Health and Fitness, June 2020

[LadyMaverick]

My new dr. is a fan of Keto.

You are living my dream I would be willing to drive 100 miles if I could see a IRL doctor that understands the body chemistry change that happens with the Keto WOE. I am currently following and learning from 6 different doctors online that teach about the why & hows of Keto and Intermittent Fasting.

Over the past 3 months of really focusing on Keto WOE I've seen my body change in ways that make me want to keep eating Keto.

I've lost 15 lbs but the Non Scale Victories far exceed the weight loss (IMHO).
** The pain in my joints is gone. I had reached a point that I couldn't raise my arm up because my shoulder hurt so bad. Now I have 360 degree of movement with zero pain. Note.....the 2 or 3 times that I've decided to "treat" myself & eat carbs showed me how my body will respond. The pain comes back. When I return to eating Keto the pain disappears.
** Blood pressure has reduced by about 20 points. My blood pressure was inching up to the range where they want you to take meds. Since eating keto it has returned to a normal range. This morning my blood pressure was 99/70.
** My energy level stays high for 14-16 hours a day. I remember the days when I wasn't eating keto when I had to make myself do things. I just wanted to sit most of the time.
** My sleep schedule is consistently 8ish hours of good sleep.
** My hair has changed. it's hard for me to describe the difference. I remember the day that I first noticed. I wondered if I was making it up. It feels smoother, thicker and not fly away.
** Area below my rib cage feels different. Less bulky. I really notice this when I bend over at the waist to tie my shoes because my ribs don't encounter resistance. I know I insulin resistant and I strongly suspect I had a fatty liver when I started keto. I can physically feel the difference in the space where the liver is located.
** GERD is gone. I can't remember the last time I had indigestion or burping.

What Keto has not solved for me...... my morning blood glucose remains in the 120 range. It was in the 140 range but it came down 20 points when I started using berberine.
From listening to the multiple doctors online I think my elevated blood glucose can be solved by fasting on a consistent basis. I am working on developing this fasting skill in a couple of ways. I am trying to stop all calories by 2pm each day. This gives me a 16 hour (at least) fast each day. The hours are set to sync intermittent fasting with circadian rhythm. I don't really understand it fully but I've researched it enough to want to do it. I want to develop my fasting muscle enough to do weekly fast of 48-72 hours. I'm not there yet. I did 26 hours fast last week and would have continued but DH cooked a meal for me. My goal is to start fasting every Sunday afternoon and see how long I can stick with it.

I truly appreciate that we have a place for us to discuss and share our health challenges and successes. No two bodies are the same. No two people eating styles are the same. This is a unique and special place to share and bounce ideas off each other. I thank you for that.

[Harmony]

I don't know if this Dr. will be helping me with diet tips or information. I doubt she really has time for that. This big place keeps the people coming and going. I've rarely had 15 minutes with a dr. there. And there is always a lot to go over when I'm there, the labs, the meds, etc.

LadyM, at your blood sugar numbers, do you not take any medicine for that? My A1C was ok the last couple times. One dr. called me pre-diabetic and nurse practitioner said I wasn't. They have that listed as one of my situations. Last few times my fasting BS was 107. I'm trying to see what weight loss will do to any of this. Also my BP. A yr ago it was 120/88 6 months ago I didn't get the reading, this time no reading. But on my record it says elevated BP reading w/o diagnosis of hypertension. So is it or not?

All I can say is I just can't mentally stand a diagnosis of diabetes. I've been down that road with a couple people and have seen the havoc it causes.

Almost every day I don't eat from about 10 at night (snack) to probably noon or later the next day. I've been doing that for years. But I can't go to sleep with an empty tummy. It keeps me awake. Maybe that'll change... a little bit ago I had a small dish of vegetables. It used to be something not so healthy...

We'll see how this goes.

[LadyMaverick]

I'm distracting myself here while waiting for the time to pass until the next shift of medical people arrive. Maybe I can find someone on the day shift who has a clue.

LadyM, at your blood sugar numbers, do you not take any medicine for that?

I am not on any prescription medication except for Vitamin D. I have monitored and tracked my blood glucose for years. Over the past 3 years, it is continually creeping up. My A1C is still in the okay range so the doctor is ignoring me about my fasting blood glucose staying in the 120-140 range. It is rare for my blood glucose to go below 100....maybe 2-3 times a year. I know my body and this is not normal.


I am frustrated with our current family doctor. He is a die-hard plant-based anti-meat person and will not have a discussion about any other way of eating. He says I should not eat "things that slither on the ground" when I mentioned Keto. I responded that I do NOT eat snakes and I don't know why he would think that. I told him about carefully documenting my blood glucose numbers when I ate different foods and that is how I discovered how carbs affect my blood glucose. I am an avid gardener and love vegetables. I raise my own microgreens. I am NOT anti-plant-based but eating carbs is not working for my body at this time in my life. He won't' listen to me and insisted that eating potatoes, rice, oatmeal, soy, etc would not raise my blood glucose. That is when I knew that he has a mental block and thinks everyone's body responds to food the same way.

I don't want to wait until I get the official diabetic diagnosis. I have a family history of diabetics and it wreaks havoc on your health.

[Harmony]

My former dr. had told me that as some people age their pancreas just gets sluggish. Personally, I think there's more to it than that...

Been reading everything I can find and my goodness Keto is just nuts. Carbs under 20 grams, 90 grams of protein and the rest of their calories in fat. Another place put it 75% fat 20% protein 5% carbs. And I did read where some people are having cholesterol problems. And - very upsetting to me - I keep reading where people's BS goes up from taking statins. I'm on the lowest dose of that and it took me a while to finally get that under control. I was never able to do that with diet alone even with red yeast rice added.

Living on fats almost exclusively? Butter in my coffee first thing? Groan...

Dr. wants me on fiber drink and that's 12 g of carbs a day. Presently I'm doing about 1/3 of that and my tummy is still protesting. I just looked at the carton of coleslaw and it was 3/4 of the carbs for whole day in just 1/2 a cup. What do these people really eat?

LadyM, are you doing very low carbs and nothing high glycemic (like twins) or trying to do more like this Keto? It's a very strict program. I've learned that if I don't keep myself on a tight leash and allow NO treats along the way, one step is a slippery slope down that mountain. I'm not good going back and forth even a little. Maybe some day I'll find some will power?

Right now I'm trying to lose the 20# I last lost and found again. I know exactly how it happened. DGKids came to help with putting up the fence. I was cooking like crazy for 3 hard-working teenage boys who's love language at that time was lots of good food cooked. One wrong step and there I was. 3/4 of my clothes don't fit. And my health numbers....

[Twins' Mom]

The program I do is 50% fat, 25% carbs and 25% protein for the first phase, no alcohol, no sugar, no white flour, no sweet potato, no tropical fruit. The second phase is 35% carbs, 40% fat and 25% protein, tropical fruit can be consumed, alcohol, sweet potato, corn, etc in limited quantities. The last phase is 40% carbs, 40% fat and 20% protein. The first phase is at least two weeks, although one may stay there indefinitely. Other carbs can be added in phase three but the mantra is how you feel when you eat them. If one feels sluggish, don't eat them.

[Harmony]

Twins, that sounds much more doable. Yours obviously isn't focused on being in ketosis. It's the level of fat in all these program which puzzles me. I've been all my life in the low-fat way of thinking that it's hard to change my mindset.

[LadyMaverick]

LadyM, are you doing very low carbs and nothing high glycemic (like twins) or trying to do more like this Keto?

I'm very low carbs on most days. Frequently under 20grams a day. I try to keep my protein around 60gram a day but frequently go over that. Most of my carbs come from fresh green vegetables (spinach, kale, etc) and/or cabbage. There are some days that I eat carnivores just because it is easier to do when I'm super busy.

I am not planning on eating Keto or carnivore forever. I am doing it because it makes me feel good. I want to get the joint inflammation out and reduce insulin resistance. I am listening to my body and consistently keeping daily track of multiple health markers (temperature, blood pressure, blood sugar, ketones, pulse, oxygen, etc).

I suspect I will eventually eat like Twins does because it is more moderate WOE. But right now if I eat that many carbs my blood glucose goes sky high and I feel like cr*p.

[Harmony]

How do you check your ketones? I appreciate everybody sharing.

[LadyMaverick]

How do you check your ketones?

I started out using the pee strips for the first several weeks. After my body became fat adapted it utilized the ketones better and so I switched to testing for ketones with blood. I test my blood for glucose more often then ketones because of the cost per test. I basically use the pee strips most of the time (they are cheap, easy, and quick) to monitor ketones and then use the ketone blood test strips when I'm fasting to be sure I'm not pushing my body too much.

[RunKitty]

Still 100% plant based here with no dairy and no other animal products. Lots of vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. Primarily eating whole foods, but including some processed foods like tofu and I do grind wheat to make flour for bread. Weight is at or below my goal weight, and it is effortless. I am really happy with this way of eating. Can hardly wait to make African Peanut Stew tomorrow.....so delicious!