Why we stall

[Eclecticenigma]

I’ve also had a hard time finding the answers on how to monitor and what indicates there is a problem. Specifically how to know if you are having an insulin response to something. Brenda posted how to test to see if sweeteners were causing an insulinogenic response on a different threat, that you go from taking fasting BG to ingesting what specific sweetener (alone in a drink) you think may cause a spike and wait for BG to actually drop which signals an insulin release. She did not say how far of a drop to look for so I am still confused. I have not been able to find anything that is very descriptive.

I tried testing just to see what happened after I had my coffee (with MCT, HWC and erythritol) . Wasn’t trying to test specifically erythritol but just looking to see what my body did with my morning coffee. My BG went up 25points then dropped down just slightly below the initial fasting reading over the course of 1.5 hrs. So it dropped but didn’t drop initially and actually went up. So I am still just as lost as before I started. I’m interested to see what @Richard has to say as well.

Reading other peoples responses to testing stating that their BG after a fully keto meal is lower than when they woke up that morning only serves to muddle it more. Especially when Brenda says you look for a drop in BG to see if you are having an insulinogenic response.

[richard]

I can’t measure insulin very well. I can do a fasted insulin assay, but our insulin levels ebb and flow over a roughly 6 min window, what a snapshot of that level is only really useful in context of how much glucose is in circulation - at that same moment. That’s what I use a fasted insulin test for, to compare with fasted glucose at the exact same moment and plugging both into a formula called HOMA:IR to produce an underlying insulin sensitivity status.

I can use my BP and Ketones as a rough proxy for insulin secretion. But mainly we just guess at where insulin is at based on access to body fat, and try to bend the needle on the factors affecting insulin secretion - lower sugar and starch, lower protein, sleep more, manage stress, get sun exposure in the morning, get regular cold exposure, and use your legs (run, cycle, swim) to make a hole in glycogen so both insulin and glucose can be drawn down.

[Aqualeot]

Glad I found this post! I’ve been doing keto for 10 months, with long stalls between times of weigh-loss. Did a few experiments to see what works for me. Extended fasting works, but I find it very difficult to do. Tried more exercise (weights and lots of walking), but that doesn’t seem to make much difference either way, besides possibly slowing weight-loss a bit. Intermittent fasting doesn’t seem to make any difference for me. This week, I decided to lower my carbs from around 20g total a day by eating no veggies. I still have about an ounce of nuts most days, and a few carbs in some smoked oysters, but mostly I’ve been eating steak with butter, and BPC sweetened with Truvia. I eat about 2000-2400 calories a day, same as before. You can see the results this week here: