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So, today is day one of my ketosis journey. My plan for this is to enter into ketosis (purple pee sticks) and stay there for two weeks; then slowly (5 gram increments) add in carbs until I fall 100% out of ketosis. This will mark the top of my carb range. At that point, back to WLS Basics, lowering carbs to lose weight until I'm at 120 lbs. (Lowest end of my maintain range)

To get to ketosis, I'm going to focus on 1) 20 or under NET carbs per day. 2) Water, herb tea---and lots of it. I'm shooting for 3 cups between meals. (Meals defined as Bfast. Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Dessert) So a minimum 12 cups water per day 3) Blogging my experience daily. Gonna do that on my page here on OH. Finally, last but not least 4) Exercise--light to moderate pace minimum for 30 minutes each day. Not much, but I expect energy levels to wane.

Yesterday I found that my coffee could be one reason I wasn't moving along since the caffine in it messes with insulin.

This morning, I decided to get more specific with my carbs, and on SparkPeople, added in my vitamin regime. I do take a lot of vitamins---they are important to me. Well, guess what??? My vitamins ALONE--YUP, ALL BY THEIRSELVES--are 16 grams of carbs. Ok, so that may be a reason too. I'm keeping the vitmins, but really gonna be eating meat and meat and cheese and meat and fat with a little veg---very limited for a few week.

These are some other interesting things I found concerning Ketosis (these came from a variety of web sites

ketones, which are waste products produced by the metabolism of fat. They are essentially an emergency measure by your body -- starved of carbs, it releases ketones from fat, which provide the fuel that the carbs did not.

Fats should therefore make up around 80 percent of your dietary intake, so you should focus on butter, cream, bacon and other foods that are high in fat but low in other nutrients.

The staple of a ketosis diet is protein and dietary, unsaturated fat, such as peanut butter and chicken

As you progress in the ketosis diet, your metabolism will rise and you will be hungry every few hours.

The first week is the most difficult; you need to be mentally ready and stocked with ketosis-friendly foods. During this time, your body will scream for carbs, and you need to conquer this yearning. Having a healthy stock of protein-rich food means you can eat and salve the hunger, and help your cravings from overwhelming you.


After a week or two, your body will require protein for fuel, and carb cravings will subside. Until this period occurs, you must be strictly disciplined.

According to Rob Faigin, author of Natural Hormonal Enhancement and a well-known nutritionist, you should limit carb consumption to a maximum of 20 grams during the first week, then 35-40 grams each week thereafter. Eat enough protein to keep your body satiated. Faigin suggests a gram per pound as a guideline. If you weigh 150 pounds, eat than many grams of protein daily.

Ketones are released through urine, according to Faigin, and drinking extra water will aid your weight loss. Around eight to ten 8-oz cups a day are adequate.
Exercise every day. This doesn't need to be intense exercise, but you do need to be moving around. This is because exercise uses the ketones up
all ketogenic diets are low-carb, not all low-carb diets are ketogenic. In order to reach a state of ketosis you must consume an extremely low amount of carbohydrates for a period of two to four weeks

The threshold of carbs needed to enter into ketosis is usually around 20 to 30 grams per day. Anything higher will allow your body to remain out of ketosis, continuing to use glucose as its primary energy source.
All other things being equal, someone consuming 20 grams of carbs per day to remain in a fat-burning state will not see markedly superior weight loss compared with someone consuming 40 grams of carbs per day and remaining out of ketosis.
General low-carb plans are not nearly as restrictive, as they allow you to eat anywhere from 20 to 120 grams of carbs a day while still producing results. On balance, if you are one of the rare people who can psychologically maintain a perpetual carb-deprived state to remain in ketosis, consider using an extremely low-carb diet. If you want to still enjoy fruit and some other natural carbs, go with a higher-carb-allowance plan. Consistency will usually trump methodology.

Meals
? Breakfast foods in the typical ketogenic diet include bacon, eggs, ham and flourless crepes. Lunch and dinner may include tuna salad, cheeseburgers, shrimp, chicken, chili, tacos and grilled steak. Side dishes and snacks may include split pea soup, coleslaw, pecans, chicken salad and cheese sticks. Dessert choices may include cheesecake, peanut-butter cookies, and strawberry-banana trifle. The diet stresses alternative sweeteners over sugar, and ingredients such as coconut oil and flax oil are known to increase levels of ketones. The diet is fairly flexible, provided the 4-to-1 ratio of fat to protein and carbohydrate ratio is maintained

SAMPLE MENUS. A typical day's menu for a child on the standard 4:1 ratio diet, allowing 1500 calories per day:
? Breakfast: egg with bacon, made with heavy whipping cream and butter, plus an apple
? Snack: peanut butter mixed with butter
? Lunch: tuna salad made with celery, mayonnaise, and heavy whipping cream, served with lettuce
? Snack: keto yogurt (made with heavy whipping cream, sour cream, strawberries, and artificial sweetener)
? Dinner: cheeseburger with lettuce and green beans
? Snack: keto custard (heavy whipping cream, egg, and pure unsweetened vanilla flavoring)
Side effects
Because the 4:1 ketogenic diet is an unnatural way to obtain nutrition, it has some potential side effects. Reported adverse effects in patients using the classic ketogenic diet include:
? Growth retardation caused by protein deficiency
? Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
? Nausea, vomiting, or constipation
? Abnormally high levels of blood lipids after discontinuation of the diet
? Kidney stones or gallstones. Parents are taught to monitor the child's urine for blood as well as ketone levels, because blood in the urine is often an early sign of kidney stone formation
? More frequent infections due to a weakened immune system
? Inflammation of the pancreas
? Dehydration
? Decreased bone density
? Menstrual irregularities (in adolescent and adult females)

Hey all,
65 degrees and sunny all day. It is a real tease...makes me really ready for spring!
B omelet/meat /cheese 16.8
L chicken breast meat cheese 1.1
D turkey bacon and cheese omelet  brocolli and cheese 21.1
S apple 13
S cheddar cheese .4
21.3

I modified an easy brownie recipe to create this cake.  It came out well except for the frosting.  It was a litle stiff.  I'd try it with regular cream cheese spread or add a little smart balance light to it for texture. 

The recipe that follows is as I made it, flawed frosting and all.  I used special dark cocoa but natural cocoa will do just as well. 

If you try it let me know how it turned out.  If you can improve on it, please post your version. 

LOW CARB SUGAR FREE CHOCOLATE BROWNIE CAKE

Calories 132/ Protein 8g/ Carbs 8g, Net Carbs 6g/ Fats 8g

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup smart balance light

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups splenda

1/2 cup GNC unflavored protein powder (54g; 2 scoops=56g)

1/2 cup Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill low carb bake mix

1/4 cup flax meal

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsps vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

PRE HEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES

MELT SMART BALANCE LIGHT

BEAT EGGS AND SPLENDA TOGETHER

MIX TOGETHERR REMAINING DRY INGREDIENTS

ADD VANILLA TO EGG MIXTURE

ADD DRY INGREDIENTS A LITTLE AT A TIME BEATING AFTER EACH ADDITION

ADD COOLED MELTED SMART BALANCE LIGHT A LITTLE AT A TIME BEATING AFTER EACH ADDITION

SPRAY 11"x7" PAN WITH NO STICK SPRAY

POUR BATTER INTO PAN

BAKE APPROX 20 MIN UNTIL TOOTH PICK COMES OUT CLEAN AND CAKE BEGINS TO PULL AWAY FROM THE SIDES OF THE PAN.

 

FROSTING

2 oz fat free cream cheese

1 tbsp Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp splenda

1/4 tsps vanilla extract

LET CREAM CHEESE SOFTEN AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS

SPREAD ON COOLED CAKE

CUT INTO 12 SQUARES

 

 Okay girl, you GOTTA put this on our stickied recipe thread!  PLEASEEEEEE!!!!

this looks amazing!

Good tip about the coffee.