Moving from LCHF to Keto - advice request

[Impy]

Hi Everyone,

I've got my next HB1AC test on the 15th August and, as I'm currently spot testing at between 6.0 and 7.5 mm/l at 2 hours pp, I'm hoping it will come back below 50 (either pre-D or normal range). Note: currently on 2000 mg metformin a day

I'm currently operating on a carb range of between 40-60 carbs per day, which seems to work for me, apart from a slight energy deficit in the 2 hours between breakfast and my 2 hour pp finger prick test. To address this I'm looking at moving to a lower carb keto diet after I get my HB1AC result.

The issue I have is how to cut my carb intake from 40-60g per day to the 20g per day which seems to be the starting point for initiating ketosis. I've worked out that by replacing the milk in my coffee with double cream and by ditching the 2 Kind Almond and Sea Salt bars (8 carbs a bar) I have a day I can get down to about 30, but I'm struggling to find other substitutes/cut backs that would work for me.

Any advice/suggestions are welcome.

Please note the decision on moving to keto is still not made one way or the other, I may end up staying where I am diet wise if it looks like keto isn't really an option for me.

 

[MissMuffett]

Hi try and experiment with food you eat at your meals. I started by testing my BG before I ate and again 2 hours later to determine what raised my BG and so I knew what was happening. I don’t have breakfast anymore but a large mug of coffee with cream and I’ve just started adding a tablespoon of MCT oil as I’ve heard it’s good for liver, brain and reducing BG. I stay away from the usual suspects like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes and I’m now an avid reader of labels for the carbohydrate amount. Don’t eat processed food and stay off veg oils and use butter, olive oil, avocado oil and good old fashioned lard to cook with. There are a hoard of YouTube videos on what to eat on keto including Dr Ken Berry, Ketofocus and heavenly fan does wonderful keto wraps if you miss bread. Good luck

 

[KennyA]

Hi Everyone,

I've got my next HB1AC test on the 15th August and, as I'm currently spot testing at between 6.0 and 7.5 mm/l at 2 hours pp, I'm hoping it will come back below 50 (either pre-D or normal range). Note: currently on 2000 mg metformin a day

I'm currently operating on a carb range of between 40-60 carbs per day, which seems to work for me, apart from a slight energy deficit in the 2 hours between breakfast and my 2 hour pp finger prick test. To address this I'm looking at moving to a lower carb keto diet after I get my HB1AC result.

The issue I have is how to cut my carb intake from 40-60g per day to the 20g per day which seems to be the starting point for initiating ketosis. I've worked out that by replacing the milk in my coffee with double cream and by ditching the 2 Kind Almond and Sea Salt bars (8 carbs a bar) I have a day I can get down to about 30, but I'm struggling to find other substitutes/cut backs that would work for me.

Any advice/suggestions are welcome.

Please note the decision on moving to keto is still not made one way or the other, I may end up staying where I am diet wise if it looks like keto isn't really an option for me.

Hi, interesting issue. I don't know how keto might work for you alongside the metformin you're taking - I have no diabetes medication experience. I'm also not sure how ketosis would address your post-breakfast "energy deficit" - what do you mean by "energy deficit"?

Where are your carbs coming from at the minute? hard to know what to reduce or substitute otherwise.

I aim for around 20g a day. Most of these are what I think of as "incidental" carbs - they're from foods like tomato, onion or celery but not in each to any great amount. I don't therefore have any of the high-carb items such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta etc.

That 20g is enough to get me in a low-level ketosis and keep me there. I find I come out at around 40g-ish, it's not entirely dependable. After nearly four years, it's very easy to move back into ketosis. It might be worth thinking about a near-carnivore few days, which should initiate ketosis, and then seeing how many carbs you can re-introduce while maintaining it.

 

[Outlier]

If you give us more details about what you are currently eating, we should be able to suggest suitable ways of shaving off some carbs in a way that's acceptable to you.

 

[HSSS]

Hi Everyone,

I've got my next HB1AC test on the 15th August and, as I'm currently spot testing at between 6.0 and 7.5 mm/l at 2 hours pp, I'm hoping it will come back below 50 (either pre-D or normal range). Note: currently on 2000 mg metformin a day

I'm currently operating on a carb range of between 40-60 carbs per day, which seems to work for me, apart from a slight energy deficit in the 2 hours between breakfast and my 2 hour pp finger prick test. To address this I'm looking at moving to a lower carb keto diet after I get my HB1AC result.

The issue I have is how to cut my carb intake from 40-60g per day to the 20g per day which seems to be the starting point for initiating ketosis. I've worked out that by replacing the milk in my coffee with double cream and by ditching the 2 Kind Almond and Sea Salt bars (8 carbs a bar) I have a day I can get down to about 30, but I'm struggling to find other substitutes/cut backs that would work for me.

Any advice/suggestions are welcome.

Please note the decision on moving to keto is still not made one way or the other, I may end up staying where I am diet wise if it looks like keto isn't really an option for me.

It doesn’t have to be 20g. That’s the level pretty much guaranteed to get everyone in ketosis. Many reach it at slightly higher levels. 40-50 isnt uncommon.

As to where to cut carbs that very much depends what you are eating now. Can you tell use typical intakes so we can make suggestions

 

[Impy]

If you give us more details about what you are currently eating, we should be able to suggest suitable ways of shaving off some carbs in a way that's acceptable to you.

Breakfast is usually coffee with milk (2g carbs), 30 grams roasted peanuts (2g carbs), chia seed pudding with almond milk (3g carbs), full fat greek yoghurt with 20g blueberries mixed in (6g carbs).

Mid morning snack usually black coffee with a Kind Sea Salt and almond bar (8 carbs per bar)

Lunch - Couple of slices of chicken, turkey, or beef, 30g roasted peanuts (2g carbs) and 1 keto collective salted caramel/coconut bar (4 carbs per bar)

Dinner - variable some sort of cooked meat/fish/eggs with mostly green veg (broccoli/peas/green beans/occasionally some carrots but those are quite rare) - between 0-15 carbs depending on content

Coffee is usually sweetened with either Stevia leaf liquid (4 drops) or Chicory root syrup (0.7 carbs per teaspoon, 1 teaspoon used)

Monitored using the Carbs & Cals app

Hope that helps

 

[HSSS]

Ok a few quick thoughts

add more protein and fat to breakfast to keep you going longer. Especially once fat adapted it’ll help a lot. (Fat adaptation takes longer than ketosis - a few weeks rather than days). Try and cut the snack entirely. Add the food to breakfast or lunch.

Peanuts are not the best nut to have (not the worst either I’ll admit). Try pecans, macadamia, walnuts or brazils.
Peas and carrots are comparatively higher carb veg. Maybe swap for others and save a few carbs there.

Are you drinking enough water? My levels and weight also respond far better when I’m well hydrated. That alone can make a noticeable difference.

 

[MissMuffett]

Breakfast is usually coffee with milk (2g carbs), 30 grams roasted peanuts (2g carbs), chia seed pudding with almond milk (3g carbs), full fat greek yoghurt with 20g blueberries mixed in (6g carbs).

Mid morning snack usually black coffee with a Kind Sea Salt and almond bar (8 carbs per bar)

Lunch - Couple of slices of chicken, turkey, or beef, 30g roasted peanuts (2g carbs) and 1 keto collective salted caramel/coconut bar (4 carbs per bar)

Dinner - variable some sort of cooked meat/fish/eggs with mostly green veg (broccoli/peas/green beans/occasionally some carrots but those are quite rare) - between 0-15 carbs depending on content

Coffee is usually sweetened with either Stevia leaf liquid (4 drops) or Chicory root syrup (0.7 carbs per teaspoon, 1 teaspoon used)

Monitored using the Carbs & Cals app

Hope that helps

How are you calculating your carbs? I use Carb manager and I had a quick search and that says 30g of peanuts is 3.8g and chia seed pudding with almond milk is 6.8 for a serving! That’s net carbs as an example

 

[KennyA]

Breakfast is usually coffee with milk (2g carbs), 30 grams roasted peanuts (2g carbs), chia seed pudding with almond milk (3g carbs), full fat greek yoghurt with 20g blueberries mixed in (6g carbs).

Mid morning snack usually black coffee with a Kind Sea Salt and almond bar (8 carbs per bar)

Lunch - Couple of slices of chicken, turkey, or beef, 30g roasted peanuts (2g carbs) and 1 keto collective salted caramel/coconut bar (4 carbs per bar)

Dinner - variable some sort of cooked meat/fish/eggs with mostly green veg (broccoli/peas/green beans/occasionally some carrots but those are quite rare) - between 0-15 carbs depending on content

Coffee is usually sweetened with either Stevia leaf liquid (4 drops) or Chicory root syrup (0.7 carbs per teaspoon, 1 teaspoon used)

Monitored using the Carbs & Cals app

Hope that helps

Do you have before and after BG readings for each of these meals? I don't mean "averages", worst case tells you more. That should give you a clue as to which to look at first. Although the total carb content is certainly important, I find that the carb impact also has a considerable effect - for example, ostensibly the same number of carbs affects me totally differently depending on whether they come from flour (bad) or kidney beans (not so bad at all).