Just started! :)

(Damon Morris) #1

Hello everyone,

I just got started with keto 2 days ago (today is day three).

I’m 42, SW175, with no goal weight. I’d like to drop a little bit of body fat, but I’m really trying to gain back my youth…ha. I am interested in the energy boost, mental clarity, decrease in inflamation, and maybe even a little respite from the stupid eczema i get on my legs all the time which requires steroid creams and blah blah blah.

So far, I’ve tried to set myself up with a ratio of 5%carb, 25%protein, and 70% fat.

I’d like to get the fat up to about 80%, but I’ve heard that in the beginning, a little additional protein while my body is adapting is a good thing.

One thing I’d like to throw out there is that about 12 days after i start, i’m shooting to climb a 6,000 ft mtn, which is about 16 miles rt…so potentially a 10 hour hike. I’m a little nervous that i won’t be up to it, but hoping to find some strategies to get me there. I thought a keto brick might be the answer, but alas…he’s all out of stock!

One other thing: I’ve been an adamant IPA drinker…usually 3 or 4 a day to end the day, which is 45-60 carbs alone. I’ve cut that out, but I’ve still been having a 25 oz Michelob Ultra at the end of the day, which is 5g carb…not sure if having some alcohol at the end of the day will be detrimental to this whole affair. :-/

Anyway, great to be here…so far, so good!

Damon

(Terri) #2

Welcome, Damon! Sounds like you’ve done your research and have some plans. I would encourage you to not get too caught up on being rigid with macros (unless this is necessary for you) and learn to know what your body needs. If I were going to tackle that hike this early in my journey, I would focus on being well hydrated, eating a solid meal before the hike, and taking a pseudo meal of some meat sticks and nuts (both with best quality ingredients I can find and afford). I have even been know to put some unsweetened cranberries in with nut/seed mixture for some lower carb trail mix than most prepackaged ones available.

Good luck on your journey and your hike!

(Michelle) #3

I second the recommendation to bring meat/nuts on the hike. Day 12 you are still in the “keto flu” window BUT exercise will help to use up that bit of glycogen left so you will likely skate past the keto flu. Stay hydrated for sure, and I’d suggest you bring a bit of salt as well as water on your hike.

(Damon Morris) #4

Thank you both for the replies!

Yes, I travel for work from NJ to AK once a month, and just don’t have the opportunity to wait for this hike. It’s my ‘white whale’. I made it about 75% of the way with some friends a while back, but they have a pre-teen daughter, and it just started getting a little dicey, so we turned back.

I feel like if I don’t go for it, I might not have the opportunity to do it again.

(Jane) #5

I started keto to lose weight and get healthy and my skinny husband (who is retired and does all the cooking) supported me by switching all our meals to keto even though he LOVES bread.

He thought it was “temporary” and I was on a “diet”. Sweet man. He didn’t need to lose any weight… but he discovered after being keto for a few months that his joints quit aching, his brain fog lifted and his allergies (inflammation) was much improved. The vise-like headaches were gone.

I was worried about how I was going to convince him this was a lifestyle change, not a diet. But he feels so much better he won’t go back. whew

As for eczema… I bet you see noticeable improvement over time. If not, try fasting for autophagy. When I did that I had brown age spots literally peeling off with pink new skin underneath and they haven’t returned.

(Jane) #6

I should add that I forgot you were a newbie. I don’t recommend fasting the first 3 months until you know you are fat-adapted.

But it is another tool in your toolbox of health tricks to improve your life.

(Damon Morris) #7

Thanks! I actually fasted to start things off.

I pre-gamed a few days in advance by just kind of watching my carbs…switching to low carb beer from IPA, skipping the bread/rice/whatever.

Then the day before I started I went to a brunch buffet for a party and ate nothing but steak, crab legs, and butter, finished by 11am and didn’t eat again until about 9am the first day of my diet.

The hardest thing I’ve been experiencing so far is getting enough of what I need. I’ve been falling short of all my macros and having to just power through. And getting more fat than protein is a bit tricky, too!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #8

Well, I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, but many (not all), many of us experience high levels of fatigue during the adaptation phase. Keeping electrolytes up helps, but not completely. When you stop giving your body carbs, it will begin making ketones pretty fast. However it takes a while to train your body to use these ketones as their primary fuel source. This is called fat adaptation and typically takes 6-8 weeks. So in the meantime, you may experience some pretty severe fatigue and feel lathargic. It’s best to take it a bit easy on exercise during his phase.

I was running 4 miles regularly when I started Keto. By week 2 I could barely manage to do a fast walk for 2 miles. It took me 4 weeks to be able to start to ramp my exercise back up. On week 5 I did a 5k and it was miserable.

The good news is it’s temporary. By week 9 I completed a 10k with ease and currently I’m 15 weeks in working on a half marathon. I just did 11.6 miles this morning. And the training is going much better than the last time I did a half without Keto.

Good luck.

(Damon Morris) #9

Welp…I’m sure everyone was waiting with baited breathe to hear what happened. It did not go well.

I made it about 3000 feet in elevation over the course of about 2.5 hrs and…well, i threw up, laid down on the mountain and ended up just taking a 30 minute nap and turning around.

HA!

That mountain is my white whale.

Damon