LCHF..16 weeks in

[msmi1970]

For the DAILY intake aim at 1 gram of protein per kilo target weight, twice as much fat in grams and as little carbs you can manage. 100 grma of meat is app 20 gram protein. Choose fatty meat, egg, avocado, butter, double cream, full fat mayonnaise. Try to skip the nuts, it can stall weight lost. Eat enough at your meals and enough fat, this will stop the snacking.
You really should try bullet coffee with butter and coconut oil, the secret is to let the coconut oil and butter melt a little before mixing it well, it will look like a cafe latte.
I'm a bit hard core (< 10 gram carbs per day) but my once a day meal can consist of 2 home made burgers (app raw weight 200-220 gram) some melted butter and 100 -150 gram (weight before cooking) butter fried spinach or 80 gram kimchi. With more carbs the veg portion cna be increased.
Try my posted recipes for sauces or try to add spiced butter to your meal.

absolutely this!! thanks to modesty & brunneria, i re-looked at my protein intake, made the changes that they recommended and had my best weight loss this week since i started!! and my blood ketone reading was at 2.5 which is the highest it has been.

 

[msmi1970]

Snap!

I find it amazing to think that I lived with carb cravings all the time.
I thought that level of background misery was normal.

Nowadays, the moment I feel them coming on (the last time was 2 hours after eating 5 mini cheddars ) I know what to do:
Creamy coffee
Fat bombs
A teasp of coconut oil
A full fried breakfast, minus carbs
Steak and salad with mayo
Or similar

And the cravings just fade away...

Just that fact alone makes this way of eating worth it.

like what you did with the fade...wish it were that easy to make my tummy fade away!!

 

[msmi1970]

last couple of days, i have been getting slight hunger pangs in the early hours of the morning (several hours before i normally have breakfast) and late evening around 9pm (which is around 4 hours after dinner). never had these before. always felt quite satiated. hope they go away. the only significant change i have made is i now eat only twice a day but consume the same amount of fat/calories as i did when having three meals per day. major cut was in protein consumption.

out of curiosity, tested my blood sugar which was 5.9. then tested my blood ketones. those were 3.7 which is the highest they have been yet.

anyone have an opinion on this?

 

[Brunneria]

last couple of days, i have been getting slight hunger pangs in the early hours of the morning (several hours before i normally have breakfast) and late evening around 9pm (which is around 4 hours after dinner). never had these before. always felt quite satiated. hope they go away. the only significant change i have made is i now eat only twice a day but consume the same amount of fat/calories as i did when having three meals per day. major cut was in protein consumption.

out of curiosity, tested my blood sugar which was 5.9. then tested my blood ketones. those were 3.7 which is the highest they have been yet.

anyone have an opinion on this?

Sorry, can't help.

I prefer to spread my intake into 3 meals, an afternoon snack and a pre-bed snack.
Hunger is something that I almost fear. Decades of carb cravings and failed low cal diets mean that I have a number of emotional associations with hunger/cravings that I would rather not revisit.

You may adjust, or not. I would snack before I had time to adjust.

 

[msmi1970]

Sorry, can't help.

I prefer to spread my intake into 3 meals, an afternoon snack and a pre-bed snack.
Hunger is something that I almost fear. Decades of carb cravings and failed low cal diets mean that I have a number of emotional associations with hunger/cravings that I would rather not revisit.

You may adjust, or not. I would snack before I had time to adjust.

No worries Brunneria I know exactly how you feel. Post Traumatic Sugar Disorder. many a family member felt the wrath of my tongue whilst i was on low carb, low fat. My mood is soooo much better now on LCHF.

Anyway, i finally took the plunge and bought a treadmill but won't start walking until I have my sodium & potassium levels tested next week. in anticipation of increased energy requirements, i tried to make my first ever bulletproof coffee this morning as per your advice. most of it ended up on me & the carpet as i did not attach the blender properly.

drank what little was left. it was fine. i am a little bit of a coffee snob + quite a lazy sod so probably won't be doing that again. just decided to stick to my black coffee and down a couple tbsps' of coconut oil instead. because of that, breakfast was a whopping 700 calories.

 

[Brunneria]

Ah yes, the old, kitchen redecoration by blender technique.

Know it well...

 

[andcol]

last couple of days, i have been getting slight hunger pangs in the early hours of the morning (several hours before i normally have breakfast) and late evening around 9pm (which is around 4 hours after dinner). never had these before. always felt quite satiated. hope they go away. the only significant change i have made is i now eat only twice a day but consume the same amount of fat/calories as i did when having three meals per day. major cut was in protein consumption.

out of curiosity, tested my blood sugar which was 5.9. then tested my blood ketones. those were 3.7 which is the highest they have been yet.

anyone have an opinion on this?

Protein causes a signal in your body that you are not hungry. If you have dropped your protein levels that will cause you to get the pangs sooner and with your meals more spread you are getting empty between meals. Of course while you are hungry your body will have to start its fat burning so stick through it and drink some water.

 

[jack412]

last couple of days, i have been getting slight hunger pangs in the early hours of the morning (several hours before i normally have breakfast) and late evening around 9pm (which is around 4 hours after dinner). never had these before. always felt quite satiated. hope they go away. the only significant change i have made is i now eat only twice a day but consume the same amount of fat/calories as i did when having three meals per day. major cut was in protein consumption.

out of curiosity, tested my blood sugar which was 5.9. then tested my blood ketones. those were 3.7 which is the highest they have been yet.

anyone have an opinion on this?

LOL, diet ketones,,,3.7 ...everyone claps...with high BG it's an ambulance ride
you can eat more if you want to ...protein shouldn't be less than your RDA 50-70g a day...start with more fat and fiber supper, that should hold you over till morning
having ketones around 1-1.5 and staying on LCHF, is better than 3.7 .. crashing and going back to carbs

 

[msmi1970]

Protein causes a signal in your body that you are not hungry. If you have dropped your protein levels that will cause you to get the pangs sooner and with your meals more spread you are getting empty between meals. Of course while you are hungry your body will have to start its fat burning so stick through it and drink some water.

Great!! Thanks for that Andrew. so far, the hunger pangs are tolerable, nothing near the ravenous ones I had on low carbs..fingers crossed.

 

[msmi1970]

LOL, diet ketones,,,3.7 ...everyone claps...with high BG it's an ambulance ride
you can eat more if you want to ...protein shouldn't be less than your RDA 50-70g a day...start with more fat and fiber supper, that should hold you over till morning
having ketones around 1-1.5 and staying on LCHF, is better than 3.7 .. crashing and going back to carbs

Thanks for the feedback Jack.

I am on around 100gms of protein per day as it is. Think my blood glucose is fairly stable although it lingers around 7 way too long for my liking. Will definitely be adding more fat as I just purchased some coconut oil which I understand is quite good for LCHF.

Do you have any advice on how to keep ketones below 3? I honestly was not deliberately aiming for such a high number. Did not know that we could control ketone levels. Could you also elaborate on how I could "crash" under such circumstances as I really do not want to go back to carbs.. Cheers.

 

[alliebee]

Sounds like you are in good ketosis..well done...id agree with the others. Better to spread out over 3 meals. Then the body doesn't get too panicky that food has stopped. I have to have 3 meals a day good luck though. Remember to drink lots

 

[jack412]

coconut is a good saturated, medium chain fatty acid and got me through my first week. good for frying and fat bombs
try this.. cut your protein back to 70g then, carbs 40g =110gx4= 440calories and 150g fats/oils =1300 cal ...total 1700/1800 calories
if after a few days you are still high, keep adding olive oil till your ketones drop under 3,

you don't want to be above 3 ketones for diet or you start to going into the starvation zone and there is no need to stress your body that hard
you can crash by being hungry, lethargic and cold and is when you'll grab some biscuits or something easy. [read carby]

 

[msmi1970]

Sounds like you are in good ketosis..well done...id agree with the others. Better to spread out over 3 meals. Then the body doesn't get too panicky that food has stopped. I have to have 3 meals a day good luck though. Remember to drink lots

Thanks Alliebee. I used to eat 3 times a day but found that I would have to force myself with lunch because I was just not hungry. So around 2 weeks ago, i cut it down to two meals but always ensuring that I had at least 1500 calories. Suppose it's a question of trial and error until i find the right balance for me.

 

[msmi1970]

coconut is a good saturated, medium chain fatty acid and got me through my first week. good for frying and fat bombs
try this.. cut your protein back to 70g then, carbs 40g =110gx4= 440calories and 150g fats/oils =1300 cal ...total 1700/1800 calories
if after a few days you are still high, keep adding olive oil till your ketones drop under 3,

you don't want to be above 3 ketones for diet or you start to going into the starvation zone and there is no need to stress your body that hard
you can crash by being hungry, lethargic and cold and is when you'll grab some biscuits or something easy. [read carby]

Great! Thanks for that Jack. I am a little apprehensive about raising my carbs to 40gms because a) my blood sugar is fairly stable and b) i worry that i might develop carb cravings, which i have struggled with desperately all my life. The almost zero carb approach may seem drastic but it has kept me going thus far & to be honest it feels like i could keep going on this for the foreseeable future.

If my ketones persist at such high levels (will test again this evening), I will definitely cut my protein intake and increase fats (either coconut/olive oil) until they drop. Really don't want to stress my body any further!! Appreciate the advice. Cheers.

 

[jack412]

it's mainly to get your fats up, which I think was the shortfall ...there is no need, but you can leave your protein at 100g if you want to and if your kidney blood test came back good. it obviously isn't kicking you out of ketosis

 

[msmi1970]

the adventures of the ketone bodies continue...

for the second night, tested again before bed (about 5 hours after food). sugar was 5.8 and ketone level was 4.
got up very early the next morning and decided to check its progress & ketone level was down to 2.3. *sigh of relief*
body is still able to regulate itself.

as per advice, have started to up my fat intake by an additional 300 calories. will go up to an additional 500 over the week.

around 7 hours after brekky, i started getting slight hunger pangs. was due for my meal but on a hunch checked my ketones again. Reading 3.7.
i reckon those hunger pangs are a signal that ketone levels have moved passed the nutritional stage towards starvation levels.

so hopefully, those extra calories will keep them at optimal levels without going overboard.

 

[alliebee]

Think you are doing so well with this

 

[msmi1970]

Think you are doing so well with this

thank you so much Alliebee!!

really hope i can stick with this long term. it is doing wonders for my health. hope it keeps working for you too.

have a good weekend!!

 

[alliebee]

I'm totally amazed at how good I do feel..more energy...better sleep...no horrib carb cravings...I actually am much happier with smaller portions..of course the weight loss. That's fantastic to get back into clothes I had outgrown...I think I was carrying all the 2 stone round my tummy! ...having blood sugars in the safe range...I just feel happier...we have been lchf approx the same time too...I'm so pleased for you as well
You enjoy the weekend too

 

[msmi1970]

life is strange...

never thought i would see the day that i would be disappointed with a reading of 6. after years of the occasional 30's and more often 20s.

reading was taken about 7 hours after breakfast. i think my VLCD is literally not releasing much insulin. Is that a good or a bad thing? resting the pancreas or keeping my blood sugar elevated for long periods albeit between 6-8.

i have increased my caloric intake in the last 5 days to around 2200 per day to try and stave off the dreaded "starvation ketosis".

my ketone levels have now reached 5 at certain times of the day. i suppose i can live with that so long as they do not continue in a rising pattern.

and just to throw a little added fuel into a fiery mix, i finally bought a treadmill and plan to start walking this weekend. don't know how that will affect my blood sugar & more importantly ketone levels. the literature says that 3 is post exercise ketosis territory. wayyyy past that now.

and to top it all off, have not lost any significant weight in the last fortnight.

oh well. on with this strange life...