love!

(Bacon4Lyf) #8

Oh thank you, haha. Glad you liked it :smiley: We can totally do this! The podcast is freaking awesome and the dudes are so funny. I’m sure I’ll need a kick in the pants at least once. I’d be honored to receive it from this great community.

(Bacon4Lyf) #9

Thanks Andy :slight_smile:

I totally put pressure on myself but I’m trying really, really hard not to do that, because I know better! haha
I enjoy experimenting. I started out strict, with no sweeteners. I tried a diet pepsi yesterday after making sure it wasn’t affecting my blood sugar. I became a horrible raging bitch! Now I know that Aspartame is not the sweetener for me :rofl:

Viva la revolución!

(Bacon4Lyf) #10

Thanks Paul! I appreciate the tips and reminders. I’ve got a nice routine going and I haven’t had carb cravings since around my 2nd week. I am very happy about that.

I watched my dad die from kidney and liver failure a little over a year ago, from 20 years of complications from diabetes. He was on dialysis at the end, and weighed 90 lbs when he died, down from 200 lbs a little more than a year prior. He couldn’t even walk.because he was so weak. He was visiting his doctor and his heart just stopped while he was sitting in the waiting room.

I have known for a long time that I’m headed down that road myself. But, like so many people I’ve read about in the keto community, I trusted my doctor and did what I was told. The amount of anger I feel over that, and over my dad’s death is enormous. I originally thought “yay! weight loss!” but my experience with my dad made me realize that I was just fooling myself again. I am now well aware that if I continue eating the way I was before then I am literally killing myself. It’s one thing to be in ignorant bliss (I was!) and quite another to be aware of the choices you have and continuing to make the bad ones.

I have been soaking in all the information I can get for the last several weeks. Being a female with a messed up metabolism is annoying, but it’s par for the course. Waiting weeks or months for visual clues that I’m getting healthier is a small price to pay in the long run. My mother is currently being tested for early onset Alzheimer’s. My whole family is unhealthy and it breaks my heart. I feel responsible, even though I know I’m not. I just didn’t know. None of us did. I hope to help them see the light and make some better changes for themselves.

(Bacon4Lyf) #11

Ha! sorry :rofl: I’d love some company! Doing it alone is hard. Support is where it’s at. My Voyager is pretty sluggish, though. It’s trying to get through all the fat in my cosmos, like a barge moving through frozen water in Antarctica.