I guess I haven't been as keto as I thought

(Scott) #1

Someone posted that sausage has carbs but I alway thought not. I looked and sure enough the add corn syrup to the meat for 2g. That got me thinking and I started really looking for the sneaky carbs. When I started running I liked to chew sugar free gum and also to suppress hunger. Aslo combat coffee breath. So I looked and 1g of alcohol sugar per piece. I am guessing I eat at least 10 pieces a day. This alone is 12g carbs that I never accounted for. I skipped the gum this morning and will go over the sausage and bacon labels next time I go to the store. I guess I just need to check the labels that I thought were safe.

(Polly) #2

Have you been losing weight successfully? It may be that your carb tolerance is also higher than you thought. It is also good to be able to spend your carbs on more nutritious food though!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

I don’t think you need to count carbs from xylitol or other indigestible sugar alcohols, but they do cause an insulin spike that could work against you, especially if you’re chewing it through out the day. :cowboy_hat_face:

#4

Just what I was going to ask. :slight_smile:

(Scott) #5

I have been losing weight but as I have gotten closer to my goal weight I am having trouble reducing the last bit of belly fat. I have been running 30 miles a week and doing weight machines three days a week for almost two months now just to see what happens. Between veggies, wine and an occasional beer I probably stay in the 40g to 70g but hadn’t thought about the sugar free gum. I may stop the gum and see how it affects me. I am never sure if I am keto or LC/HF but either way I enjoy this WOE.

(Jane Srygley) #6

I just found a study to back this up! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17510492

(Full Metal KETO AF) #7

@AuntJane there are lots of articles and charts.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/artificial-sweeteners-blood-sugar-insulin

insulin

Best if you want to use them do it when eating so the insulin spike has something real to deal with. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Jane Srygley) #8

Yeah I think I’m better off just cutting that :face_with_symbols_over_mouth: out… :sob::sob::sob:

(Mark Rhodes) #9

I need a nickel for every person, including myself, who has ever said that.

(Scott) #10

I am going to cut the gum out and see what happens. I don’t have significant insulin resistance as far as I know but obviously the longer I keep it low the more fat is available to burn.

#11

I tolerate sweeteners pretty well and don’t eat many things with them in, but when I’m fasting I try to avoid them like in iced tea or something. They don’t effect everyone this way and one sweetener might effect you, while another one doesn’t. People can always try different types and test whether it effects their insulin.

(Scott) #12

Well I am on day four of no sugarfree gum. Even though I had a few IPAs over the weekend I am down slightly in weight of maybe a pound. I will keep watch and report back later this week my results of going from 10+ sticks of Trident sugar free gum to zero sticks.

(Scott) #13

Okay it has been 9 days of no sugar free 1g crab gum. Two things I have noticed

  1. I am “tasting” ketosis much more now and my wife is complaining about my breath.
  2. I hit a new low on the scale even after eating a big meal.
    I think I am going to go gum free for a month to see what happens.
(JJ) #14

I am going sweetener free for a month also.

Sounds like you have had some success, well other than your wife complaining about your breath :wink:

(Jennibc) #15

For better or for worse - that’s the vow right? So she can deal with worse for now, because that’s easier than dealing with the in sickness part.

(Jane Srygley) #16

OMG yeah this is me! Trident and then I was doing Spry because it’s all Xylitol so I felt like that was better… but now I’m trying for zero sweet stuff except maybe a little stevia in tea once a day and that is extremely difficult! I bought flossers to use in my office when I want gum. It’s definitely an anxiety issue with me.

(Scott) #17

I got into the habit because it solved my dry mouth when running. Definitely feel I am in a better state of ketosis since stopping.

(Scott) #18

At three weeks of no sugar free gum there is no doubt that I am doing much better on my degree of ketosis. In the beginning I tasted ketosis alot but for many months not at all. Starting the day I quit sugar free gum I started tasting ketosis again. I was also starting to see my weight drop but I kind of screwed that up on a beach vacation. I did good on my food carbs but man I hit the craft beer hard. My future son in law is a brewer and brought 6 growlers and a keg to the beach house. My daughter also bought me some Dog Fish Head low carb IPA for fathers day. It was much better than the light beer I have had to switch to. Anyway the pounds are coming back off slowly so I may be able to get back to my no gum experiment in the weight loss department. I just never dreamed that sugar free gum could influence my level of ketosis so much. FYI my taste of ketones is the only measuring device I use.

#19

If you search on Amazon for Falim, it is a Turkish chewing gum that is unsweetened.

(Susan) #20

I just googled for that gum; it is VERY expensive!

SugarfreeGum
SugarfreeGum.PNG816Ă—473 234 KB

I bought the PUR one from Amazon when I started Keto, in the chocolate-mint flavour, but since I have decided to not use artificial sweeteners for now, I didn’t end up chewing much of it…will probably end up giving it to my hubby and/or kids now =).