Keto Is This Easy

(Eve) #145

I need some advice please - after about 6-7 weeks l am still suffering mood swings which include irritability and depression, as well as calm and good mood. I have read that keto does help improve and stabilise mood in many people but there is also info stating that for some people the keto diet causes the mood swings due to effect of low carbs on the brain, and therefore suggest that carbs be added back. I am willing to carry on with the keto if there is a good possibility my mood will stabilise in due course. But do you have any experience of people for who the diet just doesn’t suit due to a permanent negative effect on mood? Any insights would be very very welcome

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #146

I’m afraid that this is not too well understood. A ketogenic diet is supposed to help depression, because it helps with the creation and re-uptake of serotonin, but not everyone finds that they can dispense with their anti-depressant on keto. A lot of other mental problems have been ascribed to insulin-resistance or other problems with glucose metabolism in the brain, and in those cases a ketogenic diet and possibly even exogenous ketones can help, because ketones are admitted to neurons by different receptors, so the neurons can still metabolise them, even if they are having trouble with glucose.

It is impossible to predict whether you will be helped by returning to a carb-rich diet, or by eliminating carbohydrate entirely and going carnivore. (One woman I know found that her medication-resistant bipolar disorder is helped only by strict abstinence from plant foods.) It is also possible that, regardless of your diet, you might be in need of medication. It all depends on what your problem is and what is causing it, and I am certainly not qualified to say. It might be that a visit to your physician is in order.

(Eve) #147

I appreciate your reply, thankyou. I will hang in there for longer yet and see what happens. Fingers crossed…

(Eve) #148

So, last night l broke my rules and had a very small late night snack of 2 keto linseed crackers and butter as l was hungry, and noticed that my ketone level was much lower this morning. Is this to be expected and if l eat too frequently will this kick me out of keto, even though carbs are very low?

(Eve) #149

When is the best time to test for ketones? I do it after breakfast in the morning. Is it better to wait until evening, in which case, how long after eating?

(Allie) #150

As I posted on your other comment asking the exact same thing…

(Jennifer M Worth) #151

This is TMI but sometimes I just skip checking my gki because I can smell the ketones in my urine​:face_with_hand_over_mouth::shushing_face: those strips are rather expensive but I do like seeing what grade of ketosis too. I check a couple times a week.

#153

Wow…Amazing Explanation i have ever find about Keto Diet. I am New member of this forum, i join just Today. And i found this post first. Which is good start :star_struck: Thanks for all this precious information :heart:

(Bob M) #154

I read the first post. I’m not sure why that’s “dirty” keto. It seems reasonable to me.

(KM) #155

:grin:. That was in 2019.

(Ahmed A ) #156

Is this a good Keto/Carnivore Diet plan for someone who hits the gym often?

Body weight = 80kg/176lbs
Height = 6’0/183cm
Body fat % = Around 16-20%
Exercise = 5-7 times a week at high-er intensity

I. Daily Breakfast:

  • 6 Eggs

II. Lunch (options):
a.Option 1:

  • 200g Rib Eye Steak
  • ½ Cup of Pecans
    b. Option 2:
  • 1 Salmon Fillet
  • 2 Avocados
    c. Option 3:
  • 225g Chicken Thighs
  • ¼ Cup of Olives
    d. Option 4:
  • 225g Chicken liver
  • ½ Cup of Sauerkraut
    e. Option 5:
  • 225g Chicken drumsticks
  • ½ Cup of Kimchi
    f. Option 6:
  • 225g Chicken hearts
  • ½ Cup of Sauerkraut
(Bob M) #157

Are those values separate? That is, you’re not eating 200g ribeye + 225g chicken thighs + 225g chicken liver…, and instead are only eating 200g ribeye?

(Ahmed A ) #158

Yes, I apologize for poorly structuring the text.

Option 1:

  • 200g Rib Eye Steak
  • ½ Cup of Pecans

Option 2:

  • 1 Salmon Fillet
  • 2 Avocados

Option 3:

  • 225g Chicken Thighs
  • ¼ Cup of Olives

Option 4:

  • 225g Chicken liver
  • ½ Cup of Sauerkraut

Option 5:

  • 225g Chicken drumsticks
  • ½ Cup of Kimchi

Option 6:

  • 225g Chicken hearts
  • ½ Cup of Sauerkraut
(KM) #159

Well, I just wanted to warn you about pecans, if you’re talking about shelled pecans, that is, about the carbs in nuts sneaking up on you. I looked it up just to get the numbers right, and this is what my phone told me:

AI Overview

According to carbmanager.com, a half cup of dry roasted, salted pecans contains 3.4 grams of total carbs and 1 gram of net carbs. A one cup serving of pecans contains 13.7 grams of total carbs and 4.2 grams of net carbs.

Gotta love AI. Approximately as good at proofreading as the average goat. No offense to goats. No way to even argue with it, this is the new math I guess. :roll_eyes:

I think they meant a quarter cup has 3.7 total carbs. 8 grams for a half cup isn’t bad, but they can sneak up on you.

(Ahmed A ) #160

If my net carbs for the day is below 50g (which in this plan it will always be) then I will not face any issues based on the research I have made

I also need to make sure those carbs have a low GL and low GI, which Pecans do

(Tracy) #161

Great info all thanks, I am just into week 9 and have had my biggest weight loss this week. First few weeks where more of a getting ready and I do have the odd carb when away but overall doing well. I haven’t had any symptoms of keto flu at all and transition it IF very easily. I accidentally fasted 25 hours last week because I was out and it didn’t suit to eat. My normal fasting is about 20 hours and I eat one proper meal and then perhaps a snack.

(KM) #162

Net carbs near 50 is unlikely to put you in ketosis. Your carb totals for the diet you suggest aren’t actually close to that, they’re in line with the suggested 20 carb limit, I’m just saying they can get sneaky, especially with nuts.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #163

Keeping carb intake under 50 g/day may or may not be a problem for you, depending on your degree of insulin-resistance. Highly insulin-resistant people need to restrict their glucose intake (i.e., carbs) to a much lower number; insulin-sensitive people can consume more carbohydrate without spiking their insulin. Serum insulin below the threshold results in ketogenesis, whereas when it is above the threshold, ketogenesis is inhibited and glucose gets stored in fat cells.

The insulin threshold is just under 25 μU/mL, and the key to keeping insulin below the threshold is to keep glucose/carbohydrate intake low.

As a matter of note, obesity is not a good indicator of insulin sensitivity or insensitivity. As of 2016 or 2017 in the U.S., there were actually more insulin-resistant thin people (called “TOFI” by doctors, “thin on the outside, fat on the inside”) than insulin-resistant fat people (about 20% of the obese are called “MHO”, “metabolically healthy obese”).

Nevertheless, if your liver enzymes are good, your inflammatory markers are low, and your HbA1C is good, then you are most likely insulin-sensitive, and a 50-g total carb intake will likely work for you.

(Bob M) #164

Paul, where did you get this info? Is this an overnight fasting value?

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #165

I got it from Gary Taubes, The Case for Keto, pp. 111-13. If memory serves, he is summarising R C. Bonadonna, L C. Groop, K. Zych, M. Shank, and R. A. DeFronzo, “Dose-dependent effect of insulin on plasma free fatty acid turnover and oxidation in humans,” American Journal of Physiology, vol. 259, no. 5, part 1 (November 1990)