Can I have some help jump-starting my dead low carb diet?

[mouseissue]

Hi, Jeff.

Ketone test strips quality, reliability, etc. vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. That is why I've preferred the brand my doc uses, Ketostix. They are a bit more expensive than some others. But I found they are one of the best.

A moderate reading of ketones is good. It means your body is using ketones for energy rather than blood glucose (high levels would be present shortly after eating anything with sugar or high net carbs). The higher the number, the more ketones are being used. But more does NOT always mean better. You are better off not pushing your metabolism far into ketosis. Doing so for long periods can be harmful, especially if you have certain medical conditions. Ask your doctor, to be sure.

Another thing to keep in mind is that during weight loss, our body is constantly "rebalancing" its metabolism and other systems. Our bodies respond to change by trying to stay in a stasis (unchanging) state. Your body may be trying to move back to a long-held weight set point of 186-188. In order to break this plateau, you need to change something like eat fewer carbs and more fats and reducing portion sizes.

One more VERY important point, our bodies do not care about how many carb grams we think we ate. They will respond to the actual carb intake. That is why reading nutrition labels and keeping track of every net carb is important. For foods that are not prepackaged, there are websites with carb contents, by amount. Here are three of them;

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/search

https://nutritiondata.self.com/

Can't help with the jog problem. This forum's website has changed a couple times. Perhaps message Doug Verrier, the site owner for some instruction.

Bottom line, keep strict track of EVERY NET CARB you eat. With that knowledge, you'll know for sure that you are at 20 or less and how the food you eat is effecting your weight loss journey.

Tony

[vankjeff]

I've been working on a more complete Reply but let me just ask this, would it be OK if all I eat everyday is:

• 10 am Atkins shake, 8-12 oz Diet Coke & 1 special low carb cookie that I bake
  2 pm Atkins shake &8-12 oz Diet Coke
  4 pm big glass iced water
  6-7 pm Atkins frozen meal & 12 oz Diet Coke

I could deal with just doing that. I really want to get back to losing weight. Even with all of the foods that I've been eating with very few carbs, I've now bounced back to a new recent high of 190 after a low of 176 and then meandering around 186-188 for several weeks after having changed NOTHING about my diet or my physical activity for more than a year. And let's not say this has anything to do with my LA Fitness having been closed due to COVID-19. The weight gain had begun a few weeks before they shut everything down.

[vankjeff]

Also, is there a Setting on this site so that when I tap Post on a Reply on my iPhone, it won't just pop to a page showing all the Forums and it will stay on my Question? This is what it goes to automatically on my iPhone after I tap SAVE:

[mouseissue]

Hi, Jeff.

Please read the nutrition labels on your Adkins shakes for net carb count. As I said before, reading nutrition labels is critical to success. I do not have the time to do this for you everyday and for everything you eat. Besides, you MUST learn to do this for yourself if you expect to lose weight and keep it off for life.

From what I found, the Adkins Milk Chocolate flavor shake has 7 total carbs - 5 carbs fiber = 2 Net carbs per shake. Can't speak for other flavors. Nor can I tell how many carbs are in your homemade cookies. For homemade items, check the carb counts for each ingredient, then divide by the number of ACTUALLY EATEN servings per recipe. I've provided food nutrition lookup websites for you in my last response.

Another thing, don't restrict yourself to eating the same thing everyday. You also need nutrition from foods like veggies to maintain good health. So create variety in your daily menu selections. It's very easy to do with all the recipes we have here plus those you can easily find online. Based on the sample menu you provided, you are getting 6 net carbs from the shakes and an unknown number in your cookie recipe. You can't have an ACCURATE  carb count with ANY unknowns. Please look up ALL ingredients.

Regarding technical issues with the forum, please message Doug Verrier from the forum's home page.

Tony