The protein shakes are ok as part of your diet to make sure your getting enough protein. Like I said you’ve been keto long enough to have completely fat adapted and a result is that your blood level will drop. You work out and are relatively lean correct? If somthem you just need to readjust your macros. Cut fat and carb grams looking for 200ish cals to cut a day. Don’t lower protien.
Ketone blood levels advice?
Gail
(Gail Dawson )
#22
I haven’t been able to go below about 25-30 net carbs per day, but I seem to always be in ketosis when I test ketones with blood test. I was surprised to see my ketones at . 5 this morning even though I had 90 grams net carbs yesterday! I do, however, limit protein, because protein can be turned into glucose by a process called gluconeogenesis. I also make sure to get over 60% fats and log food and activity into my Cronometer app religiously. I also use MCT oil which turns into ketones directly from your liver. That is my understanding. Also I follow the Plant Paradox diet, and eat mostly leafy green vegetables, fat with my protein. Hope this helps a little. I have lost 20 lbs. in the past year, and still losing despite the fact that I am down to 120, and not really looking to lose much more.
Navigator
(Tony Phillips)
#23
Most of the stuff in that is for preservative. Just get some pure cocoa powder add some water and ice in a blender. I bet it tastes the same. Probably a whole lot cheaper also.
RedThain
#24
Yes GNG turns protein into glucose. But this is a demand based system not a supply based system. So your body just makes the exact amount of glucose it needs from protein. Too much protein isn’t a concern for 99.99% of people. Plzs make sure to hit your protein goal everyday. Protein is way a understated need in the keto community. Going over isn’t a concern. Also as we age we need more protein as the body starts to become inefficient at processing it. Hence why old people become weak and brittle.
Janie
(Jane)
#25
How much more than 20? Are you sure? Being a keto vet you may think ”I got this” and know how many carbs you are eating and don’t need to track… But you may be eating more than you think.
Wouldn’t hurt to track for a couple of weeks just to be sure. It also gives you something to post here for advice from others who have dealt with the same issue.
I agree on the advice to lose the drinks. Make some sweet fat bombs if you need a bit of sweet to get you by. Or mix some cocoa powder with Swerve into some HWC and froth it with one of those $10 battery mini-whisks. Half of your carb allotment for the day from 2 drinks is a lot!
Gail
(Gail Dawson )
#26
Thanks, Red. I am following Dr. Steven Gundry’s advice about protein consumption amounts in his book , The Plant Paradox. He recommends only .37 grams of protein per day per kg. of weight— for me only 20 grams per day, however I feel the need for more - between about 30-60 per day. If I weigh 120 lbs. how much would you recommend?
Gail
(Gail Dawson )
#28
Dr. Gundry states that higher levels of protein are associated with higher glucose levels, obesity, and shorter lifespan. I do have a problem with high glucose levels, but not obesity, and hoping not to shorten my life. I also am APOE4 so I have to limit saturated fat from dairy and animal protein. There are days when I pig out on shrimp or something like that , and go to 76 grams and beyond…I am not a believer in food deprivation, although I also do IF and my appetite isn’t as big as it used to be.
RedThain
#29
I’m a big believer in more protein is better. We need more as we age since the body becomes less efficient at processing it and needs more. This is why many older people become frail and weak because they don’t get enough protein. I’ll look into the stuff you mentioned in your post and see. But sounds ridiculous low from what I’ve read. For me I’d say unless you have a medical condition I go with at least .8g per lean lb if body weight. So guessing your lean mass I’d say 80-100g per day and going over isn’t an issue. GNG is a demand based system not a supply based system. Your body will only make the exact amount of glucose it needs. Also protein doesn’t spike insulin as much as carbs do. And insulin is what you need to control, which is what regulates your blood glucose.
RedThain
#34
And yes it’s a demand based system not a supply based system. It’s beyond proven that glucose from GNG isn’t a concern for 99% of people. Yes protein does stimulate insulin. But carb like is a little much and I like Fung.
Look at Ted Naiman with the protein leverage hypothesis and Ben Birkman.
skinnyjeans13
(Deb)
#36
There are a couple of good posts about on the forums here, but basically, you start in the morning before you eat anything (so you have fasted about 12 hours).
Take your 1st BG reading. This will be T0 (0 minutes into testing)
Then you eat the food you want to test, usually about 50 grams or so.
Then you test your glucose again. Some test at T30, T60, T120. That part is entirely up to you. What you are looking for is:
- Does that food increase your bg
- If so, how long does it take to return to your T0 number
- Or the least preferable outcome, does the number go LOWER than the T0 number, which indicates an insulin secretion ( pancreas detected high blood sugar and spiked insulin to lower it…and shut down fat-burning in the process).
It can be a very eye-opening experience! And quite addictive!
Nimitta
(Nimitta)
#38
FYI I drank a Muscle Milk shake today, high protein (25 g) and 2 g net carbs, no sugar added, and it knoocked me out of ketosis. Theoretically it’s not supposed to, but it did.
Alfalf
(Alf)
#39
Ok so I did an experiment with the drink and my blood sugar never went over 97 over 2.5 hours. I’m going to track my carbs over the next couple weeks to see what I’m actually doing.