Super Stoked

[Momma-Bear]

Hi there fellow healthy lifestyle seekers, my name is Kimbrie and I am super excited to be here with you all. I am BRAND new, about halfway through my first fast which I decided to have it 48 hours long to really get things moving. I feel fine, am drinking lots of water and later today will get my supplements to hopefully avoid the yucky “flu”. The pic on top is me, I dont take many photos as I want to completely block out the last 2 years. So what brought me here is day before yesterday, my cousin, who is a large framed man like myself, posted on FB that he had lost over 40 pounds and the weight was quite literally falling off. I was obviously quite intrigued and began to research this lifestyle plan for myself. Next thing I know 6 hours have gone by and I am signing on the dotted line sold on the whole mess. I immediately started my fast and gathering up the food and supplies needed to achieve the greatest success. I am driving everyone around me nuts as I cant stop talking about it, it is just ideal for me if I am going to be successful. Back in 2013 I lost 112 pounds in a very unhealthy way. So when things returned to normal somewhat then here creeps in that weight. I hadn’t made any formal changes to my diet and I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with food.
The pic on the bottom is me at my smallest, I was a size 10/12 but for a larger framed gal I was pretty cool with it. Unfortunately, at the same time I was bogged down in a deep depression. I stopped cleaning my house, barely got off the couch, as the weight packed on I got to the point I couldn’t even look in the mirror at what I had become. I was completely powerless to stop it or change it. So for about 2 years now I have been hovering between 295 and 310. I would lose 6 pounds, gain back 4, never really getting anywhere but frustrated. I can barely tie my own shoes, so many things are just so difficult when you are 100+ pounds overweight. I have been thinner and the 3 pounder you see in the pic and I can without a doubt, I get treated totally different by people in most situations. Men and Women alike. In my mind I didn’t see java the hut the emotional eating machine, so I had convinced myself that I was 50 or 60 pounds smaller than reality. A couple of weeks ago I suddenly started to come out of my bluesy fog, I began cleaning my house again, actually doing my hair and make up again in the mirror. Now I feel confident, motivated, and committed to this 100% The only option is to succeed. So I began to really concentrate on making healthy choices, to cut out my craft IPA because it is 30g of carbs per beer, and I am a grown woman…usually having 4 to 6 a day. So when I discovered the intermittent fasting and keto combination like I said it was full steam ahead. My plan is to fast 36 hrs, then eat around 1500 calories over the next 12 hours, and so on etc. It might be a bit ambitious but thankfully I am returning to my old self again and as a professional salesperson I needed me back to effectively do my job. Regardless if I havent lost a pound or however long it takes me to lose pounds, I know I am making the best choice for my health and my waistline. I have tried out a few tracking apps and unfortunately the ones I really like cost money. But hey i would have dues at weight watchers or at the gym so cost of doing business I suppose.

I have gained so much from your posts and replies. It is great we can all do this together. I am hoping someone reading this will also be doing 36 to 48 hour fasts and can share some insight…I really just want to be successful. If you would have asked me 3 months ago if I would willingly give up bread, carbs, and my favorite beer, I would have laughed and resigned myself to this overly large shell of me I have been carrying around for almost 2 years. Does anyone out there test their ketone and glucose levels to make sure you are on track? If so, how often do you do it? Did you find it helpful? Was anyone able to do regular and consistently more challenging workouts during the first few weeks? I am in pretty horrible physical condition so I wont be climbing any mountains just yet, but would like to walk 20 to 30 min 5 days a week unless that is cuckoo? Also I read somewhere it is good to mix up your food choices regularly so your body doesn’t adjust to them and lower insulin resistance? Well I am sure I have a bunch more questions, so buckle up spanky lol Thanks for your time and for the record I am a newbie this is true but i make a KILLER cheerleader…SO GO YOU GO, YOU GOT THIS CHAMP!!!

[beccs]

First of all, welcome to the forum and congrats on taking this huge step to a healthier lifestyle you are beautiful and I’m glad you are gaining your confidence back.

Regarding tracking apps - I find Cronometer to be the best and it’s free. I know lots of people on here also use it.

Cronometer: Track nutrition & count calories

Regarding calorie counting - in my opinion, don’t. Track your carbs for now. Don’t worry about calories. Keep your net carbs at 20g or less per day, and eat fat / protein to satiety. Eventually you will learn when you are actually hungry, and not just craving food. Also if you have a lot of stored fat on your body, your body will be able to utilize that for energy so fasting should be much easier. I wish you the best of luck and you’ve got this!

This is a good read if you haven’t already seen it:

Keto Is This Easy

Keto is this easy (aka Keto for beginners) Quick Version This is for Phase One—the starter phase. It’s still not complicated later, but this is the really easy-to-explain version which will help you no end. Eat under 20g of carbs a day (usually 20g net when starting, but for some people 20g total carbs works better). Don’t worry about the scale. All it tells you is weight, it tells you nothing about body composition, even the “smart” scales. Eat plenty of good food—fat and protein—whil…

[Momma-Bear]

Thank you for your response and your input. It is a load off my mind not to have to tediously count every almond I eat lol…that would not lead to success for me probably…really glad to be here, there is some great info to be had for sure

[Ilana_Rose]

a load off my mind not to have to tediously count every almond I eat lol

Remember, almonds have carbs. It’s pretty helpful to track at least initially to ensure that you are actually staying under 20 grams of carbs and not being too excessive in your protein consumption. Most of us aren’t religious about tracking but usually do so when first sorting out the diet and again when we encounter a significant stall.

So you should count carbs but not worry about the calories, at least to start and especially if you are also fasting. 48 hour fasts followed by only 1500 calories might be too much of a starvation signal to your body. Better to fast and then eat to complete satiety in your feeding periods.

Also, fasting right out of the gate can be very difficult before one is fat adapted. If you find it hard don’t despair. Just take it more slowly. Start with eating keto properly for a month and let your body adjust.

[Rclause]

@Momma-Bear I like you did the whole caloric restriction thing and was successful in losing my 50 lb beer gut (I like IPA’s too). As soon as I hit my lowest weight I started putting it back on. I happened across the Documentary “The Magic Pill” and I was hooked. Fast forward 1 1/2 years and I am happily stuck at about 6 lbs froom what my goal weight is. I can maintain this exact weight effortlessly. All you have to do is limit carbs. You will keep feeling better and better as the months pass. I don’t track, log or limit calories at all but some like to track. Good luck and stay strong while your body switches to fat burning.

Also, not that I am encouraging beer drinking I am quite fond of Slightly Mighty IPA from DogFishHead brewing. It has 3.5g crabs per 12oz can so if you like you can fit some in. I had 3 or 4 Saturday because I can. I had lots of real high carb craft beer Friday at a local brewery that had a band and no I did not get drunk. I did gain a couple of pounds though. This morning I am right back to my same old stuck at weight. I can’t do that everyday but once in a while doesn’t seem to hurt me.

[TimeForMe]

Was anyone able to do regular and consistently more challenging workouts during the first few weeks? I am in pretty horrible physical condition so I wont be climbing any mountains just yet, but would like to walk 20 to 30 min 5 days a week unless that is cuckoo? Also I read somewhere it is good to mix up your food choices regularly so your body doesn’t adjust to them and lower insulin resistance?

Welcome! I still consider myself a newbie… about four months in and down about 35 pounds. There are many here with a lot more knowledge and expertise but I’ll share my basic approach about adding exercise and fasting.

I’ve found that focusing on one thing at a time and changing things up as weight loss slows has worked for me. First, I focused on eating under 20g total carbs. I didn’t count calories or worry about macros. Then after a couple of months of pretty strict adherence to that, I started looking at fasting. I added some intermittent fasting and then did an extended fast. Once weight loss slows again, I’ll look at dropping sweeteners. I’m saving the addition of exercise for last, once I’m close to my goal weight. (I already walk a good bit during work but intentional exercise isn’t fun for me at all.)

There are many tweaks that can be made and taking one at a time not only simplifies things but helps you to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

[Momma-Bear]

Great feedback, thank you SO much

[Momma-Bear]

HOLY COW THAT IS GREAT NEWS…I thought I would never experience such hoppy goodness again and was kind of bummed…thank you for your input and time.

[Momma-Bear]

Hi there, thank you for your reply and DEFINITELY congrats on your 35 pounds…I think when I get there I will be in between my 2 sizes of wardrobe uh oh…these are great problems to have however

[Janie]

Welcome to the forum!!!

Lots of great support here. If you are looking for fasting support there is a monthly thread of people doing short or longer fasts and they jump on the thread when they are fasting. Here is Oct. Someone will start a new one in Nov.

October 2019 - IF/EF Chat Thread (All Welcome)

Great numbers. I hope you breeze into 72 hrs.

[BlueViolet]

@Momma-Bear What a fun post, thanks, Kimbrie (neat name too )

Don’t get crazy re: supplements and supplies and don’t get sucked into food labeled, “KETO”, no need for all that crap.

It can be done super simply: keep carbs way low is all I did, it worked great. I did stall when I got close to goal (last ten pounds) so went “almost-carn” and that broke the stall.

Lots of bright, nice folks on here, esp Weird Uncle Dave @David_Stilley who is very good at advice, and the kindest soul on the forum dear Susan @Momof5 who like you has a lot to lose still.

I’m not one of the nice ones, I’m a miserable wretched sort but I do like to drop songs and cutes here and there

[monsterjuice]

You’ll do great, don’t buy into any of the “keto junk”. You don’t need supplements other than electrolytes. Salt, magnesium if you feel you need it. Potassium rich foods can help some. 20g or less, don’t calorie restrict. Eat healthy fats and proteins to satiety, I put fats first as for most consuming higher works for them! Eat yummy foods and enjoy. Men tend to lose quicker so don’t get discouraged, some people lose fast some it’s a bit slower, don’t think your stalling unless it goes months of no progress. This is a great forum. Enjoy and have fun, also don’t push fasting too much in the beginning, some are fine, but give your body time to adjust to the new eating regimen.

[barefootbob]

to cut out my craft IPA because it is 30g of carbs per beer

Yeah, this was tough for me at first because I freakin’ loved good beer. Now it just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.
As a workaround, there’s a thread on here experimenting with infusing Irish whiskey with hops and having it with carbonated water. Not much body but the taste was pretty good. I preferred mixing it with low carb beer like Mich Ultra. If I can find the thread I’ll update this post with a link to it.
Good luck, by the way! Glad to see you’re excited and ready to change your life for the better.

Ah here it is! It was Carl’s idea and it was brilliant.

Carl's Zero-Carb IPA Beer

Originally published at: http://blog.2keto.com/recipe/carls-zero-carb-ipa-beer/ [image] This recipe came out of a conversation with a friend’s wife, who told me her hubby ditched the keto diet because he couldn’t give up beer. I went to work on it right away, and came up with a reasonable facsimile. Start with some dried hops and Irish Whiskey. Soak 4 cups of hops in 750ml of Irish Whiskey. I used Jameson. Make sure the hops are completely soaked, and store in the fridge for at least 5 day…

Just remember that alcohol gets metabolized first so it will mess with any progress.

[gingersmommy]

Regarding calorie counting - in my opinion, don’t. Track your carbs for now. Don’t worry about calories. Keep your net carbs at 20g or less per day, and eat fat / protein to satiety.

@Momma-Bear, welcome. In addition to the above, I would suggest you put fasting on hold until you have done this for 2-3 months. No need to stress your body right from the get-go. You are making a major metabolic change and your body is working to heal itself. Go easy on it and give it some extra TLC during this period.

Good luck on your journey. Hope to see you around.

[piet]

Wow!! My fellow IPA drinker!! I am always searching for encouraging life stories and yours blessed my heart! Thank you for sharing and being so accountable for your own personal journey! Testimonies like yours are inspiring! I’m pretty new to Keto and to this forum but both have been mind and life changing!! I look forward to our stories in a year!! Bang on my friend!! We got this!

[Karla_Sykes]

Welcome

[Momma-Bear]

Not sure if I already responded, if so, my bad just wanted to make sure I said thank you for such a nice and thoughtful message…always nice when someone gets you especially when you are just truly being you…best of luck sweets, run into you sometime again I hope

[Rebj]

Welcome and thanks for sharing! I have eaten this way for 4.5 months now. I read and researched and listened to 2ketodudes podcasts before I started. I felt prepared. I began with 3 meals per day, but kept carbs below 20g as suggested. Slowly but surely my body said “Rebecca, your aren’t hungry, so don’t eat.” This seemed scary, but I listened. Now I am pretty much eating in a 16/8 or 18/6 window, 1 or 2 meals a day. Just follow the 20 g carb suggestion to start and listen to your body. I have lost 30 lbs, but more importantly my body has changed in composition and into smaller clothes. Good luck and be patient!!

[Momof5]

Welcome to the forum, Kimbrie =).

I was 293 in February, and am now at 242, and still have over 100 pounds to lose, so I can totally relate to your frustrations and the Yo-Yo dieting. I have lost 51 pounds so far on Keto, and I feel so much better now then I did in February, and if I can do it, you can too for sure!!

I lost over 100 pounds in 2002-2003 in 8 months doing Susan Powter, and gained back over 120 of it shortly afterwards, so I know!! It is annoying, but Keto is for life, it is not a diet, it is a new way of eating!

We will all be here to encourage you, answer questions, share our own personal things that have worked for us and to cheer you on!!

[Momma-Bear]

Hi there! thanks for your response. I have also felt that when I begin to eat again tomorrow I wont be able to eat the whole 1500 calories I set aside for myself. I have never been one to eat 3 meals plus snacks a day…I usually eat a big (ok honestly, my portion sizes were really out of control, I am a really steady emotional eater. Just in the couple of days I have been committed to working this program I have not once been hungry, I was able to easily walk away from my daily beloved 4 or 5 IPA’s a day(that is like 130g of carbs right there) if I really wanted to change my life I had to step up 100%, no cheat days, no carbs more than 20%, sticking to my exercise regimen even when I dont feel like leaving the house. I am so tired but completely wired at the same time it is kind of a trip. I know I needed to expect the first few weeks to be an adjustment period. Thank you for reading my rambling nonsense and also for your reply if you should choose to leave one…best of luck!