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Thread: Keto Experience - Tired of being Wired

  1. #1
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Keto Experience - Tired of being Wired

    Okay, so I realized late last year that I had gone a bit over the line with the proverbial "pound a year", let's call it 20 pounds over 20 years that I probably didn't need to be carrying around. I wasn't obese or according to some charts "overweight" but I was far from what I would call my "fighting weight", I definitely felt sluggish in the body, a better indicator than any charts put out by the study of the week people.

    Enter Keto mania! OK, I like meat, call me a mea-gan if you will but I also loved the carbs, they have a crack like property that causes the "can't eat just one" syndrome, like the old commercials used to say. I can be full but will continue to stuff chips, pastas, breads and other goodies until I'm really full. It's based more on craving than a hunger, not good. So, around Thanksgiving of last year I decide to try Keto, I do like meat so why not.

    The first thing I noticed when you drop the carbs is that you no longer crave carbs, the chip attacks ceased immediately. No cravings, no problem, I substituted the "salty-crunchy-snack" food with carrots, celery with peanut butter, even dips to get that chip like experience and it works wonderfully. The transition for me was easy, I even eye the aisles of carbs in the grocery stores as the poison aisles, they are certainly not good for you, just read the ingredients, it's all processed food, who knows what's in it or how it affects you. Meat is meat, apples are apples, there are no "enes" or "xies" in real food.

    I mentioned apples above because I did decide to eat fruit and vegetables, as much as I wanted but stayed away from the higher starch stuff like potatoes and bananas, now some keto folks would call that "dirty-keto" because of the sugars in the fruit but in my mind I just can't see apples, oranges, grapes or any other unmolested fruit or vegetable as "dirty", I think it is a term dreamed up by the same people who apply negative labels to anything.

    How things are working out:

    I ate the food and lost the weight: Dropped 5 pounds a week for 4 weeks and then plateaued out. 8 or so weeks in and lost another 5 pounds. I don't weigh every day, it's (weight) has never been an issue with me, I just hit the scale at the grocery store every so often. The body is close to being "ripped", a bit strange since I haven't seen that since my teens, twenties. I can see how some can get overboard with this. Since I don't have any modeling contracts I really don't care about it that much but it's cool except for the cost.

    The downsides:

    Sleep! I don't why, but for some reason I don't get those long, deep sleeps, I do sleep a rock solid six hours but bam!, I'm up at 4 or 3 or some crazy hour and actually feel wired, all day, everyday. The extra energy I think probably accelerates the weight loss, more energy, more burning of fat, less weight so I don't think it's the lack of carb input alone that causes weight loss but the added "energy" caused by who knows what. Anyway, it was novel for awhile to get up at 3:30 AM and start my day but the fun wore off, I began to feel like a pill popper, like I was running on diet pills or something. Alertness and being energetic is one thing but running hard and fast all day every day got old, the sense of hyper-activity is too much.

    Maybe some TMI here but regularity disappeared, I usually run like a clock but keto definitely causes constipation and irregularity for me. Very much not good! I have spoken with some people who tried keto who suffered some pretty serious issues in this area, some to the point of medical intervention. Again, very much not good, the benefits of any diet diminish if you are harming your body.

    Where I'm at now:

    I'm going to a keto-ish plan, I'll stick with low carb for mornings and afternoons but have started eating pasta and other carbs with dinner. I do still stay way from processed stuff (chips, donuts, etc, etc.) Bingo, sleep and regularity returned and I actually have enough mental clarity to write a multi-paragraph forum post. No more mental jitters all day long.

    My thoughts on the whole keto thing is that you probably NEED carbs but you really, really don't need processed foods, since most processed foods are carb based I suspect that the processing is more harmful than the carbs.
    Last edited by John; 04-10-2019 at 11:09 AM.

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    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Just to comment on a few points:

    Funny you should say crack because my wife says pizza is my crack. I could eat it every day. lol.

    I don't sleep well myself on keto due to ketosis. It's not all the time, but here and there.

    Nobody really 'needs' carbs. They are an unessential macro. But a person has to have fat and protein, they are essential. I try to keep mine 30 or under when I'm on it.

    I do a 'dirty' keto myself, but mine is eating processed foods and even carbs if they fit my macros. I like a piece of buttered toast with over medium or poached eggs to sop up the yolk. The bread I eat is only 8 net carbs, so no big deal. I could eat 3 pieces and still be within my carb limit. I don't do fruit and just eat 'good' vegetables. Never been much of a fruit eater though.

    I say just do whatever works for you. Google 'reverse diet'. It's something I just found out about. For people that have come off of long term weight loss strict eating. They eat the opposite of keto and still take off more weight and lean up. Not saying I would do that, but it is interesting.

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    Senior Member Romans828's Avatar
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    Thanks for posting this, John!!!

    ... While I cut waaaay back on the Carbs for a while, that "crack" kept calling me back, and I've slipped into my old Salt & Vinegar Lays and Flaming-Hot Doritos habit...

    Maybe it's not a coincidence that this morning, I threw a (half-eaten) bag of Kosher Dill Lay's in the garbage can, because I could "feel" the salt build-up in my body...

    I made a "quality decision" last night to get back on track, and eat more fruit and veggies, and just do "Whole Wheat" pasta, when I make Spaghetti and Meatballs - Hubby loves it, so I have to make it once a week. (LOL)


    Anyway, thanks again, for the "confirmation" and encouragement.

    EDITED TO ADD: Any suggestions on how to "substitute" Potatoes in our diet, because Hubby also LOVES potatoes in any way, shape or form.

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  7. #4
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    Just to comment on a few points:

    Funny you should say crack because my wife says pizza is my crack. I could eat it every day. lol.

    I don't sleep well myself on keto due to ketosis. It's not all the time, but here and there.

    Nobody really 'needs' carbs. They are an unessential macro. But a person has to have fat and protein, they are essential. I try to keep mine 30 or under when I'm on it.

    I do a 'dirty' keto myself, but mine is eating processed foods and even carbs if they fit my macros. I like a piece of buttered toast with over medium or poached eggs to sop up the yolk. The bread I eat is only 8 net carbs, so no big deal. I could eat 3 pieces and still be within my carb limit. I don't do fruit and just eat 'good' vegetables. Never been much of a fruit eater though.

    I say just do whatever works for you. Google 'reverse diet'. It's something I just found out about. For people that have come off of long term weight loss strict eating. They eat the opposite of keto and still take off more weight and lean up. Not saying I would do that, but it is interesting.
    I did a little digging on the sleep thing. Apparently a low carb diet inhibits the production of serotonin, essential for good sleep (REM). OK, I thought, I'll just get some serotonin and add it to the biotin I started taking because of broken nails, another keto feature :). Then I thought again and decided to add some carbs, I really don't want to start the supplement game, it could turn into a hamster wheel, chasing stuff as it pops up. I'm not really a dieter, just looking to eat as healthy as possible, for me, the pure keto has too many drawbacks, although in the past 4 months I have remodeled a bathroom, cleaned up some cabinetry in the kitchen, rebuilt a front end on an older van, developed several product lines that will launch soon and generally made good use of the 18 hours a day I've been wide awake but I think maybe I should chill a bit.

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  9. #5
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Romans828 View Post
    Thanks for posting this, John!!!

    … While I cut waaaay back on the Carbs for a while, that "crack" kept calling me back, and I've slipped into my old Salt & Vinegar Lays and Flaming-Hot Doritos habit...

    Maybe it's not a coincidence that this morning, I threw a (half-eaten) bag of Kosher Dill Lay's in the garbage can, because I could "feel" the salt build-up in my body...

    I made a "quality decision" last night to get back on track, and eat more fruit and veggies, and just do "Whole Wheat" pasta, when I make Spaghetti and Meatballs - Hubby loves it, so I have to make it once a week. (LOL)


    Anyway, thanks again, for the "confirmation" and encouragement.

    EDITED TO ADD: Any suggestions on how to "substitute" Potatoes in our diet, because Hubby also LOVES potatoes in any way, shape or form.
    Yes, indeed, that snack aisle is poison! If you crave the "salty,crunchy" thing you can have carrots, cauliflower, celery with your favorite dip. That's what works for me. As far as potatoes go, I just say no. I thought that would be hard as I come from an Irish background and potatoes have been a staple my entire life but actually I don't miss them. I bought some potato salad awhile back just to splurge a bit and it was OK but it didn't ring any bells for me, I don't really miss them at all.

    Oh, pickles, lots of pickles. Crunchy and tangy.

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    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Romans828 View Post
    EDITED TO ADD: Any suggestions on how to "substitute" Potatoes in our diet, because Hubby also LOVES potatoes in any way, shape or form.
    Keto always uses some form of cauliflower to substitute for potatoes. I mean it works pretty good. Get a head and pull it apart and blend it and put some cream in to texture it like mashed potatoes. Also you can pulse it to make it like rice. People also use it as pizza crust.

    https://www.greengiant.com/products/...d-cauliflower/

    https://www.greengiant.com/products/...flower-medley/

    Of course just Google for recipes to make it yourself. Real easy.

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  13. #7
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by John View Post
    ...although in the past 4 months I have remodeled a bathroom, cleaned up some cabinetry in the kitchen, rebuilt a front end on an older van, developed several product lines that will launch soon and generally made good use of the 18 hours a day I've been wide awake but I think maybe I should chill a bit.
    Your wife may want you to stay on it.

  14. #8
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    Your wife may want you to stay on it.
    I forgot to add .. built a work bench..built a storage chest, planted and replanted some shrubs... hey it's 4 AM, you can't sleep all day! Actually I welcome the renewal in energy, I'm just a bit suspect of the side effects. We'll see how it goes as I start adding back some carbs. I will say that this has been a real eye opener, figuratively and literally.

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  16. #9
    I'm not doing keto anymore, but I did lose 30 pounds in 5 months pretty effortlessly. I did have the constipation issue very badly which made me add oat bran back into my diet. (Fewer carbs than oatmeal, but still gets the job done!). Although I was in ketosis, I never noticed a spike in energy. Now I stay low carb with no sugar, (sugar is my crack). I do need to avoid the artifial sweetners, they do a number on my stomach but I seem to keep forgetting that when I eat sugar free chocolates!

  17. #10
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Had a crazy keto lunch today... Chicken and cheesecake.

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