Well I was just doing the regular Atkins until I figured out that my workouts were being counter productive because I could barely find the energy to workout. I have been running almost every day for the past 5 months. So to make a long story short I was running about 2 miles a day then doing the elliptical or stairclimber for about 10-20 minutes, and then 20 minutes of lifting weights. With less then 30 carbs I had zero energy and what used to be fairly easy turned into impossible to do.

So I started looking up other low carb ketogenic diets and I stumbled across the TKD diet. You eat about 25-50 carbs before you workout, and you can also have more carbs during and after you workout. It allows me to do very high intensity workouts. When I say high intensity I mean running for 30 minutes with a heartbeat of 165+ non stop. I'm not talking about walking or other low intensity workouts.

Sorry this is turning into a long post. But today I ate about 45 carbs before my workout and 30 carbs during my workout and I felt great and was able to do my regular workout routine without feeling like I was going to die. About 3 hours later I was back in ketosis, I can taste it and feel it. I feel very high and lethargic when I am in ketosis. I was just wondering if there are any others who are doing the TKD? And how many carbs do you eat before exercising/during/ post workout? Thanks

[RunnerKim]

HI there! I do a version of TKD too. I am also a runner and found that I had ZERO energy on such low carbs so the only change I made was eating about 45g/ carbs about an hour before I run. OMG what a difference! I generally eat a slice of this really great organic whole grain bread from the health food store w/ 2 tbsp of peanut butter on it. I am back in a state of ketosis in about 3 hours as well. Right after my run I use that as the opportunity to get my fresh squeezed grapefruit juice in as well. I'm convinced that's what's been keeping me healthy this winter.

Originally Posted by RunnerKim

HI there! I do a version of TKD too. I am also a runner and found that I had ZERO energy on such low carbs so the only change I made was eating about 45g/ carbs about an hour before I run. OMG what a difference! I generally eat a slice of this really great organic whole grain bread from the health food store w/ 2 tbsp of peanut butter on it. I am back in a state of ketosis in about 3 hours as well. Right after my run I use that as the opportunity to get my fresh squeezed grapefruit juice in as well. I'm convinced that's what's been keeping me healthy this winter.

Yay finally someone understands what I am talking about. On this other site no one understood why I needed the carbs before and during my high intensity workout. Thanks for making me not feel so weird.LOL. So on days that you don't run/exercise how many carbs do you eat? I think I eat about 30-50 carbs when I am not exercising. I can't do 20 or less because it makes me feel very dizzy and high. And since my husband is deployed to Iraq it would be very hard to take care of 2 young kids by myself while feeling like that. Sorry for rambling

[RunnerKim]

Wow...you are taking care of 2 young kids with an active duty husband in Iraq? God bless you! My 2 kids run me ragged and my husband is home with me.

Yes, I try to stick to 40-50 carbs a day on the 1 day a week that I don't exercise. This morning instead of the bread with PB I ate a packet of the Kashi instant whole grain oatmeal (which ROCKS BTW!). It's 160 calories, 26g of carbs. I never went out of ketosis the whole time and I only ran 3 miles (I think I'm coming down with a cold because my energy level is just NOT where it should be).

I am pretty obsessive about checking my ketone levels throughout the day and now also watching calories because I was WAY overeating calories thinking it was ok on low carb but it wasn't. So I do 1500 cal/day and stick to under 40 or so carbs. If you haven't read the book Protein Power you should. Very easy read and the menus are really do-able!

Thanks, we have a 4 yr old and a 19 month old. My husband is active duty Army. We are originally from maryland and that is where family is. Thankfully the Army base has hourly care. My kids go to school for 3 hours a day 5 days a week and that is when I exercise. Exercise helps with my anxiety. I will definitely check out that book, so I can get a better idea of what exactly I am supposed to do when it comes to carbs. All I know is what I see on the internet. I need to start watching calories also but I am trying to make small changes at a time. Thanks for replying

[RunnerKim]

Well, I grew up as an "Army brat" so I know the lifestyle.

I am getting REALLY frustrated with my weight. I am hovering at 176 lbs for the past MONTH. I've tried reducing carbs, calories, exercise and all forms of that in one way or another. I started logging my food into Fitday.com and I was consuming many more calories than I thought I was! So I cut back on my calories to the appropriate amount and increased my protein intake and I am still HUNGRY all the time. Plus, I think part of it is that I ran a 1/2 marathon (see photo to left!) in November and I was doing some serious running for it. Now my mileage is back down to 3-5 miles 5 days a week and a long run on the weekends. I think I'm screwing myself up. I'm always hungry and I'm shocked at how many calories/carbs are in FOOD!

[RunnerKim]

My girls are 2 and 5 years old so I'm right there with ya!

Oh cool we have a lot of things in common. I wish I could run that far but until I can drop some pounds I refuse to add on mileage because I am scared of the access weight on my knees. I don't own a scale but I wear a size 14 misses. I just get worried about all my weight on my knees so that is why I don't want to go any further then 2 miles. I think since me and you are taking in carbs before and during our workout that is what is slowing the weight loss down. I can definitely see the difference in the way my clothes fit. I just want to lose 20 lbs by October, I think thats a reasonable goal for myself. i don't lose weight easily. Wow a half marathon you go girl, I hope 1 day I can do that. S

sometimes I am happy not to have a scale but then there are other days where I wish I could see the number. I think the scale just makes me frustrated plus it is almost that time of the month and I gain water weight a week before and during my period. Today I ate yogurt before my workout but I think I ate it to early. I ate it about 90 minutes before my run, by the time I was about to run my body was back in ketosis so I had to eat a energy bar and that helped get my energy up. I always drink a protein shake after my workout which helps my muscles recover faster. Well the weekend is here and this whole weekend I am staying in Ketosis the whole time since I don't exercise on the weekends.

[RunnerKim]

OK....I am really just ticked off. I have had a BAD day. I went WAYYYYY off plan today. It hardly ever happens to me but I am human. I didn't eat any refined carbs or sugar but I didn't go out for my run before the snow started and I ate so many natural carbs that I'm completely out of ketosis now. I know my problem is not WHAT I eat but how much. Here's a breakdown of what I ate today. I am NOT happy with it:

B: 1 green smoothie (kale, apples, grapes and carrots fresh from my juicer)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (I had a sore throat and DH is sick so I was trying to pump myself full of vitamin C)
cup coffee with cream and Stevia

Snack: finished off 1/2 bowl of sugar free pistachio pudding (tsk, tsk!)
1 mozarella stick
1 apple

Lunch: lean pastrami & swiss on a 2g net carb/50 calorie wrap
bowl of grapes
15 cashews

Dinner: 4 oz mahi mahi - baked w/ lemon and olive oil
1/2 cup brocolli steamed
1/4 cup of basmati wild rice

snack: 2 oz pumpkin seeds
1 cup SF jello
3 pieces SF coconut candy

LOTS of water ...7 bottles and about 6 cups of decaf herbal tea.

See...its not what I eat but how much. My DH says its my snacking that's killing me and he's so right but I FEEL so hungry. I wonder if it's all mental?

I NEVER had a weight problem and being a size 10/12 misses most people would say I don't but I'm at the higher end of the BMI range and I have a LOT of cellulite on my thighs and have always been the heaviest in my thighs. My upper body and stomach are in great shape.

Sorry...I just needed to vent. Maybe I should try a protein shake. What kind do you use?

Sorry I did not reply yesterday, me and the wives had a girls night out.

Don't beat yourself up I think it is normal for you to be very hungry considering how much you run. I would be starving also. I did okay this weekend. I had equivalent to 6 alcoholic drinks but I did dance the whole night so I burned probably as much as I took in. I ate some pork grinds but then the girls wanted to stop to Burger king so I bought a huge burger and ate half of a medium fry. I did great the whole day and then I ate some carbs. Today the only carbs I took in were from grapes, and whole wheat pasta but then again I did eat that huge burger around 2 in the morning. I try not to beat myself up. Plus I look at it this way I don't want to cut my carbs drastically so as long as I stay under 80 grams I am pretty proud of myself. I used to eat over 250 carbs a day so cutting my carbs even a little I am pretty hopeful that it will help me lose weight.

Hmm me and Ketosis its weird if I stay in ketosis to long I start to feel really weird and my anxiety goes up a little, so I try to eat something with a little bit of carbs because when I go to deep into ketosis it just feels like I am in a mental fog. Its kinda scary so thats why I can't cut my carbs down to below 30. Its weird I will be in ketosis and then I will eat something with about 10 carbs and I will stay in ketosis. Its kinda hard to explain. Like after I ate my spaghetti and noodles I was back in ketosis in about 30 minutes. I just ate about 1.5 cups of grapes and I don't think I left ketosis. Full blown ketosis makes me feel like I am on the verge of a panic attack because I just feel so weird and have weird thoughts. If my husband was here I would be able to handle the heightened anxiety feeling when I am in ketosis but battling a panic attack while he is gone is not something I want to do. Yeah sorry for constantly repeating myself but I am kinda in a mental fog again since I am in ketosis as we speak.

The protein shake I drink I got it at GNC. It helps build lean or maintain lean muscle. It has 200 calories, 6g of fat, 14 carbs, 5g of fiber. I mix the powder with whole milk about a cup and a half. So thats about a total of 20 carbs including the milk. The brand is Syntha-6 but I am sure you can find other brands that are low in carbs and sugar. I drink it about a half hour after my workout. But I also take in about 30 carbs before my workout and 24 during my workout that is in the form of Gatorade it helps with my electrolytes. One time I was drinking only water during my workout this was before I started low carb. I guess I sweated a lot and all I did was replace the water in my system I did not take in any salt or sugar and I was shaking on the verge of collapse it was bad and as soon as I drank the gatorade it all went away. So I started drinking gatorade and it never happened again. Replacing the electrolytes that you sweat out is very important I had to learn that the hard way. Usually after my workout I would lose 3 lbs but that was all in water weight because of how much I sweat. Sorry for rambling this is turning into a long reply.LOL

But I read some where that if your diet is less then 100 carbs that is considered low carb. So even though my carbs are not as low as some I am technically still doing low carb. I think your diet looks fine, it actually looks well balanced but I am not that great at analyzing since I dont' know what some of the food is. Well sorry for the long reply I am going to bed. Have a nice night

[RunnerKim]

Hey...a girls night out! NICE! I never get those anymore...

So I did some experimenting and this weekend I had carbs. Not refined carbs or anything but plenty of good carbs from fruits (as much as I wanted), bread (really healthy Ezekiel bread) and whole grain rice. I went out for a run this morning and felt like a million bucks! Seriously! I ran 6 miles without even thinking about it or stopping to walk. I think I am seriously under-eating carbs for the level of workouts that I do. I am going to go on South Beach. My running has suffered tremendously with doing under 100 grams of carbs a day (which is really what I was averaging). And, for the past 2 days I have been much more full and satisfied by what I'm eating as opposed to feeling 'starved' on LC all the time.

Yes, anything under 100 grams is considered by some to be low carb. it all depends on what your intake was before. I know my intake of carbs was HUGE.

My cousin who lost 30 lbs last year did LC 6 days a week and then one day a week she ate whatever she wanted and however much she wanted of it. She said its called "carb cycling" and it throws your body off by not knowing what to expect. It worked really well for her.

Yeah I think South Beach will work great for you. 6 miles a day is a lot of mileage and you need to take in some type of carbs in order to keep pace with where you are or were. How many miles do you run a week? Now that you mentioned South Beach I am probably doing some where in the middle of Atkins and South Beach. I take in good carbs most of the time. I really enjoy high protein and eating the fat

Yeah a girls night out was great because you actually get to talk to adults I swear sometimes I feel like I am gonna lose my ability to talk English since I only talk to kids majority of the time.

I did South Beach when I was breastfeeding my oldest and it worked out pretty great. I think you will do great, just don't beat yourself up. Even though I want to lose about 20 lbs. I am really toning and finding that I really like my thighs and hips. I have naturally wide hips and I carry my weight in my thighs but thats the type of frame that I want to keep even when I do lose weight. My ideal body shape would be like Shakira the latina singer she sings that song hips don't lie. I really like how curvy she is, shes not to small and not to big. Her body shape is my goal since we both have hips and thighs. Sorry for rambling. I think you will do great just keep trying different things and you will do great

[ale2121]

hello ladies

so I've been on Atkins for the past few months. I have a pretty damn good sense of control about it. I started working out when the scale stopped and I'm unbelievably exhausted. My workouts aren't nearly as intense as running, but swimming three times a week and a whole lot of walking. Do you think something like a targeted keto diet would help my situation or is it really only for really intense workouts?

I found this site which really spells the whole thing out (notice the typo that says 100 grams of carbs or less is keto, when it means 100 calories or less is keto):
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/ot...-training.html

sorry if it was bad to post that, but thoughts? I have a whole lot more weight to lose than either of you, I'm trying to come up with something sustainable, that will also continue weight loss. I can't deal with a stopped scale, especially when I feel like crap. I mean in general low carbs makes me feel better, less bloated, less cravings, generally more in control. It's just the second I need to go and take on the world, I crash.

[Suze80]

Hi , I have decided to give keto diet a try, I am 16 stone and due to get married in 7 months so would really like to shift some unwanted weight ! .. and make it a full lifestyle change . What I'd like to know is ideas for breakfast , dinners teas, etc - also I'm not sure on fat ,protein, carb grams I should be having etc ? Also does this diet make you feel weak or dizzy as I sometimes have had dizzy yucky spells when I have done past "diets" ? Starting tomorrow wish me luck 😜😌

[vmmatula]

Originally Posted by Suze80

Hi , I have decided to give keto diet a try, I am 16 stone and due to get married in 7 months so would really like to shift some unwanted weight ! .. and make it a full lifestyle change . What I'd like to know is ideas for breakfast , dinners teas, etc - also I'm not sure on fat ,protein, carb grams I should be having etc ? Also does this diet make you feel weak or dizzy as I sometimes have had dizzy yucky spells when I have done past "diets" ? Starting tomorrow wish me luck 😜😌

Well, it’s been a few days, how are you doing with your new keto ways? It’s not easy at first but it’s so worth it.

Okay so hopefully you’re not having the dizziness you mentioned but if you are, you probably need more fats. Grab an avocado. Or cream cheese or add some heavy whipping cream or coconut oil to a coffee? If it’s a detox/withdrawal side effect, it should only last a couple of days. I had horrible headaches when I went cold-turkey off of sugar.

There are many Keto Macros Calculators online you can search for to get a personalized list of the amounts of things you should aim for. It’ll list carbs, protein, and fats.

Generally, to be in ketosis, you need to eat tons of fats, lots of protein and veggies, and very few carbs.

Breakfast ideas: eggs, bacon, sausage, avocado. I love the quick cook bacon(30 sec in the microwave) with a few “Cream cheese pancakes” (ibreatheiamhungry website has a great recipe) and feel surprisingly satisfied.

Dinners: meats & veggies. Burgers, steaks, pork roast, chicken etc…use plenty of oils and butters in your cooking and on your foods. You need the oils. I love to roast cauliflower, brocc, carrots, or whatever you like: toss with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, s&p, for 15 min or so then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and bake for 10 more min. mmmm so much better than boiled/steamed veggies. Beets are great roasted too. Lightly steamed green beans are a fav…then use bacon grease to fry them for a few min! yum! Add alfredo to anything (chicken and broccoli alfredo? Yum)
Snacks: raw veggies, boiled eggs, avocado, nuts, bacon, pancakes, no-bake cheesecake! (8oz cream cheese, ¼ c powdered erythritol(natural sugar sub totally worth its cost! I just started using it and am loving it!) ¼ c heavy whipping cream ½ tsp vanilla. So good. If you need a crust, use ground nuts or seeds or coconut, I’ve been sprinkling it with psyllium husk for a mild carbfree crunch…or spread on one of the above mentioned pancakes!)
Before keto, I’ve always been a snacker. If I get enough fats, I don’t even think of snacking…its so weird.

I feel like I’m more successful on this plan if I don’t try to find substitutions for things I used to eat. I don’t focus on the fact that I can’t have a sandwich, I just eat other htings instead of trying to have one as a lettuce wrap or something. To find substitutions though, just go online and search with “Keto” infront of the word. I found there are even keto “refried beans.” I’ve found the mariamindbodyhealth. com website to be very helpful.

Oh and “Soul bread” has been the best option I’ve found; I mostly just use it for toast though. Works as breakast since its full of proteins and fats. Carbediem. Com was the site I found the recipe on. You might also try Oopsie rolls or cloud bread. I haven’t bothered but they’re both popular.
If pizza is a craving, I’d look into keto cauliflower crust, keto cheese crust, and keto ground chicken crust pizzas…theres also one out there using layers of woven bacon as a crust

Good luck and don’t give up! Message me if you want more info or an accountability partner.