Saying hello to Ketos

(Robin) #142

Is your practitioner your regular physician or a specialist? Just curious. Most of don’t have that kind of information about our gut biome.

(Eve) #143

She is a specialist nutritional therapist complete with PhD, so looks to treat and heal with food and supplement programmes,.not mainstream drugs,.plus really knows her biochemistry / hard science behind it all. She is private and my stool analysis was also done privately as the NHS in England wouldn’t pay for something like that!

(John Dulleck) #144

Hello all,

Brand new carnivore here.

A few years ago I was a high carb vegan, a WOE that I followed for a few years. But living with a spouse who eats the standard Americad diet, maintaining a vegan lifestyle proved difficult, and I slowly drifted into a SAD as well, but still with a high card emphasis.

For years my doctor told me my blood glucose was too high, ranging from 120ish to around 145. And withan A1C as high as 6.5, she pronounced me a diabetic. She kept telling me, cut the carbs and exercise more, but the more quality carbs (whole grains, etc.) I cut, the more I replaced them with junk carbs (refined grains, sugars, etc.). So, over a period of a few years, my weight crept up from a little under 200 lbs. to 228. I am 6’1, so that is a BMI of 30.1, which makes me obese. I am 70 years old.

I realized that my efforts to cut carbs were only making my situation worse, so I started investigating the Keto and carnivore WOEs seriously, mostly through YouTube. And I liked what I saw as far as the benefits here concerned, so…

I ate my first carnivore meal last Saturday morning, six days ago.That was sort of an experiment, just to test the waters. I had 3 slices of thick sliced bacon and 4 eggs fried in the fat from the bacon. YUM! So, Sunday I at mostly carnivore all day, and the same since then.

I say mostly carnivore because I have not fully eliminated carbs yet. I have done this in an effort to reduce the effects of Keto flu, and it seems to have worked. I’ve felt a little run down the past couple of days and maybe a little fuzzy headed, but nothing bad. I’ve been cutting the carbs little by little and plan to cut to as close to zero as possible by the end of the weekend,

And, this morning, I had no sense of hunger, so I skipped breakfast. It’s now nearly lunch time and I am beginning to have an appetite.

I have read a number of posts here on this forum and am impressed. I am glad to join and be a part of this community.

I would be glad to hear any, hints, tips, or corrections from the community. I am always ready to hear good advice.

#145

Welcome!
Maybe come and see us in our monthly carnivore thread :slight_smile:
The little you wrote about your woe sounds good this far. Eat enough and ask the knowledgable veterans if you have some problem. They don’t know everything either, everyone is different, we typically experiment to some extent to see what our individual body finds the best.
Good luck!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #146

The term “keto flu” is a misnomer. It is the result of a lack of sodium (the kidneys excrete sodium more readily when insulin is not interfering with them), and a little bit of extra salt in the diet will prevent symptoms.

You may find this lecture by Dr. Stephen Phinney to be interesting and useful:

There is an adaptation period required for both the ketogenic diet and the carnivore diet, so don’t be alarmed if you feel off for a while. It is perfectly normal and doesn’t mean you are doing anything wrong.

(Robin) #147

Welcome! Welcome!
You will be a great addition to our forum. Sounds like you are off to a great start.
You got this!

(Eve) #148

Has anyone noticed that increasing electrolytes/ salt, has caused fluid retention/ weight gain?

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #149

Nope. With me, it’s carbohydrate that does tha.

#150

Not in my case but my weight is super stable anyway. But it’s what one can expected when the body works right, I mean the no extra water retention when eating more sodium than usual, changing bodyweight is perfectly normal, my body is a weirdo to keep it so stable.

(Eve) #151

So, the unimaginable has happened - l am getting used to not eating loads of my beloved veg! In fact, am pretty much fine with it - l would still like the magic wand to say l can eat however many carby fruit and veg as l want and not suffer, but l realise now that is just not possible! So am just very grateful that I am now ok with the new keto WOE - as you all said, it is just a matter of time and getting positive results to confirm it is a right decision

#152

Daily to my morning 800 ml of coffee, I add 4 grams of an electrolyte mix, which is 1:1 Redmond’s Real Salt and French’s NoSalt, and 3 grams of generic magnesium citrate. Workdays, 4 or 5 days each week, I drink a liter of water with approx 5 grams of Himalayan Pink salt mixed in.

I guess that makes me an Old Salt ! :pleading_face:

Since posting the above a week ago, I have increased my numbers. I’m now adding 5 grams of my Redmond/French mix and 3.5 grams of mag citrate to my morning coffee. On workdays I’ve increased the salt total to 10 grams in my liter of water.

I guess that makes me even more of an Old Salt! :pleading_face:

(Eve) #153

I am probably taking a similar amount in an effort to help.my body adjust which is taking some time. I think that increasing the salt etc may have helped somewhat

#154

I feel nostalgic now :smiley: I did it somewhat gradually but as I lowered my carbs, yep, vegs had to go. With my pace it wasn’t even hard. Much. I had some problematic times on keto, missing vegs… I ate more raw vegs, it helped :slight_smile: And only tried carnivore when I suddenly lost interest in vegs. Mostly. I still have the odd juicy, crunchy radish slice or tiny onion in a stew, that’s nice… But I really don’t need or desire vegs anymore. Surreal. But after a few years it’s more like my new normal, it’s only odd if I stop and think about it. But my first carni times were strange, I didn’t recognize myself.

(Eve) #155

So it seems that l have put on weight on the keto WOE but am not totally sure whether it is due to the increase in salts or a real gain. I have not been counting calories, as recommended, just concentrating on the percentages, but perhaps l should drop the calories a bit? Don’t want my body to think it is being starved though…

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #156

Refresh my memory: how long have you been eating a ketogenic diet?

If it’s less than a month, just be aware that many women need to go through a cycle or two before fat loss starts, and even menopausal and post-menopausal women often seem to need a period of hormonal re-balancing. And many women, conditioned for so many years to skimp on their food, find that their fat loss begins only when they start eating more, not less.

(Eve) #157

I started in January and have been progressively lowering my carbs bit by bit. I was in ketosis from mid Jan onwards. And yes ,.am post menopausal with gut issues that have been getting gradually worse for many years so alot of damage to heal. As you know, it is taking along time to become fat adjusted as well - not there yet l don’t think. I have decided to cut the salt back to the original intake which was based on your recommendations
Q

(Eve) #158

Do you think l am still rebalancing from a hormonal point of view? And so full benefits and weight loss not kicked in yet?
On a positive, several people have commented how well l am looking - better skin too!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #159

At two months, it is still possible. You are just about through fat-adaptation, I’d guess. If you are looking better, then things are going well, so far.

#160

And how big is the gain? It’s very normal to have bodyweight fluctuations, some people have a surprisingly big one. Fat-loss doesn’t necessarily happens in the beginning or even later, ketosis alone may not be enough. Some eat too much fat, others have certain items interfering… The body is good at doing odd things regarding water retention… Though not in my case, thankfully.

These are still your very early times, it’s quite possible you start to lose soon. Some people do it immediately, some after fat adaptation, women may need some time to start… Unless the gain is truly much (probably not), don’t worry about it.

Great! :smiley:

(Eve) #161

@Shinita. I have gained about 2-3 pounds but l am dropping the salt intake a little and then will weigh again in a few days as l am sure there is a chance I am suffering fluid retention, even though the science says it shouldn’t happen during ketosis… l will do a little experiment and see!