Keto almost 2 months, no results

(Consensus is Politics) #15

Interesting. Obviously I didn’t know about this. I will have to follow up. Will post a correction if I can find anything. Feel free to pint me somewhere to expedite this :sunglasses:

(Consensus is Politics) #16

Unfortunately, BG meters are notoriously inaccurate for this. They are calibrated to be within 20%. That equates to two BG tests back to back. One can show 80 the next can show 120. Really, the only thing BG meters are good for is tracking long term trends. As in BG is rising trending up.

(Ron) #17
(Melissa Marie) #18

http://www.lifeextension.com/magazine/2011/1/the-beneficial-omega-6-fatty-acid/page-01

This seems to be a decent article with sources explaining GLA /omega 6

#19

I strongly disagree. Glucometers are accurate enough to provide actionable feedback on a daily basis. That’s why diabetics use them. Their life depends on them.

(Ron) #20

Not as accurate as you might think.
https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/why-meters-cant-tell-us-our-blood-sugar-levels#1

#21

All I am saying is that glucometers are accurate enough to provide actionable information. Millions of people rely on them everyday. A cheap $10 glucometer was instrumental in helping a certain perimenopausal woman lose 80 lbs in 9 months. That’s accurate enough in my book.

What the OP is doing isn’t working for her. I’m merely offering up an alternative.

(Ron) #22

Being T2d, I agree and they are a valuable tool to me. Having said that I also take them with the potential variable in mind and mostly use simply as up or down movement in BG resulting in what I eat. This could possibly help the OP in reducing foods that might raise insulin and how many times. If you are suggesting this as a possible means to adjust a diet I could possibly see a benefit but not sure how monitoring continuing BG readings results would have value in losing weight? Guess the question about you suggestion would be of it’s intent by the OP.
It’s what I love about this forum. So many different angles to any given situation that one might not think of themselves.:wink:

(Consensus is Politics) #23

I was dx with Type2 in August 2017. I’ve been using two meters to take readings. One of them (the pharmacy store brand) will have the largest swing between test strips from the same lot ( from the same test strip container).

Here’s why I say their innacuracy is very poor. A 20% swing in the low direction can lead me to believe I’m going hypoglycemic. An actual BG level of 75 can be measured as 60 or 90. If it measures as 60, then I’m probably going to take action to prevent hypoglycemic episode. Taking sugar when it isn’t necessary.

Another issue would be when I’m trying to track what causes my BG to spike. Is it this food or that food. I might eat some pepperoni after that reading of 60 and an hour later after eating the pepperoni I’ll show a BG reading of 90. Thus leading me to beleive that pepperoni just prevented a hypoglycemic episode. When I’m fact it did nothing at all.

So, mostly useless, but not “mostly harmless”.

(German Ketonian) #24

I think you’re wrong here:

Virgin olive oils. These are extracted from olives solely by mechanical means, without chemicals. “Extra-virgin” olive oil is the highest grade. Industry standards stipulate that extra-virgin olive oil must meet numerous chemical parameters and sensory standards. In a test by a trained taste panel using official protocols, an extra-virgin olive oil will have no defects of aroma or flavor, and some positive flavor of green and/or ripe olives. It is more expensive to produce because of the higher costs at each stage of production, from grove to bottle.

Olive oil simply labeled “virgin” has slight defects in aroma or flavor and has to meet lower chemical standards, so it is less expensive.

The words “cold-pressed” or “first cold press” on olive oil are archaic terminology from the era of actual olive presses; today almost all olive oil is extracted using a centrifuge. The terms are also redundant: All genuine extra-virgin olive oil comes from the first extraction, and no excessive heat is used. They still appear on some labels as a marketing ploy, but the terms are meaningless except under European Community law, which requires the use of a traditional press for such labeling.

Source:

According to this extra-virgin and virgin both are mechanically extracted only. No use of chemicals. And this logic accords the labels I can find in Germany at least…

(Consensus is Politics) #25

Interesting. My source is someone who usually keeps up on this sort of thing. Not saying he can’t be wrong, but I do trust him. He used to work for the EPA testing and inspecting emissions at factories and power plants.

I’ll dig a little deeper if for no other reason to know the truth. Thanks for pointing that out.

I did know about the terminology coming from the archaic methods that were involved in extracting olive oil. Extra Virgin being the first pressed, Virgin the second, and then anything after that just called olive oil. I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be cheaper for olive oil companies to “rinse” after the first pressing with hexane to extract the oil much faster. But I’m pessimistic that way.

Thanks!

(German Ketonian) #26

I hear you! I definitely can empathize with your worry, especially since we in the keto community know about the horrific effects of chemically or thermically processed oils. I rarely encounter plain “virgin” olive oil, anyway. Most is “extra virgin” or an “oil mixture” (chemically treated olive oil mixed in with sunflower oil or some other abomination).

(German Ketonian) #27

Price is a good indicator, too! Extra virgin olive oil of the cheapest kind (no particular brand) is available for roughly 40 cents (€) per 100ml. Below that threshold, it’s pretty safe to say, it’s crap.

(Omar) #28

I received not the best news about my business.

My fasting blood glucose went from 90 to 110.

But then I realized that the increase coincided with device change (Another city another house and another device)

To this moment I am not sure if it is a real increase or accuracy issue due to using different device.

I have to check using both devices simeltaniously.

#29

I am not a diabetic, so I am not making life or death decisions. For however inaccurate glucometers may be, its been instrumental in helping guide my dietary and exercise choices. Here are some examples, each with the info provided by glucometer and the action taken as a result:

Biggest Example:
In folks with healthy metabolisms, BG will rise after a meal and return to basal levels within 3 hours. People who have insulin resistance have elevated BG many hours later. My “decay rate” is 15-20 mg/dL per 12-18 hour period. By comparison, my dad’s rate is triple that. So if I eat dinner that spikes my BG to 120, it will still be 100 in the morning. My dad’s BG will be back down to his fasting level. If I exercise, my decay rate will double. I eat/fast such that I keep my morning BG under 85 most of the time.

Smaller examples:

  1. Some folks are sensitive to artificial sweeteners, while others are not. I’ve used my glucometer to determine if artificial sweeteners trigger an insulin response in me. They don’t. I use stevia when possible, but don’t avoid the more readily encountered, sucralose.

  2. Some protein sources are more insulinogenic than others. Beef spikes my BG more than chicken. Fish spikes my BG the least. Seafood has always been my favorite, now I have a justification for spending the extra money. I also eat canned sardines and anchovies at least once a week.

  3. Eating raw foods doesn’t increase my BG much. I can eat a ton of sushi or huge salads. Ditto with eating cooked veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. To keep hunger at bay, at times I’ve literally eaten 16 oz bags in one sitting.

  4. Though I’m not lactose intolerant (to my knowledge), diary products cause large increases in my BG. I now try to avoid dairy, and use coconut cream/milk as a substitute. I now longer use butter, only ghee.

I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point. I don’t measure food or count macros, the glucometer eliminates the guesswork. It allows me to quickly and efficiently figure out what works for my body. YMMV.

(Lynnea ) #30

Thank you everyone for the detailed responses.

I’ve tried increasing my meat in take and dropped the amount of omega 6s. Ive also cut back (not fully) on my bad drinks and mainly focused on water.

However, I’ve now noticed a major change in my mood. I am incredibly energetic throughout the day then I crash by about 5 or 6 PM. And I crash hard. I get these bad migraines and am incredibly irritable. Its causing a lot of arguments between me and people who are close to me. Do you think it’s related?

(Donna ) #31

Yay! It sounds like keto flu. This means it’s working!

Have a fried egg with butter and salt (the salt really helps) when you are crashing and then go to bed early this week and rest as much as possible. Keto flu will pass and then you’ll be sailing.

(Ron) #32

This can be electrolyte imbalance contributing to it. This will help that.

(Terence Dean) #33

Definitely. It affects everyone differently but we recognize the symptoms, as @PugsDigMusic Donna says its keto flu.

I had one day of it when I woke up with a dull headache and it got progressively worse, by the evening it was getting unbearable so I ate a small bar of Dairy milk chocolate, the headache was gone within minutes but I continued on the next day and broke my carb/sugar addiction fairly quick after that. Your body is just having a tantrum because you are restricting its main source of energy, carbs/sugar.

I went cold turkey and dropped all the main carbs in: bread, pasta, wheat-related products, potatoes, rice as well as sugar from the start. My body didn’t like that but I soon beat it into to submission by eating bacon and eggs, Give your body as much fat as you can tolerate, and then give it some more.

(Taleisha Collins) #34

I had this happen the first few days. I found that drinking electrolyte water helped heaps!