My body’s a freak of nature

(Mindy) #1

I can’t even begin to understand why my body responds so differently than others on this diet.
I’ve been following keto since Dec 2018. I’ve kept my carbs under 20 per day
The fat I’ve been getting from my foods no need for additional fat as I have a lot of weight to lose. This is a typical day

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My HA1C has come down from 9.9 to 6.8 but my lipid panel is a mess, triglycerides have shot up over 225, LDL is well over 250 and my HDL remains low ranging from 35-45 and now to top it off, I have gout…WTH
I don’t know if this diet is right for me, maybe I should be low carb, low fat, low protein…I’m at the point where I’m afraid to eat anything…anyone else had to change the diet because of how your body is responding? HELP

(Failed) #2

Can you give more details about what you’re eating, how many times a day? What supplements, if any? Medications, etc.? Start weight and how much you’ve lost?

Hopefully, that will help us help you.

(Marianne) #3

Agreed; I think more information would be helpful. I"m not understanding the legend on your pie chart versus the colored areas. If your fat is 45g and protein 39g, why do the corresponding areas seem so different?

#4

I was confused too but I think the chart is showing percentage of calories. Fat has 9 calories per g and protein and carbs have 4 per g. I didn’t do the calculations though.

(Mindy) #5

I eat 1-2x per day after being fasted a min of 18 hours, if I break my fast at 1300 I’ll break it with a burger, or chicken, or an omelet, and for dinner I’ll have a steak, chicken, pork. My vegetables, I’ll stick with cherry tomatoes, celery, broccoli and cauliflower. I don’t snack but if I do I’ll have pickles.
My supplements are Vit d- 2000 units/day, B complex (because of the metformin I take), Omega 3 fish oil (trying to get my HDL up), Co Q 10 (because of the statin I’m on- low dose 10mg)
My prescribed meds are 2 different oral meds for Diabetes, a statin, HBP meds for my kidneys, and meds for my heart arrhythmias.

(Mindy) #6

It the calculation that come up from my fitness pal. The pie chart shows percentages vs the grams given on the bottom by each section

(Mindy) #7

Oh I forgot the weight, I started at 231 and at my last weigh in I was 203

#8

Yes, I was just clarifying it is showing percentage of calories, not a percentage of grams as they aren’t “apples to apples”.

(Marianne) #9

Ohhhh; thank you.

(Marianne) #10

Hmmm; I don’t know. Seems like you are eating appropriately and you have had successful weight loss, although you may want it to be more.

I had bloodwork done after I had been on perfect keto for about 3-4 months. I thought it was going to be stellar - but it wasn’t. Like you, my cholesterol was very high, especially the LDL which was off the charts. I discovered here that there is a lot of controversy about cholesterol and LDL, and that maybe these numbers as they have been conventionally defined don’t paint an accurate picture on a keto WOE.

Please hang in there. I’d be interested to see what others say here.

(Joey) #11

@Mdcar1 Your HbA1c reduction is outstanding. Congratulations!

Sure, elevated triglycerides are never something to celebrate, but obviously you’re doing a LOT that’s wonderful for your body as evidenced by your longer-term blood glucose levels falling as sharply as they have thus far. Well on the road. We can return to the triglyceride issue below, but first…

Let’s put LDL aside for now since as you don’t know the particle size/density - i.e., pattern A vs B. An NMR Lipid panel would reveal such things and, as most lipidologists are prone to agree these days, without that more detailed info an LDL figure in isolation doesn’t mean a whole lot.

As for HDL, sure a higher figure would be better - but there’s a lot going on at once and this may follow in time.

A few questions might help round out the picture for those reading your post …

First, and most importantly, how do you FEEL? Being on keto for 10 months, have you noticed any changes … energy level, mental focus, sleep, inflammation…??

Next, since you said you’ve got ample body fat to burn: what about waistline and weight? Any meaningful changes in the past 10 months?

The reason all of these other details are important to know is that, if you’re not seeing improvements on any of these other fronts, there’s a chance you’re not really eating the foods that this pie chart and macro % might suggest.

Many of us get sidetracked with hidden carbs/sugars in prepared foods and think our diet is different than the reality. This might be a possibility in your situation, although reducing your HbA1c as you have certainly suggests that you’ve made meaningful changes vs your pre-keto eating patterns.

Finally, returning to your triglyceride figure… yeah, 225 is above “borderline” but it’s still a far cry from terribly elevated. What’s more, you said “it shot up” which suggests it’s been lower in the past. So, perhaps there’s something about the particular day of the test, pre-test fasting, or even “screwy lab” result involved. I wouldn’t get too worked up about it - perhaps getting a simple lipid test repeat if that might put your mind at ease. But if so, I’d suggest going for the NMR panel, so at least you’ll also get some additional info regarding your LDL figure and even an insulin sensitivity vs resistance figure too.

As @TimeForMe noted, grams are weight (mass), but the % are calories (kcal).

(KetoQ) #12

Keep doing what you’re doing, as your eating and lifestyle seem very healthy, and here’s why I say that:

  1. Your weight is down 28 lbs.
  2. HbA1c is down significantly and if you keep like that you’ll be in normal range soon. That is yuuuuuge!

Those are both great results!

For a bit more context, I’m curious about how your lipid panels looked before. My lipid panel improved after 4 just months of low carb, and got significantly better after 16 months. My most recent panel last month is the best I’ve had in over 10 years.

Pre low carb
LDL 90’s / HDL 35 / Trig 100

4 mos low carb
LDL 101 / HDL 40 / Trig 82 / Total chol 158??

16 mos low carb (last month)
LDL 68 / HDL 41 / Trig 100 / Total chol 137??

Your body is still adapting, so give it more time. Good luck and good health.

#13

Wait…of those macros are correct, you’re eating 600 calories a day? I think I found a big part of the problem then- your body is holding on to it’s energy reserves for dear life because it’s been so consistently underfueled. I highly recommend upping the fat and protein by double!

(Failed) #14

Great info, thanks.

Many wiser minds than I have replied to you so I won’t try to second-guess anybody. I’m still kinda new to this.

There is an extremely interesting video, I think from low-carb Denver (does anyone know the presenter and can link to it?) that gives you the real statistics on statins. For example, even though they claim to reduce heart attacks by 36%, they played with the numbers. The real number is 1%.

And there is no statistical difference in life expectancy (in women specifically) with or without taking statins. I am not advising you to quit without talking to your doctor, but statins are bad news for everyone except the manufacturer.

Dr Malcom Kendrick has written at least one book about this. One book,The Great Cholesterol Con, that I read years ago not only shows you the statistics but links to the studies so that you can look at them yourself.

(Cancer Fighting Ketovore :)) #15

Honestly, you might not be eating enough over a day.

45 *9 = 405 calories
39 *4 = 156 calories
10 *4 = 40 calories
total = 601 calories

Why are you afraid to eat? Is it because of the lipid panel?

Are you losing any weight, or have you stopped losing weight and that is why you think something is wrong.

How long have you been eating around 600 calories? Have you considered just eating more, and eating more fat? Just because you have a lot of fat on your body doesn’t mean that you automatically have to restrict how much fat you eat right at the start. First you should just focus on keeping your carbs under 20g. I know you’ve been doing this for about 10 months, so my big question is, is this how you’ve been eating the whole time?

You’ve lost 28lbs and that is a great start! :smiley: What is your height? What is your goal weight?

Just in case you haven’t seen it:

(Joey) #16

@Mdcar1 Frankly, when you cited those grams of macros in your original chart as being your food intake for a “typical day” I moved right past it without taking it as being serious data. But yes, if you’re really eating only 600 kcal each day then you’re likely well into metabolic starvation mode by now … and everything @KetoCancerMom and @Erevehc said above is really essential.

Can you please clarify how much you’re actually eating during a typical day?

(Mindy) #17

Oops, my bad uploaded an off day. I typically try for 1160 cal. Sometimes I’m just under, other times just over. This chart I ended the day at 195cal short, but I eat to satiation and I don’t stress over calories.

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I’m carb minded not calorie minded.
I’m on the verge of being 60 yrs young, 5’2” and I’m still over 200 lbs, I’d like to get down to 140. Thanks for all your reply’s. Has anyone dealt with gout before on this diet?

(Joey) #18

@Mdcar1 First, regarding gout…

No, (fortunately) I have no personal experience with gout. But, if you haven’t seen this video clip already, check out Dr Bosworth on this topic as she explains things pretty clearly about kidney stones and gout:

The chart you updated above still falls way short of what would be a sustainable caloric intake. Without getting out a calculator, I’d have expectd to see something more like <20 carb grams, about 80-100 grams of protein, and then another 80-120 grams of fats. And even that would be light in the long run.

As for your caloric intake, frankly 1200/day for any extended period is also fairly light for an adult woman of your stature. The comments you’ve received above are still totally applicable.

FWIW, I ate around 1400 kcal/day for several weeks (wasn’t terribly hungry beyond that on one-and-a-half meals a day) and began to realize it wasn’t enough. Only when I made a concerted effort to “up” my fats bringing total calories to around 2000 kcal/day that I started to feel even more energetic …and actually lost additional weight and waistline. It’s totally counterintuitive.

But given one’s internal biological tendency toward maintaining one’s survival via a metabolic “set point,” if you eat less than a maintenance level of calories (even the right macro mix for good health), your body will slow things down to avoid losing more muscle and organ health.

If you don’t feed your body satisfactorily, it will soon turn down the furnace.

Have you been feeling at all fatigued? How’s your body temperature - feeling chilled at a at night or morning? Sluggish? Hair loss? Nails brittle or not growing quite right? If so, these are classic signs of undernourishment.

I would think you’d need more like 1800-2200 kcal/day to avoid inviting loss of muscle/organ function over time. While 600 kcal didn’t quite make sense, 1100-1200 kcal still doesn’t resolve the larger concern - i.e., it doesn’t sound like you’re eating enough for good sustainable health.

Weight loss will be more likely to happen when you eat more than it will, at this point, if you keep underfeeding yourself. Weird? Yup. But likely accurate forecast given your current situation, nonetheless.

Best wishes, and please keep us posted.

p.s. - your body is not a freak of nature. It’s doing exactly what nature designed it to do! :wink:

#19

Hi Mindy. You are getting lots of knowledgeable input.

I agree with the others higher in the thread. Even 1180cal may be too little. Body fat loss tends to happen when the body gets enough energy. You mentioned the 600 cal day was an off day, so that means the average calorie intake per day would be quite a bit less than 1200 cal/d per week, Low calorie eating, and I think that is under the 1200 cal per day for those who track calories, is just slowing down your metabolism and driving the internal systems to hold on to body fat.

Despite that you have lost almost 30lbs. So well done on that.

I’m just interested as to what the break fast burger is?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #20

@Mdcar1 The main problem is that you are not eating enough. You are trying to eat at a caloric deficit, and your body has responded by lowering your basal metabolic rate, and probably also by shutting down any non-essential processes it can.

A ketogenic diet operates by different rules from those you are accustomed to. The key is keeping carbohydrate intake low, of course, but the body will still not part with its excess stored fat until it is assured that the famine conditions you have been subjecting it to are over. Try setting your app to “Maintenance” rather than “Weight Loss,” it still won’t be enough, but at least it will be a start. Eat a reasonable amount of protein and fill in the remainder of your calories with saturated and monounsaturated fat. I believe if you try that, you will see quite a difference.

The reason is that fat has over twice the calories of protein, so fat is occupying a much higher percentage of calories. The percentages are calculated off total calories, not total weight.