My "Carb Up" Experience

food
carbs
ketowoman
(Lynne Hurley Perry) #1

A few times I had read about incorporating carb-ups into the keto diet. I am about 5 months into this WOE and was super strict with carbs, especially between months 2-4. A key reason for my aversion was just to avoid any spark of cravings, I suppose fear. I had read a number of articles about periodic carb-ups and how it was important for women to support production of hormones and decided to give it a try. My first try was adding berries to my diet-mostly at the end of the day. I did not notice a significant impact on my blood sugar-with the berries I would not have expected it but I was eating more than before.

The second and more bolder experiment (at least for me) was to have some sort of whole food carb-like a potato with a meal. My husband’s birthday dinner was a great opportunity. I ordered the prime rib with a baked potato-which I only planned to eat about a third. I also planned on having a spoon of whatever dessert my husband ordered. Well the waiter brought a special strawberry cream sort of cake and my one spoon ended up being 3-4 and included some “flour” from the cake. Well, I expected that I might feel some bloating the next day and was curious about my blood sugar.

The impact on my blood sugar, was not great. My morning blood sugar popped up to 130-normally it was around 100. I learned my deranged metabolism is still lurking beneath and it helped confirm that I need to continue this WOE if only for the blood sugar management. I am curious whether if I would have still had this impact if I just had the potato and not the cake. (Future experiment…yes.)

The impact on my weight was excellent. I was not bloated and I actually dropped weight! I finally moved the scale below 185. Somehow the"carb-up" shook things up for my body and there was a shift of sorts.

I will continue to play with carb-ups but I think it might be better to just bump up my daily carbs a bit. My hope at some point is to be able to enjoy some higher carb fruits like-a gorgeous summer peach or a pear but not have my metabolism get to out of whack.

Does anyone else have some carb-up experiences to share? I am especially interested in hearing from the ladies as I our bodies are a wee bit different from the boys.

(She had one feck to give and that feck is gone.) #3

There is the loveliest orchard near me. :heart_eyes: :peach: :drooling_face:. Might try that if I hit a stall This Summer.

#4

I’ve maintained my weight for 8 months doing weekly carb ups. Carbs cause most people to retain water, so be prepared for scale fluctuations.

(Sheri Knauer) #5

When your body is becoming fat adapted, your mitochondria are becoming better at using/burning fat as fuel. Once they have completed that transformation, then they aren’t suddenly going to “forget” how to burn fat if you consume more carbs than usual. They will just burn the carbs then go right back to burning fat without having to go through that “transformation” again. Now if you continue to indulge in carbs (especially crappy carbs) then I would guess the mitochondria would eventually go back to not being that efficient at burning fat if it is getting a steady stream of glucose to burn again.

Once you are fat adapted, it would take a lot more than just a few spoonfuls to “unadapt”. Your body will switch to burning the glucose until its used up but then it will go right back to utilizing fat as fuel. On the other hand, if you were not fat adapted, like in the early stages of eating keto, and indulged in carbs like desserts or potatoes, you are delaying your progression toward fat adaptation.

You won’t spontaneously become unadapted if you have some more carbs than you typically have. The only way to find out how you will react to it is to try it out. If you find that you don’t like how you feel after you eat it, then you know and can decide whether you want to carb up again or not. I don’t read Marks Daily Apple so I have no input on his philosophy of when a woman should or should not do carb ups. Don’t be afraid to try it if your curious. The worst that can happen is you find you don’t like it and you then KCKO.

(Allan L) #7

Biggest issue I have with carb days is I now crave cabs on keto days.

Have since gone ZC rather than keto. I have a carb a month and ZC the rest of the month. This is the only way to control my new carb cravings.

(Sheri Knauer) #8

I honestly don’t think fasting is necessary. If you follow a well formulated (for you) keto diet and then decide to say eat half a sweet potato or some berries at dinner, you will most likely be right back to fat burning by morning. However, if you binge on crappy carbs in excess, then a fast following that may be helpful. To me, thinking you have to fast after having a tad more healthy carbs is a bit disordered, like your punishing yourself. I tend to think that way too. If you decide to add in a healthy carb on occasion, enjoy it and don’t stress about it. KCKO.

(Lynne Hurley Perry) #9

I quickly went back into fat adaptation…no keto flu. Also, no terrific difference in hunger signals. That could be a different story if I really gorged. I also had a meal that started with salad, pickled veggies and then prime rib. If I ate just the carbs I expect there could have been a different outcome. (Not planning to experiment with that one!)

(Lynne Hurley Perry) #11

I have been doing about 2-3 24 hour fasts at some point during the work week. I never do 2 days back-to-back since I want to be sure I am getting all of my nutrients in. The first one is usually Monday, it is the busiest day and I usually had some sort of good meal for Sunday supper and it is a breeze to go through to dinner the next day with only a bulletproof coffee in the AM. I don’t see the fasting before or after a weekend as punishment. It is something that allows me to be more flexible on the weekend and just enjoy what I eat.

(Lynne Hurley Perry) #12

No gain for me.

(cheryl) #13

Thank you for sharing this experience! I have been reading about this too and plan on experimenting hopefully after I reach my goal weight.

#14

Here is a thread that details my experience in October, about 5 months in to keto. Note I eat blackberries and raspberries a few times a week normally. They are very low carb. Although my ketones tend not to get that high which may be the berries but they do not get that high on an extended fast either using a cheap breathalyzer

I did not feel well and it really cured me for awhile.

I had a bad cold last week and was craving fruit. So I ended up spending 4 days in glycogen recompensation. I started off eating well, bananas, clementines and butternut squash. Moved on to one bread product a day (pita with my gyro). On the last day I was traveling so used that as an excuse to eat all the junk I wanted, which turned out not to be as much as I would normally eat. Two slices of pizza (sicilian and regular), aunti Ann pretzels, lemonade and an ice cream cone and sugar in my latte. The lemonade and pretzels and coffee were delicious, the ice cream was ok and the pizza was not up to my standards, Since I came home had some family stress so have lost my appetite and no problem with cravings at all

(Jennifer Kleiman) #15

I’m baking a sweet potato right now, as a functional test of whether I’ve restored enough insulin sensitivity to handle it. 3 years on keto for me & I have no cravings for carbs but I’m curious to see what’ll happen. I’ve got a cgm & blood ketone meter to help me measure the results. According to other biomakers (fasting insulin, trigs, a1c) I should be insulin sensitive but I haven’t tried straight-up carbs in years, my diabetes diagnosis scared me straight.

I did an experiment earlier this week, drinking a 40g protein shake (no carbs just isopure whey and unsweetened cashew milk, unsweetened cocoa powder and monk fruit), which evoked a 30-pt glucose rise in the 2 hrs following the shake, tailing off back to baseline 2 hrs after that. My understanding is that the whey provoked both a glucagon & insulin response, the glucagon dumped glycogen into blood glucose & then the insulin managed it successfully. So I have every expectation that this sweet potato won’t kill me :slight_smile: Will find out soon. Will it make me bloat, go mad with cravings, or otherwise fundamentally change my life? Probably not eh, but maybe…

#16

Agreed, but you know how few people are actually doing that. To me the term “carb up” is synonymous with carbo-load. Even a keto’r knows that a sweet potato isn’t the end of the world but SOMETHING tells me that’s not what people are eating. Every once in a while me and the wife go out and eat REAL Pizza, we eat the rolls, we get deserts, what we DON’T do is convince ourselves that we didn’t just eat like complete garbage by giving it a politically correct name. We fast the next day until dinner and get on with life. I think too many people are slowly being programmed to not realize a “Carb up” can send somebody off the rails real quick if their not ready mentally. Ok, rant over.

#18

It CAN be, but it can also be enabling a problem in progress. I’ve seen WAY too many people and their “Carb ups” end very badly for them. Some people can do it, many can’t. Definitely not something for the newly converted.

(Sheri Knauer) #20

Yes, so true. Some people may not be ready to eat carbs and that could really derail them. You gotta know yourself and your limitations.

#21

The main problem is, I ate badly yesterday and I have to take my kid to a pizza place today so instead of fasting maybe I will sample what they are serving since I already blew it. The problem is being able to step off the ledge. If you can’t then you should not get on the roof in the first place

(Jane) #22

I’ve been in keto for 3 months now and lost almost 20 lbs with 7 more to go.

I have a sourdough starter I’ve kept alive for 3 years since my daughter-in-law gave it to me.

It has to be used and fed at least every 2 weeks. So… about a month ago I started making my Sunday sourdough waffles every two weeks. Much to the delight of my husband who has been doing keto with me. I have half of one loaded with butter. And 2 slices of bacon.

I can’t say it has had any negative effects on my WOE. Still losing weight, doesn’t set off any carb cravings, I get back into ketosis quickly.

(Jennifer Kleiman) #24

Well I tried carbing up & lived to tell the tale lol. I’m going to keep strictly ketoing on for the next few months but it is an amazing thing to know my metabolism has healed to the point that I can handle carbs if I want to.

(Lynne Hurley Perry) #25

It is all about life/balance. My hope is that I can get my insulin resistance under control enough to be able to enjoy some summer fruits-like peaches. Even if it is just once a week.

(Lynne Hurley Perry) #26

How did the sweet potato go? Did you eat the entire potato with the skin?