Started Keto Today! Totes newbie here

(Joey) #21

@Deekon I don’t mind you asking at all, but I think my experience was rather unusual, so I don’t want to set you (or anyone else) up for unrealistic expectations or disappointment.

I was one of those lucky ones… I didn’t really suffer from any “keto flu” at all. Perhaps not having been deep into sugars or too many refined carbs in the first place? I ate a HC/LF diet, but my carbs were complex and (supposedly) “healthy” ones. Hence I suspect my withdrawal was far more muted than many others have experienced. I braced for misery, but felt none.

Also, despite having grown increasing stiff and achy over recent years (with more low level systemic inflammation than I’d ever realized) which I assumed was just part of getting old, I was actually in fairly good shape for a guy in his 60s. At 5’9" I had settled into the low 160lbs range (thanks in part to daily cardio, tai chi, stretching, skiing, hiking, occasional free weights). Not fantastic, but not really too bad either, at least by Western adult standards. I’ve been Rx-free with decent blood chemistry.

So, having missed out on the “flu” part, I soon noticed marked health improvements in every respect within about 10-14 days. It still boggles my mind (which is clearer, focused and more energetic) how things have turned for the better on every front. Too many ways to mention here - but on top of seemingly miraculous reversals to the things that bugged me in recent years, in the past month I’ve also lost 13lbs and 3" at my waist. Energy is high and hunger is limited. And food tastes great.

In fact, it feels a bit like an “embarrassment of the riches” compared to what many experience early on until they adapted and reached the other side of the initial keto hump. So, in answering your question, I do not want you or anyone else to expect that your transitional experience will follow the same path as mine. As the saying around here goes: just “keto on”

One lesson I’ve learned from the forum is that, because everyone is indeed unique, we bring our own different situations/combinations to the table. What we do have in common is that we all seem to do considerably better (except perhaps for those struggling with extremely rare medical conditions) on a ketogenic way of eating, since it clearly seems to fit best with the natural body chemistry we’ve been given.

YMMV, but regardless of how your own journey unfolds, I’d encourage you to stick with it until you begin to reap the benefits that are within your reach. Well worth the near-term adjustments that will likely surface along the way.

(JB) #22

Great response and much appreciated. A little low energy so far but no headaches, nausea etc. I’ll “keto on” then, and thanks again for the response.

JB

(Marianne) #23

Hi @Deekon,

I would love to post his macros, however, he doesn’t do them - in fact, he doesn’t do anything - except what I tell him! :laughing: (Talk about “lazy keto”! That is him all the way!) Seriously, because he never had what I considered anything to lose (weight), he just started eating the same as I did. Fortunately, he is basically a carnivore by nature (except for starving and then bingeing on candy, which keto has cured him of), so he loves this WOE. He eats in probably a 16:8 window, snacking on ham, bacon, pepperoni, chicken thighs, etc., while he is working out. Then we eat the same dinner together, which is a sizeable piece of meat (beef or pork, usually. He will eat rotisserie chicken [if breast, I supplement with bacon fat], but I’m not feeling chicken so much right now). I have never been much of a one for veggies (but love those suckers with salt and butter!), so I easily stay probably under 10 g. carbs a day. I usually make him a decent portion of steamed broccoli, because he likes it, and add butter, salt and bacon fat to it. You want to make sure you are getting enough fat to satiate you.

I wish I could tell you more but I am looking to learn the science of putting on lean muscle as well - so I can pass it on to him - and for me when I start to exercise. There are def. some people on this forum that are ripped or well on their way @fishchris, (have you checked out Joe Rogan on youtube? - OMG, I remember when he was chubby and soft) and others. I would love to see tips from them about putting on lean muscle.

At a a minimum, you will lose the few unwanted pounds you don’t want and also lose the inflammation you probably have but don’t even know about. That in itself is a gain - plus you will feel fabulous. Then you can fine tune it from there to get that six-pack that every guy seems to want.

Good luck!

(JB) #24

You are a rock star! Thanks for responding, and I will see how it goes :slight_smile:

JB

(Marianne) #25

Son, God bless!!! (I can say that because I am an old lady.)

:rofl:

(Marianne) #26

This makes my heart sing.

The fact that otherwise “fit” and relatively thin people can benefit from this WOE just drives home that this is so much more than a “diet.” The non-scale health benefits are incredible.

I didn’t suffer any keto flu whatsoever (I attribute that to three meals a day initially, and lots of salt). Within days, my body didn’t hurt like it used to (from inflammation), I haven’t taken one nap since February (a daily occurrence and marathon sessions on the weekends), I have energy and stamina, etc.

Love to hear people’s success stories. We all celebrate each other’s victories.

(Marianne) #27

Oh, two wonderful breeds.

:cry:

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #28

Hello JB :slightly_smiling_face: Welcome.
At 6’3" 200lbs, you don’t sound overweight now. Of course Keto has lots of great benefits for all kinds of people, not just overweight people :slightly_smiling_face:

What I would tell any Keto newbie, is that if your the type of person that enjoys getting all scientific and technical, that’s fine. You will find no shortage of science and tech knowledge here. But on the other hand, don’t let yourself be overwhelmed. Keto can be as simple as:

Keep your carbs very low.
Don’t over eat.
Get some exercise.

Same with counting… You can count if it helps you, or makes you feel better, or you can just keep a general count in your head, and likely do just as well, or very close to it.

Best wishes :slightly_smiling_face:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #29

Welcome to the forums!

Yeah, ketosis begins as soon as your glucose falls low enough, but the muscles need to re-learn how to metabolise fatty acids in place of glucose. Partly that involves healing the mitochondria (where most of the metabolism takes place) and make new ones, partly it involves switching back on pathways that have been dormant. So it just takes time. I believe that the amount of time is affected by our age and by how insulin resistant we have become. It’s not like a switch, more of a gradual process, but some day fairly soon you are going to realise that you have back all the performance you lost, and possibly even more. In the meantime, go easy on yourself; adapting to a ketogenic diet is a fair amount of stress, even though it’s good stress.

Also, you don’t have to count macros or calories (unless you enjoy that sort of thing). The key to the whole way of eating is to keep your carbohydrate intake low enough to avoid stimulating chronically high insulin levels. Elevated levels of both glucose and insulin cause damage in various ways, so you want to keep them as low as possible.

The 20 g/day limit we advise here is set low enough to get virtually everyone into ketosis. Then just eat what feels like a reasonable amount of protein, and fill in the rest of your calories with fat. Fat has almost no effect on insulin secretion, so it is a safe source of energy. If you eat to satisfy your hunger, your body will tell you, through hunger and satiety, how much to eat. Most people find fat very satisfying as well as tasty, and it doesn’t take as much, because fat contains just over twice as many calories per gram as either carbohydrate or protein. As long as you keep your carbohydrate intake low, there is no need to fear fat.

(JB) #30

Hi, Chris and thanks for responding. I’m mostly trying to lean down and get my visceral belly fat gone which I heard Keto was awesome for. Hopefully this is true because I have committed to it regardless! You look pretty lean in your profile pic, did Keto help for that?

JB

(Jane Reed) #31

Deekon, my “long time” was three months. I didn’t have a scale so depended on loose clothing to indicate weight loss. That came after three months, although other good things happened before. For example, I lost a persistent, mucusy cough. Then, it took over 2 years to stumble on the fact that more meat and fewer vegetables would break my stall.

(Marianne) #32

Hi Chris,

Anyplace here where you or others have posted about gaining lean muscle, your work out plan, your eating plan, etc., to accomplish this? I am interested for my husband and I think that is also @Deekon s goal, too. You look pretty ripped in your photo and I thought that was a goal of yours.

Thanks.

(Cristian Lopez) #33

Yeah, it’s cause of this I’ve noticed a lot of people starting out quit. They don’t even get half way past adapting😔

(JB) #34

Great advice. I think I’ll do the 20 net carbs to get adapted, then change protein count once i get there. I hit 1.0 ketone levels this morning based off my meter so I think i’m headed in the right direction! Thanks for getting back to me, I can’t wait for the journey to never end :slight_smile:

JB

#35

Welcome and happy first day! Keep it simple and one day at a time, especially the first few weeks!

(JB) #36

Hey Jane!
Yea, I’ll have to hunker down and be ready to wait for results. Many are saying stick with it no matter how rough it gets, it will be worth it. I feel…greasy from the fat but I think it’s just a mind game on myself.

Thanks for the response!

JB

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #37

Hello Gingers Mommy :slight_smile: I’m sorry, I almost missed this… To be quite honest, “I was” pretty ripped… 11% BF at 229, in that shot, 4 1/2 years ago, right before my back injury. But here’s the thing, I was eating a basically Paleo diet at the time, with a medium/low carb intake. Low fat, very high protein. And after 5 years of that, I did get to be in the best shape of my life ! The only two downsides were 1) I could just never seem to get lower than 11% BF ? Always wanted to be below 10%… and 2) In spite of the fact that I was eating 4000-5500 cals a day, I was constantly ravenously STARVED ! That part was pretty miserable. I feel so much more satiated on Keto :slight_smile: …plus, I bet if I had been doing Keto… Or switched to Keto back then, I’d have finally been able to get into the sub10% BF range.
Honestly, I don’t even see how I could work into my schedule nowadays, all the time I spent working out and climbing mountains. So I never expect to be that muscular again, but if I could get 1/2 or 3/4’s of the muscle back, and be even leaner, that would be great too :slight_smile: