Sugar Question

(Sophie) #21

Not to be discouraging, just simply relating my personal experience. Blood testing is the surest way to tell for me.

(Lesley) #22

I know how you feel Erin. I relied heavily on cheese at the start (and went through phases with full fat yogurt). I use goats milk and butter so not sure they have same response as the lactose in cows milk. But many people (and experts) do say too much cheese can hamper progress. And yes you do notice this stuff way more once you cut the carbs out. You will get there! :slight_smile:

I just had to google what half and half is (not a UK thing). I would go for full fat for everything now on keto.

#23

Hi DJ.

I was reading this topic and saw your reply. I had been thinking about cheese a lot lately. I’m still kinda new to keto- so forgive me. I eat A LOT of cheese with my meals, almost everyday. I was concerned I was eating too much; but I don’t recall hearing anything bad about cheese. I have had pretty good success with the diet in terms of results.

I know some cheeses are worse than others; but many like sharp cheddar- I thought were pretty low in carbs and I thought had good macro distribution.

Is there something i’m missing or misunderstanding about cheese?

Thanks,

Vincent

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #24

One way to get more fat is to eat fattier non-dairy foods. This is your opportunity to enjoy lots of bacon, the fat on pork chops, well-marbled beef, that sort of thing.

Also, cook with bacon fat, tallow, lard, or coconut oil. (Olive oil has a lower smoke point than these other fats, so save it for dressing your salad.) That will also add to your fat consumption, as well as to the flavor of your food. I like drinking some of the bacon fat, but not everyone does.

Eggs are also a good food with lots of fat, and many people find that clarified butter (also known as “ghee”) doesn’t trigger a dairy reaction when they cook with it.

Good luck! :bacon:

(Erin ) #25

I love this forum! Everyone is so helpful!

I think I might just buy both measuring devices and alternate using them. I didn’t know you wouldn’t get any reading if you weren’t hydrated. I’ve been fasting since about 11pm last night when I got home from work at 7 I tested and had pink, not dark but definitely small instead of trace. Then around 2pm when I woke up it was negative. Weird how it works. But hey the scale keeps going down so I’m happy about that. Started at 165 now 158 since dec 1. My perfect weight is 140 so I’ll be good once I get there.

What I don’t understand is how does all this fat NOT cause high cholesterol?? How is all the butter and cream cheese and oils good for you? This doesn’t clog your arteries ??? I specialize in CARDIOpulmonary…cardio meaning heart lol. If I told my physicians I was eating loads of bacon and butter to become healthier they’d look at me like I was insane. :joy:

(Leigh Thomas) #26

I was in a similar boat to you so I tried a little experiment. The next thing that happened was I switched into full keto (fat adapted).

So what I did I upped my fat intake by more than 80g a day.

So you probably thinking how to do this.

So I started to have a high fat drink of about 900cal F 84g P 29g C 14g.

I mixed a small 270ml tin of coconut cream with 1 scope of Ancient Nutrition Bone broth and 1 scope of MCT powder.

So you’re probably not getting enough fat. I know this can be a bit overwhelming at first to think of eating so much. But you need to eat more to fix the adrenals and metabolic issues. Once your body heals things will start happening.

#27

Here’s a good read about ketostix. :slight_smile: http://ketopia.com/why-you-need-to-stop-worrying-about-the-color-of-your-ketostix/

#28

If you want to dig into cholesterol, check out Drs Sinatra and Bowden’s excellent book, “The Great Cholesterol Myth” to discover how it works within the body versus how the medical community assumed it worked all these years.

(Erin ) #29

Thanks I’ll read it!!!

(Karl L) #30

I’ve been keto about 6 months and far from an expert, but have a couple of observations.
First, I would suggest getting comfortable with your new way of eating for a while before trying fasting. It was tough for me to eat enough fat at first; I’ve been hearing that fat is bad all my life!
Second, 1150 calories seems pretty stinking low to me. What I really enjoy about keto is enjoying the rich, fatty, high calorie foods! Bullet proof coffee, heavy whipping cream, steak, eggs, bacon (and bacon grease!), butter, cream cheese, salami, blue cheese dressing, etc.
Relax. Enjoy eating. You’re putting your body through a major change; a new fuel source! Tune in to your body and notice the changes; better sleep, increased mental clarity, loads of energy and stable moods.
Keep Calm and Keto On!

#31

I’ll second April’s book recommendation. Also Ivor Cummins has some great youtube videos. If you have the time check out his video The Cholesterol Conundrum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuj6nxCDBZ0

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #32

The key is that all that fat provides a lot of energy without stimulating insulin production the way carbohydrate does. Insulin is the hormone that signals the body to store fat and burn glucose, because carbohydrate molecules are nothing but long strings of glucose molecules bound together, and too much glucose in your system is a metabolic emergency. So if you eat carbs, the body needs to deal with it in preference to anything else, and uses insulin to signal your muscles and other cells to burn glucose and your fat cells to store fat.

On the other hand, if you eat a minimal amount of carbohydrate, your pancreas does not need to secrete glucose, your fat cells are free to release fat into the bloodstream, and your other cells are free to metabolize it. Not only that, but fat is very satisfying to eat, so if you eat fat until you are no longer hungry (and then stop!), you don’t even have to count calories. Your body will tell you when you’ve given it enough energy—so if you have stored fat to burn, it will stop you from eating soon enough that a lot of your energy needs can be met from your stored fat as well as from the fat you eat.

Of course, once you have metabolized your stored fat, there will come a time when you will need more calories in your diet. But you don’t even need to think about that—just keep on eating fat until you’re not hungry, and your body will keep on signaling when you’ve given it enough. Your calorie level will rise automatically to compensate for the stored fat that isn’t there anymore.

This is what I love about the keto way of eating. No hunger pangs, and the weight loss is effortless. I don’t even have to think about it, apart from keeping my carbohydrate intake as low as possible. So far, I’m down about 60 pounds, with another 50 or so to go. And all from eating as much bacon as I want! :bacon:

(Erin ) #33

Paul

Amazing! I love it.
Thanks for the explanation. I love science don’t you? Haha.

I think my only problem will be trying to eat enough fat! It is hard which is weird to say lol

(Erin ) #34

Ok so more fat. It seems so hard to do lol.

(sandra) #35

Agree

(Rebecca) #36

So I’ve been keto for 30 days now and I’ve not checked my ketone level once. In doing my research before starting, there were several people who advised going off of how you feel. Too many people become so dependent on the test results and don’t listen to your body. If you are showing the signs of ketosis and you know you’re not eating carbs, then you’re fine. The level doesn’t matter. Some people are more efficient at utilizing the ketones and therefore don’t have much extra floating around to show up on the test. Trust the process.

(Ken) #37

The issue is not if you’re in ketosis. The real issue
is if you’re in lipolysis, which you are. Your caloric intake is fairly low, so any ketones you’re producing are being used, not excreted as excess in your urine.

(Erin ) #38

Sounds good.
I definitely feel much better than I used to. Much more energy and not as anxiety ridden as I used to be. Strange how food can do so much.

(DJ) #39

Yeah, cheese is a common culprit. I’ll give you at least three reasons, there may be more:

  1. easy to over-consume
  2. you get a reasonably high insulin response from dairy products
  3. there are carbs in cheese and they can add up

Dr. Westman’s Page 4 recommends less than 4 oz per day

(Michael ) #40

Just a shot in the dark but perhaps cheese that’s aged more like swiss or cheddar would have less lactose so less insulin response? I stopped cheese because of acne…im sensitive. Also, if you’re using artificial sweeteners or stevia, you could be getting an insulin response.

Ketostix are weird. First couple days of ketosis i get high levels and then sometimes they drop off. So, that could be that my body is using ketones more efficiently, or I’m getting too much protein and going out of ketosis. A test of the protein or stevia theory is fasting. I have confirmed the same ketostix drop off during a fast so obviously has to do more with ketone utilization than not being in ketosis. I obviously have to be in ketosis after 5 days of fasting

Fyi, I generally see higher ketostix results later in the day whether following keto diet or completely fasting

I’m considering getting a blood monitor to see exactly what is going on but I’m continuing to lose body fat so not overly concerned

Good luck