Not giving up but just seem to be missing the mark

(Straight outta ‘Straya’) #1

So previously I had done a good job of keeping carbs in or around 20g, which only happened after a few weeks of frustration when I just couldn’t seem to nail it.

Then I found that my protein was trending on the high side, 25-30%, so I’ve done an adjustment that bought down my protein to around 20-25% but now my carbs have crept up to 30-40g per day. I am pretty sure (without any equipment) that I am out of ketosis.

Tonight’s dinner was cabbage boiled (without any sugar) then fried in bacon fat with bacon and some onion, broccoli and cauliflower (both with a sour cream, butter and cheese sauce), and rounded out with chicken herb and lamb herb sausages…

I was thinking that I could indulge in my favourite dessert, thickened cream with some chocolate powder whipped to a pudding consistency…

When I did the math I was way over my 20gram goal limit.

Looks like I have to go back to the drawing board and continue to re-tweak my diet again.

(Rob) #2

Are you counting NET carbs (i.e. subtracting fiber)? In Oz, the labelling may be net, but if you are using an app with a US food database, you will still need to deduct fiber.
I had a large helping of boiled, then ‘fried’ cabbage tonight with my fatty corned/salt beef, a large dollop of whipped cream with sugar-free jello and came nowhere near 20g (after subtracting the fiber in the cabbage - about 33% of the carbs). See screenshot below:
PS - the tallow is to make up for the high amount of fat on the brisket not accounted for in its line and some used to fry the cabbage. :yum:

IMG_0205
IMG_0205.jpg750×1334 134 KB

A little cauliflower and broccoli (higher in fiber than cabbage) should not have pushed you over the edge. Even if it did, I wouldn’t worry about slow veggie carbs anything like as much as if I’d had some carby/sugary treat.

Also, don’t obsess about macro %. The focus is always on grams. 20g NET carbs, a target level of protein - 0.8-1.5g/kg of LBM (not a disaster if you flex in this range, but that may well be due to poor/no meal planning) and fat to satiety. You can aim for your fat macro calculation - in grams - but if you don’t make it AND are not hungry, don’t sweat that either.

The % are NOT important compared to the grams!

If you are really that worried, post the day’s food and we can see where it’s going wrong (if anywhere).

(Straight outta ‘Straya’) #3

I’m not really all that worried apart from needing to refocus and have another stab at Keto dieting.

MFP doesn’t allow export with its free version and its fiddly cause I have a whack of components, not having made em into recipes… but dinner worked out at 85g Fat, 35g Carbs and 60gr protein, 1110 kcal… (I’m 16-8 IF so my dinners tend to be a bit heavy kcal wise but also includes carbs from ACV as well as kcals from a helping of coconut oil).

(Rob) #4

I didn’t export, just took a phone screenshot.

The key issue remains - break out the carbs… NET or not? P and F seem fine.

(Straight outta ‘Straya’) #5

I think I cracked part of the mystery… in the 4 sausages I had MFP says there was 11grams of carbs.

(Rob) #6

Sausages are a bugger… 3g per, here and there adds up. I used to do sausages all the time (from before keto) until I realized that. I have sometimes found some zero carb ones but I just moved to ZC meats with better fat ratios.

(bulkbiker) #7

Does the packet have labelling too? I find that MFP has so many errors its worse than useless (apart from mixing up US and UK measurements). I try to record everything in my own spreadsheet and do the calcs there using either the packaging from the food or the info on the supermarket websites. Here in the UK they are pretty detailed.

(Jay AM) #8

Agreed. This is why I moved to Cronometer but, some of their databases have odd food values and I send error reports for them. But, user entered foods can’t be added to the main database without package photos first to be double checked which is great.

(Straight outta ‘Straya’) #9

Yeah, MFP is weird and often wonky but I’ll stick with it for the moment - it’s shit as a base line but I’ll take any base line atm and just take the results with a grain of salt.

As for the accuracy I often scan my products onto MFP so I’m trusting in that scan… for better or worse

(Ken) #10

Are you in lipolysis? Are you secreting ketones? The 20g level for carbs is only a guideline, although many consider it doctrine. It’s really just subjective dogma some guru put out and got enough people to believe.

Since lipolysis and lipogenesis are both adaptive processes, amounts of carbs people can ingest while still remaining lipolytic varies widely. I suggest initially getting some simple strips just to confirm you’re secreting ketones, thereby confirming you’re lipolytic. Not exceeding 5% carbs of total calories was the initial keto guideline of two decades ago.

Very low, or no carbs is highly recommended during the initial adaptive stage, but it can change rapidly in only a matter of weeks. It’s really determined by degree of hormonal derangement, which is different for everyone.

(Brandy Fischbach) #11

Sausages are tricky. They can have hidden carbs in them easily. Also onions are a little high. I try not to use too many of those either.