Boom, a bit tired but feeling good this morning. Tested my boods, my glucose has been really stable in the 4.3-4.8 range but my ketones... well I had broth for dinner last night and a couple of bits Iberico Ham (not logged). Presumably the evening fast is more evident on my morning ketones 3.9!
Glucose 4.7
Ketone 3.9
1/2 tsp salt & pint of water, morning and night also magnesium supplement (forgot to mention this)
Breakfast Broth
Lunch Homemade pulled pork, slaw, guacamole (early lunch 11.00 was hungry)
Dinner LC moussaka with cauliflower mash and cheddar on top, really good.
Quiet day today, cycled home 1.30, still hard 2-3 gears down (60watts ish) and a bit cold.
Part of the reason I wanted to write this blog was to share the highs and lows of getting into ketosis, the challenges, the cravings, the days where you don't feel good. Likewise I want to share the same with respect to adapting and training in this state.
So far I am a little disappointed I have not managed much training in the last 10 days, this will increase in the following weeks. As for getting into ketosis I can not believe how simple it has been this time.
My first, much less educated, attempt at this was back in 2003 with Dr Atkins. Like most who got involved my lack of understanding lead me to a high protein diet where I was constantly craving carbs, trying to fit zero sugar, high sweetener sweets and chocolate into my 20g a day with not enough fat and very little veg.
After some great success with losing weight on intermittent fasting I then found the LCHF bible "The Art and Science of Low Carb Performance", I tried LCHF/Keto again. Often when I have tried to get into ketosis it has taken over a week to get to 0.70 and 2 weeks to get above 1.50. I have also found it hard to maintain these levels with them dipping and edging back up again. I would get stable, loose weight over a few months but really struggle with my cycling. This would cause me to go back to carbs and put the weight back on etc etc. The more I have reread the book and educated myself elsewhere the better the results have been and last year I felt I had really cracked it.
I believe that when you have only mild ketosis you are far more likely to have cravings as your body does not have all the energy it needs. This can be caused by having a poor ketogenic diet. The excess meat/protein is metabolised into glucose, which can reduce ketosis. Not eating enough vegetables does not satisfy the body's nutrient requirement, which can also trigger hunger and cravings. I also believe the nutrients from broth have also been satisfying my body's requirements.
So it appears my refined method has sped up my adaptation process significantly. With exception of new year's eve I have been really focused, no cheats, fake cheats just good food, I have experienced no keto rollercoaster and very very little cravings. I am going to step my training up next week so let's see what effect that has.
Easy steps: Using the zingy acronym BEFFV (clearly I just made that up)
Broth: More nutrients and fasting aid
Electrolytes: Salt & water morning and night + magnesium supplement
Fat: Add butter, oils, cheese you need to eat fat
Fast: Full fasts or intermittent fasting (can be as simple as only eating when hungry I often miss meals)
Vegetables: Eat veg with every meal if you can
Aiming for a 3 hour easy ride tomorrow, well as easy as it can be at the moment. No point in riding with any one at the moment I can't hold 200 watts.
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