For my next installment of “trying
a new way of eating,” I’m exploring the ketogenic diet. Ketogenic sounds scary,
because it sounds like ketosis, which sounds like ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is
scary, and if you are a type 1 diabetic, it is scary, because you can get it
and it can kill you. High levels of blood ketones plus not enough insulin
equals acidosis, and acidosis equals threat of death. A ketogenic diet is not
about ketoacidosis. It is about ketosis.
Short, seriously oversimplified version:
your body usually relies on glucose for energy. Glucose feeds your muscles,
your brains, etc. When your body runs out of glucose (for example, during your
short overnight fast), your liver converts fat into ketones to feed your body.
Although your brain is not especially happy with this at first, once it’s
adapted, it usually thrives. If you want to read more, I recommend Google,
Google Scholar, or NIH.
I am still
trying to find my sweet spot. I am clearly in ketosis, but I am definitely not keto-adapted.
I slowly increased the proportion of fat that I ate over the past couple of
weeks. I eat a lot of fat now. I had a couple of days during which I definitely
got too many carbs or too much protein, but I have still showed trace amounts
of ketones for each test that I have taken (I got my Ketostix on Thursday). I’m
also tinkering with my intake and my fitness regimen (new goals! all
strength!).
I’d be
lying if I didn’t say that it’s a little bit rough sometimes. I have the brain
fog in the evening. I may feel worn out, or like there’s that weird exhaustion
buzzing going on. (You know the one, where it feels like your brain is wrapped
in some sort of electrified but non-poky Brillo and your eyes seem to have some
sort of hum going on? That one.) Part of that may also be because I for some
reason timed my big shift to coincide with the start of summer camp, during
which I am “on” for 5 ½ hours a day starting at 9:30. That may not have been
wise, but here’s the weird thing:
I have been
waking up an hour or more before my alarm goes off almost every day. This
doesn’t usually happen unless I have jet lag. During the day, I am cheerful. I am actually cheerful. This
is not to say that I’m usually grouchy, but I have definitely noticed that I am
in a happier mood. I feel good about the future. I have more energy earlier in
the day. I have a ton more social energy. Socializing doesn’t exhaust me as
quickly as it used to, and I find that I enjoy engaging/chatting with
others. It’s friggin’ weird.
There are,
of course, downsides. Although I’m used to tracking what I eat after having
done it for the past few months (thanks, MyFitnessPal!), I am less used to
needing to plan. Right now, my goal for total carb intake is around 30-40 g.
MyFitnessPal, somewhat annoyingly, will adjust the grams of various
macronutrients depending upon your level of activity, so I need to ignore those
fluctuations. I also still need to enter my food before I eat it because I
don’t know the carb numbers for most of the things I eat off the top of my
head. It takes a little bit of thinking. Carbs hide everywhere. There are carbs
in eggs, for goodness’ sake!
I am still
doing IF. I am still going to the gym to lift and hang out on the elliptical.
(It’s where I watch Chopped!, sometimes I stay on for two full episodes, don’t
judge, it makes me happy, and it’s probably good for my heart.) If I am feeling
lethargic by the end of the day, I munch on a higher-carb snack on my way in
(nuts if I don’t have many carbs left, a Health Warrior Chia bar if I do), and
holy moly, does it work wonders. It’s definitely not adrenaline, but the boost
in energy is noticeable and it happens a lot more quickly. Schwing!
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