This Gary Taubes dude had it figured out a long time ago. Just incredible what is going on out there.

https://reason.com/archives/2018/04/14/the-man-who-hated-carbs-before


This part on artificial sweeteners.

Quote:

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Where did the idea that these sweeteners were problematic come from?
Oh, they came from the sugar industry. The saccharine and cyclamates were direct competitors. Interestingly, here's where the beverage industry and the sugar industry split, because the beverage industry was happy to sell artificially sweetened drinks. Artificial sweeteners are cheaper. So Coke and Pepsi put out Tab and Diet Rite.

And Fresca. I'm thinking of all the horrible-tasting preDiet Coke diet sodas.
But the sugar industry saw it as a direct threat to their viability, and it was. There's a quote from The New York Times in my book, a sugar industry executive copping to spending a half-million dollars on research trying to find anything that an artificial sweetener does that's damaging. They would give female rats the equivalent of 60 cans a day of soda and then hope that they would produce rats with birth defects so they could say it was as bad as thalidomide. This executive is quoted as saying, "If someone could undersell you one cent to a dime, wouldn't you throw a brickbat at them if you could?"

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Reece's (especially the holiday versions) have always been my weakness. I made this on Valentine's Day and it was so good.

https://www.ketoconnect.net/recipe/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/

I ended up eating both servings myself, but even though I overindulged, I managed to stay keto and didn't feel awful the next day. There are also a ton of chocolate-peanut butter fat bomb recipes out there, I try to keep something like that on hand in the freezer so if I'm tempted by something I have a good substitute on hand.
I find I rarely use the substitutes anymore, I made a ton of mug cakes the first month or so, but haven't in quite awhile. It is nice to know they are available though for when I get a bad craving.

Trying to slowly gain on keto is damn hard. Gonna have to start chugging heavy whipping cream I guess.

Macadamia nuts are a pretty good lever.

Or make a protein shake with protein powder, unsweetened coconut milk, 3 tablespoons of almond butter and 2 raw egg yolks.

MosesHallEnforcer said:

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Macadamia nuts are a pretty good lever.

Or make a protein shake with protein powder, unsweetened coconut milk, 3 tablespoons of almond butter and 2 raw egg yolks.

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Been making a lot of shakes. Gonna have to do more I reckon. My shake is usually...

1 scoop quest protein
2-4 tablespoons of natural peanut butter
1 cup almond milk (unsweetened of course)
Salt
Vanilla
Ice
Top it off with some extra creamy whip cream

Sonic doesn't make a better peanut butter shake.

Forgot chia seeds. Add 4 tablespoons of chia seeds

I know that I'm in a different boat than most of yal but this slow "keto bulk" is really hard.



My measurements have improved some though, so I can't complain too much.



Currently eating 2450 calories on rest days and 2900 on lifting day. This may have to increase.

The lifts are continuing to go up though. Hitting PRs every week in multiple lifts. TKD is the real deal for that if anyone is looking to improve performance while staying keto.

Nice chest improvements. Looks like your bench should be going up steadily.

Are you lifting 5 days a week? What 5/3/1 program are you doing?

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Nice chest improvements. Looks like your bench should be going up steadily.

Are you lifting 5 days a week? What 5/3/1 program are you doing?

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Thanks! 4 days per week. Been doing the "Building a Bigger Yoke" template minus the neck flexion and neck harness so far. I want to buy a harness soon to add a little direct neck work. It's similar to "Boring But Big," except on squat and deadlift days you do 15-25 reps of hang clean and 15-25 reps of squat or deadlift and FSL weight.

Bench Press has seen some uptick lately.

I just noticed today that I haven't taken heartburn medication nor head heart burn in quite some time. I used to constantly have it and would cycle on and off again taking the generic prilosec.

What made me notice was that yesterday I ate Louisiana hot sauce sardines at lunch then I ate some pulled pork for dinner that I loaded up mexican style with sour cream, cheese, tons of jalapenos, and tons of Valentinos Hot sauce. In the pre-keto days this would have been a major recipe for some horrific heartburn, but I woke up this morning with nothing. I hadn't taken any medication or anything either.

Not sure if this is a result of keto or the weight loss, but it's nice.

Thinking about doing a Keto test-run for 10 days. I'm in pretty good shape, workout daily, probably 17% body fat.

I've never done Keto/Paleo but lurk on this thread some. Any thoughts on what to expect in a test-run like this? Dunno if I can make it a lifetime change, but thought I'd try it out. #1 thing I will do is stay hydrated. Other than that, any tips?

jjeffers1 said:

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Thinking about doing a Keto test-run for 10 days. I'm in pretty good shape, workout daily, probably 17% body fat.

I've never done Keto/Paleo but lurk on this thread some. Any thoughts on what to expect in a test-run like this? Dunno if I can make it a lifetime change, but thought I'd try it out. #1 thing I will do is stay hydrated. Other than that, any tips?

---

I think it's a great way to do a cut, albeit temporarily.

My #1 recommendation right off the bat is to take the electrolyte supplementation seriously. You'll likely lose water weight. Sodium, potassium, and to a lesser extent magnesium are the #1 causes of keto flu and you will likely not even have one if you keep those levels up.

I typically salt everything extensively and drink a gram of "no-salt" in a small cup of water every morning. If I'm feeling sluggish, I'll hit up the no-Salt again.

I'd start with a 24 hour fast.

I would also urge you to push it to at least 14 days. By the time you get your body humming in ketosis you will be done.

Checking in after my first week on Keto. With a combination of the diet an the last 3 weeks of training/cardio, i have dropped 8 lbs and 4% BF so far. Stoked for what the future holds!

txagfisher said:

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Checking in after my first week on Keto. With a combination of the diet an the last 3 weeks of training/cardio, i have dropped 8 lbs and 4% BF so far. Stoked for what the future holds!

---

Very cool. That initial loss is a lot of water weight since your body is shedding itself of glycogen which is bound to water. It's amazing how much of the glycogen I held in my gut area though, because I remember dropping nearly an inch in my waist like that first week.

i've been doing keto since feb, and I've gone from a 42" waist, to a 38". I can get into a 36", but its comfortable yet.

I've lost 12 lbs in 6 weeks. Only lost about an inch on belly but all my slacks are definitely looser.

irish pete ag06 said:

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txagfisher said:

---

Checking in after my first week on Keto. With a combination of the diet an the last 3 weeks of training/cardio, i have dropped 8 lbs and 4% BF so far. Stoked for what the future holds!

---

Very cool. That initial loss is a lot of water weight since your body is shedding itself of glycogen which is bound to water. It's amazing how much of the glycogen I held in my gut area though, because I remember dropping nearly an inch in my waist like that first week.

---

Oh im well aware that its mostly water but its still a great feeling to look at the scale!

Absolutely!

Suggestions to long time keto-ers.

Occasionally go back and recalculate your target macros. I just did this today based on my new weight and body fat %. Using the same calculator, my protein target jumped 30 g over what it had been when I was 50 pounds heavier.

Wife started keto before Christmas and is down 35 pounds. She has hypothyroidism and her blood work has never been better and this is the first diet she's been on that she isn't starving all the time and has had great results. I joined her on Jan 1 and am down 20, 30 down from last summer when I got off depression meds. I'm actually tapering off of it some as I'm just about at my goal but want to keep a lot of the eating habits I made. This diet is amazing

irish pete ag06 said:

---

jjeffers1 said:

---

Thinking about doing a Keto test-run for 10 days. I'm in pretty good shape, workout daily, probably 17% body fat.

I've never done Keto/Paleo but lurk on this thread some. Any thoughts on what to expect in a test-run like this? Dunno if I can make it a lifetime change, but thought I'd try it out. #1 thing I will do is stay hydrated. Other than that, any tips?

---

I think it's a great way to do a cut, albeit temporarily.

My #1 recommendation right off the bat is to take the electrolyte supplementation seriously. You'll likely lose water weight. Sodium, potassium, and to a lesser extent magnesium are the #1 causes of keto flu and you will likely not even have one if you keep those levels up.

I typically salt everything extensively and drink a gram of "no-salt" in a small cup of water every morning. If I'm feeling sluggish, I'll hit up the no-Salt again.

---

4 Days into Keto

- I don't notice any "water weight" loss or dehydration. Perhaps I'm drinking plenty of water and getting plenty of salt?
- Energy is fine. Working out every day.
- Not sleeping particularly soundly (weird)
- Really haven't #2 much at all in 3 days. Is this normal? I bought some Psyllium Husk supplement last night to help.
- Not hard at all to limit macros. Been doing 1800-2000 cal/day, 100-120 g fat, 180-200 g protein, under 15 g carbs.
- Still supplementing BCAAs, Creatine, Glutamine, and Tangy Tangerine (4 g carbs in this).

I didn't jump on the scale to start, and I hate weighing as opposed to body comp. I think I notice a little more "cut" so far, but nothing major. Although it has only been 4 days.

Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks!

jjeffers1 said:

---

irish pete ag06 said:

---

jjeffers1 said:

---

Thinking about doing a Keto test-run for 10 days. I'm in pretty good shape, workout daily, probably 17% body fat.

I've never done Keto/Paleo but lurk on this thread some. Any thoughts on what to expect in a test-run like this? Dunno if I can make it a lifetime change, but thought I'd try it out. #1 thing I will do is stay hydrated. Other than that, any tips?

---

I think it's a great way to do a cut, albeit temporarily.

My #1 recommendation right off the bat is to take the electrolyte supplementation seriously. You'll likely lose water weight. Sodium, potassium, and to a lesser extent magnesium are the #1 causes of keto flu and you will likely not even have one if you keep those levels up.

I typically salt everything extensively and drink a gram of "no-salt" in a small cup of water every morning. If I'm feeling sluggish, I'll hit up the no-Salt again.

---

4 Days into Keto

- I don't notice any "water weight" loss or dehydration. Perhaps I'm drinking plenty of water and getting plenty of salt?
- Energy is fine. Working out every day.
- Not sleeping particularly soundly (weird)
- Really haven't #2 much at all in 3 days. Is this normal? I bought some Psyllium Husk supplement last night to help.
- Not hard at all to limit macros. Been doing 1800-2000 cal/day, 100-120 g fat, 180-200 g protein, under 15 g carbs.
- Still supplementing BCAAs, Creatine, Glutamine, and Tangy Tangerine (4 g carbs in this).

I didn't jump on the scale to start, and I hate weighing as opposed to body comp. I think I notice a little more "cut" so far, but nothing major. Although it has only been 4 days.

Any thoughts, suggestions? Thanks!

---

Completely normal to not poo much.

When I went to keto with a deficit, I changed from 2 a day to one every 2 days, sometimes 3.

Now that I'm eating 3K calories I go a little more often, still not as much as I would be with standard diet.

From what I've read, you won't actually go into ketosis with that much protein in your diet. About 80% of your calories should be coming from fat (apparently). That may be why you're not seeing any water weight changes.

Seven Costanza said:

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From what I've read, you won't actually go into ketosis with that much protein in your diet. About 80% of your calories should be coming from fat (apparently). That may be why you're not seeing any water weight changes.

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Man I bought until this for a while but I've seen it debunked a lot lately. The process that people think does that is gluconeogenesis, when your body makes glucose from protein. This is not supply driven.

http://ketogains.com/2016/04/gluconeogenesis-wont-kick-you-out-ketosis/

I decided on Monday to cut our breads, starches, and processed sugars/sweets from my diet for the month of may to see how lean I can get. Ive also been doing IF for about 4 years. I'm 6' and started around 185. I weight train 5-6 days a week(maintenance workouts). Essentially my diet for the past week has consisted of...

1.5 chicken breasts, 1 avocado, handful of blueberries/strawberries for lunch
Or
Chipotle salad- xtra chicken, pico, hot salsa, guac

Fish filet, more berries, a few halo cuties, and some spinach with a little vinegar for dinner

Snacks are Greek yogurt.

I've checked the carb counts and I think this is putting me into a quasi keto state. I've lost 8 lbs in 5 days... still drinking alcohol(vodka/sparkling water). I feel... off... and I can't put my finger on what it is. I drink a lot of water and don't feel dehydrated. I'm constantly hungry and am a bit on edge. Could this be withdrawals?

I LOVE bread and sweets. I'd have 8-10 of those lifesavers mints every day I was in the office and have been known just to sit and watch tv with wheat bread as a snack. I had to have some sort of grain carb at pretty much every meal. Otherwise my diet was ok. Thoughts?

BoilerAg10 said:

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I decided on Monday to cut our breads, starches, and processed sugars/sweets from my diet for the month of may to see how lean I can get. Ive also been doing IF for about 4 years. I'm 6' and started around 185. I weight train 5-6 days a week(maintenance workouts). Essentially my diet for the past week has consisted of...

1.5 chicken breasts, 1 avocado, handful of blueberries/strawberries for lunch
Or
Chipotle salad- xtra chicken, pico, hot salsa, guac

Fish filet, more berries, a few halo cuties, and some spinach with a little vinegar for dinner

Snacks are Greek yogurt.

I've checked the carb counts and I think this is putting me into a quasi keto state. I've lost 8 lbs in 5 days... still drinking alcohol(vodka/sparkling water). I feel... off... and I can't put my finger on what it is. I drink a lot of water and don't feel dehydrated. I'm constantly hungry and am a bit on edge. Could this be withdrawals?

I LOVE bread and sweets. I'd have 8-10 of those lifesavers mints every day I was in the office and have been known just to sit and watch tv with wheat bread as a snack. I had to have some sort of grain carb at pretty much every meal. Otherwise my diet was ok. Thoughts?

---

Sounds very much like that could be the case. Could be your version of the ketoflu which is due to a lack of electrolytes. People in the state of ketosis needs nearly double the amount of sodium, potassium, and magnesium of a normal person since your body is not retaining as much water. You may try supplementing these. I bought No-salt from the store and drink a gram of it every morning with my creatine. I just salt everything a lot (I love salty flavor). I supplemented magnesium for a while but it didn't seem to make a difference outside of causing me to have some diarrhea so I cut it out.

https://ketogains.com/2017/06/keto-flu-electrolyte-imbalances/

I know this sounds crazy, but I would cut out those cuties if you want to get into ketosis. Fructose refills your liver glycogen and keeps you from attaining ketosis.

Thanks for the tip. I just had a Diet Coke and salted my meat and I feel a bit closer to normal. I'm thinking it's the sodium.

I've been on it now for about 10 days, strict keto and strict macros. I was already pretty lean at 6'1" and 190 (12% bf at last measure). I've dropped 5 pounds so far (water weight I'm sure) and can definitely see it in my stomach/abs. I feel a lot lighter and less bloated throughout the day.

I haven't had any issues with the keto flu, but have noticed my workouts lack sustained energy. It's definitely getting better than it was the first few days.

Yeah those cuties are straight sugar.

BoilerAg10 said:

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Thanks for the tip. I just had a Diet Coke and salted my meat and I feel a bit closer to normal. I'm thinking it's the sodium.

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You're welcome. After NYE I was hungover and was struuuuuggling having gone off keto and was coming back on. Salted everything and drank salted coffee and it made me feel a ton better.

Edit:wrong emoji

What's this board's opinion of Quest bars?

Nutrition Label Says

Total Carbs 21g
Fiber 14g
Sugars <1g
Erythritol 3g

Are these good for Keto? The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ones are pretty tasty.