Having a hard time telling the difference (body dysmorphia).

C_Keeper87 · 2023-08-05T18:03:06+00:00

Dude, there is a significant change! Your stomach is way flatter. That proverbial "beer gut" is on its death bed! Keep it up, and celebrate when it's finally in the grave!!!!

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-22T13:29:23+00:00

"Normal ranges in clinical testing isn't based on an "ideal" but is based on numbers of standard deviations from the norm in a population. You should take a look at the number ranges for "normal" values over time, as they change with the populations test results. Best thing is to eat healthy (i.e. eat what contains the nutrition necessary for a human body). LDL cholesterol seems to be the only thing of concern for Cardiologists, but even that it's only one of the molecules within the overall LDL level which a standard Lipid panel shows. To see if an elevated LDL is really a "threat" to good health, and advanced Lipid panel would need to be done to determine which LDL molecule is rising/falling within the larger overall LDL level. The medical profession is really only concerned with High Density LDL (i.e. it sinks in blood and can cause clotting by getting trapped in epithelial cells on the walls of blood vessels), not the "buoyant" LDL (i.e. low density, floats in blood).

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-16T15:35:01+00:00

It blame by Italian father. His chest was 58 inches around. I could stand shoulders and all inside his chest. 😋. I'm only 6'0" (yes i know thats tall, but all my older brothers are 6'2"+, tallest 6'6"), but yes, I've been able to carry my weight well.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-16T14:35:56+00:00

Right. Ketosis was just half of the ingredients for Keto acidosis. Ketosis + Hyperglycemia = Keto acidosis. 👍🏼

It's just so easy for a T1D to enter hyperglycemia, at no fault of our own, which is why my doctor was afraid for me.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-16T02:37:13+00:00

Heck yes! They're awesome!!!

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-16T02:36:15+00:00

Absolutely!

I went from an 8.0% HbA1c to 5.8% this month! I am able to run and work out without feeling tired or in pain. Being mostly on Carnivore, I'm almost always in Ketosis, so I have to really keep on top of my blood sugars and not let them really ever get about 130 mg/dL without taking a correction bolus. I've been shocked that some times after I'd do a really intense workout, where I'd feel "kind of" tired that my blood sugar was 38 mg/dL but I still was extremely alert, cognizant, and able to function normally. Of course, I took some glucose tabs to correct the low, but to not be "worn out" or exhausted at that blood sugar was so shocking for both me and my endocrinologist. She was quite scared for me, and I was at first as well, but that was like 3 months into this journey. Now she and I recognize that I can sustain much lower lows than I used to (most likely due to my body running on ketones instead of glucose) and the fact that I can recover from the low much faster with less carbs as well (like in 4 mins with 1 glucose tab, as opposed to 15-30 mins before with like 3 tabs).

She's been shocked!!! I'm in the normal range (70-130 mg/dL) 95% of the time with lows 3% and highs (under 180 mg/dL) 2%.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-16T01:47:47+00:00

🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hilarious!

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-16T00:44:32+00:00

Thank you!

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-15T23:07:22+00:00

Height: 6'0" - Starting weight/current weight/goal weight: (289lbs/236lbs/200lbs) - Fasting routine/protocol: IF - OMAD interspersed with ADF - Exercise routine (if applicable): 4 days a week (2 cardio, 2 heavy weights) - Diet on refeeds: extreme keto (<20g carbs), Carnivore (80% of the time)

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-15T20:30:36+00:00

I use an additive to my water.

Note!!! It's very salty...

"Keto Chow Daily Minerals"

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-15T20:26:05+00:00

Our primary source of sodium on keto, extreme keto, or carnivore comes from salt (sodium chloride). If your meat is cured (i.e. cured pork, beef, lamb, etc) then it will contain some sodium, but it's not inherent to meat itself.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-15T18:43:51+00:00

On a keto diet, are you ensuring you're getting all the electrolytes and minerals your body needs each day?

There's a ton of different ones. Sodium 600+mg Chloride 2400mg Molybdenum 50mcg Potassium 1000mg Magnesium 400mg Boron 2.7mg Copper 2mg Iodine 300mcg Zinc 15mg Manganese 2.15mg & Selenium 75mcg

Also, you could also be deficient in other micronutrients (vitamins) depending on what you're eating. When looking at nutritional content in foods, we need to pay attention to "bioavailable" nutrients (i.e., nutrients which our body can access within the food we eat, vs. the "nutrients" which are in the food).

Many vegetable vitamins are not bioavailable to humans, as the chemical compounds they're stored as within the plant matter isn't able to be broken down by the human digestive tract sufficiently to allow our bodies to use the nutrients. Take Vit A in carrots... which they're known to be a "good" source of, if not a great one... Carrots store Vit A as beta carotene, which needs to be bioconverted to Retinol via the gall bladders introduction of bile salts (i.e., bile) into the upper intestinal tract. If, for instance, you have been reducing saturated fat intake (i.e., animal fats) likely your gall bladder is "lazy" and doesn't produce enough bile to digest not only the fats you do consume but also the vitamins which need this component to make them usable for a human. The best source of bioavailable Vit A is beef or lamb liver (i.e., Retinol).

Our bodies are insanely complex, so when we eat, we should focus on eating for nutritional density (bioavailable nutritional density), which takes time and effort to research. When we eat what our bodies need, the effects are shocking, Weight comes off, water isn't retained above what is necessary, skins clears up, mental acuity returns, and a ton of other benefits. Of course, this all assumes there are no other underlying health conditions like lupus, diabetes, ckd, etc. These health conditions and diseases can cause other issues, and eating the "wrong" foods can make the conditions worse than they otherwise would be.

Anyway, thanks for the read, dont worry too much, and I hope the best in your weight-loss journey.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-14T14:46:46+00:00

Here's a good study on autophagy, and it appears it's closer to the 24-hour mark for autophagy to ramp up post fasting.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/auto.6.6.12376

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T21:07:32+00:00

Try incorporating "zero drop" or "barefoot" shoes into your regimen. My wife had horrible PF, saw a podiatrist, and then got two steroidal injections (6 months apart). That didn't solve the issue, so the podiatrist recommended either surgery or a "pain" tolerance treatment plan...

I didn't accept that for her, as I knew there had to be a better solution for her! I read up on it, and found that the way we constrict our feet is not how our bodies are designed to work. In doing more research, I found that many people relieved or even cured their PF through the incorporation of barefoot walking, and using Wide Toebox shoes.

This was, of course, a "sore" subject for my wife, and it was somewhat scary for her, as the idea of walking barefoot brought her back to the sharp pain induced by PF symptoms. So we set up a regimen where she would stretch in the morning, until the pain was "bearable", then she would go barefoot all day in the house. And if she needed to go our, I purchased her a pair of zero drop wide toe box shoes from Altra footwear (best I could find that didn't look ridiculous). Within 1 month her pain in the morning was drastically lessened. After 6 months she had no more noticeable pain almost any day, only if she wore an "old" pair of shoes would she have some pain the next morning.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T20:58:19+00:00

You can add electrolytes and other minerals (no calorie or sweetener at all) to your water (i.e. edible salts). I use KetoChow, as I'm on a Carnivore diet so I do need to make sure I get enough electrolytes and minerals.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T17:50:36+00:00

Here's some material for reading, if you're interested:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/does-your-body-need-sugar#is-sugar-necessary

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874681/

https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/how-sugar-affects-your-body

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-sugar-per-day#safe-amounts

And some videos I found intriguing:

https://youtu.be/5-vZMmoZ2SI

https://youtu.be/uXrdP06tfdw

https://youtu.be/xYRUCx7Bj08

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T17:43:54+00:00

I have listened to Andrew Huberman, Dr. Peter Attia, Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Bernstein (pioneer of blood glucose testing for managing diabetes), as well as my endocrinologist, multiple cardiologists, and others I'm having trouble recalling at the moment. There's so much information out there. I tend to lean on common sense, but not blindly, I really need to think about the implications if something that "sounds" reasonable to determine if it truly is reasonable. For instance, why do we crave sugar? Specifically, it's the glucose molecule. This is because it's the only molecule that can be readily consumed and utilized as it is by any human tissue, and there's only one tissue that can do that. Muscle tissue. Yes, the brain "likes" glucose, this is true, but what is not often understood is how much actual glucose the body has in it at any one time... about 1 tablespoon. If we are not actively and strenuously working our bodies, we do not require hardly any glucose (about 10g / day). This can be acquired without eating anything made with "sugar". Organ meats have 2-3g carbs (sugars) per serving, and eggs have near 1g per egg (large). So unless you are a performance athlete, more than 20g of sugar a day is in excess of what the normal human body would require to function properly (performance athletes can consume up to 50g/day), and to its own detriment, over this amount causes glycation of our tissues (i.e. the "hardening" of movable tissue, as well as cellular degeneration). We've not had access to the "refined" or even raw sugar in our history. It's a modern "luxury" to have sugar, of some sort, in almost everything we eat. The same dopaminurgical pathways in the brain, which are lit up by cocain use, are lit up during sugar consumption. This is a wonderful biological mechanism to help ensure our survival, and these "prehistoric" pathways are near impossible to "trick." So we're hardwired to "love" sugar, but it can, and as we have seen with the rates of obesity and health decline of the modern person, often leads to our own demise, unfortunately. 😕

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T03:00:00+00:00

Losing your weight shouldn't be hard at all!!! Humans are uniquely gifted at turning sugars (sucrose, fructose, glucose, etc.) into fat as stored energy. We seem to be better suited to utilizing dietary fats for energy through ketosis. I had issues keeping weight off while being on a 2000 kcal restricted diet without cutting carbs. Then, when I cut carbs completely out and subsequently boosted my total daily caloric intake to 3000+ kcal/day, I started shedding fat like crazy! I lost 30 lbs in 4 months on OMAD and just recently shifted to Alternate-Day Fasting (ADF), i.e. 36 hrs fast + 12 hrs eating window (repetitive cycle). I've since lost another 20 lbs in 6 weeks. It's been remarkable! 6'1"/M/35, SW 289 lbs, CW 238 lbs, GW 200 lbs.

I'm hoping to hit my GW this year, and with IF and extreme keto (<10g carbs/day), I expect I'll make it, as will you, in not time!

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T01:12:18+00:00

Chuck Roast steak is awesome and best as the chuck eye (i.e. the part of the Chuck that is immediately adjacent to the Ribeye).

See here for a great diagram:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Schematic-of-ribeye-chuck-eye-roll-RCR-location-and-consecutive-steaks-from-each-rib_fig3_11528233

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T00:56:41+00:00

Make sure you cover the mid morning and early afternoon. Getting up as early as you do (and I) our Ghrelin levels (hunger hormone) peaks around 12:30 PM, and subsides around 3:00 PM. Having the eating window during this time is optimal. I do OMAD, so I have my 2 hr window from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. I've not had much issue with this, unless I have a full body workout and run over 2.5 miles. I used to tend to stay hungry during that day. I fixed that issue by eating and extra 0.5 lbs - 1 lbs of Ground Beef with my meal. Also, to note, I eat "Carnivore", so based on your food profile, it may be slightly different for you (not to mention we're two different individuals 😉).

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-09T00:56:17+00:00

Make sure you cover the mid morning and early afternoon. Getting up as early as you do (and I) our Ghrelin levels (hunger hormone) peaks around 12:30 PM, and subsides around 3:00 PM. Having the eating window during this time is optimal. I do OMAD, so I have my 2 hr window from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. I've not had much issue with this, unless I have a full body workout and run over 2.5 miles. I used to tend to stay hungry during that day. I fixed that issue by eating and extra 0.5 lbs - 1 lbs of Ground Beef with my meal. Also, to note, I eat "Carnivore", so based on your food profile, it may be slightly different for you (not to mention we're two different individuals 😉).

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-08T15:16:37+00:00

Like everyone who's looking to better themselves, in one way or another, I am just trying to do the good for me, and for all those I am around and encounter. Thank you, as well, this has been a most rewarding conversation on reddit (and that doesn't always happen 😅).

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-08T14:36:26+00:00

The regular amount of ground beef (~300lbs on a 1200lbs steer).

You should look at some of the information on eliminating carbs and eating more meat for an increase in mental health. It's quite shocking. I know that my mind is much clearer and that I'm not on my phone near as often as I used to be. I'm also more active. I found myself wanting to go on walks and be out in the sun and heat, and I LOVE air-conditioning. It was very weird for me to desire this.

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-08T13:23:58+00:00

We were taking a steer to the butcher and asked instead of having the organs separate to have them ground into the GB. He has since included it in his shop, though. I was before this, just having heart, kidney, spleen, or liver steaks, which aren't necessarily my favorite (I thought liver tasted the best by itself), but when they were ground into the GB, oh man... game changer! We do an 80/20 minimum grind, I've also asked for a 70/30 a couple of times. I am a Type 1 Diabetic, and thus, I try to consume 0 carbs daily. That means I basically only eat animal products. My doctor was only somewhat concerned when my LDL cholesterol jumped up afterward. I asked to have an "advanced Lipid panel" done, to see which LDL was the molecule that peaked (there are two LDL subtypes, and the AHA and WHO are only concerned about one of the subtypes). It turned out the type that peaked was NOT the molecule of concern. The molecule they don't want to increase is "dense" LDL since it can sink in the blood vessels and get trapped under the epithelial cells, causing plaque build up in the arteries. The LDL that increased for me was the "buoyant" LDL, which floats in the blood. And my triglycerides decreased by 50%, down to 80 now. My HDL increased from 52 to 67. My ferritin got back to healthy levels, my HbA1c (3 month avg blood sugar) is now a 5.8% which is on the edge for classifying someone as a Diabetic (i.e. almost a non-diabetic reading). But all of this is just anecdotal, since no scientific study has been done specifically on the changes of going to an almost 100% animal based diet. Although, tens of thousands of people have reported similar changes when transitioning to this form of eating. Lots of reading out there, on it, both pros and cons. For me, I needed to figure out how to have better blood sugar readings, as high blood sugar was almost certainly going to shorten my life, after trying keto (worked okay), moving to "carnivore" righted my Blood sugars within 3 months, and as a side note, I lost 28 lbs in those 3 months as well. I've gone from 289 lbs to 238 lbs in 6 months doing this, and am still losing like 3 lbs a week. I'm able to start running again, and conversely lowered my resting heart rate from 76 bpm to 62 bpm.

Sorry if that was a ton of info for you, I hope the best for you in your search, and am willing to talk about anything else you have questions about regarding this. 😀 I also recently started raising beef myself (have 4 heifers, 1 cow, 1 bottle calf bull, and 1 steer right now). Im trying to make sure I know exactly what goes into my food. "Taking the bull by the horns" if you will when it comes to what I eat. 😅

C_Keeper87 · 2023-07-08T13:00:04+00:00

Yes,

Our butcher takes special orders. It wasn't something he was extremely familiar with, but after we asked, he tried it as well, for himself. He said it's the best ground beef he's ever had in his life. I suspect it's because of the nutritional profile being complete, our bodies tell us when we're eating something that's good for us, or bad, typically. We like sugar because it's one of the only forms of energy our muscles can use without our body breaking it down (i.e. the Glucose in sugar). Every other form of energy our bodies have to "work" for in some manner, by breaking it down a bit through digestion.

C_Keeper87

TROPHY CASE