Getting less fat in 2017... With technology!

You might try roasting some veggies in the oven (or in the grill for that matter). This can really give nice crunchy texture to vegetables that don’t usually have it, like broccoli, and also bring out a bit of sweetness from the caramelization

AncestryDNA. I wouldn’t do the test for the DNA analysis… It told me stuff I already knew, like I don’t like bitter tastes and I can smell asparagus in urine. It also said I had a low chance of male pattern baldness, so apparently science doesn’t work. :)

The DNA family network stuff is pretty cool, though. My girlfriend, who had been adopted, found her birth father (who had, alas, passed on, but she connected with family at least).

Have I mentioned my wife is amazing? She’s so amazing.

She found a beef stew recipe that sounded good to both of us, replaced potatoes with cauliflower+rutabaga, and made the Yorkshire pudding-like thing that goes on top keto-friendly (basically just almond+coconut flours, eggs, and baking powder), and gave it a shot.

Delicious! The 7yo loved it too. Success all around.

Do any of the keto folks here mess with the testing strips or breath analyzers? I’m torn on whether to spend the money.

No. /r/keto agrees they’re a waste. Just minimize your carbs.

I did strips when I was First starting out, and in one case restarting. I don’t think they are necessary, but if you want some reassurance initially, they might give you a bit.

Never messed with strips or anything other than just counting. But then I don’t worry too much about going over on occasion either. And once I’ve dropped carbs for a couple of days it’s super easy for me to stay keto. Little hunger at all. Plus you can find some awesome keto friendly snacks that fill your sweet tooth without many carbs. The fact I like dark, 90% or more cacao, chocolate helps. A small chunk and some almond butter and I’m good to go. Numsies!!!

Appreciate the responses. I’ll give em a pass.

I don’t bother with them because if you limit your carbs intake you will enter ketosis, and there’s really no question that will happen. And I eat so few carbs in the course of a day that I’m sure I’m still there.

If I mess up and exit ketosis then not eating carbs will put me back in it so it’s not clear to me what benefit the strips would offer.

Edit to add: a good resource is the keto subreddit. One important thing you should do is calculate your macros, which helps you see how many carbs you should aim for. The subreddit has a link to a macro calculator.

I was going to ask for suggestions here, but I created a specific topic for sharing keto and other diet recipes.

Bonus points if they don’t involve cauliflower or broccoli. :) My disdain for the former definitely limits my keto recipe choices somewhat.

I downloaded my fitness pal (again) to start counting my calories and it’s serving me up ads for Red Baron pizzas and pringles and I’m just like, whoa satan, slow down a little, you’re showing your hand a bit much

Yeah the ads have gotten out of control & no way I’m subscribing. I switched to FoodNoms instead. The free version of that does enough and doesn’t have the shitty ads.

Guys, I’m still so sick of being so damn fat.

However, I keep reminding myself that the only commonality between people who haven’t quit smoking is that they’ve all stopped trying to quit. I did that, I can do this. So!

Once more into the breach!

I’m a week into keto and no-alcohol, and feeling good about it. I am getting less hungry, and certainly my appetite follows a much shallower curve both up and down. Going hard on water consumption seems to have gotten me through the adaptation phase (not that I’m like urine-testing or anything) where I stumbled before due to hardcore muscle cramping. (I also was still drinking my last two attempts at this, which certainly didn’t help.)

Overall I think my more holistic approach (no alcohol and more moving-my-body, though I’m not really following any program or strategy – just trying to be physically active through walks or yoga or kids or yardwork or literally whatever) is working a lot better than previous attempts. Applying the lessons from previous failures is how we do better, right? Right.

Anyway, I’m really not using technology at all for now. I may start trying to use my Samsung watch for some of its intended purposes, but right now I’m trying a more whole align-body-and-mind-toward-common-goal thing that seems to work better than creating some external structure to fit my life into.

There’s an (enormous) emotional-health part of this thing too, maybe that’s for another thread. I think for me I can’t really separate the two, though.

Good luck keto I get. As related before I have had tremendous success with it and I know it will help you if you stick with it.

You did not ask for advice but here are some things that have helped me:

I found it eye-opening to track every single piece of food I put in my mouth. I was taking in so many calories I was unaware of in things like coffee creamer, condiments, etc.

If you are still suffering from cramps you can make your own Gatorade by taking a glass of water and adding 3/4 of a tablespoon of light salt (and some MIO for flavor). Also take magnesium supplements.

Good luck!

Thanks!

Yep, I’m on the magnesium tip. I’m also taking 0-1 electrolyte drink powders a day, which as you would imagine are a bunch of sodium/potassium/magnesium and some stevia, when I feel like I need it.

A huge change this time has been to be really disciplined about “drink a bunch of water” being my first response to the hunger sensation. That seems to be really helping with the dehydration (and omg peeing constantly) situation.

Condiments aren’t much of a thing for me – haven’t drank many calories outside of alcohol for years and years, and forgoing bbq sauce and glazes and such that love to hide sugar content isn’t much hardship – but the point is well taken.

I’m doing my best to lean way harder into veggies & fats and limit protein this time around. Maaaaaaaan it is really easy to eat way too much meat in the American Midwest! And I’ve always been an enthusiastic carnivore. My gout, let me tell you about it!

You can find sugar free BBQ sauce and ketchup on Amazon. They’re not great, but they’re pretty good!

My dental hygienist was giving me crap about my gums pre-Covid, so after dinner I use a water pick. It’s a small pain in the ass, but it’s enough to ensure I don’t eat a thing for the rest of the night. Helps me sick to 18/6 IF. Instead I treat myself with decaf coffees flavored with sugar free syrups. I also chew a ton of gum as another treat, like nearly ten pieces a day. If you chew it for ~30 minutes it’s free.

Oh that’s an interesting thought. I haven’t really been able to brush my teeth at bedtime since the radiation (you know what sucks? Everything about radiation being blasted at your mouth and throat) because of how it desiccates my mouth overnight, but if I brushed like shortly after dinner and drank a bunch of water after, that might do it.

I have grand plans for IF, but I’m already making huge changes and the last thing I want is to go a bridge too far and have my entire empire crumble.

I’d be careful about too much fat. As they say, once you calculate your macros, protein is a goal you should try to hit, carbs is a limit you should try to stay under, and fats are for satiety, so if you’re not hungry there’s no need to load up on fats.

Speaking of delicious fats I love pork rinds! Since they’re really the only “chippy” type of substance you can have on keto I have them every day.

Do you get any bloodwork done for HDL/LDL levels when you’re on Keto?

My wife was a big fan of keto diets, but came back with some borderline worrying LDL levels, so she’s cutting back on saturated fats. That sort of problem may vary quite a bit from individual to individual - I’ve seen studies where LDL levels did look good during keto diets.

I get blood work done annually as part of a physical and it’s about time to have that done again, but I don’t get any special blood work done related to the diet. I vaguely recall my levels were a bit high a year ago and I will be interested in seeing what the changes now.