Staying in the 'sweet spot' page

[camilart]

Hi all,

I started my primal path yesterday and was wondering if one of you seasoned primalists could give me some guidance on staying within that 50-100 g carbs/day range.

What do you eat to avoid going into ketosis? When I'm not eating grains or sugar I find it hard to eat more than 50g, especially if leaving dairy out too. I don't want to stay in ketosis for long, though, so would like to know the best way to bring the numbers up a bit. What would you recommend? Eat lots of fruit? Potatoes? Dark chocolate every day? Nuts and veggies are not getting me there.

Many thanks!

(PS. I haven't finished Mark's book yet and I understand the answer might be there.)

[ciep]

If all you want to do is get over 50g of carbs a day then I say just enjoy some fruit. It's natural, nutritious, relatively filling (thanks to fiber and water content), and tastes good. One large apple and a cup of blueberries will get you around 50 grams.

If you want a more concentrated source then go for the potatoes. One decent sized potato will easily do it.

[Daemonized]

Don't forget about sweet potatoes as well. They're a great primal carb.

[pyro13g]

Sweet potato(I prefer regular though as the starch does not affect my weight), fruit(I do bananas) dark chocolate, coconut water(expensive though), veggies, coconut milk are my sources. I had a big baked potato yesterday and only hit 44g carbs for the day. A lot of tomatoes for me right now since there are 33 plants producing a bumper crop in my back yard.

[camilart]

Thanks very much for the suggestions, guys. I wasn't sure whether to go with fruit, starchy veg or something else as anywhere I look, I find people giving arguments against them...

I made myself a big fat smoothie for breakfast this morning (200 ml coconut milk, strawberries and a banana) and already got close to 50g. Tasted amazing. Looking forward to having sweet potatoes later this week - am coming from a low-carb diet that didn't allow them!

Cheers.

[IndigoBanshee]

Thanks very much for the suggestions, guys. I wasn't sure whether to go with fruit, starchy veg or something else as anywhere I look, I find people giving arguments against them...

There seems to be a number of people on here that say they are primal then say that anything not in ketosis is unhealthy, or obsess so much about every little detail that they remain under 50g out of abject terror of doing something wrong, and I see that nowhere in Mark's books or blog. I think obsessing and over-controlling everything you eat sort of defeats the point of this lifestyle. There's a lot of threads that end up that way, too, and when they get to that point, I usually stop reading and go do something more productive.

But yes, one thing I do is freeze my bananas, then break them in half and throw a half in the smoothie. Sometimes I add berries, or sometimes I don't. I also alternate fruit days with things like almond cookies with a little honey. I keep meaning to get the maple flakes, and always forget, so I use a few TSPs honey and some stevia for balance. Wellness Mama's cocoa cookies are really good, too.

[Laconophile]

Fruit will do a better job of keeping you out of ketosis than starchy carbs. Fructose goes straight to the liver and keeps the body from relying on ketones for fuel. As long as you aren't doing any glycogen-demanding activities, 1-2 servings of fruit a day should keep you out of ketosis.

[croí]

Hi all,

I started my primal path yesterday and was wondering if one of you seasoned primalists could give me some guidance on staying within that 50-100 g carbs/day range.

What do you eat to avoid going into ketosis? When I'm not eating grains or sugar I find it hard to eat more than 50g, especially if leaving dairy out too. I don't want to stay in ketosis for long, though, so would like to know the best way to bring the numbers up a bit. What would you recommend? Eat lots of fruit? Potatoes? Dark chocolate every day? Nuts and veggies are not getting me there.

Many thanks!

(PS. I haven't finished Mark's book yet and I understand the answer might be there.)

Out of curiosity, is there a problem with being in ketosis?

[Lawbat]

So glad you asked croi.
This whole "ketosis" thing is the splinter most stuck in my wanting-to-be-primal/paleo-brain.
So many messages: "fat is the best fuel, eat fat!" vs "alternate fat with carbs, don't mix 'em or else!" vs "carbs on weekends to refill the glycogen"

I thought ketosis was good because you're burning away fat?
But then people are all "refill your glycogen!"

Meh.

[Primal Krista]

There seems to be a number of people on here that say they are primal then say that anything not in ketosis is unhealthy, or obsess so much about every little detail that they remain under 50g out of abject terror of doing something wrong, and I see that nowhere in Mark's books or blog. I think obsessing and over-controlling everything you eat sort of defeats the point of this lifestyle. There's a lot of threads that end up that way, too, and when they get to that point, I usually stop reading and go do something more productive.

But yes, one thing I do is freeze my bananas, then break them in half and throw a half in the smoothie. Sometimes I add berries, or sometimes I don't. I also alternate fruit days with things like almond cookies with a little honey. I keep meaning to get the maple flakes, and always forget, so I use a few TSPs honey and some stevia for balance. Wellness Mama's cocoa cookies are really good, too.

+1 Same! I too have some type of primal 'dessert' once or twice a week, otherwise, I'm in Ketosis all the time...which is ok if I want to lose weight/fat fast, but right now I'm happy with where I'm at - sweet spot to maintaining. Also, once I told my husband I was giving up sugar to be more strict about the Primal diet he quickly gave me a lecture on glucose/fructose/every 'ose' conversion in the body and empty calories.