Primal Journal - Ketosis in the land of year-round fruit page

[Quies]

I am a 27-year-old female landscaper in southern Florida. I happened across a link to MDA from an unrelated forum about a month and a half ago and realized that most of the things suggested in the primal blueprint were things that I had been working towards on my own. The ones that I had not implemented made logical sense and with great interest, I started making steps towards being primal.

The first week, I cut out all grains except rice and a little oatmeal, beans, and all added sugar except one 12oz soda per day as my mid-afternoon crutch. By the end of the first week I was already starting to feel a little better, then a sudden thunderstorm prompted me to run into the house towards the end of week. As I got to the house I realized that my chest didn't hurt. For the previous 20 or so years of my life, every time I had run or jogged more than a few steps I had to deal with horrible pains in my chest until my breathing was back to normal. I have sprinted several times since and although I run out of breath from not having run much in the past, my chest pains are gone.

After this I have no further attachment to bread and pasta. They do not even tempt me.

Since then, I have cut out all grains (though I will eat rice if we eat out), all legumes, and I have not had a soda in five days as of this post, though I am using dark chocolate and coconut water as a temporary crutch. So far I have had more energy, better recovery when out working, my acne is almost gone, and I no longer have blood poisoning type reactions to fire ant stings.

Although I lost four pounds the first week (likely water weight), my goal is not to change weight. I am comfortable with my size. My goals are to be healthy, fit, and happy. As a part of this, I am going to work my way towards ketosis to try to control my epilepsy. I would take a leap for it but Florida summers are a bit too harsh a mistress for stunts like that.

Until I start to get more comfortable with what I can eat and stay in ketosis, I will be a bit strict about keeping track of just how much food I am eating. I'm not typically a calorie counter so once I get things figured out I'll likely wing most of it.

To get into ketosis, my targets are:
21g net carbs
38-46g protein
84-147g fat

And before anyone(else) freaks out about low numbers, I am 4' 10 1/2" tall and weigh 92-93lbs (42kg). I have weighed within 7 pounds of this weight for the past decade so it is a stable weight. I am also not skinny fat. Skinny fat cannot load a 32 gallon barrel of grass clippings onto the bed of an F350.

[Quies]

Using SparkPeople, this is how my meals today work out:

Breakfast
Calories Fat Carbohydrates Protein Fiber, total dietary
Honey, 0.33 tbsp 21 0 6 0 0
Coconut Oil, 2 tbsp 234 27 0 0 0
Meal Totals 256 27 6 0 0

I attempted to make bulletproof green tea with two tablespoons of coconut oil and a teaspoon of honey. The honey made it palatable but even though I cooking with coconut oil, I will not drink it again.

Lunch
Calories Fat Carbohydrates Protein Fiber, total dietary
Carrots, raw, 0.25 cup, chopped 13 0 3 0 1
Radishes, 18 grams 3 0 1 0 0
Spinach, fresh, 2 cup 14 0 2 2 1
Celery, raw, 0.5 cup, diced 10 0 2 0 1
Raw Sunflower Seeds, 19 gram(s) 109 9 5 5 1
Unexpected Cheddar Cheese, 0.5 oz 60 5 0 4 0
Black Olives, 42 grams 34 3 2 0 1
Cucumber (with peel), 36 grams 5 0 1 0 0
Mushrooms, fresh, 0.33 cup pieces 5 0 1 1 0
Onions, raw, 0.5 cup, chopped 30 0 7 1 1
Green Peppers (bell peppers), 0.33 cup, chopped 13 0 3 0 1
Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average, 0.5 cup, chopped or sliced 19 0 4 1 1
*Mt. Olive Kosher Petite Dill Pickles 1serv=3 pickels, 1 serving 5 0 1 0 0
Pine Nuts, 7 gram(s) 40 3 1 2 0
Hard Boiled Egg, 1 large 70 5 1 6 0
Oil and Vinegar Salad Dressing, 2 tbsp 140 16 1 0 0
Meal Totals 569 42 34 22 9

Looks like I'll have to give up some stuff from my lunch salad as by itself the salad equals more than my daily carbs. I'm figuring on dropping the sunflower seeds and maybe the tomatoes to start with. The pickles are only there until I finish off the jar, the only really questionable things in them seem to be preservatives and coloring but I'm not going to bother replacing them when I run out.

Dinner
Calories Fat Carbohydrates Protein Fiber, total dietary
Onions, raw, 0.5 large 29 0 6 1 1
Beef, stew meat, cooked, lean, 3 oz 199 10 0 26 0
Meal Totals 227 10 6 27 1

Leftovers from last night with cumin and cilantro to spice things up. The onion was actually cooked but I had to make do with the closest I saw.

Snack
Calories Fat Carbohydrates Protein Fiber, total dietary
72% Dark Chocolate, 0.67 serving 134 11 13 2 2
Whole Almonds, 9 gram(s) 50 3 3 2 2
Raw Brazil Nuts, 12 gram(s) 76 8 2 2 1
Roasted Whole Cashews, 19 gram(s) 115 10 5 3 1
Raw Hazelnuts, 9 gram(s) 57 5 2 2 1
Coconut water, 8 oz 43 0 11 0 0
Meal Totals 475 37 35 10 6

Totals for today:
Net Carbs: 65g
Protein: 60
Fat: 116

[Quies]

Fat/Protein/Net Carbs

Breakfast - 26/3/2
Macadamia Nuts - 26/3/2

The nuts worked well for today. They tasted good and kept me satisfied until lunch time. Now I can hardly wait for my macadamias to start producing.

Lunch - 38/20/15
Spinach, Spring Mix Lettuce, and Arugula - 0/2/1
Celery - 0/0/1
Carrots - 0/0/2
Cucumber - 0/0/1
Green Bell Pepper - 0/0/2
Radishes - 0/0/1
Black Olives - 3/0/1
Mushroom - 0/1/1
Onion - 0/0/2
Pickles - 0/0/1
Pine Nuts - 3/2/1
Unexpected Cheddar Cheese - 10/7/0
Hard Boiled Egg - 5/6/1
Dressing - 16/0/1

I'll probably drop the cucumbers but I really love my colorful salad.

Dinner - 10/26/0
Beef stew meat - 10/26/0

I wasn't very hungry so I just had my leftovers from last night.

Snacks - 42/14/27
72% Dark Chocolate - 5/1/5
Coconut water - 0/0/11
Almonds - 10/5/3
Cashews - 12/4/6
Hazelnuts - 15/4/1

The coconut water I will finish and stop drinking as it is keeping my carbs too high. The dark chocolate I will likely shelve this weekend while I try a recipe for chocolate bars using coconut oil and cocoa. Then I can still get the caffeine and deliciousness while lowering my carbs.

Total for today - 115/63/44

Today's work load was usually the one that I would have to have a soda to make it through. It was rough but I managed it. Since I could manage today, I will no longer be bringing an emergency soda in the lunch box just in case. They will be staying in the fridge for guests or possibly a treat far down the road.

[Quies]

Fat/Protein/Net Carbs

Breakfast - 2/16/4
Cottage Cheese - 2/16/4

Lunch - 36/20/14
Spinach, Spring Mix Lettuce, and Arugula - 0/2/1
Carrots - 0/0/2
Green Bell Pepper - 0/0/2
Radishes - 0/0/1
Black Olives - 3/0/1
Mushroom - 0/1/1
Onion - 0/0/2
Pickles - 0/0/1
Pine Nuts - 3/2/1
Asiago Cheese - 9/7/0
Hard Boiled Egg - 5/6/1
Dressing - 16/0/1

Dinner - 6/4/6
Broccoli - 1/4/6
Butter - 6/0/0

Snacks - 51/13/29
72% Dark Chocolate - 16/3/16
Coconut water - 0/0/11
Macadamia Nuts - 26/3/2
Sharp Cheddar Cheese - 9/7/0

Total for today - 96/52/53

I didn't realize that broccoli and cottage cheese had such high net carbs compared to the other foods. :/ Tomorrow is my day off, so no BAS for lunch and I'll be able to keep track as I go. I'm going to see if I can keep everything in the right ranges for tomorrow. The coconut water is gone and I will be trying a sugar free chocolate snack tomorrow to replace the current dark chocolate.

[Paleobird]

Hey, Q. Glad you started a journal. They can be very helpful for keeping yourself accountable.

Coconut water is a good transitional crutch when getting off of sodas (a really good move, BTW) but it probably shouldn't be a permanent thing if you wan to stay in ketosis as it has a fair amount of carbs.

I'm still in ketosis and stable at 25% down on the Phenobarbitol. I feel awesome.

Welcome. Stay with it.

[Quies]

Coconut water is a good transitional crutch when getting off of sodas (a really good move, BTW) but it probably shouldn't be a permanent thing if you wan to stay in ketosis as it has a fair amount of carbs.

The biggest thing I'm worried about right now is electrolytes since I work outside in the sun all day. Part of the reason I chose coconut water as a crutch was for the potassium and sodium. I'm cutting out the coconut water but I'm still not sure about alternatives yet.

I'm still in ketosis and stable at 25% down on the Phenobarbitol. I feel awesome.

Eek! I was on phenobarbitol in elementary school and it gave me horrible hallucinations. I hope you haven't had any bad side effects and I wish you the best of luck on getting off the meds altogether.

[Paleobird]

The biggest thing I'm worried about right now is electrolytes since I work outside in the sun all day. Part of the reason I chose coconut water as a crutch was for the potassium and sodium. I'm cutting out the coconut water but I'm still not sure about alternatives yet.

Eek! I was on phenobarbitol in elementary school and it gave me horrible hallucinations. I hope you haven't had any bad side effects and I wish you the best of luck on getting off the meds altogether.

I've been using a mix of sparkling mineral water, a squeeze of lime, and a pinch of salt for the past four days while I've been fasting. And it's been hot here too. Seems to be working well.

The only side effect I seem to have from the Phenobarb is a generally lowered metabolism. I'm finding I can maintain weight at a higher number of calories now. But I don't want to have the long term build up effects of it in my liver, etc.

[Quies]

I've been using a mix of sparkling mineral water, a squeeze of lime, and a pinch of salt for the past four days while I've been fasting. And it's been hot here too. Seems to be working well.

I would rather not head down the slippery slope of carbonated beverages again if I can help it.

Coconut meat seems to have similar minerals with added fat and less sugar. Maybe I can break open the pile of coconuts I have lying around and make coconut chips to take with me.

[Quies]

Fat/Protein/Net Carbs

Breakfast - 26/3/2
Macadamia Nuts - 26/3/2

Lunch - 22/24/0
Salmon - 8/24/0
Olive Oil - 14/0/0

Opened a can of Salmon and mixed it with some olive oil and some dried moringa. Tasted better than I'd hoped. Didn't add enough moringa to even budge the scale so I didn't bother trying to figure it in.

Dinner - 12/5/5
Asparagus - 0/5/5
Butter - 12/0/0

Snacks - 9/7/0
Sharp Cheddar Cheese - 9/7/0

Total for today - 69/39/7

I didn't meet my minimum fat for the day but my protein was in the right range and my carbs are well below my maximum so I'm not worried about it. Saturdays are easier to do because I don't get hungry when I'm not working and Saturday is my day off for the week. Had my fats at an all time high of 74.4% for the day.

I did make the sugarless chocolate and had a taste. It looks like I'll be wrapping them up and saving them for later because at this point in time they are not palatable for me. Which is sad because while the first batch was in the freezer, I made a second batch with crushed macadamias. No caffeine headache today even though the only caffeine I had was a lick of chocolate. I can enjoy my chocolate a little more when I'm not having to use it to fight headaches.

Also got the coconuts taken care of today. Out of the pile, only six of them were still good, maybe there will be more this week. It worked out for the best anyways. The dehydrator is filled to the brim with pieces of coconut.

[Paleobird]

You could also mix the coconut and some chocolate together and make bark. Dr. Bork Bork has some great recipes. The coconut would sweeten the chocolate a bit.