Ketosis

[MissErika 65]

How does everyone feel about ketosis? Does anyone here follow the plan strictly? Is anyone against it after weight loss surgery (since we are trying to prepare for life-time, healthy and clean eating?)

I am tempted to cut fruit from my diet to try to get into ketosis but I don't know if I am giving in to my old habit of "oh lets try this new diet!!" again or if I should keep respecting myself, be proud of my progress so far and stick with moderation.

I guess I am being greedy and want to lose faster.

[gamergirl 4,610]

I ate my first half piece of fruit today. It's weird that I feel guilty about eating half a pear. In the old days that would have been healthy. Now it makes me wonder.

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[Will 61]

I felt guilty when I ate watermelon, honeydew, and raisins.

I personally am of the viewpoint of counting calories and working from there.

But if you'd like to do Keto, go for it. It's just a very hard transition in. Have a lot of chicken Soup stocked and keep it salty.

[ItsMe2033 143]

I was on low carb for 13 years prior to being sleeved in August, and I'm still eating low carb now. The transition to low carb may not be as difficult as you think, since if you are still losing weight you are at least partially glycogen depleted, and that's a much easier starting point. You probably won't see the dramatic weight loss in the first week or two that people normally see on low carb because you have already lost a lot of the Water weight, but you will probably see more weight loss than you are seeing now for the same number of calories. I suggest that if you can handle it, you should aim for 25 grams of carbs per day for the first two weeks, then 50 grams of carbs per day thereafter. And avoid any fruit or starch or sugar for the first month even if it would fit within your carb limit.

[gamergirl 4,610]

I was on low carb for 13 years prior to being sleeved in August' date=' and I'm still eating low carb now. The transition to low carb may not be as difficult as you think, since if you are still losing weight you are at least partially glycogen depleted, and that's a much easier starting point. You probably won't see the dramatic weight loss in the first week or two that people normally see on low carb because you have already lost a lot of the Water weight, but you will probably see more weight loss than you are seeing now for the same number of calories. I suggest that if you can handle it, you should aim for 25 grams of carbs per day for the first two weeks, then 50 grams of carbs per day thereafter. And avoid any fruit or starch or sugar for the first month even if it would fit within your carb limit.[/quote']

I eat under 50 carbs a day but I feel a bit guilty if I go over 40. Maybe I should quit worrying about it.

[ItsMe2033 143]

There's a couple of things you can do.

1) You can continue at 40 grams per day.

2) You can go up to 50 grams per day.

3) You can get some ketostix to measure your ketones and see at what level your body actually stops producing ketones, then back down about 10 below that level.

The ketostix method is the best when you first start low carb , and they are somewhat reliable, but not always. If you have been on low carb for a while ketostix lose their accuracy. I found an amazingly detailed blog post about this at:

http://ketopia.com/w...-your-ketostix/

In a nutshell, here's the highlight of what it said:

So quite literally, after a few weeks into your low carb ketogenic diet, you’ll likely start seeing a change in your ketone levels as measured by ketostix. This is completely normal and does not mean you are having trouble with your diet. It doesn’t even suggest that you aren’t in ketosis anymore, because it can’t. Ketosticks are unable to measure the type of ketone that constitutes the majority present in your blood and urine at this point.

So I think that 40 grams or 50 grams either should be fine, with a few caveats:

1) If you start craving carbs, even a little, you are eating too many carbs.

2) Try to minimize starches, or anything with added sugar

3) At every decision point, choose the lower carb option if you will get as much satisfaction out of it. As an example I use the Heinz sugar free ketchup, which has about 1/3 or 1/4 the carbs or regular ketchup.

4) If you are going to splurge on carbs, try not to exceed about 20 or 25 grams at a time

5) The worst combination of food groups that you can possibly eat is a fat and a carb at the same time. Items such as french fries and cake frosting are examples. If you are going to eat 20 or 25 grams of carbs in a meal, let it be just carbs, or a Protein and carb combination, without much fat. If you are getting 10 grams of carbs in a meal then it won't matter as much if it is combined with fat

6) If you are still using chewable Vitamins or supplements, or gummies, switch over to the pills if possible. You should be far enough along to take the pills without crushing them.

[RickM 1,747]

I never went there, preferring to optimize nutrition to the extent that I could within my calorie limits, but then as a moderate lightweight who only had around a hundred to lose, it really wasn't necessary and goal came up fast enough. With the OP's relatively high starting BMI, one of the ketogenic diets probably isn't a bad idea since the sleeve needs all the help that it can get to work those numbers.

[former_vbg 198]

Just curious for the low carbers on something. For years, I have always had success doing low carb and could get into ketosis within 2 to 3 days with ease. I have about 18# of regain and for the life of me I can't get into ketosis anymore. I have the sticks so I know this, but even more frustrating it doesn't have the weight loss effect it did prior to surgery.

Just curious if anyone has any thoughts on this.

[ItsMe2033 143]

If you were eating a reduced carb diet before and switched over to a low carb diet then the ketostix may not be accurate because of the reasons that I mentioned above about ketostix not measuring the right kind of ketones. You could have your doctor test for ketones in your blood which is much more accurate. It probably would not be covered by insurance.

You should check your ketostix to make sure they have not expired.

Can you tell me about how many grams of carbs you are getting per day, and what types of carbs you are eating?

Are you still taking chewable or Gummy Vitamins and supplements, or have you switched over to pills and capsules?

What is your total consumption of Protein and calories per day. It's important to know that some excess Protein can be converted to carbs in your body. I encourage most women who work out to consume about 80 - 100 grams of protein per day, but in your case unless you are working out hard, I would encourage a protein consumption in the range of 70 grams of protein per day, at least for a few days.

Finally, are you craving carbs? If so, you may not have reduced your carb intake enough. If you are not craving carbs, it suggests that you might be in ketosis and it's just not showing up on the ketostix.

[MissErika 65]

I did ketosis for 6 months and lost 90 pounds prior to surgery (although I did gain it back later on) so I know that it works. The problem is that I got very burnt out on it because I don't enjoy meat, cheese and eggs. I mean I do but I am more of a fruit/vegetable person and I don't remember EXACTLY what I did.

I do have a few questions:

-Will I be able to continue drinking tea and coffee? I am asking because I didn't drink these things last time I did "strict" low carb

-Crystal lite? Same reason above.

I don't plan to do this for long time. I would probably do it until I hit the 3 month mark (everyone always says that's when you lose the fastest) because I don't want to be afraid of fruit again and I enjoy having berries with my Breakfast or an apple as a snack.< /p>

Also I can't imagine going over 20 carbs in a day if I don't eat fruit (or much vegetable due to not being hungry after my protein) o.O

Thank you everyone for replying!!

[ItsMe2033 143]

Yes on crystal light, coffee, and tea, but avoid non-dairy Creamer. Use skim milk instead.

3 months sounds fine. I'm sure you'll do well. When you end your low carb, I encourage you to do that gradually over a 2 week period instead of all at once.