Nutritional Ketosis page

[CrissyTibby]

I tried for WEEKS to eat 1 meal a day. I tried following a time line or not following a time line. All I ended up with was an obsession for watching the clock.

This was around a few weeks ago. At the same time I was dropping my carbs really low and upping my fats REALLY high to try to make it easier.

I have not lost weight in those few weeks, BUT I have more energy than I have ever dreamed. I am even keeled and happy, happy, happy. I use to bonk at 3 pm really hard and that has stopped. I stopped breaking out. Tons of good things here.

My protein use to be around 120 grams, but since I was going for nutritional ketosis I dropped it to 60-80 grams.

I purchased a blood ketones measuring device and came up with a 3.8 reading the first day and a 2.9 reading the next.

It is advocated all over the LCHF boards that you can eat a little more if you are eating this way or you don't have to consciously restrict. Ladies, since I know the guys don't work the same way, do you find you can eat a little more if you are maintaining, but have to cut the same amount of calories to get the scale to budge.

I ate around 2500-3000 for about 2 weeks with some ups, but mostly maintaining my weight. I spent the last few days around 1500-1800 and the scale is finally starting to come down.

I wish there were more blogs that covered women doing this. I feel like the male LCHF blogs don't give women enough insight into what we should be doing. No judgement. Just observation.

What do you think?

[MissJecka]

Everyone's body is different. I lost 40 pounds by following a Calorie-restrictive diet and plateaued once I hit my goal, which I'm still wavering within 5 pounds of at any time (for the past 2 years).

When I started the primal lifestyle, I decided to listen to my body and eat when hungry, which happens to be 2 times a day (sometimes 3 if it's a high-fitness day). I decided to track my Calories and nutrients online like I used to and found that for the first month of being paleo/primal, I was consuming between 1300 and 1450 Calories daily, at absolute most. Some days I was closer to 1200, but I was never above 1480/day. This is while doing cardio (running 10 miles per week, biking a few miles per week, walking once in a while) and strength training (3-4 times per week).

I don't own a scale, but my body composition had not changed and I doubt I lost a pound.

Now I'm working on increasing my Calories because I do think my body isn't responding well to such a low intake. It's a struggle because of being such an obsessive Calorie-counter and fearful of fat and consuming too many Calories in the past. I still haven't been able to eat more than 1500 Calories, even after chowing down on an avocado with dinner just to bring the number up.

[Neckhammer]

One blog by wife and husband The Ketogenic Diet for Health and then you could also search out paleobirds journal http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread54851.html

[CrissyTibby]

Wow. If those are your legs it really worked.

I lost a lot of weight calorie restricting a long time ago. I got to my goal weight, but I was eating low fat so I lost my monthly and had cystic acne.

I think I have found the sweet spot for me, with nutritional ketosis or ketoadaptation, as long as I drop the calories by almost half. I am so stubborn! I didn't want to restrict again, but oh well!! lol

[Lawyerchick12]

In short, yes, you have to still watch your calories even when following a ketogenic diet because the energy consumed still has to be stored or used up somehow. So while eating high carbs will make storage of fat much quicker as opposed to low carbs via spiking insulin storage hormone, energy consumed still matters.

[CrissyTibby]

One blog by wife and husband The Ketogenic Diet for Health and then you could also search out paleobirds journal http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread54851.html

I worked my way through a bit of her journal. Love paleobird's no nonsense attitude. I didn't find the amounts of calories and such.

Thanks for the links!

[CrissyTibby]

In short, yes, you have to still watch your calories even when following a ketogenic diet because the energy consumed still has to be stored or used up somehow. So while eating high carbs will make storage of fat much quicker as opposed to low carbs via spiking insulin storage hormone, energy consumed still matters.

I understand energy consumed matters. I wasn't trying to come across like I didn't, but I was hoping my body would self regulate appetite at a certain point. I was eating 2500 because I was honestly hungry. I am just finding I have to be a bit MORE hungry, i.e., 1500-1800 to get the ball rolling.

[teach2183]

I found if I follow my true hunger, willfully ignoring a snacking habit, my body knows what it needs. I don't track my calories consumedor burned. I am slowly losing about 0.5lb/week and that is fine, even though I have a lot to lose. How much do you have to lose? If you have some ideal in mind and it doesn't match your body's true ideal, it will be harder to get there.

[Lawyerchick12]

I understand energy consumed matters. I wasn't trying to come across like I didn't, but I was hoping my body would self regulate appetite at a certain point. I was eating 2500 because I was honestly hungry. I am just finding I have to be a bit MORE hungry, i.e., 1500-1800 to get the ball rolling.

lol @ CrissyTibby I totally understand what u mean. My apologies if my response sounded abrupt. We are in the same shoes, only that I am much shorter at 5 feet. so my calories have to be even much lower at 1100 before the scale budges. My response was also to remind myself as well

[MissJecka]

Wow. If those are your legs it really worked.

I lost a lot of weight calorie restricting a long time ago. I got to my goal weight, but I was eating low fat so I lost my monthly and had cystic acne.

I think I have found the sweet spot for me, with nutritional ketosis or ketoadaptation, as long as I drop the calories by almost half. I am so stubborn! I didn't want to restrict again, but oh well!! lol

Hah, thanks! (At least I assume you're talking to me. Maybe?) My legs are my least favorite body part (while going through puberty, I was told by my mother that I was pre-destined to have "birth-giving hips", thanks to my big Hispanic family being full of ladies who rock "thunder thighs"... not exactly what a 13-year-old wants to hear...) so hearing nothing but things about belly fat reduction isn't exactly helpful for me! Luckily cycling is reducing the jiggle, and my strength-training and protein-intake is helping them look strong, too. When I lost my 40 pounds, I swear maybe 5 came from my legs and the rest from my arms, chest, and back. Lame!

I really shouldn't Calorie-count ever ever again... ever. I don't really have an addictive personality, but my main vice is numbers. Being a sciency person by profession, I over-analyze everything, and keeping a food log is the worst thing for me. It's still a struggle, as I still find myself calculating it in my head and looking at the nutrition info on nearly everything I put in my mouth, but I really need to listen to my body.

For you, keeping things low is working and that's awesome. But for me, I can't afford to do that, else I'll end up in a padded room!