How I broke my 3.5 year stall

(Gabe “No Dogma, Only Science Please!” ) #42

UPDATE: Less than 2 months back on the strict keto wagon, and I’m down around 75kg, below where I was before the low carb lockdown “cheating” started. Blood tests happening this Friday, will update here for those who are interested when results come back.

image
image.png1414×712 49.6 KB

(Laurie) #43

Thank you for the update, @gabe.

(Robin) #44

Impressive! Anxious to hear your results too!

(Edith) #45

Great work! I’m glad you figured things out! I think it’s a good lesson for us all.

(Gabe “No Dogma, Only Science Please!” ) #46

UPDATE WITH BLOOD RESULTS:

My fat loss continues; I have added some dark choc, coffee, dairy, alcohol to give me some joy during the Omicron scare, but will probably remove those after New Year. Check out the graph, and remember, this fat loss is after a “stall” of several years on a lazy low carb diet:

image
image.png1896×1002 78.9 KB

So after 2 months on a strict ketogenic protocol, here’s some select bloods:
HbA1C: 4.6
CRP: 0.7
ESR: 3
Fasting insulin: 6mU/L
Fasting glucose: 4.4
Trigs: 0.8
HDL: 1.2
LDL: 3.4
Vitamin D: 205 nmol/L
GGT: 13
AST: 28
ALT: 50

I had hoped my fasting insulin would dip below 5, but it’s still an improvement over the 8-16 numbers of yore. I am also disappointed with the liver enzyme AST/ALT levels, though I did have a Christmas alcohol binge a couple of weeks prior to the test so that may be the culprit. There may also be another issue with my liver, which I will discuss with my doctor.

Overall, I think it’s quite clear that eating clean on a stringent ketogenic diet has been the reset I needed. I started on this journey in April, after nearly 5 years on LCHF with periods of ketogenic; I had about 2.5 months of strict keto, then the Delta lockdown I shifted to lazier LCHF (which you can see on the graph above!), and then back to keto for the last 2 months. The effects are obvious.

Again, to restate the core changes:

  • Eating 2x meals/day
  • No dairy
  • No coffee
  • No booze
  • No nuts
  • Only animal fats: suet, tallow – not even olive oil
  • Primarily: steak, chicken, fish, duck, and select veg like cauliflower and broccoli.

Frankly, I enjoy the more ascetic version of my diet that’s led to these changes. It will remain my baseline diet for the foreseeable future.

I hope this is helpful to people. I’ll continue to update you through the journey.

(Laurie) #47

Thank you, very informative. I lost 40 pounds, but have been stuck for a year. Now all need is the motivation or discipline (or something) to give up dairy.

#48

Thanks for this thread, some really great info. Could I ask, I’m sure this has been covered previously but I haven’t seen the answer - but what’s the issue with coffee?

I always understood coffee (taken black) was fine on keto, I drink a ton of it, but then I’ve really struggled with stalls myself. Thanks. :slight_smile:

Edit: I did some searching and answered my own question, coffee raises cortisol. I’m going to try and wean myself off it, try and drop to one cup a day and see if that helps.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #49

Coffee is the best thing on a ketogenic, because it enhances ketosis. It is the worst thing on a ketogenic diet because it interferes with ketosis. Or so I have learned from these forums.

What is the ingredient in coffee that raises cortisol? I assume that if you had meant it was the caffeine, you would have said so, and you would have advised staying away from tea and from soft drinks, as well. If it were the caffeine, we could all drink decaf coffee and tea, and avoid sodas with caffeine in them.

(Robin) #50

@Vampire @PaulL I think I have asked this before, only out of curiosity… cuz I drink coffee ALL THE TIME with heavy cream and stevia drops. But it’s decaf. So… is all the fuss about coffee really just about the caffeine?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #51

I don’t know. The word used is always “coffee,” never “caffeine.” And nobody ever mentions any other kind of caffeinated drink in this context, either. But whenever I ask what the ingredient in coffee is that is the problem, I get . . . crickets. :cricket::cricket:

(Robin) #52

Well, all I can say is DRAT!!!

(Gabe “No Dogma, Only Science Please!” ) #53

I have to say that once you’ve eaten “clean,” you kind of know when you’re not eating clean.

I’ve given myself a few weeks back on dairy, coffee, alcohol, nuts, dark choc, allulose, and such – and no real feeding window to speak of. After only a week and a half, it’s clear that one or more of these things is not agreeing with me. I think the only way to tell would be to independently spend 2 weeks on a super strict diet PLUS one of these variables, and see how it felt, but even that would be no guarantee of anything much.

If you ask me, I most suspect the dairy, and especially the cream in my coffee, as being particularly problematic.

Anyway, I’m very insulin resistant, and YMMV. All I can do is report my personal experience, and my body seems to like a very strict protocol.

(John) #54

Phew!! That’s good to hear. If you said alchohol I would have felt even more guilty than I already do!

Good luck with your progress.:beers:

(Matt) #55

I made notes, my stall I am strict on 20-24hr fast, no snacks. Before I was good on 18:6 with omad and slight snack but stalled again 268.5 from 380lbs. Physical excersize is crucial, I walk around malls in the cold winter, or ride bicycle and actually break a sweat.

Carb creep is real, I like to carb load every now and then but I feel sick so I dont do that anymore.

I made notes, milk and cheese maybe. I keep insulin down, and have enough protein to keep muscle.

-20C today I walked around and took the stairs instead of escalator.

(John) #56

:cold_face:Shame!! No wonder you need to keep moving!

Down to +32C here today.:slightly_smiling_face:

(Diana) #57

Question. Do you think it’s truly one of the items you noted, or is it that with the more relaxed environment/tastier food like dairy you end up consuming more calories? I’m curious if it’s just a result of calories or if the calories are the same but when you add these foods you tend to gain?

I find when I add dairy and nuts, I tend to overeat no matter how much I try and control it.

(Diana) #58

Peanut butter……literally why is this food such a trigger. I’m glad I’m not the only one.

(Christina Lopresti) #59

I have also lost 40 lbs and been stalled for a year. After re-listening to “Switching it up with Megan Ramos”, from Feb 2017….I’m going to try to increase my fats from just one meal a day to eating fats all day and then trying to fast for a day or two. I have not tasted yet but it is worth a try since nothing seems to be working for a while! They were talking about confusing your body from what it’s used to.