Sugar Question

(Erin ) #1

I’ve been doing IF and keto diet since December 1. I am definitely staying under 20g carbs and staying away from sugar, unless I use Swerve. I’m still not in ketosis, atleast my sticks don’t show it. I’m going to order a blood monitor to test that way. But as of now nothing but a trace. I’m wondering, if you end up eating something with hidden sugars in it, even if it’s a tiny amount, could that keep you from getting fat adapted?

In other words, does it need to be 100% ZERO sugars in order to be fat adapted or in ketosis, or is it ok if some little bits find their way in there occasionally.

I know for a fact I am under eating as far as calories, which has always been a problem for me and why IF is so easy for me to do. But even on my feast days I can’t get anywhere near my goal for calories and usually end up around 1000-1200 if I TRY lol. Sad I know. It’s just hard bc I work night shift and sleep during the day so when I get up I usually only eat one time before going back to bed.

ive been trying to consume as much fat as possible but my protein is up there also, probably going over the recommended gram amount. Could that possibly be an issue?

I’m being patient but I would love to feel that ketosis high everyone talks about :upside_down_face:

(Alana ) #2

I’ve been keto since November 9th. The first few weeks my sticks were light pink as well. I invested in keto mojo and started testing my blood glucose which never got above 1.3. So things we’re good however, no weight loss.

Decided to egg fast to kick things up a notch. Ran out of blood tests sticks so bought some urine sticks for a quick check. Tested in the evening after being well hydrated and now testing high.

I would suggest as others told me KCKO. It takes your body a bit to figure things out. And a negative urine stick doesn’t mean much. From what I’ve read positive sticks mean you’re in ketosis but negative sticks could mean you’re in ketosis too. Too many factors can result in negative sticks.

(DJ) #3

It hasn’t been that long since Dec 1st…keep calm and keto on.

But what exactly are you eating? If you’re trying to aim to get 20g of carbs, are these “net” or total carbs? Maybe the carb creep in everything else you’re eating adds up to way more than 20? Are you trying to follow something like Dr. Westman’s “page 4” ? Maybe you’re eating too much cheese?

It’s almost impossible to avoid little bits of sugar creeping in there unless you cook everything you eat at home, but you can really minimize it by sticking to meat and vegetables, and avoiding sauces other than stuff like Tabasco.

(Dan Dan) #4

I recommend buying a cheap breathalyzer :grin:

IF/EF Keto WOE is Self-Discovery :wink:

Good luck and much success in your journey in IF/EF Keto WOE :grin:

(Kylea) #5

I myself have just reduced my protein intake over the past few weeks & have noticed a huge difference in how I feel as well as my ketone readings. I’d definitely give it a try. :smile:

(Eva ) #6

Yes, you are right.If you are having too much protein it get converted into glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis. This in turn raises your insulin and… poof! No ketosis. Try eating less protein and more leafy veggies with more fat on them.

(Lesley) #7

Hi Evabcn, I disagree about too much protein. Read the blog post linked to here Protein Raising Glucose, Explains it in a lot of detail about what is really happening with glucoeogenesis. Dispels some common myths.

@StarRRT mentioned that she is having trouble eating enough calories (common to most of us), so chances are she isn’t eating a huge amount of protein anyways.

(Allie) #8

Too much protein has definitely been a factor for me in the past. I can push the limits with carbs more than I can with protein.

(Lesley) #9

That’s interesting regarding pushing limits more with carbs.

(Erin ) #10

Wow interesting!

I suppose it can affect everyone differently. My body is so weird I can’t ever figure it out.

I didn’t think about the cheese though. I do eat a lot of that, but I don’t know if it could put me over. The last time I calculated on the keto calculator I only got 11g of carbs. I had 77g of fat and 92g of protein. It said I went over my protein. But I only had 1150cals total. I think the protein was around 33% of calories.

Regardless if we end up consuming some amount of hidden sugars it shouldn’t hinder us from getting fat adapted right?

(Erin ) #11

This more accurate than the blood test or about the same?

(Erin ) #12

DJ what is Dr Westmans page 4???

(Lesley) #13

I’ll second the whole cheese thing. I noticed my weight loss would increase when I lowered my cheese and yogurt consumption and completely stall when I was eating more.

Unfortunately for me I wanted to stop weight loss but was lowering the dairy for reasons of inflammation and autoimmune disease.

Edit: Everyone is different of course but just out of interest, I eat anything up to 30g net carbs a day and stay in ketosis. Also, you can be fat adapted and burning fat as primary fuel without being in ketosis. It’s early days, Keep calm and keto on!

(Lesley) #14

Dr. Westmans page 4, I believe is a printout he use to give his patients telling them the foods permitted and forbidden. Diet sheet!

(Dan Dan) #15

There is a lot of debate on that :grin:

its less expensive :thinking:

your welcome to read the topic it has a lot of info :grin:

(Erin ) #16

Awesome I’m going to check that page out.

You know I was thinking about the whole dairy inflammatory response thing. I have a serious allergy to gluten, and I think I was lactose Intolerant as a child. I eat dairy and drink cream and milk in my coffee etc etc and never noticed anything except my gluten allergic response. Well, I haven’t eaten gluten in a while now but multiple times now I have gotten the exact same “gluten allergic reaction” but without eating gluten. The only thing I can pin it on would be the half and half I used in my coffee. I wonder if the dairy gives the same inflammatory response as the gluten did.

Strange how you find this stuff out when you stop eating lol.

I just feel like I need to eat cheese/dairy or else it’s hard to even get close to enough fat for the day. I HATE avocados which sucks for me!!

#17

@StarRRT I’ll second the cheap breathalyzer. I couldn’t warrant the expense of a ketonix and had no desire to keep sticking myself, plus the blood strips are expensive. I picked up a cheap breathalyzer on ebay and have had good results.

(Sophie) #18

@StarRRT when I started I used the Stix and would get a small/moderate reading depending on the time of day and how hydrated I happened to be. I later purchased a cheapo breathalyzer of Ebay and could never get a reading on it. Yes, I tested it many times and it never worked for me. Maybe because I’ve been lo-carb for so many years before keto I’m more efficient at using my ketones or I never had breath business going on? Save your money, the only certain way to tell is by testing your blood, and I am consistently in ketosis. It’s also useful if you want to test your response to different foods.

#19

This process is demand driven based on nutritional requirements. The body will create enough glucose to keep itself going, and this actually leads to more benefits as the process is quite demanding and requires additional energy to drive it.

There is more chance of your body rejecting the additional protein and dumping it (trips to the toilet) than there is it triggering gluconeogenesis when it doesn’t need to do so. The body doesn’t trigger that process for the sake of adding additional fat stores. It’s clever. It triggers that process to give vital organs the ability to function as they should.

(Dan Dan) #20

Please don’t discourage others because you had a bad experience :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

A cheap Breathalyzer costs $8 shipped (walmart) a small price compared to the cost of blood meter and strips :thinking: