Keto cravings

[Afterlife]

Hi, im having some serious cravings while in keto, mainly sugar and chocolate and the such. Anyways Is there any kind of bar, or anything else that can help?

I saw some atkins bars but they are so expensive (4$ a bar here in canada) and they have 22g of carbs which i think would be a lot...

 

[overhead]

When I had a serious sugar/choc craving I would get some heavy creme, unsweetened chocolate and splenda. Whip the heavy creme, melt the choc, mix in the melted chocolate and splenda. Seems to satisfy the craving for me.

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

Hi there, just wanted to know if someone could help me out? I just started cutting my carbs to get into ketosis and was curious, this is day three and the ketostick still reads negative..how long does it usually take to reach ketosis?? I am using fitday to track my daily intake of protein/carbs/fat and have not gone over 10% carbs for the day, my protein and fat intake are 60%/30% respectively. Anyone out there know how long until I hit ketosis or if I am doing soemthing wrong??

 

[flexygrl]

Littlemiss,

Post your diet. Maybe we can help. I believe it does take around 3 days to get into Ketosis. Also if you are drinking lots of water, your urine may be diluted so your sticks may show a false negative. Have you lost any weight? My first 3 days on CKD I lost 2 pounds, but I didn't have my ketostix's then, so I didn't check....


As far as something sweet... there are sugar free peanut butter cups that they sell in Walgreens. I had them only in dire emergencies. It never knocked me out of ketosis.


Also, the longer you stay on it, you will have fewer cravings. So keep at it! I was a sweet tooth fiend and now, I am so much better. Also, R-ala is great for cravings, among other things. After taking it for a week I didn't have a single one!

 

[Afterlife]

whats r-ala?

btw it took me 3 days to get in keto. It takes as long as it takes to rid your liver of all glyco. Do some really intense cardio, and some weights. Space your meals out eat a lot of fat and try to avoid carbs at all cost. When i first started I only eat foods that said 0g of carbs besides eggs which have like 0.5-1 in them. My carb intake must have been lower than 15 my first week. Im now going to be starting my second straight week with my first carb-up next friday.

Good luck

 

[speedy7]

Cravings huh? Drink a huge glass of water when that happens. It works for me ever time!

Why not do the insulin trick and get into ketosis in less than a day?There is a detailed report on it somewhere on elite.

When I cut down I am definitely going to try it, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

[flexygrl]

Speedy7,


That avatar looks familiar! Where did you get it?

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

Hey Flexygrl, thanks for the info. Here is what a typical day looks like for me:

30-45 Cardio (empty stomach/thermos) 6-7 days/week

ultimate nutrition protein shake with <2 g carbs
(2 scoops)

8 egg whites with 2 cherry tomatoes

cheddar cheese/1 oz almonds

lots of leafy greens...Romaine Lettuce, Cucumbers, Celery

Grilled Chicken breast on a greek salad(no olives/dressing, light on the feta!)

30 mins weights (targeting different muscle groups each day 5x/week)

I also rollerblade and do some other activities(b-ball/soccer/swimming)

ultimate nutrition protein shake (same as above)

I can very this depending on how I am feeling and alter some things but this is pretty typical. Could you critique it for me and let me know what else I should be doing??

 

[flexygrl]

Hi Little Miss,

If you are trying to get into ketosis you have to up your fat. There is hardly any fat in that diet. The trick is to get your body to use fat for energy. In order to get it to release that fat you have to feed it fat. ARe you using Mr. X's spread sheet? If not, then if you are doing CKD try to keep your fat and protein on a 50/50 ratio. Good fat is good for you!!! Get more cheese, olive oil, natural peanut butter into that diet and you should be fine. How much weight are you trying to lose?

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

Flexygrl,

I am trying to lose approximately 10-15 lbs, the problem is in my lower body...my upper body is very toned, abs and all. I seem to hold on to that stubborn fat only on my lower half. By the way I am 5'0 and 125lbs. According to fit day my ratios seem to stay consistently within the 60%protein/40%fat/>10% carbs, do you still think I should up my fat intake?? Any advice you could offer me at this point would be greatly appreciated!! And no I am not using Mr.X's spreadsheet, should I be??

 

[flexygrl]

If you are trying to do CKD I would use Mr. X's spreadsheet. It's great!

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

Thanks again Flexygrl!

I am going to download that spreadsheet and try it...I just hope it is not too complicated to follow..LOL. I like to keep the diet as simple as possible so I don't make any mistakes.

 

[the nature boy]

i don't think littlemiss is getting enough fat if she's doing a ckd.

 

[bds20002002]

its so simple. eat 20 grams of carbs or less a day. keep your fat intake higher than your protein, and u will be in ketosis. if you want to do the keto thing you can not be afraid of dietary fat.

People seem to forget. fat does not make us fat... High carbs, high fat makes us fat!!!!!!

you must let go of your fear. i know its a challenge. especially when everyone in the free world is addicted to Sugar.

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

Hey everyone!

Thank you for all the advice, I guess I have been "afraid" of upping my fat intake. I have always been under the impression that fat is...evil, LOL. If anyone could give me some good examples of which foods contain the best sources of fat, I would be forever in debt to you. And I do mean foods, not olive oil or pure sources of fat, something tangible that I can physically chew...and enjoy would be nice.

 

[bds20002002]

macadamia nuts. they are great frozen. olives, cheses.

spinach salad, not high in fat, but very low carbs and high fiber. the leafy green veggies are great. also as a side instead of rice/potatoes. try mashed calliflower. cook them till soft and mash with butter just like potatoes. use them as a side with roast beef, potroast, steak, fish, anything, they are great.
i hv a beef chile recipe if you like that type of meal, also a beef goulash that is kick ass. my friends who eat a high carb diet like the chile and potroast dishes i make. so i know its good. and all about 3 grams of carbs per adult size serving.

Also grilled shell steaks with mushrooms sauted in butter is great.

let me know what you like ill give you the dishes.

[email protected]

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

bds,

Thank you sooo much, that stuff all sounds so forbidden!! I would love the recipe for your beef chile!! I actually went to the grocery store today to pick up some "higher" fat foods, haha, that sounds so weird. I have eaten low fat, low carb, high protein for so long that I got to the check out and panicked. My friend who came along with me started laughing and there I was standing in front of the cashier debating if I should really buy the salami, cheese and ceasar dip that I had in my cart. It was amusing to all I am sure, but really, I swear I nearly had an anxiety attack!! Is this normal? Also do you know if there are any "forbidden" carbs you should stay away from on the carb up day?? Or which carbs are better to consume on that day? Or is anything ok?

 

[bds20002002]

of course it normal. its tough to make changes sometimes. even when they are for the better.

its allways better to take in quaility carbs, rather than crap. i choose sweet potato over pasta. or i up my good carbs, ill eat more string beans, brusslesprouts, carrots. the good carbs. i get to eat more of them and they are a better source of fiber than the crap(cake, pasta,bread) all the white flours that are processed to the point where the are caloricly dense, nutritionally worthless.

but it is up to you. some people drink, and eat crap the whole day. maybe when a person is young that will work. but im 35, so i like to keep things as clean as possible these days.

and it is working for me. iv gone from 235 to 205 in less than 2 months. My workouts are improving every day. i started benching 2 months ago 135 for 3 sets of 8. last bench 265 for 3 sets of 5.
squat 135 for 3 sets of 8, last squat workout 300 for 5(full depth).

im able to complete 3 sets of 6 reps unassisted pull ups, which is my greatest achievment. 2 months ago i could not do 1 pull up!!!!!!!!!

my body composition is changing, my clothes are loose where they should be, and getting snug where they should be!!!

and when i first started the diet, i thought "fat!!!!!!!!!! i cant eat fat!!!!, to loose weight i hv to starve myself!!!!. I cant eat fat!!!"

oh was i so wrong.

 

[bds20002002]

oh yeah, here is the chile.

fry chopped sirloin, with tabasco, chile powder until well done.

schred cheddar chesse, chop tomatoes.

cook fresh cauliflower till soft, drain and mash it like you would mash potatoes(add butter if u like).

put a cup of cauliflower on a plate(approx 1.5 carbs). cover with some of the meat. some more tobasco, the tomatoes and schredded cheddar cheese. garnish with sour cream if u like, fresh cracked pepper. and there it is. chile!!!!!!!!!

and about 4 grams of carbs per serving.....
i like a tall glass of seltza in ice as a drink with that.. and desert, frozen macadamia nuts. or a piece of atkins banana nut bread with a smudge of no carb maple syrup.

 

[the nature boy]

I thought tomato's had carbs in em.

 

[beastboy]

I thought tomato's had carbs in em.

They do....pretty high too.

 

[bds20002002]

if you eat a whole on yes. but two or 3 pieces of diced tomatoes???? about 1-2 carbs. lol

the dish has about 4 carbs per serving.

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

bds,
You are awesome! Thanks for the advice once again and that recipe is going to come in handy for dinner this week. When following this CKD diet, is it normal to feel like you have absoloutely NO ENERGY?? I am in day 5 now (lost 5 lbs)...most of it probably water, but I literally had to drag myself through my 45 min. cardio session this A.M. I am always in high gear for my cardio, I love that high I get from it, but this morning was very different. Is this how it is going to be continuously on CKD? Cause I don't think I could handle this burn out feeling for long, does it go away as you progress on this diet?? Please explain....

 

[bds20002002]

there are times during the day, sometimes. that i crash. i need to rest for 20 minutes or so.

i think the issue here is. your caloricly restricting and carb restricting. once you up your dietary fat, you should have more energy. its like you were trying to do both diets at once. and that could be dangerous, and counterproductive to muscle retention/gain.

you must give your body fuel. its funny, the more i eat the deeper into ketosis, i get. and i do very light cardio. i walk with my HR at 120bpm for 35 minutes twice to three times a week. i feel i will lose more fat by increasing my muscle mass. in my eyes cardio is great for burning calories, but once i am finnished for the day, im not burning at an accelerated rate.

but the more muscle mass, the more my body will burn at rest. remember when we lose weight, our body wants to eat away at our muscle. and of course muscle is attractive.

 

[littlemissbutterflyz]

bds,

So what you are saying is "yes" this is how it is going to be for the duration of my time on CKD?? I don't know why but I do not feel the same burn out effect when I am doing my weight training in the p.m. I do have a lot of LBM (genetically our family was blessed with natural muscle), so I should be burning calories at a higher rate while at rest. The problem area I am trying to target is my lower body, it just does not want to let go of that stubborn fat that has accumulated around the hips, thighs and buttocks...a woman's best friend, LOL!! Any more suggestions at this point? And is it ok to have my last meal at approx. 11pm? Or is that too late? The only sup I am taking is a thermo, should I be taking anything else? We have limited access to sups here in Canada, they have regulated and banned many of them, so try to keep that in mind.

Littlemissbutterflyz

 

[bds20002002]

dedicate one workout a week to lower body. that will tighten things up down south, as you burn off your remaining fat reserves.

eating at 11:00 is not bad, as long as it is a low carb meal. i usually do a protien shake. the isopure chocolate is great, and only 1 carb. suppliments are generally a waste of money. proper diet and a multi vitamin coupled with a smart workout plan is ideal.

Remember it takes time for the body to burn off the fat, so keep at it and make it so you enjoy the process.