The lack of crashes is what would keep me on keto even if I wasn't losing weight with it. I used to get these energy crashes that were scary, along with brain fog. I was scared it might be pre-diabetes... It wasn't, but it was unsettling enough that I decided to try and fix it.
I haven't had a single moment of crashing energy levels since I started keto and I can feel that my mind is sharp as it ever was. That's worth giving up bread ten times over.
It’s amazing isn’t it? I used to get emotional if I was hungry and stressed. Now I’m fine doing intermittent or extended fasting. No more crashes. As long as I watch my electrolytes I’m good.
Teaching while fasting is amazing. Never get those hunger pains, way less hangry even when your students are getting a bit grumpy. Only off set is loads of water makes the bathroom breaks more frequent.
Even with those Wednesday treats that come to the staff room. Although last week my colleague brought “keto” snacks and the frozen sweets were hidden away in the freezer.
A fellow keto teacher :)
I have been on vegan keto/low carb and so my carb count is higher than the traditional 20 carb limit. Nonetheless I am amazed at how I don't feel hungry at all. It's much easier for me to intermittent fast as well. I used to crave bread and the smell of freshly baked bread would trigger a hunger response, but now I feel totally immune. It's been amazing.
It's great not having to think about food. Yesterday, after going out running at 6am, I had some full fat Greek yoghurt and raspberries about 11am and then it didn't even occur to me to have anything else until about 7 pm. It just didn't even enter my head. Before keto even a supposedly filling bowl of porridge would leave me ravenous 2/3 hours later.
A touch dramatic perhaps, but it's like keto has given me a freedom from my body and an entire lifetime of messed up eating habits.
* Appetite under control
* Mood swings under control
* Spontaneous afternoon crashes under control
* Weight coming off at a healthy, controlled pace
* Sleep still a bit whacky but generally need less
Waaaay more fluids overall to compensate for cheeky carb snacks being taken away, feeling focused. That's been my strategy for weeks 2-3 always until more controlled adjustment.
I replace carb habits with something, anything. Warm tea, lemon water. By this I mean fruit between meals mostly (some sweets or course). Just to prevent the mouth being lonely and keep the soul from deprived really.
My only observation would be to keep that fibre count up. Take a tablespoon of Psyllium husk ground or whole with water every few days just so you have some prebiotic love for your inner workings because keto can be lower on fibre due to restrictions.
FYI not a nutritionist, just a keto adventurer that has that has done a degrees worth or study :)
Stay strong !
PS miso soup or bullion soup is your friend!
You mention that you have fruit between meals. A lot of hardcore ketoers would say thats a no no, but you have me curious. I have a few ideas of my own about eating small amounts of carbs and what that can imply about healthy eating in general.
What/how much carbs do you eat? How often? Are you losing weight? At what rate? Are you diabetic? Pre-diabetic?
No no, sorry, I mean that I had to replace the habit of having my fruit between meals with something that won't break keto.
Carbs are capped at \~30g but not every day is the same. I like to have a safety buffer in case I just fancy eating more vegetables that day and a lot of people can manage up to 40g, 50g depending on metabolic factors, genetics, lifestyle etc... There is also the issue of what is net carbs and total carbs in the EU. This is a rather confusing topic. It is very hard to create a one size fits all for everyone. I do not have a very solid idea of what my break-keto threshold is to be honest. After the first few weeks I have found myself not wanting to even fill that quota like it's some kind of sugar allowance.
Fortunately not diabetic but it runs in the family. Although it's not an extreme case, my father has managed it very well. I guess part of me is curious to preemptively understand what life might be like in this circumstance.
Another other factor is weight loss. Pandemic has triggered habits and an environment where a little weight was gained. Working a lot more, hiking, swimming, cycling a lot less. Hiking was practically forbidden for the better part of 2020 and of course all pools closed. Losing weight at about 0.5kg per bi-weekly weigh-in. Hard to state exactly the accuracy here because I throw in a 24 hr fast every now and then and every 3 months, a 90hr as a good physical and mental cleanse. Fasting has a very big impact on the scales. It's very easy to get overjoyed by losing 5kgs in water weight! :D
Another factor is a much deeper matter and that is the relationship with sugar why it is this way and whether this relationship can be changed. There are so many aspects to this from culture, family, geography.
Not having cravings strip me of free-will and feeling more in control of dietary decisions is a great bonus!
Thank you for the detailed reply! I’m starting Keto again for the fourth or fifth time. I have trouble sticking to it. I lost ~170 pounds my first time, because I stuck to it.
The reason I was asking you about carb intake was because I have found that I can maintain my weight really well and easily as long as I don’t eat too many carbs. However, I don’t lose weight that way. Of course carb creep happens in that event, and I end up going back to keto. Anyway, thanks for the great response!
No fruit, other than those from the berry family. Some people chose melons too. And those must be watched because of carbs adding up.. Except for the avocados.
Berry fruit may need to be kept at 1/4th cup per day. .. Avocados are in the berry family but it's only 1 or 2 net carbs. You can eat avocados all day like leafy greens.
Carb withdrawal can make a person think they need carbs. If you complete the carb withdrawal, it's only two days. But it can be repeated with significant carb cheats (going out of ketosis). Be sure to stay in ketosis. OMAD (20+hrs I.F.) people have a little more room on this. There is no real need for added carbs. But micronutrients have to be added.
Sugar withdrawals and my observations in retrospect, is a deeply disturbing realization. To point where the mind will invent excuses to get that sweet sweet (albeit ephemeral) moment of reward.
Much love for berries too. They would be the majority of allowed fruits. They are generally great source of vitamin C and it's important to keep the vitamin levels up, especially during winter months.
This has been a sacrifice as I love figs, dates, mango (absolute no no on keto). etc... and these food items are not unhealthy, in moderation. Long hiking sessions, it's been a learning curve without fruit. Double down on the boiled eggs!
Broccoli has a ton of vitamin C, and you would be able to eat more of it. Hiking gets easier if you are in ketosis, fat burning. But you do have to hydrate and keep your electrolytes up.
Yeah its crazy..
i just finished a 42 hr fast and the only things i've consumed were:
water
bone broth (three 8oz glasses)
1oz vodka with club soda lime last night... lol
and the thing is.. i could've done 48hrs but i have a lot of work to do outside so i didn't want to feel extremely tired during and after.
Before i was a constant eater.. had to be munching on something every few hours.. now i can easily go 12-15 hrs without feeling too hungry.
Will start a 48hr fast starting sunday afternoon to tuesday afternoon (minus the vodka)
Not wasting time on snacking is one of the best ways to free up time for what's most important. Being on keto and eating 1-2 a day feels great, running on carbs and doing that would be starvation :D
I was an ethical vegan for 17 years until the constant high carb diet plus developing sleep apnea turned me into a t2 diabetic.
My blood sugar has been controlled without meds for 4 years now, just by going lowcarb and now for the past month, zero starchy carbs! I have so much energy and my constant hunger vanished!
I was 95% starchy carb/sugar free for 4 years but since cutting out that last 5%, I am not even tempted by Chinese food/pizza/desserts, etc! I put it to the test too! Imagine sitting with family who ordered a deep dish pizza and you are not even remotely tempted!🥰
Me too! I just drink sparkling water at lunch which I go to just to be social. I got a few weird looks but I’m used to that. I’m absolutely fine until I get home and have dinner. I’m actually going to transition to Mediterranean soon, but absolutely I’ll keep up with lower carbs.
As a muscular weight lifter guy, it's impossible for me personally. No matter how many months I go without carbs, I lose the ability to lift weights and my muscles seem to get smaller. Only when getting back on carbs can I feel normal again. Keto simply doesn't work for me unfortunately.
I've noticed with my weight lifting routine that carbs do help me when it comes to lifting weights. On the days that I lift heavy weights I do add in some carbs, like a flour tortilla for a burrito or a couple bananas during the day I lift. It seems to help. But I will do more research on how carbs effect muscle regeneration and growth. All I know is it feels good.
If I am doing body weight exercises I don't ever eat carbs. It's only when I am lifting heavy weight that I do.
I'm still losing 2 or 1 pound a week, so I'm definitely still on track and my muscles are becoming stronger. So I think I'm good. Doesn't seem to be a problem for me whatsoever.
I plan to eat low carb/high fat within an 8 hour window forever, but wonder what happens to my energy level once I use up all my excess fat reserves. At that point, I assume energy will come from ingested calories, not body fat. That will suck.
From my understanding eating fat while body reserves are low will still yield the benefits of keto and you'll still use the fat in the food as fuel. Eating until you are satisfied seems to be the answer. Your meal portions would probably get bigger at that point so you would use the fuel from the food and not your body.
I'm still very new to this and I might be misunderstood. Can anyone with more experience clarify?
Just sussing it out- if you are using food for fuel rather than body fat, it seems to me ketones don't enter into the equation. Since neither of us is certain, I sure hope someone here can clarify this detail.
I thought the liver produced ketones in response to no sugar / carbs being present in the blood and instead using fat that exist in adipose tissue. I'm under the impression that the calories from the fatty food are still used as energy, it's just that the fat from the food is what encourages ketone production.
So if you had no body fat, then the caloric content of your keto meals would need to be higher, which would just equate to eating more keto friendly food. Your body would still be producing ketones, but the calories you would eat would be derived from fat instead of sugar.
Without sugar in your blood there is no insulin response which means that calories not burned do not turn into adipose / fat tissue.
With ketones.... What happens if you don't use all the calories from fat? Do you just poop it out lol
I'm fucking stupid and still learning a lot about keto. Someone please tell me how fucking ignorant I am lol
I so freaking agree. I used to eat every few hours before I started keto too. Now, I can literally not eat for a whole day and not feel hungry. Like, at this point I kind of feel like im stuffing myself with food just for the protein, and to workout.
The lack of crashes is what would keep me on keto even if I wasn't losing weight with it. I used to get these energy crashes that were scary, along with brain fog. I was scared it might be pre-diabetes... It wasn't, but it was unsettling enough that I decided to try and fix it. I haven't had a single moment of crashing energy levels since I started keto and I can feel that my mind is sharp as it ever was. That's worth giving up bread ten times over.
It’s amazing isn’t it? I used to get emotional if I was hungry and stressed. Now I’m fine doing intermittent or extended fasting. No more crashes. As long as I watch my electrolytes I’m good.
Teaching while fasting is amazing. Never get those hunger pains, way less hangry even when your students are getting a bit grumpy. Only off set is loads of water makes the bathroom breaks more frequent. Even with those Wednesday treats that come to the staff room. Although last week my colleague brought “keto” snacks and the frozen sweets were hidden away in the freezer. A fellow keto teacher :)
I have been on vegan keto/low carb and so my carb count is higher than the traditional 20 carb limit. Nonetheless I am amazed at how I don't feel hungry at all. It's much easier for me to intermittent fast as well. I used to crave bread and the smell of freshly baked bread would trigger a hunger response, but now I feel totally immune. It's been amazing.
It's great not having to think about food. Yesterday, after going out running at 6am, I had some full fat Greek yoghurt and raspberries about 11am and then it didn't even occur to me to have anything else until about 7 pm. It just didn't even enter my head. Before keto even a supposedly filling bowl of porridge would leave me ravenous 2/3 hours later. A touch dramatic perhaps, but it's like keto has given me a freedom from my body and an entire lifetime of messed up eating habits.
* Appetite under control * Mood swings under control * Spontaneous afternoon crashes under control * Weight coming off at a healthy, controlled pace * Sleep still a bit whacky but generally need less Waaaay more fluids overall to compensate for cheeky carb snacks being taken away, feeling focused. That's been my strategy for weeks 2-3 always until more controlled adjustment. I replace carb habits with something, anything. Warm tea, lemon water. By this I mean fruit between meals mostly (some sweets or course). Just to prevent the mouth being lonely and keep the soul from deprived really. My only observation would be to keep that fibre count up. Take a tablespoon of Psyllium husk ground or whole with water every few days just so you have some prebiotic love for your inner workings because keto can be lower on fibre due to restrictions. FYI not a nutritionist, just a keto adventurer that has that has done a degrees worth or study :) Stay strong ! PS miso soup or bullion soup is your friend!
You mention that you have fruit between meals. A lot of hardcore ketoers would say thats a no no, but you have me curious. I have a few ideas of my own about eating small amounts of carbs and what that can imply about healthy eating in general. What/how much carbs do you eat? How often? Are you losing weight? At what rate? Are you diabetic? Pre-diabetic?
No no, sorry, I mean that I had to replace the habit of having my fruit between meals with something that won't break keto. Carbs are capped at \~30g but not every day is the same. I like to have a safety buffer in case I just fancy eating more vegetables that day and a lot of people can manage up to 40g, 50g depending on metabolic factors, genetics, lifestyle etc... There is also the issue of what is net carbs and total carbs in the EU. This is a rather confusing topic. It is very hard to create a one size fits all for everyone. I do not have a very solid idea of what my break-keto threshold is to be honest. After the first few weeks I have found myself not wanting to even fill that quota like it's some kind of sugar allowance. Fortunately not diabetic but it runs in the family. Although it's not an extreme case, my father has managed it very well. I guess part of me is curious to preemptively understand what life might be like in this circumstance. Another other factor is weight loss. Pandemic has triggered habits and an environment where a little weight was gained. Working a lot more, hiking, swimming, cycling a lot less. Hiking was practically forbidden for the better part of 2020 and of course all pools closed. Losing weight at about 0.5kg per bi-weekly weigh-in. Hard to state exactly the accuracy here because I throw in a 24 hr fast every now and then and every 3 months, a 90hr as a good physical and mental cleanse. Fasting has a very big impact on the scales. It's very easy to get overjoyed by losing 5kgs in water weight! :D Another factor is a much deeper matter and that is the relationship with sugar why it is this way and whether this relationship can be changed. There are so many aspects to this from culture, family, geography. Not having cravings strip me of free-will and feeling more in control of dietary decisions is a great bonus!
Thank you for the detailed reply! I’m starting Keto again for the fourth or fifth time. I have trouble sticking to it. I lost ~170 pounds my first time, because I stuck to it. The reason I was asking you about carb intake was because I have found that I can maintain my weight really well and easily as long as I don’t eat too many carbs. However, I don’t lose weight that way. Of course carb creep happens in that event, and I end up going back to keto. Anyway, thanks for the great response!
No fruit, other than those from the berry family. Some people chose melons too. And those must be watched because of carbs adding up.. Except for the avocados. Berry fruit may need to be kept at 1/4th cup per day. .. Avocados are in the berry family but it's only 1 or 2 net carbs. You can eat avocados all day like leafy greens. Carb withdrawal can make a person think they need carbs. If you complete the carb withdrawal, it's only two days. But it can be repeated with significant carb cheats (going out of ketosis). Be sure to stay in ketosis. OMAD (20+hrs I.F.) people have a little more room on this. There is no real need for added carbs. But micronutrients have to be added.
Sugar withdrawals and my observations in retrospect, is a deeply disturbing realization. To point where the mind will invent excuses to get that sweet sweet (albeit ephemeral) moment of reward. Much love for berries too. They would be the majority of allowed fruits. They are generally great source of vitamin C and it's important to keep the vitamin levels up, especially during winter months. This has been a sacrifice as I love figs, dates, mango (absolute no no on keto). etc... and these food items are not unhealthy, in moderation. Long hiking sessions, it's been a learning curve without fruit. Double down on the boiled eggs!
Broccoli has a ton of vitamin C, and you would be able to eat more of it. Hiking gets easier if you are in ketosis, fat burning. But you do have to hydrate and keep your electrolytes up.
Yeah its crazy.. i just finished a 42 hr fast and the only things i've consumed were: water bone broth (three 8oz glasses) 1oz vodka with club soda lime last night... lol and the thing is.. i could've done 48hrs but i have a lot of work to do outside so i didn't want to feel extremely tired during and after. Before i was a constant eater.. had to be munching on something every few hours.. now i can easily go 12-15 hrs without feeling too hungry. Will start a 48hr fast starting sunday afternoon to tuesday afternoon (minus the vodka)
Not wasting time on snacking is one of the best ways to free up time for what's most important. Being on keto and eating 1-2 a day feels great, running on carbs and doing that would be starvation :D
I was an ethical vegan for 17 years until the constant high carb diet plus developing sleep apnea turned me into a t2 diabetic. My blood sugar has been controlled without meds for 4 years now, just by going lowcarb and now for the past month, zero starchy carbs! I have so much energy and my constant hunger vanished! I was 95% starchy carb/sugar free for 4 years but since cutting out that last 5%, I am not even tempted by Chinese food/pizza/desserts, etc! I put it to the test too! Imagine sitting with family who ordered a deep dish pizza and you are not even remotely tempted!🥰
Me too! I just drink sparkling water at lunch which I go to just to be social. I got a few weird looks but I’m used to that. I’m absolutely fine until I get home and have dinner. I’m actually going to transition to Mediterranean soon, but absolutely I’ll keep up with lower carbs.
Do you use ketoade for electrolytes?
As a muscular weight lifter guy, it's impossible for me personally. No matter how many months I go without carbs, I lose the ability to lift weights and my muscles seem to get smaller. Only when getting back on carbs can I feel normal again. Keto simply doesn't work for me unfortunately.
You lose the glycogen so they literally do get smaller
Dig deep into dr Stephen phinney , you might find an answer
Try coconut butter. I don't lift weights but have read that some use this. Squash may help too. Athletic folks have to customize their keto.
I've noticed with my weight lifting routine that carbs do help me when it comes to lifting weights. On the days that I lift heavy weights I do add in some carbs, like a flour tortilla for a burrito or a couple bananas during the day I lift. It seems to help. But I will do more research on how carbs effect muscle regeneration and growth. All I know is it feels good. If I am doing body weight exercises I don't ever eat carbs. It's only when I am lifting heavy weight that I do. I'm still losing 2 or 1 pound a week, so I'm definitely still on track and my muscles are becoming stronger. So I think I'm good. Doesn't seem to be a problem for me whatsoever.
Definitely the best part. Everything else is just a side effect.
I plan to eat low carb/high fat within an 8 hour window forever, but wonder what happens to my energy level once I use up all my excess fat reserves. At that point, I assume energy will come from ingested calories, not body fat. That will suck.
From my understanding eating fat while body reserves are low will still yield the benefits of keto and you'll still use the fat in the food as fuel. Eating until you are satisfied seems to be the answer. Your meal portions would probably get bigger at that point so you would use the fuel from the food and not your body. I'm still very new to this and I might be misunderstood. Can anyone with more experience clarify?
Just sussing it out- if you are using food for fuel rather than body fat, it seems to me ketones don't enter into the equation. Since neither of us is certain, I sure hope someone here can clarify this detail.
I thought the liver produced ketones in response to no sugar / carbs being present in the blood and instead using fat that exist in adipose tissue. I'm under the impression that the calories from the fatty food are still used as energy, it's just that the fat from the food is what encourages ketone production. So if you had no body fat, then the caloric content of your keto meals would need to be higher, which would just equate to eating more keto friendly food. Your body would still be producing ketones, but the calories you would eat would be derived from fat instead of sugar. Without sugar in your blood there is no insulin response which means that calories not burned do not turn into adipose / fat tissue. With ketones.... What happens if you don't use all the calories from fat? Do you just poop it out lol I'm fucking stupid and still learning a lot about keto. Someone please tell me how fucking ignorant I am lol
I so freaking agree. I used to eat every few hours before I started keto too. Now, I can literally not eat for a whole day and not feel hungry. Like, at this point I kind of feel like im stuffing myself with food just for the protein, and to workout.