Hormones & Getting into ketosis

newbies
(Jodie Sinclair) #1

Hi all. I was wondering if there are any seasoned ketoers who may have some advice on my query?

I have been on the keto WOL for 9 weeks now, sticking to my macros (25g Carbs, 95g Protein, 113g Fat) on the majority of days, with a smattering of days well under 25g carbs. I test my blood everyday (just so that I can get a good understanding of my body) and the highest reading I have is 1.3 and the lowest 0.1. The higher readings were early on (weeks 2-4) with a marked drop over the past 3 weeks. Today it was 0.2. Baffled as to why, my food was spot on yesterday.

I have been very, very careful to stick to 25g carbs, and most days am well under this. I also fast 16:8 every day, with the exception of a coffee in the morning (can’t seem to shake this habit) with 80ml heavy cream.

I started at 103kg and am currently 99.2kg. I know the weight is going to come off slowly, and am ok with that. I feel SO much better, alert, energetic etc.

However, I am stumped at why my ketone reading is so low. I have not cheated on anything with sugar, have not had anything with sugar in months. The only sweet thing I have, about twice a week, is a fat bomb with a little Xylitol in it. No bread, pasta, flour, rice - I have been very strict with this.

I am 53, and also recently started on HRT (Oestrogen only), applied as a gel daily. Could this be keeping me out of ketosis and making me hold onto the weight? If so, does anyone have any experience with how long this may take to settle down?

I drink about 2-3 litres of water a day. Take meds for high blood pressure. I am not very active during the week, but work hard on our farm on the weekends (lifting, digging, walking etc).

I am hoping someone is able to offer some insights. TIA.

(Allie) #2

Protein could be too high, it would be for me and I lift weights several times a week. Most women only need around 50 - 75g max.

(VLC.MD) #3

What are the 25 carbs ?

(Mark Rhodes) #4

It is not all about the carbs, not exactly. We eat low carb to prevent insulin spikes. Many of us fast to better manage when during the day we want to have a spike so as to better control how our bodies might access stored fat.
The levels of protein seem very high. My lean body mass (LBM) is 72 kg. My total weight is 90kg so even if I was doing 1 g per every kg of weight the maximum I should start with is 90g of protein the rest in fat. If you try to use 1 g per LBM the total protein is much lower to start with. one reason for this is if you are over consuming protein there is a possibility that you are converting it to sugars via a process known as gluconeogenesis. At 9 weeks your body is adapting to your food choices.

In all honesty, I do eat more protein but I am very active and attempting to add LBM. I did try to lower my protein up front and did so for 21 days or so but always felt hungry even with butter on my bacon, lol. So I upped my protein. But I wouldn’t know to do this if I hadn’t first tried to get my protein in line with others experience.

Hope you find YOUR answer. Congratulations on 9 weeks.

(Jason Fletcher) #5

Dont worry your macros look good and you are moving in the right direction.

(Jodie Sinclair) #6

Thanks so much for all your considered replies.

Bad day today, I really must learn not to step on the scales! A gain of 100g was enough to send me off into a tailspin. At my age, you would think I know better…

So blood reading this morning was 0.1mmL. So low as to almost be out of ketosis. Have no idea why. I had my normal salad (lettuce, cucumber, olives, capsicum, red onion, feta) for lunch, a small mince patty/meatball (we call them rissoles in OZ), olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing (2 tablespoons) and 2 slices of haloumi. It took up a small breakfast bowl.

Dinner was a small bowl of crackslaw made from pork mince and some bacon, cabbage, onion and zucchini. Then about 6 macadamia nuts.

I make all the food from scratch. No use of sugar or sweeteners, flour, etc.

I also had 3 x coffee with HWC during the day, totaling 120ml of cream. I am wondering if this is to blame? But I have been having this since day 1 and have been up to 1.3 in ketosis.

Had a bit of a rant to hubby that I was the same weight when I was eating chips and bread and chocolate. Not sure where to go from here other than to just carry on and see what happens down the track.

I may try and see my Dr again and get her to refer me to a dietitian.

Any other suggestions? Thank you so much for being here :slight_smile:

(Jodie Sinclair) #7

VLC.MD - the carbs are in the form of HWC, haloumi cheese, salad vegies, mince meat,

(Allie) #8

Onion can be an issue too. What are you using to track your macros?

Scale aside… how do you feel in yourself?

(Jodie Sinclair) #9

Hi Allie
I track using My Keto or Samsung Health. Plus I am old fashioned and write things down in my notebook :slight_smile:

I feel better, energywise, but I don’t feel any slimmer (because I am not - haha) and the lack of progress has triggered anxiety.(as it usually does when I ‘diet’)

But I have committed to this eating lifestyle, regardless of the outcome, I do feel this is a better way of eating, healthier and sustainable. So I am not quitting, just trying to understand why my body seems to want to stay out of ketosis and hang onto the fat!

Thanks for your response.

(Allie) #10

Hey Jodie :slight_smile:
As important as the weight loss is to you right now, stay focused on the way you feel for the moment as enjoy that good feeling rather than allowing yourself to stress over the scale (this is where your anxiety comes in I know). Sometimes the body needs a bit of time to heal and rebalance before it really kicks in to fat burning mode, especially with us women as our hormones are up and down throughout the month, but it really sounds like you’re headed the right way <3

(Jason Fletcher) #11
(Harry) #12

Try supplement Lysine and Lucine. It did the trick for me in 2 days. I took 2 tablespoon of Lucine 90 minutes after eating dinner. I was unable to get into Ketosis for 3 weeks before taking this supplement.

(Colin) #13

I’ve recently started testosterone therapy. And within a month I put on 14 pounds plus without really changing what I eat. I’m no doctor but I think that hormones has a massive influence on regulating the working of our body.