It is official

[raider]

when in ketosis, your body burns ketones instead of glucose because it has no, or very little glucose to burn... we all burn glucose for energy if we live on a carb based diet, and the extra glucose is converted into fat and stored by the body...

when starting it is recommended to get most of your calories from fat, some from protein, and very few from carbs to get you into ketosis faster... i started this way and then kept on cutting my fat intake and raising my protein - you can get your fat from the plate or your body, and if you want to lose weight, you need to make this adjustment after being in ketosis for a while...

my starting macros were 1800 calories per day, with 75% of them coming from fat, 20% coming from protein, and 5% from carbs... the carbs should be from leafy green veggies which are high in vitamins and minerals we need... i started with these macros and tracked them every day for months... i no longer do as i know what works for me...

pre keto i would eat bout 4000 calories per day... i initially cut it back to what i stated above, and within 2 weeks i was trimming the calories back more and more all the time... after bout a week, i couldn't eat 1800 calories anymore and felt better than i had in years... i was never really hungry at meal time, and my energy level was even all day - bout where it was during a sugar or carb buzz... i'm now at around 1200 calories per day average...

after being on this for this long, i can transition in and out of ketosis very quickly... what i have found though is that my body really prefers ketosis over living on carbs... i have taken weekends off and eaten whatever i wanted - pizza - ice cream - pasta - bread - potatoes... when i eat carbs now, i get thirsty like a bad hang over and drink a ton of extra fluid... carbs are turned into fat and stored in water in the body, so you need more fluid to store them... when i get away from the diet i may gain 5# - what i have figured out is water weight... when i go back to keto eating, the extra water is flushed back out and my weight drops back to about the point it was pre carb up...

if i eat a cheeseburger and fries for lunch, i'm thirsty afterwards, and also hungry and wanting to eat every couple hours until i break the cycle... on thanksgiving i ate turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, meatballs, sweet potatoes, bread, desert - everything i always had, just less, then ate 2 meals of leftovers all weekend until they were gone... i returned to keto on monday morning and by tuesday morning was down 1# since thanksgiving morning... i was right back into ketosis, flushing out the water, and losing more weight... i can take a day or 2 off per week now with no weight gain because i slip back in so quickly...

i have taken whole weeks off now but find myself not wanting the carbs even if i don't care what i eat, because of how they make me feel... so even when not following the diet, i will not carb up for lunch as i would rather eat them for dinner and sleep it off so to speak... i generally feel great in the morning and miss the dry mouth and hungries...

my typical lunch is now some leftover protein (4-6 oz) or summer sausage and some cheese (2-4 oz)...

my typical dinner is 4-10 oz protein and a big salad, along with a few drinks...

i never got anal bout the grass fed organic meat or organic veggies though a lot of what you read online says you must... i keep my carbs to bout 15 to 20 grams per day, but don't stress over it anymore... experts say if you keep your carbs under 50 grams per day, you will b in ketosis...

i'll post a link to my best resource on you tube... dr berg is also very good, but this guy just cuts to the chase and doesn't blow smoke... he is one of the reasons i was successful and able to deal with the startup of keto... he has tons of videos worth watching, and answered many of my questions when i started...

one last thing... the #1 reason i was so interested in this in the beginning is that no one owns it like the other diet plans... you don't have to buy someones food, or supplements, or shakes, or snacks... you just eat real food...

sorry this got so long - not trying to derail anyone here, just trying to help anyone interested cuz it's been life changing for me...

good luck...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_X5NjLz2J0&t=30s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDcLkGYjgZs&t=170s

 

[Kurtr]

How much do you exercise on the 1800 calories. I was up to about 3000 this summer and still lost weight had to throw in some whey protein to keep weight on

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Those are good videos

 

[Davey Crockett]

Raider , Thanks a million. After reading this thread last night my bride and I watched a you tube video and same as you, when I realized this isn't someone trying to sell something we ended up watching a bakers dozen . We just hit the tip of he iceberg with knowledge but can relate to a lot of it, Especially the recipes because pretty much all the ingredients we have on hand from our eating habits but had never heard of the keto diet. Sorry if it was mentioned earlier but one question I had is did you start with test strips to help you realize what your body was doing or did you feel your way through it ? I have till after Christmas to learn more about it but I am eager to try out some new recipes. Going sugarless isn't a problem but I have to wean my fat ass off bread and pasta. I found a flax cracker recipe online last night that we are going to try. I have finally started drinking more water, eating a light breakfast and learning to eat slower . I've always gobbled on the run even when I had time, Laughed at myself a few times when living out of a lunch box when I was looking around for my sandwich that I had just ate so fast that I missed it. Thanks again

 

[raider]

How much do you exercise on the 1800 calories. I was up to about 3000 this summer and still lost weight had to throw in some whey protein to keep weight on

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Those are good videos

i don't exercise at all... i'm am equipment salesman, so some running around the lot and meeting with customers is all - nothing more off work cept maybe mowing or shoveling... i have some fitness app on my phone and hit my goal maybe one day per week - 6000 steps... if you're doing construction and working concrete, you would pass my daily activity up by 10am...

though i could, i've not done anything extra to see if what i was seeing online was true, and my daughter's opinion... she's college edjumicated, and told me that to lose weight, and belly fat, you HAD to exercise... nope... i am losing body fat everywhere, and my belly is almost gone without a single sit up... fwiw, with my back the way it is, it would take me a minute or more to get up if i was flat on my back on the floor...

with me anyway, this whole thing has been nutrition - nothing more... but think about it for a minute - if i would have slipped into a coma for 20 years and been fed by doctors, i doubt i would wake up at 288#... that's nutrition - eating the right things no matter the circumstance... sure, i would have had way less muscle mass, but with my light daily activity, i'm fine with my strength and muscle makeup... i'm not worried bout how i look naked anymore, i just wanna look good in cloths, and i'm getting there...

my boss talks bout some major mma fighter that is a huge keto guy... i've always known there was some awesome diet out there that the stars used but i didn't know about... some of these actors or actresses will gain 50+# to play a roll, then r back to normal weight a couple months later... magic? - i say keto, or something like it...

the thing that really got me over the hump mentally was in one of tristins vids... he talks alot bout the fact that traditionally carbs were seasonal... humans ate them during the warm months when they grew to build up a reserve (fat) to sustain through the winter when they were not available... he mentioned the northern inuit tribes and how they had carbs (veggies) in the summer, but lived on whale meat and fat in the winter when no veggies could b stored... these people would live in ketosis all winter and have the strength and energy to go through it, and not gain weight living on mainly fat all winter long... it's worked throughout history so why not for me...

 

[dust in the wind]

Dave’s - I have used the strips and it will show if you excreting excess keystones. At some point your body will be using all of them and won’t show on the strips or if you are well hydrated and peeing a lot it won’t show even if you are in ketosis..

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How much do you exercise on the 1800 calories. I was up to about 3000 this summer and still lost weight had to throw in some whey protein to keep weight on

- - - Updated - - -

Those are good videos

throughout the spring and summer I was using the elliptical 30 minutes a day with varying resistance and inclines. Some days it kicked my butt. Or 1 to 1.5 hrs with the crossbow machine. Alternating them 4 to 6 days a week.

then I started on the basement. Carrying lumber, putting walls up and have been hanging Sheetrock. Working a full day at work and then 6 to 8 hours at home in the basement .

all while eating 1500 or less.

 

[Kurtr]

Was tour goal just weight loss or did you want to add lean muscle. This summer I would get up and try to ride the exercise bike for a half an hour to 45 minutes. Then after work lift using kettlebell and then either a few mile hike with 60 pounds in my pack or a leg routine from mountain tactical fittnes. I was prepping all my meals and weighing food to know my portions were right. I had to almost force my self to eat more or I would loose weight. I have a friend who has been doing keto for a while he is at 2300 calories I think but he lifts and works out real hard. He is a beast. From a pure just loose weight goal I don't know of a better way make it a life style and a person is going to be doing good

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This stuff is super interesting I like hearing how different bstuff affects different people. Alot of good conversation on here

 

[raider]

Raider , Thanks a million. After reading this thread last night my bride and I watched a you tube video and same as you, when I realized this isn't someone trying to sell something we ended up watching a bakers dozen . We just hit the tip of he iceberg with knowledge but can relate to a lot of it, Especially the recipes because pretty much all the ingredients we have on hand from our eating habits but had never heard of the keto diet. Sorry if it was mentioned earlier but one question I had is did you start with test strips to help you realize what your body was doing or did you feel your way through it ? I have till after Christmas to learn more about it but I am eager to try out some new recipes. Going sugarless isn't a problem but I have to wean my fat ass off bread and pasta. I found a flax cracker recipe online last night that we are going to try. I have finally started drinking more water, eating a light breakfast and learning to eat slower . I've always gobbled on the run even when I had time, Laughed at myself a few times when living out of a lunch box when I was looking around for my sandwich that I had just ate so fast that I missed it. Thanks again

i never used the strips - just didn't/don't care i guess...

i went into this a skeptic like most i think, and just hit a stride of losing 5-10# a week at the start and not being hungry... tristin has a vid i watched bout not being hungry, and should i eat... i tried that cuz i wasn't hungry, but it would really zap my energy level the next day... b4 watching that vid, i went 48 hours twice on weekends where i didn't eat anything cuz i wasn't hungry - but it sure kicked my ass on monday, and i learned to eat even if i wasn't hungry... like he said in some video - when is the last time you were on a diet and not hungry??? THAT is the promised land!!!

couple things i noticed - i have a metal breath when in ketosis - tastes like i'm sucking on a penny (i eat tic tac fresh mints all day every day)... also, your urine will have the same smell...

fwiw, i know your bride has some health issues from past threads... dig into that - dr berg has been using keto to treat patients for the past 25 years and has a very large sample size on what keto can and cannot do...

good luck davy...

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Was tour goal just weight loss or did you want to add lean muscle. This summer I would get up and try to ride the exercise bike for a half an hour to 45 minutes. Then after work lift using kettlebell and then either a few mile hike with 60 pounds in my pack or a leg routine from mountain tactical fittnes. I was prepping all my meals and weighing food to know my portions were right. I had to almost force my self to eat more or I would loose weight. I have a friend who has been doing keto for a while he is at 2300 calories I think but he lifts and works out real hard. He is a beast. From a pure just loose weight goal I don't know of a better way make it a life style and a person is going to be doing good

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This stuff is super interesting I like hearing how different bstuff affects different people. Alot of good conversation on here

not sure if this is directed at me kurt, but i was just trying to lose 30# at the start... i've refined my goal three times, and now i don't even know what my goal is... for the first time in my life, losing weight is easy... i truly KNOW that any weight goal is possible for me on keto now... also, not to get out in the weeds, but from my research, cancer loves glucose and hated ketones - and i have cancer in my family...

 

[dust in the wind]

I wanted to lose weight/trim up but keep the muscle I have and so far it has worked pretty good. I honestly didn't think I would be where I am. I've always had a decent build and I'm pretty wide in the shoulders. I Used to lift quite a bit in college and after college as well.
I stopped because of shoulder and elbow issues. I think I have finally gotten around those as they haven't been bothering me for a long time now. My shoulder issues started clearing up after i switched my food around. I've had the issues for a better part of 8 years or so (maybe longer). I talked with a high school classmate that lifts a lot and I think does some training at a gym and he said what I was doing (eating wise) could certainly have helped with it.

My original goal was 160lbs. Once i hit that I still had a little around the midsection that could go so I kept at it. There isn't much left to go now.

At this point, I will probably start at looking to adding more muscle on which means I'll have to adjust what I eat but will handle that when i get to that point.

The elliptical use was mainly for cardio since I sit at a desk all day.
as long as my shoulders and elbows don't flare up, I'll hit the other again now. Earlier this year when I was using it a lot, they were feeling good with minor flare ups.

 

[Kurtr]

here is the group http://nodakangler.com/forums/group.php?groupid=23

this is alot of good info and dialogue lets keep it going in there with every ones progress.