Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Blood Ketones – Follow Up

Sometimes it can take weeks or months to become "keto adapted" (see previous post about this), so just for the record I have been semi-eating this way for a couple of months BEFORE I started actually measuring my blood ketones.  I have also measured my blood glucose and it stays between 80-95.  IF you want to try this I recommend reading the posts from Jimmy Moore's blog on his N=1 experience (see previous post about this).  There is a process that your body must go through to make adjustments to becoming a fat burning machine (keto adapted) - a "well oiled" machine.

WEEK ONE GRAPH



Typical Ratio - 1,200 - 1,300 calories per day based on my height/weight/BMI
 Breakdown – 80-85% fat / 15-18% Protein / 5% or less carbohydrates
(charted with myfitnesspal.com app)

MY TYPICAL WEEK DAY

I wake up between 4:30-5:00am and make a cup of coffee.  To the coffee I add 2 rounded teaspoons of erythritol, 1 ounce of MCT oil, and ¼ cup of coconut coffee creamer.  Most of the time I add a tablespoon of Kerrygold unsalted butter, but sometimes I do not.


Recipe for Coconut Coffee Creamer:
1 can of organic, unsweetened coconut milk, shaken
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla (or other flavoring)
1 tsp cinnamon

Place all in the blender and beat until frothy.  
I pour all of this in a shaker container (made for smoothies, 
with the wire ball) and store in my fridge.

I enjoy my quiet morning sipping my coffee.  Sometimes I walk on the treadmill, but most of the time I just catch up on the news of the day.  While I am getting ready for work I take my thyroid meds, my multi-vitamin, and extra vitamin D and have my first glass of water for the day.

Then I pack my lunch which is usually about a cup size portion of protein.  It could be egg or tuna salad, sometimes homemade chili, or any leftover from other meals.  I make a second cup of coffee to take to work with me (using the same ingredients as listed above).

I always get hungry around 10:30am – it is a mental habit.  I have done this for YEARS and blame it on Weight Watchers and the thinking of always needing a mid-morning snack.  NOW I just have my second cup of coffee around this time.   Now this is when the fun begins because I usually forget to eat lunch until 1:00-2:00pm, which is totally fine.  I will also have another bottle of water.

I might have a snack around 4pm.  For snacks I have either pork rinds or Alouette cheese blocks.  I am very careful with dairy because I seem to be a little intolerant of it since I have gotten older.  It was a very sad day of realization. Sigh.

Then I LOVE the evenings when I can enjoy my very favorite meal of the day – breakfast for supper.

Depending on how I feel and what I have on hand it is usually around 2-3 eggs and 2-3 strips of bacon.  I fry the bacon until crispy.  I pour off about ¾ of the bacon drippings into my bacon drippings jar. Hahaha.  I add a tablespoon of butter in the pan, break my eggs into that… and away we go!  Then sometimes I have a steak or pork chop, depending on my mood.

Before bed I take two Carlson Cod Oil Capsules, magnesium, and potassium tabs.  Last night before bed I was craving something – perhaps to relieve the stress from a hard day at the office – so I had a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese.  It hit the spot.

The ONLY exception to this routine is the weekend.  On the weekend I usually eat a little more variety probably because I have more time to cook.  I might add a salad with olive oil, or roasted asparagus or cauliflower.  I MIGHT add these if I feel like it.

Did you know that your body can totally survive without carbohydrates?  Yes it can.  Did you know that your body can create carboydrates from protein? Yes it can – gluconeogenesis.  Did you know that your body CANNOT create the fat and protein and that it NEEDS to survive?  Yep, it must be from what you eat.  Sort of make you wonder about vegetarians, doesn’t it?

Anyway, I keep it simple, boring, and predictable.  This is for weight loss after all and not entertainment.  Food is fuel and I am trying to reach my goal.  Don’t get me wrong.  I LOVE this way of eating, but realistically in order to lose weight I have to keep it very simple.  Otherwise I get off course very quickly.

RESULTS – 1 week of high fat and ketone testing = 2.8 pounds lost

Energy is up.
Cravings are down.
Attitude is up.
Weight is down.







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