New Here, Starting Keto next week

[RetiredSoldier]

Hey guys, I decided it was time to change my lifestyle and go Keto. I was in the military and retired back in November 2017. Since then I have kind of let myself go. Not training or dieting properly. I chose Keto as it seems to be the most structured of diets. So, I purchased Keto cook books, Test strips, bulletproof coffee ingredients, etc. etc. Im hoping to get my body composition under control in a reasonable time frame. 30lb in a year is my goal. I’m an avid crossfitter so I feel the diet with giving more effort there will make the 30 easy to lose. I have also ordered supplements ie. Fish Oil.

I plan on starting my day with the bulletproof coffee with a collagen protein in the beginning then switch over to just the coffee for intermittent fasting. One of my first questions is, when do I take my supplements? I have Fish Oil, DHEA, Calcium, and Multi Vitamin. Can I take them in the AM with the coffee? or will they interfere with the coffee?

[Alpha]

It will be good and convenient if you have recent blood work mainly lipid panel and h1c, kidney and lever functions so you know where you heading marker wise.

[atomicspacebunny]

[Deary75]

Hi! I’m new here as well. A few days in.
I’ve been doing Keto since 5/31/18 and despite actually dieting since April, I am finally getting results (9 lbs ).
I am tired of ham and cheese and am feeling the sugar crave as more of a depletion in my body.
I am beginning to crave salty foods more.
There are some lovely channels run by doctors on YouTube I follow and a little tip, pork rinds and pumpkin seeds are super life saving when craving snacks!
I hope we can be friends here.

[Deary75]

Also, take the supplements the same time as you can remember. You might even not need the fish oil since fat intake increases. Be mindful of potassium, sodium and magnesium… I didn’t at first and my carb crave was bingy like an addiction.

[Anniegirl9]

I would take your supplements first thing in the morning to help regulate your electolytes through the day. If you’re taking a large dose of something, you could break it up and take half mid day or evening.

Have you done any IF before? It’s not absolutely necessary but it is recommended that you hold off on fasting until you become fat adapted. This process takes 6-8 weeks on average. If you aren’t already used to it, it can trigger cravings before you become fat adapted and sabotage your progress. As you become fat adapted, you will naturally notice needing to refuel less, making fasting an easy progression.

Whatever you decide, just know that you should never go hungry while doing Keto. If you do have to fight hunger, you aren’t ready for fasting.

Good luck on your Keto journey and welcom to the forum.

[RetiredSoldier]

Its actually great news. I had my fasting blood work done on Thursday. They’re checking everything including thyroid and testosterone. I can post the results when I get them and maybe you could instruct me on if its good or bad and where I need to get to?

[RetiredSoldier]

Thank you for the welcome! I hope to gain as much information as humanly possible as I am choosing this lifestyle to begin on Monday and I am not looking back, ever.

To regulate electrolytes. I purchased the mineral drops that you can add to water. I didn’t do my homework and already purchased the drops that did not contain calcium, hence, I bought a calcium supplement.

I’ve never done IF before and will heed your words to not attempt until I am 8 weeks or more into it. My question is, I think IF is to hold off on triggering the bodys Insulin Response. However, if my meals are going to contain no sugar and almost 0 carbs, Is IF necessary as either way insulin response isn’t being triggered? Also, a question I have is, how and when will I know that my body has burned out all remaining glycogen to began to utilize fats for fuel?

[RetiredSoldier]

I’m using the fish oil primarily for the joint complex as I endured a few shoulder injuries in my time with the Army. The Omega 3s are just a bonus. If I take in too much fat, will I be overdoing it and get no result?

[Deary75]

Nope. I’m sure if you overdo anything, your body and mind will help you by that feeling of being sick of a type of food. (“not ham and cheese again, ugh”).
.

[Anniegirl9]

Insulin is always triggered when feeding, just not as much with fat as it is with carbs.

You don’t want to snack because of this. So make sure your meals are well spaced and you eat enough fat to carry you to the next meal.

IF is something that happens naturally under Keto, at least for a good portion of us. You will just find you are not as hungry and can go longer periods without eating. You may actually forget to eat at times if you are busy because your hunger signals don’t tell you to eat. This is perfectly okay if it happens before fat adaption but you will want to make sure if you do go to TMAD that you are getting more into those meals.

[RetiredSoldier]

Learn something new every day. In this case, lots of things. I always thought insulin was triggered by sugar or carbs and nothing else. That is good to know.

So no keto friendly snacks between meals?

Can you tell me what TMAD means and what it is?

[Anniegirl9]

Two meals a day. It’s a form of IF (Intermittent fasting). You set up a feeding window such as 16:8, whereas you fast for 16 hours of the day (a good chunk of that time sleeping) and you contain all eating to the 8 hours. You can do any combination, such as 18:6, 20:4 (with the first number being your fasting time and the second your feeding window).

You should start smalland work your way up. Never be hungry on Keto, so make sure you’re eating enough fat during your meals to make it to the next meal, and if you can’t then go back to three meals a day until it feels natural.

[Daves_Not_Here]

when will I know that my body has burned out all remaining glycogen to began to utilize fats for fuel?

Welcome @RetiredSoldier – I believe it will take 2 to 3 days to burn off excess glycogen and begin to oxidize fat, assuming you eliminate carbs to the greatest extent. How will you know if you are in ketosis? You can test for ketones in the urine using test strips. This method works in the beginning but will become less effective over time (at which point, you’ll be more in tune with your body and won’t need them). You will feel different – mostly but not all good. You’ll have some days of increased mental clarity. You will also have some where you are dragging, in spite of your best efforts to supplement minerals.

I will echo @Anniegirl9 - protein will stimulate an insulin response. Carbs, the most. Protein, next. Fat, the lowest response.

I’d hold off IF until you are well adapted. The risk in being to ambitious in the beginning is that you may ramp your hunger way up and binge when you re-feed, knocking you out of ketosis. Early on, it takes longer to recover back into ketosis. Better to wait 6-8 weeks, at which point IF will be pretty easy and you’ll be less inclined to binge afterwards.

Last thought – it seems you are well prepped with supplements – I find the easiest way to get sodium is by drinking chicken broth, made from the cubes.

[Viv]

Welcome. I am 12 weeks in to my journey now. Dont rush, heed advice given here and have patience. I am only just beginning to do IF, before this I tried, managed OMAD for a week then became very very hungry. I have managed a 36, 42 and a 30 hour fast this past week and it felt easy. I think I am now fat adapted!
It takes time.

[RetiredSoldier]

Okay, so I started my morning with bulletproof coffee, 4 hardboiled eggs and 3 sausage links at about 9:30 am. Its almost noon and I am super hungry. I am drinking LaCroix waters to bloat me out as I want to space out my meals to where I have dinner at 5 or 6pm.

If Im getting hungry, do I answer my body with more food? Is snacking okay as long as its low carb? I have peperoni and cheese sticks that I could essentially consume. If I start getting shaky as I sometimes do when I don’t have enough food in my body, can I take a few sips of juice to pull me out of it just for the first few days?

I greatly appreciate every ones contributions to feeding me (pardon the pun) information.

[Deary75]

Pepperoni and cheese and a little brocolli, don’t forget about the vegetables, sounds like a good time for lunch!
This is a way of eating for life’s duration, so enjoy!,

[RetiredSoldier]

Thanks! I didn’t have the broccoli, not until I goto the store. So, Im utilizing an app to track everything. At my body weight and level of exercise, I am supposed to take in 168g of fat. What happens if I don’t hit that mark today??

[Deary75]

You know… I’m not sure. I haven’t calculated my macros in this respect as I am concerned about the carb counts.
I know that it’s easy to add fat with olive oil, butter, mayonaisse, and various dressings (no added sugar).
Just record yourself for a week or two and I believe you will be in a better comfort zone.

[RetiredSoldier]

Thank you! Im only at 4g of carbs after Breakfast and a snack. I plan on exercising daily, even if I get the dreaded flu. I’m allotted 27g of carbs but exercise should take my overall carbs down into the teens