Well I'll post another good thing, at least so far. Dr. K's plan talks about "curing" things like diabetes, which is certainly a stretch - though it sounded like it does improve things a lot.

I'm T2 diabetic, and it was hearing that diagnosis back in 2006 that scared me back to low carb after 5 years mostly away from it, and I *did* lose weight, but was not as stringent as I could have been, and my blood sugar really didn't come under control even with all the weight I had lost. So finally I had to go on medications. That sort of made me go off the deep end for a few months, a sort of "the hell with it, if I have to be on medicine anyway then I might as well just eat any old thing that I feel like" and went facedown in the carbs again, luckily only a few months before I finally (with lots of encouragement from my son) decided to slap myself upside the head and get with the program seriously.

You hear about people going LC and seeing their blood sugars drop back to normal within a week or two, getting off all meds ... well it didn't happen for me. I mean my numbers *did* get much better! but certainly nothing like that dramatic.

But just in the last couple days I *have* seen pretty dramatic drops in my numbers, a noticeable difference from "regular" low carb. Okay, I need to keep repeating the mantra - *fat higher, protein lower*. I hope this keeps up!

That's great, Debbie! Keep us posted on what your trend is looking like. I remain hopeful to eventually get off another blood pressure medication....

That's amazing! I'm jealous!

That's a great weight loss. Oh, and I'm really enjoying the butter also.

Guess I'm the oldie on this list - I began March 9, so yesterday marked the end of my 5th week.

My observations so far: I began by eating too much protein, not understanding that I had to base the formula on my ideal weight, not my weight goal. It took me two weeks to figure out what was going on, during which time I initially got bloated and gained about five pounds of water weight. When I corrected that, I discovered I'd only lost 1/2 pound.

However, after a two-year weight stall, that was enough to make me understand that if I didn't kid myself and lowered my protein a LOT, and upped my fat a LOT, this WOE would work for me. At the very least I could see for myself, and not just read the experiences of others: that despite eating many, many more calories above my BMR I hadn't gained an ounce of body fat. And since I also decided to stop exercising during this 'break-in' period, as far as I'm concerned it puts the end to any further idiocy about calories in vs. calories out. Or that high fat calories only works if you don't eat dairy. Or drink coffee. Or eat cheese or nuts. Or it only works for guys. Or that it only works for young people. Or not for pre-menopausal women, or not for post-m . . . well you get the drift.

But as I've now learned, all weeks are not created equal. I began this journey because 'traditional' LC had failed me. That's right, it failed me. I did not fail it. I was scrupulously vigilant with my carbs, sometimes going to zero - to no avail. From Feb. 8th to March 8th I ate LC but only 1200 calories a day. For a month. I lost not a single ounce. Nada.

Somehow my metabolism had simply stopped responding to the way I was eating. Yet I was not ready (nor will I ever be) to go back to eating a low fat, calorie restricted diet. So when I read the new studies that some people have a metabolic problem with protein in the face of eating a high fat diet (and let's face it, all LC is by definition high fat) I knew those studies were talking about me. And they were right.

In the last three weeks, I've lost another three pounds. I have more energy than ever. Starting a week or so ago, my blood pressure dropped. Plummeted. And it's stayed low, incredibly so. Tonight it was 107/53. The half-moons on my fingernails (always tiny) have begun to grow. Bizarre, but true. I feel . . . lighter, since my stomach no longer struggles to deal with excess protein.

And the effects seem to be accelerating. I lost another nearly .5 pounds in the last two days. I'm beginning to suspect that after being abused with what I'll call "protein poisoning" for so many years, my metabolism is just beginning to recover. For those of you who have said "I'll give this two weeks" I urge you to reconsider and go at least two months. You didn't get stalled in two weeks, and you probably won't unstall in two weeks. Your body needs to heal, and that takes time. And it doesn't usally follow a straight line.

When I read some of the posts about bloat gain, funny tastes in mouth, heartburn, etc. - it reminds me a lot of the complaints others have voiced when trying to rid their bodies of candida. Die-off flu, they call it. It's the same here. Our body's bad elements do not go down without a fight, especially when they've ruled so long. I'm telling you that if you stick with it honestly -- like eating the lower protein levels for month two if you're going to eat the higher fat levels for month two, and eating the number of carbs you need to eat even if it's difficult -- you will come out the other side and wonder how you ever ate differently. I will never go back.

And it's getting easier. I no longer have to measure and weigh every single thing - I can now eyeball 3 ounces of anything within 2 grams. And my body seems to have fallen into a rhythm of knowing exactly what to eat and how much. I seem to consume about 1700 calories a day. 46-50g protein (and yes, vegetables DO matter). I'm composing a post about that and other questions I hope to get up this weekend. But just on the logic, it makes sense to count them. Dr. K knew nothing about BPAA forty years ago, or that people suffer from it, or that to their bodies, a protein is a protein is a protein. If I eat too many I'm going to pay the price, whether they come from beans, strawberries or steak. I also eat about 145g fat, and 35-50 net carbs. Somehow, at the end of the day, that's what I've eaten, no matter how varied the foods, or whether I've had 2 meals, 3 meals or 4 meals. Some days it's more (nearly 1900 today), some days it's less (1500 the day before yesterday). It averages it out.

One problem: sleep. My mind gets tired, but my body wants to keep going and going and going. Till 2 in the morning. Oddly though, I keep waking up at about the same time, so I'm getting by with less sleep though not feeling bothered by it as I would have in the past. I'm hoping this is a phase as my body gets used to the extra fat/energy and that I'll go back to normal in a few more weeks.


Might be the cream, but it might be the time of day you're eating it. I purposely try to eat most of my fat in the morning and afternoon, with a little protein. At night I reverse that and eat most of my protein and only a little fat. You might give that a try (if you don't already) and see how it goes.

Lisa

Okay, I found the section in Optimal Nutrition about possible side effects of the diet.

Dr. K says that the bad breath & bad taste in the mouth are caused by the elimination of environmental toxins that were stored in the body fat. If that's true (and even if it isn't), I don't know if there's a whole lot that can be done about it. Maybe drinking more water would help?


Here's a list of other side effects that might be encountered, and the suggested remedies. The first two are pretty much universal, but the others aren't so common. He says that only about 10% of people have unpleasant symptoms when starting the diet, and even then, the problems will only be temporary. Apparently, he's never had to have someone go off the diet because it didn't agree with them.


Loss of appetite: not a problem, just get used to it

Increased sensitivity to salt: also not a problem; just decrease the amount of salt you put in your food (this has been a huge change for me)

Decreased sensitivity to pain: also not a problem, just remember to keep your hands off hot stove burners!

Leg cramps: add in some more carbs

Sweet cravings: add in some more carbs (with a balanced meal, not on a dessert binge )

Ketones in urine: should go away after 3-8 weeks

Bellyaches: should go away after 2-3 days; if not, get tested for giardia or other parasites

Pain in liver region: probably a gallstone that's shrinking; try to eat smaller, more frequent meals until it passes

Constipation: drink some weak laxative herbal tea, or eat a couple of prunes; this should go away after a short time on the diet

Dizziness: the body might need a little time to adjust to a beneficial drop in blood pressure; meanwhile, take care to avoid getting up suddenly, etc.

Yeah, that would be great. I'm on a high BP med also, and being able to get rid of that would be wonderful. I sure hope so! Though my sister (6 feet tall and 125 pounds) is on high BP meds also - but then again she eats low fat, high carbs, lots of grains.

Actually yes, in the last few days, but I could blame it on the fact I keep eating too much before bedtime and have a stomach ache. One thing I haven't dealt with well yet is that it takes me awhile to feel full when I eat. So I eat until I feel satisfied then 20 minutes later I'm way over the top full and my stomach hurts.

So, I'm blaming it on that.

Carbs raise my BP.

Amen to that! I will *never* be able to face going on a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet either. Been there/done that, did lose a lot of weight - and was *utterly miserable* every single day. I just can't live like that.



Wow, that is very cool. I sure hope it may happen to me. Despite being doen over 80 pounds and being strict low carb I'm still struggling with BP higher than it should be. I'd love to see it plummet - something to keep an eye out for.



Hmm, I just checked my own half-moons and except for the thumbs they are basically non-existent, except on the first pointer finger where they are there but very tiny. I feel that in the past I've read something about what this means but naturally I can't recall anything at all about it. I guess I will try to google but not sure what a good googleable term will be! Anyone know off-hand?



Protein poisoning, hmm. That could easily be me too I suppose. I'm having a little trouble getting my protein down to the ON numbers (depending on whether plant protein is indeed counted or not. My animal protein numbers are in line) but I'm still having far *less* protein than previously. I was not one of those who said I would give it two weeks as I know two weeks is a drop in the bucket for any sort of change of plan, but good to know too that it good changes can keep occurring the longer you persist.



OK, you've persuaded me. I was the one complaining about the nasty breath! But "die-off" does make sense. And actually the taste is not nearly as bad right now as it was a couple days ago, almost back to normal again. There are tons of things I do love about this plan, and the food is to die for. And I lost *three pounds* this week after a solid month of stringent LC and not seeing the scale move. So it's great to get things moving again. You've persuaded me to continue to stick with it as per the ON plan. Just had a great breakfast (1 1/2 scrambled eggs, 2 strips of bacon, a little cheese) and I'm raring to go.

I'm still feeling hungry a lot, but it's not *bad* hunger as I experienced on low fat/low cal - where I was hungry every minute of the day but also lethargic, irritable and cranky. Here I'm mostly hungry, but I still feel peppy, energetic, and my spirits are great.



I am glad I got new batteries for my kitchen scale. It's a very sensitive one so can weigh in very small amounts. It's a pain right now to weigh so many things but it does help me get a grip on portion size. I find I tend to overestimate what things weigh. I'll take some meat that I guess is about 3 oz and put it on the scale and find it's actually only 1.5 oz. I was convinced that the 2 oz of chicken I had last night was at least 4 oz until I put it on the scale.




Damn, I love veggies, and find them very filling I love having a couple cups of salad or cabbage or brussels sprouts or cauliflower etc. But sure would hate to have to only cut back to a single ounce of meat for a meal. I do enjoy this plan but not having my veggies would be a bit of a bummer. I mean I'll *try*. I'm just sad to see them go. <sniff> But I feel the animal proteins are better quality since I know they contain all the essential amino acids. Oh well, I'm still a "baby" at this and still working it out.

But being down three pounds does give me an incentive to keep going, and I do feel good. Happy the bad taste seems to be passing also.

I saw something on another board yesterday that relates to this. Someone commented that the nerves in the stomach release insulin when they are stretched. So even if you eat a LC meal, if you eat too much of it, you'll release excess insulin anyway! (I think it was a comment on Jimmy Moore's blog? The poster didn't link to a study though.) Apparently this is a reason gastric bypass is seen as helpful to diabetics. So maybe there really is something to that "eat until you're only 80% full" principle that has nothing to do with calories.

From google...

Patrick

Just to give some examples - prior to getting stringent on LC this year I was not getting very good control even on meds - having numbers up to the high 190s even even when 2-hours after a meal, and even when fasting for several hours not seeing anything below 120s-130s.

After I went very strict LC in January the numbers began dropping, but I was still, on average, not seeing anything much below 140 when 2 hours PP, and even my lowest fasting numbers were no lower than about 110-115. Better, but not what I wanted, but just kept hoping they would lower with more weight off.

But the last couple days, after a week now on the Dr. K ratios, I have been seeing fasting numbers in the 80s-90s range, and my 2-hour PP numbers have been running around 115-125. And that's with only *three pounds* drop, so clearly it is not just the weight loss that is doing it. Those numbers alone are enough to keep me firmly on track!

Yeah, mine only show on my thumbs. I'm hypothyroid.

Yesterday for dinner I had 3.75 ounces pork loin, 2 cups of cauliflower cooked (mashed with butter & sour cream) and 2 oz of unsweetened applesauce. I've been countinig protein form all sources al week, including veggies. I'm eating more than on Atkins because I've always kept close to induction level for carbs there.

Are you counting your carbs as total, or net? A couple of people said our carb counts should be net (after subtracting the fiber). I haven't done that that, been about 48 carbs a day total. With fiber minused out a bit less. I think I need to up mine even more if it's meant to be net carbs.