Returning to Health

#61

I always eat when it’s a struggle not to so it’s probably the same for me but whenever (extremely rarely) I did EF, I obviously had no serious struggle. Sometimes my body is cooperative but I need much more carbs for that.
But I noticed that I can just wait for a soft little hunger to pass, quite often. If I don’t eat at the usual time at 3pm because I am not at home or if I get hungry very early and very subtly but ignore it, an hour later I am usually fine. It never gives me EF but still a handy thing to have.

I used to get more and more hungry while fasting before but it’s good I don’t have that anymore. I suppose my fat adaptation had a hand in it and my lower than before carb intake as well.

If I am not hungry (or get easy satiation), OMAD is impossible. I need big hunger for that size of meal. But there are so many factors, I wondered about it today… That appetite (that some people use for hunger but I looked it up, it’s the desire) is often used for the amount of food to satiate us. “Big appetite” = eating a lot. But why? Appetite is the desire. I may desire food, I even may have a very strong, insistent hunger but still may get satiated by a few bites… I know my signs are unusually uncorrelated but if appetite is the desire, it doesn’t mean one need a big meal…

Today I had a small meal, sadly. Well not sadly if I can pull of a small OMAD lunch :smiley: I virtually never can…
(I have no idea how much I ate as I haven’t tracked yet but it seemed small…? Less than 600g meat for sure, I did look at my numbers, not very much dairy or eggs either…)
But it’s over 6pm and I am very satiated. Maybe I can avoid eating late. I don’t worry about it, happens what happens. I don’t really have control over it. You don’t say no to my hungry and upset body :smiley:

(Allie) #62

Oh yes, I do this all the time - like this morning, I got in my car to leave for work and realised I hadn’t had breakfast as I had been so busy taking care of my latest lodger (a very thin and dehydrated pigeon that came to me last night). It is so convenient to be able to just ignore hunger most often, and my body sure lets me know when it needs nutrients.

(Alec) #63

Have some patience… when you go zero carb, the microbiome changes and it takes a little while to settle down. As a carnivore for the last 20 months, I can tell you that it is by FAR the best eating regime I have ever done (and I have done a few!). I lost 80lbs over 18 months, and I feel better than I did 30 years ago (just about to run a marathon!)

You sound to me that you are made for carnivore: you love steak, you are committed, and you have some serious weight to lose. Perfect! Give it time, you will not regret it.

My biggest tip: don’t be hungry. As soon as you are hungry, eat! Losing weight is not about starving yourself… it is about getting your body to understand that it can spend energy to excess with no risk. You do that by keeping the carbs to an absolute minimum, with a target of zero.

Take care, stay around, and let us all know how you are going.
Cheers
Alec

#64

I love air-dried raw beef. It also keeps my vegetarian work-mates at bay so they don’t talk work at me at lunch break.

(Allie) #65

:joy: love this :grin:

#66

Honestly after being told to “keep in mind that the vast majority of people do not lose 100+ pounds”… I was pretty upset. I don’t want negativity in my mind when working on a goal! I want to keep in mind my success and how far I have already come and where I will be next year at this time. Those are the kinds of things I want tumbling around in my brain. Negative thoughts are not helpful, encouraging, or welcome on this journey of mine. Thank you to those of you who continue to share your personal experiences and encouragement. It means a lot when I open up the computer to see the stories of success and people brainstorming together to try and help when a problem or question arises. One of the reasons I want to write about my journey here is in hopes that someday someone else starting out will be able to see where I started, the challenges I had, and where I succeeded so it can maybe help them. I have read through many stories on here and can’t tell you how encouraging it is to do so. It is hard enough to navigate a huge life change without “doctor” help or supervision, this putting together of like minds and experiences is so valuable in my opinion.
An update to my feeling yuck- I ended up in the ER with dehydration- after multiple labs and a CT scan it turns out I had a raging uti infection and possibly gastro infection- but they couldn’t say for sure on that. I am on antibiotics (boo!) now and today am feeling a little better. I have had those in the past, but never with symptoms like this. My carnivore challenge had nothing to do with my onset of an infection in my opinion. I still have stayed the course the last few days- with a few scrambled eggs and bone broth. I am waiting for my appetite to return which so far has not. I am listening to my body as I know eventually I will want to eat. Hopefully the bathroom and I will break up soon, but if not I shall hold the course as I know this is working right now for me. Inside and out.
Being the curious cat- this morning I compared the hospital lab numbers to my last ones I had ordered 2 weeks ago. Liver numbers are still improving and I cheered hooray for my ketones being positive. :slight_smile:

#67

If you want to follow my journey of losing 130 pounds - From morbidly obese to healthy - Progress / Accountability - Ketogenic Forums

Anyone can do what I did, I am not all that disciplined.

#68

Thank you velvet! I will read your story! 130 pounds lost? AWESOME!!!

#69

I wish you nothing but success in your journey. While goals are very important, it’s the systems and processes that you employ on a day-to-day basis that will determine your success. Work on getting your systems and processes nailed on a daily basis. Start small. This will lead to new habits that will lead to even better habits (a synergistic effect). Every day, look for what worked. Master the day-to-day, and the world is your oyster. I now have a list of non-negotiables that I do every day, no matter what happens or how much s**t has hit the fan. I am 13 years into this journey.

#70

Thank you ffskier. Your wisdom from being on this path for 13 years is certainly valuable. I know you took the time to write what you have witnessed personally and I thank you for that. I am prickly when it comes to anything that is discouraging about this WOE right now. It is HARD to do this alone. I like to think the best of people and obviously you have more wisdom than I do about this- I hope you will continue to share if you have ideas.

I can appreciate a system style approach to things. I find in other aspects of my life where I utilize this, I am more successful. On the other hand, my spirit is quite spontaneous and go with the flow- so its often a clash of what wins. A good balance between non negotiable things to complete daily with time for freedom for other experiences would be a perfect style for me. My personal life has been in upheaval since 2019 and after a period of what I am calling “rest” I am now in a period of “healing.” Healing will include nailing down those non-negotiable tasks for each day and sticking to them- leaving room for strength to come and to add on even more.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #71

Try not to think of it as “working” towards a goal. You are making a life-style change and adopting a different way of eating–that’s all you have to “work” at. I shed 80 lbs./36.4 kg by eating all the food I wanted, not exercising, and typing at the computer. It was effortless; all I had to do was to avoid carbohydrates as much as possible. And even after the main weight-loss stopped, I know I continued to shed fat, because my clothes kept getting looser. However, my weight stayed the same, because I was adding muscle at the same time. :bacon::bacon:

The only exercise I ever got was from household chores and yard work. I follow Mark Twain’s dictum, “Whenever the urge to do work overtakes me, I lie down until it passes.” :rofl: :bacon::bacon:

#72

My non-negotiables did not happen overnight. Over a period of years, they have developed. I am very much still a student and am trying to learn each and every day. I do not have all the answers, and I am 100% sure most people on this forum do not have all the answers, just our own experience. “We all have a civil war going on in our own heads.” MLK jr. You can make this keto journey easy or hard; the choice is yours to make. Some on this forum do IF, while others do not. Some do it every day; others do not. I took a more balanced approach and only started to IF on purpose after about 45 days and only 2-3 times per week.
I wish you all the success you know you deserve.

#73

I’m still cruising right along. I added some very light veggies back into the mix- mushrooms and jalepenos. I guess if I need a label I am ketovore. I pulled another hba1c yesterday because I was in a town that has a LabCorp. I’m down to 6.1 so that was exciting to see a continued drop in just 3 weeks time. I also did lipids, as expected hdl is up a few points triglycerides the same and ldl up a few points. Nothing ridiculous and right where I thought it should be. I know it will take a long time to see drastic results, but it keeps me motivated to see even the small changes in the right direction. Under $15 to pull those with the oyl site. I will be 12 weeks in October, so will get labs again then. It’s exciting to see!
I had an x-ray done yesterday to check on “something” in my neck that was found in May. Amazingly whatever it was (drs still debating between calcified parathyroid gland/lymph node/mystery :roll_eyes:) - anyways it shrunk from the size of a pencil eraser to about half a grain of rice. I don’t need checked again until December. Keto much? Yep I think so, and quite a bit of prayers as well. So I am adding that to my improvements list! :blush: I feel a big weight lifted off of me- the unknown and all the medical Dr stuff is just nightmarish to me. So that’s a happy news praise report!
Hubby is sticking to keto although begrudgingly… If he would stop with the keto snacks and just eat real food he would lose the cravings but he isn’t there yet. He has dropped some weight around his middle section. He is small to begin with so hopefully in time he will work on putting on some muscle. We ordered a weight set to share. (lift heavy things!) I’m going camping for the next week- hello Texas I love and enjoy when it’s not 110 outside. I don’t think I will have much of an issue eating, mostly meat, eggs , camp food. :slight_smile:

#74

I don’t think that can be emphasized too often. I don’t proselytize for keto unless I’m asked how I lost so much weight – no one appreciates being told unbidden how they could drop some pounds – but when I am asked about keto, the biggest problems are (1) convincing people that there is never a need to buy special “keto” products, and (2) they would be better off avoiding snacks as much as possible, even if the snacks are low carb. Constant nibbling is the enemy of working up an appetite, satisfying it with a meal that is low in carbohydrates, experiencing satiety, doing the dishes, and calling it a day. Snacking by it’s nature goes on and on and on. Macadamias are keto friendly, for example, but before I stopped buying snacks, I remember eating handful after handful until my tongue felt like it was on fire from all the salt.

And snacks can be easily misunderstood when trying to absorb information about all the available foods. Recently the wife of a friend who had a heart attack asked me to explain keto so her husband could get started losing weight. A few days later she told me proudly that she had bought some keto crackers and hummus so he wouldn’t get hungry between meals. It was a good opportunity to review the importance of nutrition labels and remind her what hummus is made of, but I also threw in healthoften’s point: less snacking means less craving.

#75

I don’t know what kind of snacks he eats and how his desires work so can’t tell if it’s a problem, a smaller bad or whatever.
Oh and the amounts/ratios! Obviously when one is hungry, they need proper food, mostly.

I am all for snacks if they are good and that is what one wants, need, enjoy. I probably never will stop eating them. It’s part of my meal (usually at the end) and homemade though… And I have phases. I had a cheese whispy period… I love crunchy and lots of soft normal food would be super boring, I need various texture.
I am more like the type who eats desserts, not snacks but both happen and I see zero problem with it unless they trigger overeating.

Yay! :smiley: Muscles are pretty and even useful but exercise may feel good anyway.

Yeah she doesn’t really get it yet… The MEALS should keep us satiated… But it is so on every diet!
And she means she will eat the hummus and crackers while not being hungry yet? (Well I eat when I lose my satiation and am not hungry yet too, quite often… But it still sounded odd. Getting hungry is normal, staying hungry may or may not be good, it depends. A soft keto hunger may be perfectly fine, sometimes I don’t eat when slightly hungry.)

(Geoffrey) #76

We’ve been having some decent weather here lately in the north Texas area. 60’s and 79’s in the morning then getting up to low 90’s in the afternoon.

#77

Yes its finally cooler here too with weather I love to be outside in! We love and really enjoy the state parks in TX, and try and visit often when its like this.

Hubby is eating many snacks that are labeled “keto” so that isn’t helping his cravings situation. Things like almond flour cookies… I am trying to be patient and not nag on him. I just gently point him towards whole actual foods and hope that in time he will fully embrace this. He has been gluten free for at least 6 weeks or so, and just that alone has improved his attitude- he is less cranky about little things. He sees this also, so in time. I can just be an example and hope that I can help him or anyone someday by sharing my own story.

I hit 20 pounds down this morning! Yay! I am feeling good. I feel like I have my life ahead and not just feeling like crap all the time. I am planning some future vacations and other things to just look forward to.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #78

You might try introducing him to pork rinds (chicharrones) and pepperoni as snacks.

#79

Oh yes good ideas! He does love pepperoni and pork rinds would be good to have on hand as well! Ty!
Well I just got home from my first visit with a new primary provider. He is a functional medicine dr and is new to our area. When I walked in, the reception area had the books “Grain Brain” and the “Holy Bible” on the table. I knew I was in the right place! :grin:
I told him what I eat, how much I have lost in the last few months, what my goals are and he didn’t blink, cringe or tell me I was going to die from eating whole foods. Shocking! He asked if I had heard of intermittent fasting and was excited when I told him I already do this. SUCH a welcome breath of common sense and care! We set a goal for numbers for me to taper my blood pressure meds down that I am happy with. I will see him again in December and for once ever in my life I think I am looking forward to a dr visit! :grin:
Wins for this week: My mom came to visit and I chose good choices each day- even when some treats for the grandkids were picked by them. We had a huge family and friends gathering meal Thursday night and I provided keto options for those who wanted to do that and it didn’t feel restrictive or anything. I wore a size 20 pair of Torrid jeans yesterday and found myself pulling them up at the waist throughout the day. Size 18 here I come! I spent the entire day in Austin yesterday with 5 of my teens and we shopped till 10:30pm and not once did I feel exhausted, light headed, dizzy- all things I would have dealt with before. We had a truly enjoyable day together and I FELT GOOD!
Keep calm and Keto on. Show me the steak! :heartpulse:

(Robin) #80

Size 18, yahoo!