I’m going to try and record everything I eat for the next 30 days, whether I am able to stay on the low-carb plan or not. I don’t expect anyone to read the entries. But, if you happen to notice that I’m counting carbs wrong, OK to let me know :)
Monday 3/14
I wanted to use a one-day fast to start things off, but M wanted to have sushi, so we went to Tokyo Sushi. I had: salmon sushi and Phillidelphia rolls without the rice (salmon, small amount of cream cheese), soy sauce, miso soup, small salad with a sweetish vinegar dressing, mussels, and soybeans. The mussels had some sort of dressing on it that was mayo-like… I scraped most of it off and squeezed on lemon juice.
Carb count: At a rough guess, between the cream cheese, salad dressing and mussels, probably in the 10g range.
Tuesday 3/15
I was actually able to fast all day Tuesday. I had tea with nothing in it in the morning, lots of water during the day, and a sparkling water with slight hint of orange in the evening. (Yes, I know it’s dangerous to stop eating altogether… I am unlikely to do it again after the first day. I understand the importance of having protein and some amount of fat for an Atkins-like program to work.)
I’m counting this as a near-zero carb day. Also, bad breath was observed (well, pointed out to me :) in the evening, which is probably an indication of ketosis starting.
Wednesday 3/16
I skipped breakfast (I know, not good) and for lunch I had a no-bread sandwich (approx 2 oz of meat, lettuce, mayo and mustard, dill pickle) along with a Diet Coke (which I will probably also cut out of my diet — I later found that aspartame may cause insulin production almost like sugar). And lots of water.
For dinner I made a stir-fry with: tofu, ground beef, tomatoes, onions, and had this along with 1.5 artichokes, with 2 dipping sauces: mayo+soy sauce, and mayo+chili/garlic sauce (this is the red stuff in the jar that I have seen in some vietnamese restaurants – it makes a great dipping sauce, but I forgot to check the carb content). I also had water+lemon+splenda and iced tea with splenda (4 splendas total).
Carb count: 1 for cheese, 2 for dill pickle, maybe 5-7 for onions and tomatoes, 10 for 1.5 artichokes, 4 for splenda. Total 20-25g.
So far I am feeling good. I have felt hungry (or at least cravings) from time to time, but these feelings seemed to go away when I ignored them.
Do artichokes really have that high of a carb count? Remember that when carb counting, you can subtract dietary fiber because you won’t digest it.
Also, splenda in packets has a different base than splenda out of a box, and so the splenda in packets has fewer carbs. There’s also, or so I’ve heard (but not seen) a liquid splenda that’s 0 carbs.
Also also, there are things like PH strips called Ketone strips that you can pee on to measure your level of ketosis. Ketosis is one way of measuring whether or not you’re effectively on the diet.
What he said.
The Ketone strips are a great verification that ketosis is happening.