KETOSIS- please help me get there! page

[jan11]

Hello all,

Thank you in advance if you are able to help me at all.

I have eaten Paleo for almost two years and love this lifestyle. I keep my carbs pretty low, generally, but have not achieved ketosis. I really REALLY want to get into ketosis- I feel like it may really benefit me, and I want to actually experience it before deciding if it is the right thing for me.

Some things that I think are important to note:

1. I was a heavy teen but lost weight calorie counting when I was around 21.
2. I have a history of disordered eating. Food has always been an issue for me, as has weight. I think about food much more than I'd like.
3. I was much too thin thanks to over exercising around a year and a half ago. Since then, I've gained about 15 pounds, and am mostly normal weight, but with more fat than I'd like.
4. I'm hoping ketosis will help me feel more "normal" about food and help me feel better mentally and physically.

The problem is that I can't seem to get into it!!! I have generally eaten a TON of protein to feel satiated in the past (nearly 200grams, often times). The past couple of weeks, I've really tried to get into ketosis and cut way back. Generally, this has been around 100 grams protein, 30 grams carb (total), and the rest in fat- works out to around 85% fat most days. I am not restricting calories and have around 2200 per day- sometimes up to 2500. This worries me- obviously my appetite is not blunted at all yet.

I have had a couple of days where I feel like I'm there: focused, not thinking about food, but it doesn't stay! I don't know what I'm doing wrong. According to Phinney and Volek, my protein intake is just fine, but I've read a number of people's accounts and they are eating much less protein.

OH, probably should mention: I'm a 30 year old female, 5'4", probably around 120 pounds (not weighing right now).

What should I do?! Cut carbs down to 20 or less total? Cut protein? The only dairy I'm doing is ghee, but I could cut that out too, if I have to. What the **** am I missing here???

[jan11]

WAIT, also:

Is there any way this could have to do with eggs?! I wasn't eating a lot of eggs at the beginning of trying to get into ketosis (about 2 weeks ago), went through a low carb flu thing, felt like crap, then started to feel better. Then the past couple of days I've had a LOT of eggs- 4 for breakfast and 4 for dinner yesterday and the day before.

Maybe it's that?

I'm grasping at straws here. Somebody help!

[cori93437]

Try out the Eat MAOR Fat thread... Everyone in there is doing VLC and can help you to reach ketosis if that is your goal.
Lots of support in there... and links with information for eating ect in ketosis.

[sakura_girl]

Maybe your constant preoccupation of thinking of food means you need to eat more food. Especially since you were underweight for a while.

Just focus on nutrition, and not macro's. I think ghee can be healthy, but you need to balance out that stuff with other nutrients.

[Annlee]

I've read both P&V books, and I think a 5'4" female may need to go lower than 100g of protein.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the book:
* Too little or too much protein can be problematic in the keto-adapted state.
* Aim for a protein intake between 0.6 to 1.0 grams per pound of lean body mass.
* Rather than consume large portions of meats or other protein foods, focus on small to moderate protein portions and combine them with generous portions of good sources of fat (e.g., sauces, butter, olive oil).

Phinney, Stephen; Jeff Volek (2012-06-15). The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance (p. 65). Beyond Obesity LLC. Kindle Edition.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's assume you don't know your lean body mass. Flip things around - what would you like it to be? Suppose you wanted your LBM to be 100 pounds (we're making this round numbers to be easy) - as rule you'd need 60-100g protein -- but that's a general rule. YOU ARE NOT THE RULE - you are a living organism, with a unique combination of genetics and epigenetics (the effect of environment and history on your unique geneset, leading to a unique expression).

It's easy to overdo protein - and you may need to lower it to get into ketosis. My goal weight (5'1", age 61) is 50-55kg (110-121 pounds). I like to use metric, because it's so easy. Another rule of thumb is goal weight in kg = protein grams, +/- 10%. Half that many grams of carb, and twice as many fat:

Protein g = goal weight kg = 55g, +/- 5g (I won't quibble over half a gram ) -- 55*4 = 220kcal
Carb g = half of protein g = 27g -- 27*4 = 110kcal
Fat g = 2x protein g = 110g -- 110*9 = 990kcal

Total = 1320 kcal; 16% protein / 8% carb / 76% fat

You may need to take protein lower to get into ketosis - only experimenting will let you find out. Rules of thumb are starting points for gathering your own data. Be aware also that protein needs within your personal range will also vary, depending on your level and type of exercise.

HTH

[AshleyL]

Yea, your protein is a bit high, could be messing you up. Check the thread as mentioned, it gives the formula to figure your macros. Many of us are using myfitnesspal to keep track.

[jan11]

Thank you to everyone for the replies!!

Maybe I'll try out 55 g protein, 25 g carb, the rest fat for a week or so and see how that goes?

I'll also repost in that thread and hope I get some replies...

I ALWAYS make the mistake of changing a bunch of things at once and then never know which worked or didn't. That said, I really want to cut back on eggs and see if it makes a difference. The only different thing I did the past couple days was increase eggs (and introduced ghee) and I feel bloated (after feeling pretty good for a couple days).

THoughts?

[jan11]

Oh wait- if I did 55g protein, 25g carb, is that 25 total or net?

[Zach]

So eating 210-240g of fat a day doesnt seem weird at all? I would be worried about vitamin toxicity (unless your just eating empty fat cals from oil which is also weird) and PUFA.

[Ayla2010]

So eating 210-240g of fat a day doesnt seem weird at all? I would be worried about vitamin toxicity (unless your just eating empty fat cals from oil which is also weird) and PUFA.

Who is eating that much fat? I eat half that amount, the amount suggested above is about the same?