Sports drink for Low Carb cycling Part 2

by | Jan 24, 2013 | Questions about low carb | 0 comments

This my comment on a previous thread about sport drinks at forum.lowcarber.org

 

jludders:

Thanks

Sounds like a good alternative what sort of ratio’s would you recommend and could you use a potassium salt for the mixture?

 

My reply:

Hi jludders!

As we’re on a low carb forum, I am of course assuming that you’re getting your daily potassium intake from good green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach and so on. Just three good servings of those will give you around about 2,500 to 3,000 mg of potassium each day. Obviously it is important that you maintain a slightly higher potassium to salt ratio. As for salt I would also recommend that you choose a good natural salt without any chemicals added.

The last thing of course, to bear in mind is the ratio of salt and potassium to liquid that you take.  After all you want to make up for what is lost, I would assume rather than just correct the imbalance.

So rather than just pick some figures out of the air, it’s probably better that you have a look at some of the more accessible scientific literature. Here’s an article that should give you most of the answers that you need and if you want anything further, please do come back to me or follow some of the links that you’ll find on this website.

Hope that helps,

Mark

Back at it need help?!

by | Jan 24, 2013 | Low carb diet, Weight Loss | 0 comments

Another post about low carb diet at forum.lowcarber.org where I have commented on

 

Krista said:

Hello all!
So I was convinced that it was so unhealthy to do low carb about a yeat ago that I decided to conform and switch it up to about a 100g a day carbs, that was a mistake because I ended up gaining 30 lbs in no time… So now I have to start all over again. I never really followed a certain diet, but I guess it was pretty close to atkins, My goal is to lose 30lbs, but is it possible that I cant to do LC again? That it wont work for me any more? Because I have have not lost any weight, i actually gained a coulpe lbs in my first 2 weeks, and I havent felt the flu like symptons that I had the first time around….
Thanks!

 

My response:

Hi Krista! Yes a warm welcome to you as well.

It is entirely possible that you can do low carb again and succeed. However the fact that you’ve gained a couple of pounds over the last couple of weeks does make me think that perhaps  you haven’t found the best low carb system for you.

I would suggest that you follow the Atkins low carb protocols but to the letter, don’t be tempted to start to play around with them until you’ve proven that they work for you as they have done for so many thousands and thousands of other people.

As Lindsay061 has said, keep in touch; find your recipes, but most of all get excited about the new you that you’ll see in the mirror in just a few months’ time. Get excited about the days full of energy, being able to do the things that you so long to do but maybe put off for a reason or another. Get excited about the comments people are going to make on how good you look and how happy you seem having got your life and body in order. But most of all get excited because you deserve this. Find yourself a great reason; a great WHY you want to be fit and healthy and that too will help carry you through to get the body that you want.

Hope that helps,

Mark

How often do you test for ketosis?

by | Jan 24, 2013 | Low carb diet, Weight Loss | 0 comments

Here is another post at forum.lowcarber.org that I have commented on about ketosis

 

Mintaka said:

I am excited. I got a reading of 80 mg/dL, which is one box shy of the deepest purple!

History: My first try at Atkins was in late 2011/2012. I lost 15 lbs and then for one reason or another went back to carbohydrates and gained the weight back. I never got into ketosis, and only registered mild ketosis.

This is my second try at Atkins and during induction I only lost about 4 lbs, which indicated I was metabolically resistant to losing weight. I only got into mild ketosis on Induction this time too. 

What changed it all was the Fat Fast! I have been doing the Fat Fast (Fat Fest!) for 10 days, and have been going into purple ketosis. I hope it translates into weight loss!

How often do members test for ketosis?

 

My reply:

Hi Mintaka,

You know I’m excited for you as well. You just keep doing what you need to do in order to stay motivated and if you’re keeping the carbs low then the rest will generally look after itself.

I noticed you mention a lot of times in your posts that you are weighing yourself and that you’ve lost 4 lbs in 10 days, well done for that!

I also noticed that you have been stucked at the same weight for weeks and weeks on end in the past. One thing I would therefore suggest is that you don’t just rely on measuring your weight but you also measure your body using a tape measure as we can’t forget that whilst you may be losing fat you might be actually be gaining muscle but of course the scales just don’t know the difference.

In order to measure yourself properly, as a bare minimum you should measure around your neck, around your bust, around your waist, around your hips and around both thighs. You only need to do that once every seven days in that way you can see exactly where the weight or the fat rather is going from and as those inches slowly go down, you’ll have even more to rejoice over and be motivated by.

Hope that helps,

Mark

2 questions

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Artificial Sweeteners, Low carb diet | 0 comments

Here is a comment that I made on a post about low carb diet at fattoskinny.net

 

maidmarian asked:

Do nuts or seeds play a role in a low carb diet?  Also, I chew a lot of Spry (xylitol) gum all day, is this ok?

 

My response:

Hi maidmarian,

Yes I have to admit nuts and seeds are one of my little passions as far as treats go and at certain times of the day I can often be seen rifling around the cupboard looking for a handful of nuts just to amuse my taste buds for a little while.

But like Andrea has said it’s good to be choosy about what types of nuts you eat, pecans and walnuts are indeed nuts that contain some of the lowest amount of carbohydrates but top of the list of those to stay away from particularly this time of the year are roasted chestnuts, they contain anything up to 20 times as many carbs as pecans and walnuts do.

As fro xylitol, well out of all the synthetic sweeteners, that is probably the one that gives us the least problem particularly in its purest form but if you have pets do remember to keep it away from them as it can be extremely harmful if not deadly for many pets but more so to dogs.

Hope that’s useful,

Mark

First day and so weak!

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Exercise, Low carb diet | 0 comments

Yet another comment of mine on a post about low carb diet at fattoskinny.net

 

Angie’ post:

First day.  Kept carbs to 30.  I’m very weak and just down right mean!  When will this awful feeling go away?

My poor family!      Your stories and photos are so inspirational.  I want this to work for me, but these jittery and weak feelings are about to get the best of me.  Should I not go so drastic and decrease the carbs more slowly?

Thanks in advance for amy words of wisdom!

 

My advice:

Hi Angie and welcome!

The advice that the others have given on this page is something that you should be sure to follow. I would particularly take notice of TooSweet’s advice to take a bit more salt and to make sure you drink a lot more than usual.

The salt would ensure that your electrolyte levels don’t go too far out of whack and drinking water will help you to detox more quickly, as well getting a lot more exercise simply because the more exercise that you can get particularly if it makes you sweat a little will increase the rate that your body processes the sugar out of your system, so to speak.

But do know one thing, you’re not alone; we’ve all been through it and the feeling that you get in your body when it comes to an end is absolutely marvelous.

Cheers,

Mark

Keeping it simple

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Low carb diet, Weight Loss | 0 comments

This is a post at Jimmy Moore’s where I commented on regarding low carb diet

 

Debs’ post:

Hi

I am 38 , female and from Australia…

After spending years with round about and yo yo diets I find myself with type 2 diabetes and a heart attack scare last year. I also find myself sick and tired of being sick and tired.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes I went to the Australia Diabetes association and explained that when I ate carbs my blood sugar sky rocketed…their answer was that I should keep eating the carbs and they would put me on insulin…I think that was the moment that I realised that I need to take responsibility for my own health.

And for the next few months I did. I ate low carb, the weight dropped off and my bsls were perfect, my trigs dropped too…but then I got complacent and then spent the rest of last year procrastinating and gained back all I had lost and all the good work I had done…more than that…in November I had a massive heart scare….it wasn’t a heart attack but it could have been…

I realised that diet wasn’t an option but life changes were in order.

This time I am learning so much about low carbing and how it works for my body. It’s been nearly 10 days and I’ve dropped weight and sleeping through the night. My bsls are going down and my energy is starting to improve.

At the moment I have no apetite and am listening to my body with regards to what I put into it. 

It’s early days but I am happier and healthier each day.

 

My response:

Hi Debs and a warm welcome from me as well.

Reading your post was quite heartwarming for me obviously not because of all the problems that you have but simply because you’ve decided to sort out your life using the tools and the systems that you know work for you.

I’m really pleased that you’ve had such good success even it’s only been 10 days since you started and my hope for you is yes, that you will listen to your body and that you will put in to it the things it needs because I know if you do that you’ll get the body you want, the body you deserve and the life to go with it.

All the very best,

Mark