Trying again

newbies
(Renu ) #1

Hi,

Because of some family health emergency i had to opt out of ketosis around a month back…
Prior to that 2 months in ketosis i lost around 10 kgs and was doing fine…
Now , I have gained back 5 kg… Honestly i was excepting this much or more.

For last 4 days im trying to get back and trying to do my best…
Keeping my carb below 25gms.
But my body is acting weird this time… im feeling hungry like hell all the time… terrible degistion problems…
Yesterday i checked on urine strip and i was in moderate ketosis but today again result shows negative.

Im motivated enough to continue but its difficult this time… why ? Is it all normal ?

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #2

@MooBoom Do you have any feedback here? I know you had a couple similar setbacks that you overcame.

(MooBoom) #3

@Ruina sure do :slight_smile:

@Renu first up, please don’t be too hard on yourself. Falling off the wagon happens and you’re already way ahead of the eight ball- why? Because you’re here, and you’re climbing back on the wagon. And you’re motivated!

It might take a bit of time to re-adapt, but you’ll click back in don’t worry. If you’re hungry, eat- don’t feel you have to fast or deprive yourself of calories or anything like that, it won’t necessarily speed things up.

It’ll just take time. You’re committed, so it’ll happen.

(Renu ) #4

Thanks…
Im just scared of not able to get back on ketosis…
Im eating 3 keto meals a day still feel hungry… feel as if my body is trying to denie the process this time…
Im hopefully and trying to keep calm…

(MooBoom) #5

If you got into ketosis once before, you can do it again. Thing is, your body has gone through a lot recently:

  1. Going keto
  2. A month eating carbs
  3. Family health emergency (may have caused you quite some stress?)
  4. Return to keto

That is a lot and I’m really not surprised things are a bit out of whack right now. I do think time will be your friend, and you just need to keep those carbs below 20g, eat enough protein to maintain your LBL (at a minimum) eat fat to satiety, and be kind to your self :slight_smile:

If it helps reassure you further, I’ve come back twice now from months and months of carb eating but ketosis always click back in even if it happens a little slower each time.

Paging @CarlKeller who shared a great link about why it’s harder to get back into ketosis after falling off the wagon (and I can’t find it now…)

(Carl Keller) #6

https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2009/01/16/why-is-low-carb-harder-the-second-time-around/

(MooBoom) #7

legend, thank you :raised_hands:

(Renu ) #8

Thank u soo much… :hugs::hugs:
Hope to get back to ketosis soon… will keep updating…

(Carl Keller) #9

Your hormonal tantrums should fade in time. Just keep making the right response when you get hungry. Re-teach your body that fat and protein are the theme and it will re-adjust.

(Alec) #10

@Renu
I found it harder initially 2nd time round, but as I stuck at it, I found it improved quickly. As Mon says, give yourself some time… don’t expect miracles. Remember you’re on this for the long haul, so make it enjoyable (or you won’t stick with it).

(mole person) #11

Urine strips need a bit of finesse to use correctly. You shouldn’t ever measure in the early part of the day or shortly after meals or exercise. All of these factors can significantly weaken your results. I still use urine strips after more than two years in ketosis but I always measure at the same time, right before my supper meal.

Ketosis is achieved as soon as your body runs out of glucose and glycogen for fuel so if you are keeping your carbs very low (<20 grams) and your protein at a body size appropriate level you should be in ketosis after a couple of days of ketogenic eating.

Are you counting every gram of carbohydrates carefully?

(mole person) #12

That’s a good article @CarlKeller. I’d recommend that even to people in a significant stall.

(Jay Patten) #13

Been there, done that. I have jumped on and off of Keto many times in my life (back when I thought “Keto is bad long term”).

I would say just get back on the horse and keep going. I wouldn’t pay to much mind to urine strips, either. People become hyper-focused on their ketone levels and can’t see the forest through the trees. Having been keto recently and then having a month long carb up certainly played havoc with your metabolism. Plus stress is a real killer, too.

I have noticed that some people do have a tough time getting back into ketosis when they carb cycle, so what you’re going through is normal. Now you know that you should do your best not to cycle in and out of ketosis. Some people are just lucky, I guess. They can carb up on Saturday and be back into ketosis on Monday.

(Jay Patten) #14

Yep. This seems to be true for a lot of people.

I went keto in early fall of 2017 and dropped like 20 pounds. Then I fell off the wagon and gained the weight back and then some. I finally got serious in January of 2018 when I went to my doctor (on December 29th, 2017) and weighed almost 290 pounds.

I had a much tougher time that second go around, probably because I had been in ketosis a few months prior and then screwed myself up but eating tons of carbs and sugar again.

(Renu ) #15

Yes, im counting on my carb intake its usually around 20-25 gms max…
Im struggling with sweet though, i use stevia powder (2 teaspoons ) per day and trying to reduce it furthur…

(MooBoom) #16

That may be hurting you on the hunger front @renu, some people don’t tolerate artificial sweeteners well and it can ramp up hunger for them.

(Alex ) #17

So so easy to fall off the wagon, hope you jump back on successfully!

(Renu ) #18

Ohh may be…have to stop doing that to myself…

(Renu ) #19

Yes hopefully…

#20

I’ve definitely experienced this. After having a very easy adaptive period last year when I did keto, I’ve had a very difficult time this year. My blood ketones still aren’t very high, I don’t use the urine strips at all. But I do FEEL better, over three weeks into this, so I can only assume that I’m back in ketosis.

Weight loss? Zero. Not one single pound. Hopefully that will begin to change eventually.