How much fat are you consuming?

Something that we must consider is the way Low Carb affects menses, isn't so much with ketosis, as it is with stabilized insulin. Insulin is a hormone and it affects other hormones as it becomes stable. This is where the benefit comes for those women who are treating their PCOS with low carb.

I think that the body will burn more fat if it is fed more fat. I also believe that fat burning is higher if meal frequency is reduced. Why I have come to this resolve? Ketosis is a survival response to prevent starvation.Therefore, consuming more fats ( which is ketogenic ) and eating no more than 2 meals a day...ideally one meal/day ( also ketogenic ) is the way to keep ketosis high during menses. About 3 years ago,my weight would go up 4 days or so before my period, then it would remain high until about 2 weeks following the end of my period. It then would go down but would go back up 4 days before my period. My weightgain was being controlled by my periods. Also, I was becoming peri-menopausal and my body was trying to keep the weight on to keep my periods going. Each period influenced my weight to inch its way up. Then I wised up. I took a gamble and increased my fats. Now my weight is going down. I lost about 36 lbs and I am so close to goal ( of course it bounces up and down ) but it will get there.

Plenty! Eggs fried in butter and bacon for breakfast...full fat salad dressing and fatty meat on a salad for lunch...fatty meat and veggies sauteed in oil or butter for dinner...I don't stint on fat.

That's cool, unfortunately I can't skip even one meal or I get low blood sugar. I want to try IF, but it just doesn't work for me.

I am pre-diabetic and IF is what I do on a daily basis to help regulate my blood sugar. My blood sugar stays pretty much normal throughout the day but is at it's highest in the morning. However, I never skip a meal. I just don't eat before 3:00 PM or after 7:00 PM. I had to work my self up to IF...it didn't all of a sudden decide to do IF without allowing my body to adapt. It took several months but it did indeed adjust.

I add a lot of fats to my food as well. But I also include coconut oil or MCT oil in my coffee with cream. I consume extra oil or fat even if I am not having a meal. I also include vitamin D3 supplements which also helpe with regulating blood sugar.

Interesting, thanks! Well I did used to have to eat snacks in between meals and before bed, but now I am able to eat just the 3 meals a day. Maybe I will work up to it.

The way I worked up to it was I just began eating breakfast progessively later each day. Roughly, I would eat breakfast at 6:00 A.M. for a couple of days, then I would not eat until after 7:00 A.M., then 10:00 A.M. then 11:00. I was stunned when I went until 12:00 without even thinking of food. Now, I do not eat until after 3:00 P.M.

Dr. Eades blog has given me a better understanding about ketosis and how it affects the body.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...sm-and-ketosis/

PinguChick, check out this post on hwo this gentleman cured his T2 diabetes with intermittent fasting.

http://shurie.com/lee/writing_defeat_diabetes.htm

Can you please tell more about the intermittent fasting?
I haven't heard of this before, and would be interested to know if/what you eat/drink during these times and how often it's done?
Also, is there a specific reason for it?

Thanks, and sorry for all the Q!

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...11&page=1&pp=10

This will link you to the IF thread. There are quite a few of us here. I like to think of intermittent fasting just as a way to extend our normal fasts. We all fast, when you think about it. So, instead of ending your fast when you get out of bed, wait. You will see that you can go longer without a meal and there is a good reason why...ketosis. Ketosis is the body's defense mechanism that maintains health of organs, muscle etc. This is why it works so well as a diet aid.

When I first began IF, I dreaded the idea of going all day without eating. At the same time, I didn't want to spend the non-fasting day as an "eating" day. After reading Dr. Eades experiemnt with it, I decided to go for at least 20 hours without eating, then allowing for a 4 hour eating window. This eventually came to be such an easy thing to do. My meals are very low carb, yet hearty and extremely nutritious.

I began IF after gaining back the weight that I originally lost on LC. I kept strict guidelines but the weight returned anyway. I have no intention of quitting my LC lifestyle because it has healed my body of so many things. Plus, the food is great. So then I stumbled onto intermittent fasting. It made so much sense once I cleared my head of the "eat 3 meals a day with in-between snacks" mantra. Modern society, as we know it, has food at it's fingertips.My problem was overfeeding. I ate to often. My gut needed to complete the digestive process which really takes a long time. Our food don't just fly through our gut in 2 hours to make room for another meal.If we eat before digestion nears completion, digestion halts to process new food entering the system. You can think of yourself as allowing the gut to rest in order to work the digestive process. Eating too soon, stresses the digestive system and that is what slows metabolism. Fasting enhances ketosis and works well with a low carb/ketogenic diet.

There is so much to write about this subject but I will end my statement hear so that you can get to reading the thread that I linked here.

Just as a side note, those chicken strips sound REALLY good! Can you post the recipe?

Thanks for all the info on IF and monthly cycles. It helps to explain the change in lower ketone levels.

Hello,

48 years old here.
I started Atkins 8 weeks ago (in phase 2 since approximately 4 weeks) and have noticed that twice now my period has started a day earlier than expected, and once now (this time) that the bleeding is a tiny bit heavier than it used to be before.

I suppose it's a beneficial effect from the Atkins diet.
Although I am gradually getting "ripe" for menopause, I suppose I should be happy that my body tells me I am not as far from infertility yet as I had assumed