A few keto questions....

[DanielBishop]

There's probably a few of you who will tell me to use the search feature to find the answers to my questions. Well, I don't want to.... I never find what I want, takes me forever and.... well, if we all stopped asking questions and just used the search feature, there wouldn't be any new posts now, would there?

I've been on somewhat of a keto diet for since mid-May.... it's gone pretty well, and I'm pretty happy with it. I'm just wondering if I could be making any improvements.

* I've cut out almost all carbs, complex or simple.
* I primarilly eat eggs (lots), beef, chicken, fish, ham/pork/bacon.... but mainly eggs, followed by chicken and beef.
* I also occasionally have some green veges, like broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, beans etc.... but not too often.
* In the last few days I've tried to drink as much water as possible.
* Immediately after my workout, I have maybe a glass of fruit juice, or some yogurt or a piece or fruit.... and if none of those are available, a slice of bread or two.... or sometimes a teaspoon of honey, or a small amount of something else sugary. This is the only time I have carbs.
* I have psyllium husks for fibre.

I bought some ketostix early on, and found that I was releasing very small amounts of ketones.... but as I've got leaner, the sticks don't seem to be changing colour even though I'm quite sure I should be in ketosis (like, I've had a few cheat days here and there but a week or two after I've gone back on the diet, still no ketones).... is it possible that the leaner you are, the less ketones you release?

I don't use any supplements because I can't afford them.

I do cardio a few times a week, mainly just fast walking on the treadmill for 20-40 minutes, generally first thing in the morning or after weights.

My main fat intake would probably come from the eggs (since I eat the yolks too) and I use a little bit of margarine to cook them. And I ate cheese a little bit before, but I've stopped now. I try to trim fat off chicken and beef etc.

So.... the question is.... is there anything wrong with this? It's been working pretty well, but how can I make it better? Admittedly this is the first ketonic diet I've tried, and I kinda just made it up.... so I don't know a whole lot about it. Is the simple carb thing after my workout okay? I don't eat a whole lot of simple carbs, just a bit so that (in theory) I'll generate somewhat of an insulin spike and be more receptive to the high protein meal that follows.

Oh yeah, I usually eat every 2-4 hours.... or I try to. And sometimes I eat not long before bedtime. Sometimes I eat immediately before bed. Not sure if that's a good thing.... something tells me it's not. But I dunno.

I'd appreciate any advice. Especially since I've got about a month left of cutting.... then I just wanna "maintain" myself, but I would like to lose as much fat/water as possible in that time. Is there anything I can do to really intensify the diet in that time?

Thanks in advance.

 

[gymrat]

I only scanned through your post, so fogive me if I am off.

What are your goals?

Do you think of keto as a lifestyle change? or a tool to lose weight?

I peronaly would not do keto for an extended period of time, unless it's a total life styile change (change in eating habits).

 

[DanielBishop]

Sorry, I guess I didn't explain my goals very well.

I dunno what sort of bodyfat % I'm on now, but I'm doing okay.... I'd just like to lose a little bit more using the keto diet, and then that's it.... I agree that it's probably not the best thing to do keto forever.... so for me, it's just a fat-loss tool. Not completely ripped, but pretty lean and defined.

Once I'm satisfied with my bodyfat levels and I'm at a level I would like to maintain, I'll continue doing regular cardio and keep my protein high, but cut my fat intake and slowly reintroduce complex carbs like oatmeal, brown rice and wholewheat bread.... as well as a little fruit here and there. I'll try to keep sugars at a minimum, but won't be absolutely strict about it.

I'll come off the keto diet some time in October, I think. I should be about good by then.... I just wondered if there's anything I could do to really make good progress between now and then?

 

[PwB]

Well, dont have details on what your doing in terms of calories, g of carbs/fat/protein. If you arent keeping track of these its hard to tell you what to change b/c we dont know what your doing now. As a general rule, a few suggestions if u aren't already doing this are eat about 1g protein per lb. of bodyweight. So if u weighed 200lbs you'd eat about 200g protein a day. Make sure you are using some EFA's such as fish oils capsules or flaxseed oil. Take some with each meal. Keep track of calories, reccommend 10-12x bodyweight, and depending on fat loss may lower calories from there. Remember, ketosis wont cause fat loss if you eat too many calories, it still ALL comes down to calories.

Sometimes like to do a protein sparing modified fast at 1200 calories to really speed fat loss if in a hurry.
Wouldn't drink fruit juice post-workout on a keto diet, rather use maltodextrin/dextrose, or just protein. Most fruit juices have lots of sugar and fructose, which is preferrentially stored as liver glycogen. Once liver glycogen is filled excess generally gets stored as fat b/c fructose can't be stored in muscles as glycogen. (This would take a LOT but it can happen, over 50g a day is neccessary) but on top of that, when liver glycogen levels are raised/filled, CPT-1 (carnitine palmityl transerase 1) is inhibited, and CPT-1 is neccessary for the transport of long chain fatty acids to be burned in the mitochondria.

Dont worry about ketostix, waste of time to use. as you adapt to a ketogenic diet the strips w/ stop showing ketosis b/c they only show ketonuria (ketones excreted from the urine) but not ketonemia, ketones in the blood. As you adapt your body uses ketones better and after a few (3) weeks or so almost all ketones are being used by the brain w/ ffa fueling most other tissue and little ketones being excreted.

DO have your high carb days. This is important for many reasons but mainly to replenish leptin, which is really key on a fat loss diet. Keep fat LOW on high carb days. Thats all for now, dont feel like typing any more. any more questions let me know.

 

[gymrat]

DO have your high carb days. This is important for many reasons but mainly to replenish leptin, which is really key on a fat loss diet. Keep fat LOW on high carb days. Thats all for now, dont feel like typing any more. any more questions let me know.

All very good ponts but i especially agree with you regarding the refeed/carb up days.

Use the search function regarding leptin. There is som really great infromation posted about it on several occasions.

 

[DanielBishop]

Thanks very much to the both of you.

I was actually pleasantly surprised to read that I should be having occasional high-carb days. But what sort of carbs? Instinctively, I think I should have complex carbs and avoid simple sugars, but.... it's not good to assume.

Is a bit of sugar okay during my high carb days? Some of the things I crave the most are very sugary.... breakfast cereals, mainly. I'll try and keep the fat down, though.

Since I can't BUY supplements etc, what sort of foods would provide me with maltodextrin and/or dextrose? And when you say I should have just protein post-workout, are you referring to protein powder? Because I don't do the protein powder thing anymore.... I simply can't afford it. No supplements whatsoever.

But you've already helped a lot, so thanks again. I'll gladly have a high-carb day tomorrow.