~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mitzi
I was reading your post. How important is it to use the ketone test strip? Would you suggest using them while on Induction? I'm assuming that I can buy them almost anywhere.

Mary Ann

Mary Ann, this week is the very first time that I have ever used a ketone strip. I never felt the need for them during Induction or OWL. And I would still advise others that they are completely unnecessary. It's just that I was curious how long it would take me to get back in after my sloppy eating for the past few months. (I started this thread back in April because I was on a slippery slope then) I tested on Monday (my first day of Induction) to verify that I was out of ketosis (which I was), and waited until yesterday to test again because I figured it would take me at least 4 days to go into ketosis. There wasn't a trace yesterday, and today there is, so I completed 5 days of Induction before it regsitered. Now that I know that I am in ketosis, I won't use them daily anymore. And once the bottle is empty, I doubt that I will buy anymore of them. I got mine at Walmart.

[SunnySmile501]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

What a yucky, strange day. I've had no motivation to do anything. Other than getting myself up to go to the Farmer's Market and then to my garden at my brother's to pick veggies, I have been useless.

I could hardly make myself eat lunch, then I couldn't stop. Did no exercise, though I planned to lift weights and ride the recumbent stepper. I dozed the afternoon away, then at 6:30, I made myself eat dinner. Since then I have not been able to stop! I even dug out that jar of Smucker's peanut butter, stirred it up and ate a bunch.

I feel like a bloated pig. I feel like I have PMS, but I haven't had TOM since last August. I am hoping that I am finally past that stage of life at the tender age of 58!

I am stopped now. I've washed the last dish tonight and I won't go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. No, I refuse to eat out of the peanut butter jar!

Sunny!

[pamelainaustin]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mary Ann, this week is the very first time that I have ever used a ketone strip. I never felt the need for them during Induction or OWL. And I would still advise others that they are completely unnecessary. It's just that I was curious how long it would take me to get back in after my sloppy eating for the past few months. (I started this thread back in April because I was on a slippery slope then) I tested on Monday (my first day of Induction) to verify that I was out of ketosis (which I was), and waited until yesterday to test again because I figured it would take me at least 4 days to go into ketosis. There wasn't a trace yesterday, and today there is, so I completed 5 days of Induction before it regsitered. Now that I know that I am in ketosis, I won't use them daily anymore. And once the bottle is empty, I doubt that I will buy anymore of them. I got mine at Walmart.

Mitzi,

I just have a question here--I will try to find the answer in the book but I figured you might know. Once you are at goal and maintaining, is it the expectation that you will continue in ketosis forever? I know the fat percentage goes down and you are eating more carbs in maintenance but I am just really curious. I guess I just assume an Atkinite at a normal body weight would just be like everyone else When I see patients with positive ketones in the urine it is always when they are sick (usually with vomiting and diarrhea) and not eating so the body is burning their fat for energy, hence the positive ketones. It always goes away when they are back to eating normally.

I have not used the sticks either--my husband always notices the "ketone breath" when he gets close to me so I brush my teeth a lot and do chew some Eclipse gum occasionally. I know the gum is not the best choice but what's a girl to do


Pam

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

What a yucky, strange day.

Aw, Sunny I'm sorry you've had such a weird day. I hope you're not getting sick, or being visited by the dreaded TOM. You're right, you've earned the right to be through with that! And peanut butter... it's evil/delicious! I ate a 1/2 jar Sunday (the day before I started Induction) I hope that you are back to your usual self tomorrow.

OK, some details on my day:

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday, July 19th - 6th day of strict Induction

Breakfast: 6 ounce hamburger patty topped with mushrooms (no cheese)

Snack: 1 cup jicama; 1 ounce string cheese

Snack: 1 cup jicama; 1 ounce string cheese

Dinner: 2 deviled eggs; boiled shrimp; shrimp sauteed in butter; steamed cauliflower with hollandaise

* I don't have complete Fitday totals today, because I ate dinner at my mom's and just don't feel like trying to "guestimate" what I ate into Fitday. I didn't bother to count how many shrimp I ate, or judge exact portions, but I know I did fine carb-wise... I may have eaten more calories than I should have, because I love shrimp and it is a rare treat. I had a little over 600 calories and 15 net carbs going into dinner. I didn't eat much during the day because I was busy at work, and was only able to squeeze in the 2 jicama/string cheese snacks. I made up for it at dinner.

- Barely got in my 64 ounces of water... still working on the last installment now.

- Took supplements

- No exercise, but was on my feet all day at work.

-------------------------------------------------------

As I reported earlier, I'm finally back into ketosis. I stepped on the scale this morning, and was 4 pounds lower (126) than I was on Monday (130). So I'm only 1 pound over my ticker weight... which is what I consider my "panic" weight... meaning that I intend to get back down to 120 before leveling off again. I'm going to do 1 more day at Induction levels (about 20g net carb), weigh in on Monday morning, and then bump up to 25g for the upcoming week. On the next Monday, I'll weigh in, assess, and if I'm still losing, I'll bump up to 30g. I'll continue this until I find my CCLL again, or until I reach 120, whichever comes first. I plan to stay in Rung 1 for the entire time.

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mitzi,

I just have a question here--I will try to find the answer in the book but I figured you might know. Once you are at goal and maintaining, is it the expectation that you will continue in ketosis forever? I know the fat percentage goes down and you are eating more carbs in maintenance but I am just really curious. I guess I just assume an Atkinite at a normal body weight would just be like everyone else

Hi, Pam

You're right... it's not expected that you will continue in ketosis forever. You don't have to be in ketosis to lose weight, and you won't necessarily lose weight just because you are in ketosis. The advantage of ketosis for me at this point, is to help me get myself under control again. If you've been reading this thread, you will see that I am extremely carb-sensitive and am, in fact, a carb addict. I have a large number of trigger foods and have let myself become sloppy with my WOE... over-indulging in those trigger foods... and had let myself go from 120 to 130 as of Monday of this week. I have been feeling myself losing control, and re-Inducting was the only way to get my self discipline back. I was having cravings and overeating, and ketosis naturally supresses your appetite, so that is what I needed to do. I have been dreading and avoiding it! Thank goodness, though, Induction really does work to help kick cravings to the curb and gain control of yourself if done correctly. Whew!

[pamelainaustin]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Thanks Mitzi--that is pretty consistent with what I had in my head. I have been following along here and I just want to say that you are truly an inspiration to me (and many others I am sure) not just because of your amazing transformation but also your knowledge and commitment to this WOE--no matter what happens, you just calmly find the solution, take the appropriate action and "get her done" .

Thanks so much!!

Pam

P.S. Do you think your C25K had anything to do with your recent struggles? Several people on here have seemed to develop similar struggles when running regularly

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

P.S. Do you think your C25K had anything to do with your recent struggles? Several people on here have seemed to develop similar struggles when running regularly

Pam, thank you SO much for the kind words!

You know, I have considered the fact that I have been running 3 times a weeks now to be one of the factors in my overeating. I know that it's only 3 miles at a time, but for a former couch potato like me, that is quite a workout! And I think it does make me hungrier. So the added hunger, coupled with the trigger foods I'd been getting into (sweeteners, in particular), were a bad combo. It's been easier for me not to overeat today, even though I ran this morning, since I'm eating cleanly.

Hey, something you said about ketones got me to thinking, and I wanted to clarify something. You were saying that when you see patients with positive ketones in the urine it is always when they are sick (usually with vomiting and diarrhea) and not eating so the body is burning their fat for energy, hence the positive ketones. It always goes away when they are back to eating normally. You may already know this, but I just wanted to say that for someone who doesn't normally eat low-carb, I could see how having ketones in the urine could indicate illness. For people who low-carb as a WOE, though, it is perfectly safe to stay in ketosis for extended amounts of time... doesn't indicate illness at all.

Thanks again for your encouraging words!

[pamelainaustin]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mitzi,

I probably need to clarify that the patients I see are all children--I am a pediatric nurse practitioner--and none of them are on a low carb WOE. I **wish** there was solid science/research to support this WOE for kids because I think it would be helpful but currently I encourage physical activity, avoidance of sugar and junk foods, whole grains, healthy fats and lots of veggies. I would love to be part of a comprehensive approach to childhood overweight/obesity--maybe someday...

Pam

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Mitzi,

I probably need to clarify that the patients I see are all children--I am a pediatric nurse practitioner--and none of them are on a low carb WOE. I **wish** there was solid science/research to support this WOE for kids because I think it would be helpful but currently I encourage physical activity, avoidance of sugar and junk foods, whole grains, healthy fats and lots of veggies. I would love to be part of a comprehensive approach to childhood overweight/obesity--maybe someday...

Pam

Pam, this is so interesting! You see, I have a 12 year old son that could benefit immensely from this type of approach... he is my "dirty little secret", in that I just haven't been able to swing him around to this WOE. I'm as much (even more!) to blame for his weight than he is, because after all, I am the one who supplies his food most of the time... and I have been letting him "bully" me into letting him eat what he wants. Ugh, I'm terrible at this mothering thing... never been good at it or enjoyed it. It's hard! (but that's a story for a different board)

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Sunday, July 20th - 7th day of clean eating - Progressing to Rung 1 and 25 net carbs

I am going to go back to using Sundays as my weigh-in day, because that's the way I have done it since I started in February of last year, and I am a creature of habit. I was going to use Mondays, since I started on Monday last week, but I want to go back to my usual routine. So, that makes today weigh-day for the week and I came in at 126. 4 pounds down this week! Better than I had hoped for - thank God!

This week (today), I move to Rung 1 and begin the search for my CCLL (Critical Carbohydrate Level for Losing). I did this last year, but I just want to verify it again... it is possible for things to change, and since I have managed to eat at around 20 net carbs this week, I might as well formally move up in 5g increments to see how many I can eat and still lose. I averaged a loss of between 1 and 2 pounds a week for my entire journey from re-start to goal last year, and am hoping I can do that this time until I reach 120. I think that I can do it as long as I stay on Rung 1 and don't let my calories get too high... I like to average between 1600 and 1800.

Ok, here's my details for the day... I'm high in calories, but I will make that up in my average for the week. My mom sent home some of the shrimp from last night with me, so I finished that up. All of that shrimp made my protein too high. And believe me, I think that I've had my fill of shrimp for a while. My meals look huge... I didn't eat any snacks or mini-meals today like I usually do.

Breakfast - 12 boiled shrimp; 3 pieces of bacon; 12 ounce bag of broccoli slaw "fried" in the drippings from the bacon

Lunch - 24 small sauteed shrimp in butter; 1/2 cucumber with 3 tbsp ranch dressing

Dinner - 10 ounce Hamburger patty topped with provolone cheese; mushrooms sauteed in butter; 1/2 avocado

Fitday Totals:
1909 calories
25 net carbs (38g carbs - 13g fiber = 25 net carbs)
61% Fat
5% Carbs
34% Protein

- Just finishing up my 64 ounces of water

- Took Supplements

- No Exercise

[kellymch2006]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

What in the world is broccoli slaw and did you eat the whole twelve ounces by yourself???

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

What in the world is broccoli slaw and did you eat the whole twelve ounces by yourself???

Broccoli slaw is shredded broccoli stalks, cabbage, and carrots (which I pick out when doing Induction) that you can prepare like traditional cole slaw. It comes packaged, you can mix it with 1/4 cup mayo, 1.25 teaspoons vinegar, and splenda to taste. Excellent slaw! It's very, very crisp. Lately though, I've been tossing it into bacon drippings and cooking it down until it's soft. It reminds me a lot of the inside of an egg roll when prepared like this. And yep, I eat the entire bag when I do it this way. It provides 12g net carbs (20g carbs - 8g fiber = 12g net carbs). When I eat it like regular cole slaw, I usually divide into 2 servings (there are really 4 servings in the bag... I'm just a veggie freak).

Here is a pic of the package: (I've seen a couple of different brands)

[odirish]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

hen you make it like cole slaw, how many carbs is it? I am starting Induction today. I wanted to start yesterday, but we were invited to a Biker's Breakfast. At any given time, there had to be over 200 bikes just while we were there. Last year they served over 1350 people. That's alot of bikes. A few of us ended up at our house for swimming. It has been in the high 90's for the past 5 or 6 days now. Maybe if I can stick to Atkins, I'll be able to wear a two piece next year.

[kellymch2006]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

Ok, this looks great. I've never seen it.

I like to take the regular bagged cole slaw and fry it in bacon grease. You're right, it's like the inside of the eggroll.

My husband doesn't like it. I usually do it with fish fried in pork rind breading but he likes the chunkier fried cabbage.

I'll keep my eyes out for this.

[mitzimarie]

Re: ~*~ Back To Basics ~*~

how many carbs is it?

The whole bag provides 12g net carbs (20g carbs - 8g fiber = 12g net carbs). There are 4 servings in the bag... so 3g net carbs per serving. When I eat it fried, I eat the whole bag and that's my meal. I usually do it for breakfast on the mornings that I make bacon for the family, so I can use some of those drippings. When I eat it like slaw, I get more servings out of it because it's so "big" (you'll see what I mean)... when cooked down, it really reduces in size.