Trying again
 

It's been too long. I 'fell off the bus' +5 years ago in total discouragement. But I'm finally working on getting my feet back on the ground. I used to do Atkins ...worked for me for a while, but then it didn't. I am now experimenting with intermittent fasting along with a Ketogenic Diet emphasis. I am trying to find out if there are others on these programs & get more information. Can you help me find the threads? (I haven't been successful in my searches). Thanks!!

Welcome back. I've been plodding along for the past couple years too....I used to do Atkins and was fine. Once I fell off for several years, I've found I have much stricter requirements to get the weight off. Now I'm practically zero carb, moderate fat, and no dairy, as well as iF'ing. I'm now older (turning 40) and my thyroid is slow. I'm sure this is contributing along with years of being at such a high weight (like my body is holding on to the 300's with a vengeance).

I don't have a lot of Keto resources on here (though I'm sure they do exist - make sure you are using the Google search function here, the other doesn't really work). I do belong to several good groups on Facebook. I'm currently reading the obesity code by Dr. Fung too. It's shedding a lot of light on intermittent fasting.

Hope this helps, and good luck :)

I've been doing IF for about 2 weeks now ...lost 8 lb. I was introduced to IF while researching something else on YouTube. I latched onto seminars by J. Fung (author of Obesity Code) and have also listened to several videos by Eric Berg. Berg is not an MD while Fung is. Due to my dyslexia challenges, I learn better via audio & visual, so YouTube has been a wonderful tool! There's other vids on YouTube of people who do IF as well as Keto dieting, so lots of info out there.

My main reason for coming back to the LC forum is that I like to learn from others who are also trying the IF mode after other LC-alone approaches have not worked for them. I expecially appreciate those who share their 'failures' or 'draw backs' so I can learn from them too.

SO FAR I've found IF not difficult to follow (the 16:8 plan) since it almost follows most closely to my personality/habits. I'm sometimes am able to extend it into a 20:4 day. I began this eating style 2 weeks ago with a 2-day fast, using only about a 500-calorie snack before going to bed. I've since worked on trying to get 8 hours of sleep at night (not always successful). So ...thanks for replying my note & I look forward to hearing from others too.

Hi there, I don't fit your target group because my primary WOE is IF. I white knuckled it while still eating carbs, lost the weight, then knocked sugars, grains and potatoes on the head. Mostly 22/2 now, and some days that includes 30 minutes to sip a small glass of red.

My advice is, however many hours you fast for, fast clean. That means no calories, nothing that tastes sweet. So plain black coffee, plain black, green or white tea, plain unflavoured still or sparkling water. Keep that insulin tiger fast asleep! Then enjoy your LC feast.

Thanks so much for your input. I've been trying to fast clean ...but I do slip every so often since I'm cooking for a family, so I end up tasting foods for salt, spice/herb, etc. On the days where I struggle with hunger during my fast, I've allowed myself some boullion mixed in with some inulin fibre (clear, tasteless) ...maybe that's not such a great idea????

Just bought some keto stix 3 days ago ...I'm currently at the large ketones level, so that's encouraging. But, it's only been 2 weeks with the IF and the LC ...I hope I can hold on to this WOE for long term.

Glad I stumbled across this thread, I'm currently losing quite well but keep reading about IF and I am sure I will need to add it to my arsenal of strategies at some not-to-distant point in the future.

So count me very interested in your progress :)

Yes, the need to sample while cooking must pose a challenge. Clean Fasting is a gold standard, and the sort of things you have to keep you going are permissible on many fasting guidelines since they don't trigger insulin release in most people. However, paradoxically once you master it, it cuts down on the hunger pangs. This is worth a look - ignore all the stuff about eating carbs, there are many who eat keto for their one meal a day.
http://www.ginstephens.com/all-blog-posts

Loved the Gin Stephens link!! Thank you soooooo much! Very interesting! I guess it now makes me wonder if I should stop taking my vitamin supplements in the morning (while still during my fasting period). I suppose my potassium, Omega 3, magnesium could all wait ...but I'm wondering about my D3 (since I want the 'shot-of-sunshine' in the morning) ...should I wait with that too? I finally got myself to handle black coffee with no cream or sweetner (don't enjoy it like I used to, but hey ...I'm just looking for the 1-time caffeine fix in the morning anyway, so this will help keep me from not drinking it again for the rest of the day :) ).

I.have just checked my bottle of D3 and it says to take with food and water. Mine is a tablet, not a capsule though. I must admit I take my supplements with my meal except for magnesium which I take at night hoping it will send me off to sleep.

I just looked at my bottle of D3 ...it doesn't mention anything about eating with food. I also have tablets. Hmmmm... Guess that means it should do OK no matter how I take it. But if I want to do clean fasting, I should wait to take my supplements later in the day (when I have my eating window).

Sheesh!! Last week was a tough week for me food-wise. Lots of visiting going on and people making 'treats' for me & DH ...ie: peach pie, birthday cake, high carb meals, etc. How does one say 'no thankyou' to somebody who goes out of their way to make something for you?? Yesterday I got back to Keto again with a 18/6 eating plan. Today I decided I'd fast all day ...drink lots of water (I drink hot water mainly ...it satifies my hunger better). But, seriously ...do any of you reject (say 'no thanks') someone's expended energy and good heart in order to stay true to your goals? Eating low carb can easily become a slave-master ...what's the balance of thinking?

Yep! Cheerfully!

"Oh, thank you, it's beautiful! (turn it around, admire it from all angles) And it smells delicious." (Sniff deeply and appreciatively. There--you've partaken in two senses.) "But a) I don't eat sugar or flour, or b) I'm not hungry now--I just ate. I'll tuck it away for later" (depending upon the relationship with the person who made the food) and then you give it to someone else or pitch it if it's singing to you and you have no hungry teenagers around.

And as far as tasting food to adjust seasonings, I'd bet that your palate is the more sensitive of the crew, and that they really won't notice whether you season it to perfection or not. And if they do, just pass them the salt and keep on doing you.

What if they made you something you deeply despised? Snails? Raw oysters? Twinkies? Whatever? Would you still eat it? I'm guessing not, and if the answer is yes, then that might be something to ponder.

Ultimately, it's my body, and what I put into it affects the way I feel. I get to choose.

Those are great ideas, kathleen24! I think I can work with that. Regarding the food tasting is concerned ...that'll still be a tough one for me since the base of my cooking (since the beginning of time) was to follow the taste buds rather than the recipe. I very rarely use recipes unless I'm baking (which I almost never do anymore since it almost always means the high calories I don't want in my or my family's body).
PS: I'm impressed at your success in weightloss!! Way to go! I hope that will be me someday. Congratulations!!!

I get that cooking thing. But by now you know the recipes that your family likes.

This is meat-not-milk advice, but you sound like you are looking for success, so I'm going to speak it; please know that no criticism is intended, just some food for thought. I see a couple of red flags in your posts. This left me concerned. When I am hungry, I eat. When I am not hungry, I don't eat. There are some days when that gets a little muddled, but I consider my life a work in progress, and this a lifetime way of eating.

I thank you for your kind words, but I could never have made it while struggling with hunger. To me, that's the beauty of the LC way of eating, but I'm kind of old-school about that.

The other piece that stood out to me is the people-pleasing aspect of it: eating when someone else has gone to a lot of trouble to prepare something for you, even if it's not good for your health, and tormenting yourself by taking tastes of food to make it palatable (to your standards) for your family, who more than likely will dig in and eat it before they even notice that you used less marjoram than you usually do.

Ultimately, you get to choose, and you should do what you think is right. I am putting this out here for you to have some other ideas to consider.

Hey Kathleen24... I really appreciate your words of exhortation. Yes... I struggle with being a people-pleaser ...and I've been a work-in-progress in that area of my life for many years now. And as I learn to stand my ground (preferrably in less offensive ways), I do find more freedom to be who I am. So when I read your suggestions of how to respond to food I shouldn't eat in a positive manner, it resonnated well with me.

The hunger during my fast issue: Just as I am learning to break free from being a people pleaser, I am also learning to break free from emotional eating. So... I am trying to not run to food when I 'think' I'm hungry during stressful times. I'm working on destressing my life as well as learning what real hunger is about. I know life will never be without it's stressors, but if I can learn to identify what is stress-hunger & real hunger, that will be a great advantage to me in many ways. Drinking hot water when I feel hungry helps me to evaluate within 10 - 15 minutes if I'm stress-hungry or stomach-hungry. Most of the time, I've been able to keep myself going until I hit my 'eating window' ...which is basically from noon until 8 PM.

Thanks for giving me your meat-not-milk input! :)