Keto diet with intermittent fasting

I've been KETO for two weeks now. This is my routine:
1. Wake at 23:00, go to work. Eat nothing, drink only water or unsweetened tea.
2. At 4 A.M. during lunch, I drink a collagen/fiber/or meal shake. Only twice per week. Other days I have nothing except hot tea from my thermos that has some MCT oil and Stevia as sweetener.
3. At home, I work out for 5 to 20 minutes on the elliptical with no meal or snack before or after.
4. Later that morning at home I prepare my meal at around 10 A.M. and eat from 11:00 to about 13:00
-Rinse and repeat-

ZERO SUGAR ALWAYS - LOW CARBS (under 30g daily) - Not counting vegetables because you want the fiber offset.

My one and only meal consists of about 6 to 8 cups of leafy greens/salad/vegetables as a starter. I generally either go with a full salad topped with copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil (yes the real stuff not the many kinds of imitation olive oil out there) and some quality balsamic. (vary toppings from peppers to mushrooms, cheddar cheese, goat cheese, olives, onions, etc) I get the veggies in first because the fiber and nutrients are the most important and I have to get it into my system. Some days I will blend my veggies by using carrots as the carrier juice. It's just better once in a while to drink my vegetables and the greens superfoods powder is really good to add as well. Next, I prepare my protein and other fats. An avocado goes a long way. If I don't use avocado oil, I will usually eat an avocado on my salad or with a snack in between the salad and protein. Next, about 4 or 5 eggs hard-boiled often or a steak roughly the size of the palm of my hand. Sometimes it will be a lamb chop or two in place of steak, and sometimes it will be grass fed ground beef or bison mixed with goat cheese and onions in a coconut or egg wrap and a heap of bacon. Maybe I want to eat a whole pack of prosciutto and drench it in olive oil and that's fine, too. Finally, I finish with a few strawberries blended with almond milk, stevia, and heavy whipping cream as a treat. I might even decide to make a hot chocolate with baking cocoa powder, almond milk, and Stevia. Leaving myself 2 to even 3 hours to eat is important because I really need to get all the calories and nutrients. Where do I shop locally? I have only one word: ALDI - Also, buy frozen whenever possible. You will keep food longer and the broccoli and cauliflower will last and be perfectly fresh when you need it.

SNACKS: Ordinarily, snacking is not a good idea, you want to intermittently fast every day if possible. But, if you go with two full meals, you don't want a snack in between. What I do is use my snacks while I am cooking my one meal, but I am careful to not overdo it and spoil my appetite. Pork rinds, keto crackers, seeds or nuts that are dry roasted, that sort of thing. Just a little, not much at all.

Some supplements I take routinely are Zinc, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium citrate and gluconate, B complex, and elderberry with vitamin c. I don't take these every day all at once or together, I spread them out in groups of two or four per day and rotate.

MCT oil is your best friend. Always buy organic if possible, and grass fed as well as grass finished for animal proteins. Remember to get some healthy fats, some protein, and plenty of leafy greens into your diet each day. Probiotics are very helpful to assist in maintaining a healthy gut-biome. I drink some Kefir each day before bed, or after my meal if I can. The dry type can be mixed with your choice of dairy, but I often buy mine fresh from the local grocery. Usually I only take a few gulps. Some days I will add a serving (1 scoop) of prebiotic fiber soluble to any drink like water or tea or almond milk, and it's made by Gobiotix.

I don't adhere to a strict regimen aside from the times, I eat different foods on different days and mix it up. I make meal time at home a bit of an adventure, and try new keto recipes like baking "bread". One of my favs thus far is Tahini and PB mixed with baking powder, salt, and 5 egg whites. That's literally all it takes, keto bread done -and it tastes great with melted butter. Since I only eat once per day, and perhaps on two days I will have a meal shake in between at work, I usually just push away any cravings (which are quite weak) and within a few seconds I am no longer thinking about it. Honestly, the MCT oil and diet gets me through just fine. The first few days are rough, but after that it gets much easier.

I test my glucose daily for the first two weeks. I am now at the point where I am at what's called "Adaptive Glucose Sparing", and my body is efficiently burning fat instead of sugar. Generally, my insulin levels are stable and do not spike very high, but it rests slightly higher in the 90's due to my body not having a need for it to use sugar as fuel. Two hours after a meal, my glucose will measure a little lower than pre-meal/resting/fasting levels and climb back up later to stay within the same zone as before. Total average levels are at 99, with the highest spike about 111 and lowest at 90.

If you look down and see belly fat, you have insulin resistance. We all deserve to be healthy, and a high sugar and carbohydrate diet is no way to live for me anymore.

 

I really have to start this although I'm not overweight, but my blood glucose runs in the 140's. I need to cut out the alcohol and sugars, sweet pastries in the morning and cut out the lattes.

Tuna salad for dinner tonight, with a homemade champagne and garlic vinaigrette and no sodium water canned albacore. But, that glass of wine probably offset the benefits. This isn't going to be easy, there is bread, pasta and candy everywhere and they are SWMBO's staples.

 

Yes, it's hard and I have a few friends starting as well and they are not having as easy of a time as I did. One thing I always kept in mind is the fact that you have to get healthy first, and to do that you need to change your gut biome. The little creatures (bacteria) in our gut that feed off starches and sugars will have to go, and you will need to have the right critters processing your food so you can absorb the nutrients and not be so hungry. Prebiotic and probiotics are essential, and eating leafy greens will help promote a good gut biome. I mentioned Kefir, and it's a great way to introduce healthy bacteria to your system. Any yogurt will do, and naturally you want unsweetened. I found a great fiber boost prebiotic called GoBiotix and it's pricey but also a game changer. All of this will depend on whether or not you stick to your diet, so no cheating. Veggies, protein, and fats will get you through until your next meal 12 to 24 hours apart. Real extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil along with MCT oil will be your staple.

 

I am approaching the end of an 18-hour intermittent fast, something I have read that helps jump start Ketosis. So far, so good and on Day three of little or no carbs.

 

Definitely! Hey, I was once a staunch supporter of everything sugar until it kicked my ass. If you do ONE thing in your life to become healthy, just stop consuming any and all sugar. Intermittent fasting is also very important to maintaining a healthy body!

I use Splenda with Stevia, order bulk boxes from Amazon. Best sweetener ever, no calories, nothing artificial. Also, check into "Skinny Me" chocolates, they are amazing.

 

When I hear the “C” word I have a Lord of the Rings moment where I begin searching the house for it like Gollum!!

 

It took me a full minute to figure out what you meant by the 'C' word. And it's time for bed.

 

I do not speak it’s name. In a weak moment, I bought a 1lb bag of M&M’s yesterday while shopping for necessities…