I make the so-called “ketoade” which is a glass of water with some Mio flavoring and 3/4 of a tablespoon of lite salt. I drink one of those every morning.
I drink 1 to 1.5 gallons of water a day and supplement when I feel like I need to with a stevia-sweetened electrolyte powder. I too have suffered the cramps previously, but this time it’s been nearly smooth sailing.
The only thing that’s bullshit about it is that the FDA can be slow to make changes and how political the process can be. Anyone that buys Kirkland signature protein bars probably noticed by now that there were some ingredient changes recently and fiber count went down while net carbs went up. That happened because the FDA changed the classification of an ingredient they had been using for years was suddenly no longer classified as a fiber. (I think that actually occurred in 2016, but they must have given manufacturers an absurdly long time before they had to correct their labeling, while many of us continued to think that we were eating better than we were.)
More info about FDA-approved fibers here:
https://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2020/fdas-fiber-list-grows/
The last few months I’ve been doing a lot of walking - I have lots of podcasts I like to listen to, as well as music and getting on the phone with friends and family, and have been doing about 15k-25k steps per day, plus light weight training every few days at the Y (push-ups, crunches, curls, lat press, that sort of thing). I was pushing 300lbs in March when we were planning a vacation in Hawaii and was too heavy to participate in some of the activities, such as the zip line or the kayak, and this morning I weighed myself at 273.
(spoiled so no one that doesn’t want to see a middle aged man without a shirt doesn’t have to)
That’s awesome, Scott, congrats!
Wow you must be walking 10 miles a day. Walking is way underestimated for fitness. I have always walked a lot and it helps keeps my weight in check.
Congrats, keep it up!
Yeah, 10 miles several days of the week, looks like just over 7 is the average, but I don’t always have my phone on me (which is why I was considering buying an apple watch or similar fitness tracker, to get more accurate data).
The days I only hit 5-8 miles are days I did weight training, with a few days of “rest” in there.
EDIT: I should point out it’s easy when there is a really nice trail at the edge of town that is full of bridges and great scenery and wild life - it’s a really enjoyable walk, and about 4.8 to the end and back, and I often hit that trail once in the morning and once in the evening.
Oh yeah, get yourself a watch of some kind. Not only are they handy, but it helps motivate me. Love the Apple Watch for walking. Can leave my phone behind and listen to podcasts with it. Get a Garmin if you want all the fitness stats you can dream of.
I have a Samsung Galaxy Watch 2 and it’s…fine. It’s a couple years out of date, not sure what their current offerings are like.
Sad to say the Apple watch is still significantly better than any of the Android offerings, or was last time I looked around.
I have money in hand and keep almost pulling the trigger and then deciding not to. I could save $100 or so and get a slightly “lesser” series, but at this point I’m either all-in with the $429 watch (Series 6) or I get nothing. I just can’t determine if I really want it or if I’d rather have the money in case something cool came along…? Ack.
I do like the idea of spending the money which makes me more inclined to make use of it which in turn keeps me from “skipping a day or two” which leads to “now I can’t go zip lining with my wife and kids” again…
The Garmins are great, but they aren’t cheap.
Anyway, if stats motivate you to exercise, I think they are worth the money. I have exercised many times just to fill a ring, get some silly award, or to keep a streak going.
Don’t be fat – it’ll trigger the gout!
Don’t lose weight too fast – it can trigger the gout!
Fucking gout. At this point I’m just suffering through to get to the post-weight-loss part. Ugh.
Oof, man that sucks. Hang in there.
Nice work!
Weighed in today at my annual (ish…yeah…) physical. Haven’t weighed myself since I changed my habits.
Down 20 pounds in 4 weeks. Some of that is water for sure, with the whole keto-glycogen situation, but still. That’s a number I’m happy with.
Blood pressure, too. Lowest reading I can ever remember. Like, way better than previous.
Primary care guy is super happy. “Keep doing what you’re doing,” says he. I can do that.
Feeling good today, friends. Gonna go get some amazing Nepalese curry with my brother for lunch in a bit. Turns out it’s just as delicious without the rice ;)
Excellent news! Keep it up.
My biking, combined with cutting out alcohol and reducing my keto calories a teeny bit has resulted in me losing about 3 lbs over the past couple weeks. Since I’m already at a pretty good spot (6’4’, 200 lbs), I want to lose just a few more - maybe get down to 194/5. Then I can start drinking again!!
Great to hear!
Best news you can get from a doctor visit, isn’t it?
YGG! Hi-Five!!!
That is awesome. Don’t they say it takes around 3-4 weeks of strict keto to get ‘fat adapted’, where you start reaping the real mood and energy benefits? Making it that far is a big milestone, and is my current goal. I’m on Day 3 lol…
Did you also get blood work? My last keto foray seemed to skyrocket the old cholesterol. That, and the cramps and the food restrictions, ended up derailing me. This time I’m aiming to be more inspired by this thread! :)
Blood work has been done but not analyzed yet. Should have notes back on that Friday so I should have an idea if anything internally is going off the rails.
Keto adaptation from what I’ve read and experienced is in the 0.5-2 week timeframe, depending on your own body and how it reacts. Day 3 you’re still in the weeds. The thing that helped me a TON this time was to go in eyes-open and basically don’t worry about calories or anything during the adaptation phase. I snacked a lot, but I stayed away from the carbs, and the snacking just naturally fell away once I was over the hump.
Cramps are bastards. I supplement with this stuff as needed (again, much less since getting through adaptation):
When I was just starting, I’d take one of those after putting the kids down on the theory that the nighttime cramps are what absolutely derailed me before. Worked a charm.
I think, though, that the real trick is drinking an absolute buttload of water. I hang out around 1-1.5 gallons per day, plus coffee and some La Croix. Much more than I was drinking pre-keto.
I’m obviously super happy with my results so far. Let’s hope the lipids aren’t out of control!