Went Slightly over on Carb Grams - Consequences?

(Alison) #1

Hey all! I’m new to a committed Ketogenic lifestyle… previously have attempted ‘low carb high fat’ while trying to maintain my fake sweeteners, diet coke, dark chocolate and champagne… can’t imagine why it didn’t work LOL.

Anyway, I’ve adopted a strict by the rules plan and started about 2 weeks ago… less than 20g incidental carbs per day, no more than 55-85g protein daily, and the rest of calories from fat… I also fasted for 3 days after about 5 days of induction. All has been great - a breeze! I had one day of keto flu, Day 2 of induction to be exact, and felt immediately better after salt intake. The fast was super. I suspect it really launched me into fat burning because I had the metallic taste in my mouth - I haven’t been testing ketones or blood sugar. Based on standard blood work at physicals though my blood sugar was approaching pre-diabetic.

So there’s the background… my question is - I had 4g extra carbs yesterday to total 24g… I tracked at day end and realized a 1 to 1.5c serving of cauliflower put me over the top w/ 8 grams (NOOOO!) In your experience, is this enough to kick me out of fat burning or off track? I haven’t had any synthetic or natural sweet flavors at all so as not to trigger insulin response and 80% of my calories are fat. I’m fasting 3 days again next week.

REALLY trying hard to follow to a T to kickstart and do it by the book for once! I’d like to lose about 60 more lbs, I’ve lost 8.5 so far.

Thank you for any insights on this! :slight_smile:

(Siobhan) #2

That is probably not enough to do anything unless you are very sensitive.
Even going over by quite a bit the only thing Ive experienced is some water weight that goes away in a few days, however I did experience a return of unstable mood and joint ache the next day.

It really depends a lot on the person.
The trickiness of cauliflower is why I try to avoid it now, along with most veggies (lol) makes my life easier

(Dany Bolduc) #3

Congrats on your progress so far and I admire your commitment to the process.
I definitely wouldn’t worry about these 4 extra carbs. You are doing awesome KCKO.

I want to give you a little warning from my personal experience (which may or may never apply to you).
I also started Keto being ‘super by the book and clean’ … zealously even.
That zeal started to fade after about 2 months.
I almost fell off the wagon when that happened. It came to feel too restrictive and I lost my enthusiasm.

But now I settled in a (still clean) Keto that makes me truly happy and is sustainable for life.
I think it’s important to focus on longevity/happiness in this WOE rather than being perfect … but that may just be me.

(Siobhan) #4

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good

As it goes

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #5

You’re stressing over 4 g extra could do more damage than the 4 g. Relax, let your body adapt to this new way of eating. We can move into and out of stages of ketosis during a single day. Read this blog and carry on.

(Jennifer) #6

I can usually tell when I have gone over because the carb cravings hit hard AND I need a nap. lol…

Your body will probably tell you when you go over your carb limit. I wouldn’t worry about it.

(KB Keto) #7

Many others have hit it already but the 4 grams is nothing to fret over, especially since its not from having added sugar and from nutritional carbs. Everyone has their own tolerance level when it comes to how many carbs they can have on the diet, and ultimately, 20g is not a magic #. So dont worry about it and Keep up the good work.

(Tom) #8

A couple of things to consider, based on my copious experience with stuff and things :wink:

  1. “Twenty (20)” seems like an awfully round number, isn’t it? I mean, yes, it’s the average number of digits we’re born with (note that I did not say “appendages”), and yes, we do use a base-10 counting system. But past that there’s nothing magical about that number. Twenty grams of carbohydrates is a nice, low, round number we use as a high-yield guideline to get into ketosis (high-yield in the sense that it’ll work for the vast majority of hoomans). It’s not precise, and the actual number of grams/day we need to enter and stay in ketosis will vary daily based on glycogen stores, physical activity, water content, astrological sign, Dow Jones index, how much sleep you got, and the number of cat pictures you observed on the internet in the last 72 hours. You could spend ages trying to determine a more exact number, or just keep it simple and spend the extra energy on baconizing things.

  2. I have little to no data at my finger tips, but I would surmise that the amount of cortisol you secreted while stressing about the few extra carbs had a bigger effect on your blood sugar than the carbs themselves. Don’t stress about the occasional mishap. It’s the consistency over time that will get you there. KCKO!

(matt ) #9

No issue at all. Nothing to see here. Move along

(Alison) #10

Thank you! I’m hear you on the ‘vegetable surprise’ - I’m going to keep them to a minimum until I’ve got a strong foundation going.

(Alison) #11

Hi Dany,

Thank you! I appreciate the warning, I will keep an eye on how restrictive I am for how long, and make sure it’s comfortable and sustainable. I’m aiming for strict initially and then a little more relaxed once I get a dialed in and have a good feel for things… I definitely don’t want to burn out and fall off of the wagon! :slight_smile:

(Alison) #12

Thanks so much for the encouragement and Ketosis/Fat Adapted read, much appreciated!

(Alison) #13

Thanks Jennifer! Good point, I bet I will feel it if I go over my limit… general sluggishness and body aches would probably be good indicators! (once I learn to listen to my body, working on it)

(Alison) #14

Thank you! Your input really helped me make sense of what I’m supposed to be doing… the sense of relativity gives me a framework to work from. Much appreciated!

(Alison) #15

Thank you, a good laugh, and good points! I think my key takeaway is KCKO, overall. Much appreciated!

(Alison) #16

:+1: Thank you!