Logging keto chow in these posts

I've decided to start logging my keto chow meals here, since it's getting to bet a bit lengthy in evernote. A summary of things so far:

Mocha is the best flavor so far, chocolate is a decent second. Both are best made with butter or cream (butter takes up less volume in the bottle and is cheaper, but must be melted). Vanilla with cream is decent, cookies and cream is sickeningly sweet, and both variants of strawberry are decent but clearly not strawberry. Raspberry cheesecake and lemon meringue, both with cream, are rather good. Chocolate peanut butter with butter is surprisingly good, but probably not good for extended use. Banana with coconut oil is drinkable. Chocolate with coconut oil is also drinkable, but inferior to either cream or butter.

Tomorrow; mocha with extra cream following my exercise, chocolate with butter, and mocha with butter. On Sunday, I'll try the chocolate mint, probably with butter.

I finally cracked open my Sturmey-Archer AW internally geared hub today; the second one is packed with rust and probably only good for a few spare parts. I organized what parts I have into a divided box, and have started down the road of cleaning and degreasing them. Hopefully, in a week or so, I'll have something that can be laced into a wheel.

One more step until a mile run with a bike

Today, I ran the last 0.8 miles of my 3-mile trek carrying a bike. I'm pleased as punch, and looking forward to Saturday's trek, when I will run the last mile. So far, I've just been sort of lashing the bike to my back with an old piece of boat line (rope for you landlubbers). The method has changed a bit here and there, but it's not what I would call a long-term situation. Once I achieve a mile, I'm going to start looking seriously into some sort of proper pack frame arrangement. Possible an old military ALICE frame or a clone, possibly an old Swedish lk35, possibly a DIY wooden pack frame. In any event, I think that broader shoulder straps and a proper hip belt will make the load much easier to bear.

My decision to rebuild my own internally geared hub is still going well. Trying to degrease some of the parts by soaking them in diluted dish soap was a failure; soaking them in pure detergent, however, has been very successful. Parts given that treatment have really only needed a good rinse. Tomorrow, both my hubs will come with me to work, where (hopefully) a hook wrench will be available to finish taking them apart.

Keto continues to go reasonably well. I forgot to weigh myself this morning, but I did take my blood chemistry, and glucose and ketones are still well in range (low 90s and 2.3, respectively). I used the recipe on this website to make some keto-compliant rolls. Nothing to write home about; I made some garlic bread with two of them, and it was similarly meh. The remaining few went into the freezer, to await some pulled pork or chicken. The chocolate peanut butter keto chow, made with butter, was surprisingly good, but not the sort of thing I'd have continuously for a week.

Big consumer day

Today, I went on my first big shopping trip with my bike trailer. Pickles and miswak from the middle eastern market, cat food from the pet store, a stop at the hardware stop, aquavit, and groceries. Also, two separate packages arrived in the mail; one of inner tubes, tires, and other parts from a company, the other of a seized AW internally geared bike hub from ebay. I hope to soon finish rebuilding at least one of the two hubs I now own; unscrewing the ball ring from the hub shell is proving difficult. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a hook spanner at work and use it to get things done. I'm also having some trouble degreasing the components I've removed; I'm trying to avoid using super harsh chemicals. A few bits are soaking in soapy water overnight, then they're due for a heavy scrubbing.

Keto continues to progress well. This morning, I was at around 85 for glucose and about 2.2 for ketones. I continue to stay well-hydrated, but am dropping weight faster than I would like. I bought a bag of MCT oil powder today. I may be able to use it to up the caloric value of my shakes; two of tomorrow's shakes were made with butter, and there's more room in those bottles than in the bottles with cream-based shakes.

Tomorrow marks the second laden trek of the week. My bike now bears its original steel back wheel and a seat post; it will be heavier than on previous treks, but not as heavy as it will be once fitted with a seat, brakes, and aluminum wheels. The goal is to run the final 3/4 of a mile carrying it. We'll see.

Day 2; much better

Today turned out much better than yesterday. As with yesterday, keto chow with heavy cream formed the bulk of my diet; mocha, raspberry cheesecake, and chocolate. I also had a bit of fish and a small bowl of almonds. I think I'll make it a point to consume one sample flavor of keto chow every day, in order to see which ones I prefer (raspberry cheesecake was quite good; I'm looking forward to mint chocolate and also peanut butter, both ideally made with butter or coconut oil). That way, I can order more next week if it looks as if this will be going more than two weeks. Otherwise, I'm stuck ordering from a relatively narrow selection of flavors.

I also went on another 3-mile trek today carrying a bike, running (well, really jogging) for the last half mile. I think I can fit another two such treks in this week, increasing the run by a 1/4 mile each time, so that I can manage to run a full mile with the bike either Saturday or Sunday.

I found a good deal on my favorite model of socks from feetures, makers of lifetime-warranty socks. I ordered several, bringing my total collection for that model up to 7 pairs. I finally feel comfortable discarding the last few pairs of worn-out work socks I have. Shortly, I'll have nothing but feetures sport socks, a few pairs of dress socks, and two pairs of thick wool socks. Now if only someone would do as good a job making underwear.

Day 1 of 2nd keto experiment

    I'm not going to lie; this morning was rough. My ketones were well above six and my blood sugar was flirting with the 60 mark (I think it was 62). I managed my morning stretches, which do include several periods standing on one leg, so my balance was at least tolerable. But I felt shattered at the end of them, and definitely in no shape to carry a bike three miles. I managed to get down my morning shake (mocha, made with an entire stick of butter) and then went back to bed until 7 AM. I felt much better after that. I think future "quick" transitions into keto will involve more exercise and less fasting; perhaps a long cardio session in the afternoon or even evening followed by a fast for the remainder of the day.

    The other two meals today were mocha and chocolate, both with heavy cream. Both were good, although I prefer the mocha. I also had about 1/4 cup of almonds around 9 AM. Tomorrow is all cream; mocha in the morning, raspberry cheesecake (a new sample flavor) for lunch, and chocolate for dinner again. With any luck, I'll be feeling well enough to go for a long walk in the morning after my stretches.

    Moving forward, I'm going to have to find a way to incorporate more calories into my diet. Even with upping my breakfast from half a stick of butter to a full stick, I'm running at a deficit for today of almost 1000 calories, and that's with no exercise. Even with weight loss in mind, that's excessive. The 22 ounce bottles I make my shakes in are almost full as it is. Clarified butter is one option; it is more calorically dense than butter is, because it lacks water and milk solids. I may also have to simply add other foods to my diet; eggs, jerky, etc. I may experiment with making some jerky, just to have a sugar-free option available. Jerky from lean ground meat is an interesting option. In any event, I'm going to need to up my intake somehow.

All told, though, day 1 went reasonable well. I think I can chalk up the rocky period in the early morning to a somewhat excessive transition phase. But I'm very pleased that I was able to go so deep into ketosis so quickly.

Reasons versus excuses

Quasi-inspirational internet quotes will tell you that you cannot improve without suffering, for you are both the stone and the sculptor. Meh.

Today is a fasting day. Originally, I decided to do this with the goal of quickly driving myself into nutritional ketosis, generally recognized as happening at blood ketone levels of between 1 and 2 mmol/L (regular folks usually sit below 0.5). I've been staying well hydrated, but I felt more off than expected, so I decided to test my ketones around 5 PM. I was at 6.5 mmol/L. That's past nutritional ketosis, past moderate ketosis, past post-exercise ketosis, and well into the upper range of fasting ketosis. It's actually approaching ketoacidosis, which can be dangerous if blood glucose is high. So I naturally checked my glucose; 65 mg/dl, rather below normal and bordering on hypoglycemic levels. No wonder I was feeling off.

Vague thoughts rolled around in my head for a bit as I chatted on the phone with someone about other things and had a glass of cold lemon water. Then I poured myself a small bowl of almonds and had a couple almost to my mouth when I stopped myself. What was I doing? This is a fasting day. Of course I can expect to be into fasting ketosis. My blood sugar is low, yes, but that's a good indication I'm at no serious risk for ketoacidosis. There's no particular good reason to stop my fast already. Yes, I'm in ketosis, but this is also about will power. How very little will power must I have if I can't even fast for a single day? No, the almonds went back in the back, every one of them, and the bag is sitting out on the counter. Sure, I'm a bit hungry. But I'm not going to use my blood sugar as an excuse to eat. I'll suffer no significant negative health effects whatsoever from waiting until the morning. If I would, that would be a reason to eat. But I don't have any reasons; just excuses.

First run with a bike

Well, more of a jog, really. I'm slowly working up to being able to run while carrying my folding bike. I've been going on progressively longer walks with it (at least the parts I have; it's still missing the wheels, which have yet to arrive, and the handlebars are getting swapped for something lighter). Today, I went a total of three miles, jogging the last quarter of a mile. It doesn't sound like much, but if I increased by another quarter of a mile per trip and did three per week, I'd be running three miles with a bike on my back in a month. I don't plan on doing that (I'm going to go more conservative), but it brings the scale of the possibilities into focus. The run for a sprint-length triathlon is 3.1 miles, and the bike is only 12.4. Toss in some swimming practice, and I could be physically prepared to run a sprint-length self-supported tri in a couple months easily.

Tomorrow is a fasting day. I'm going to approach "fasting" as "consuming nothing with appreciable calories", not "consume nothing but water". I'll allow myself coffee, tea (with lemon juice if I like), and electrolyte drops. I've also started taking a fish oil supplement to provide omega fatty acids in case keto chow is significantly deficient in them, but I doubt the amount of oil they have provides significant calories.

My fridge approaches emptiness. Right now, it contains a jug of water, some cat treats, garlic, thyme, three eggs, some butter, heavy cream, a tub of gochugaru, a bottle of fish sauce, and a bottle of soy aminos. Oh, and a few microbiological cultures. The cream and butter will get used up over the next few days in keto chow. The water should obviously always be on hand, especially in the heat. I'm sure everything else will get used up in time (I'd rather it not go to waste). Hopefully, in a week or two, my fridge will contain nothing but a jug of water, the keto chow for the day, and a few stray condiments and microbe cultures.

I started to rebuild my sturmey-archer AW internally geared bicycle hub today. Stay tuned for the results.

Keto Chow arrived

I'm looking forward to my little experiment. My fridge is looking very sparse; a few fermented food cultures, a big jug of water, and a few other odds and ends will remain. There are a couple mushrooms and a few eggs, and a couple chicken thighs. Those will be eaten tomorrow (well, today; Saturday). I'm hoping to get another walk in tomorrow carrying my bike. Sunday will be a fasting day. Together, those two days should either put me in or close to ketosis. Sunday will probably involves me mixing up three meals of keto chow; I've got half a dozen sample packs of various flavors, as well as a week's worth each of chocolate and mocha. I'll be experimenting with cream, butter, and coconut oil as my primary fats. Cream is currently at the bottom of the pile; I can;t get it in easily recyclable packaging, it (like butter) demands refrigeration, and it seems to have the most volume per calorie. Butter is more compact, and obviously delicious, but still demands refrigeration. Coconut oil is tasty, but in a more specific way than butter; it goes with fewer things. In theory, if I work through a few odd condiments in my fridge (or just suck it up and give/throw them away), I could get to the point that all that's ever in it are a jug of water and 1-3 nalgene of keto chow.

Hmmmmm.

I also disassembled the old steel wheel for my folding bike today. I retrieved the 3-speed sturmey-archer AW internally geared hub from it, and ditched the resulting scrap (rim and spokes) in the recycling. The hub responded well to a first wipedown. The goal now is to disassemble is, give it a good deep cleaning and lubrication, and replace any broken or worn parts. Then it can go to the local bike shop to be built into a new wheel, one with an aluminum rim and proper brass spoke nipples. I'm shopping around for a similar hub (3 speed AW, 36 hole, etc.). I used to own a truck, and I imagined a day when I would own two transmissions for it. I could swap them out when the one in the truck needed it, then rebuild the old one into a replacement. I don't own a truck any more; but I can see myself owning two "transmissions" for my bike, and swapping them out as need demands.

Missed the drawbridge; intentionally this time

After yesterday's experience commuting to work, I intentionally avoided any path going over a drawbridge when going to work today. I also, without really meaning to at first, went the entire way without shifting. That's all the evidence I need to consider that gear my "flat" gear for my 3-speed bike rebuild. If anything, it could be a touch faster, because there will still be two lower gears for hills, but there were at least some gentle grades today.

Rebuilding the hub on my 3-speed is looking more and more appealing. There are plenty of tutorials, several places for spare parts, and it doesn't look particularly mechanically complex. Since that wheel is trash anyway (steel rims), I may just take the hub out myself and ditch the rest of the wheel, then rebuild the hub. I may also simply buy another hub just to have as a spare/source of spare parts/rebuild practice. Anyway, that's all for today. Short, simple entry for a short, simple day.

"Every problem is an opportunity in disguise"

No, it isn't. Sometimes, a problem is just a problem. There's often a way to make a profit of some kind off the problem, but it can be way less than was lost because of the problem.

That being said, today (and it should be noted that I often use "today" to refer to "since I last slept" rather than "during this actual calendar day" as a result of my work schedule), a problem did become an opportunity. I commute largely by bicycle. Part of the shortest, and as a result most common, route includes a drawbridge. Today, on the way to work, it got closed to traffic and raised just as I was approaching it. I had taken other, longer routes before, but always with guidance from a map program. Knowing that my route had just gotten much longer, I turned around and gambled that I knew the route well enough to not waste time taking my cellphone from my pack, mounting it to my handlebars, and plugging in the route. My gamble was successful, and I arrived with just enough time to shower, having had my overall route length increased by 50%. I felt forced into performing, and that too on a day when I started my ride feeling a bit sluggish, but it was an opportunity to excel.

Thank heaven for planning some spare time in for contingencies.

Which got me to thinking; why make the shortest route my common route for going to work? If I'm trying to improve my performance over longer distances (as in 25 miles or more), why not commute in to work over progressively longer distances that don't include such potential obstacles as drawbridges that open on request, rather than any set schedule? I can maintain speeds in excess of 10 mph; I should be able to leave 3 hours before work starts and achieve 25 miles with time left to shower, if I work up to such a distance slowly. And if the drawbridge is raised on the way home, meh. I'm not ruining anyone's day by relieving them late. I can wait for the bridge or go around as I please.

Shifting schedules

I'm going to be working an unusual shift at work this week, so my entry for today is earlier than usual.

Today started very early; around 0330. I'm getting back into my morning routine; supplements, stretching, etc. I'm still hesitant to do full-body weight training until my right shoulder is stronger, but I did manage a 1.7 mile walk carrying my folding bike. Breakfast cleared out some more space in my fridge and freezer; with a bit of luck, once I shift to keto, the only things in my freezer will be the frozen seafood I use as cat treats and the jar containing all my food fermentation cultures in vials. The fridge will be a bit more crowded; large pitcher of water (it is summer, after all), butter and cream for the shakes, the shakes themselves, and probably a few stray condiments like hot sauce and coconut aminos.

It's not so much that I dislike having varied foods available, but A. I want to minimize the temptation to buy and eat foods that will break keto, but even more than that B. I want to see how comfortably I can live with a minimum of fridge and freezer space. I've put an empty cardboard box into the freezer to simply take up space; I'll like add more of them to the freezer and do the same in the fridge. The door won't need any boxes; I'll just takes the trays out and put them in the crisper drawer.

This is partly out of curiosity, but mostly out of an interest into moving into smaller accommodations; a travel trailer, a small RV, a van, that sort of thing. Can I really be reasonably comfortable year-round with a fridge so small it can easily run off of half a solar panel? Maybe. Smaller units are obviously more space-efficient, but they're also cheaper, they take less energy, they're generally superior. If I find I can conform myself to their capacity. And then, for the rare occasions I need more space, I can just use a cooler and a few bags of ice.

Ending hiatus

Wow. So the three weeks of keto went reasonably well; I saw a hit in my athletic performance, but that was expected. Juggling the macros around was a bit of a struggle, as was taking in enough fat. There's only so much butter you can baste a steak with. The week after I stopped was a disaster; my appetite was all over the place, and I felt depressed and listless all the time. That all went away over the next couple of weeks, but the next time I try keto, I need to find a better way to come off of it.

Which brings me to my plans; I'm going to try again. Today is Sunday. During the next week, I will be getting two relevant packages in the mail. One is a trio of 24-ounce nalgene water bottle with wide mouth opening. The other is enough "Keto Chow" brand meal replacement shake powder for a few weeks. I've had a few of their sample packets of different flavors, and they're surprisingly palatable; some might even be called good. Next Sunday, I'll fast for the entire day. That alone should either place me in or at least on the edge of dietary ketosis. The following Monday, I'll start eating keto. I doubt I'll eat only keto chow; I can make any number of meals per day other things, so long as they're keto. But keto chow lets me avoid some of the problems I was having before, in particular the problem of ingesting sufficient fat. I've ordered large bags of two flavors I know are good, each enough for a week, and several smaller individual packets of various flavors. By experimenting with how much and what sort of fat I mix with each, I should get some good mixtures to use.

I've also purchased a pair of raleigh twenty folding bikes (if you shop around, they can be pretty cheap; I got one of them for $40). One is in pretty great shape, and after a few upgrades will become my backup commuting bike. The other is a bit rougher, but still sound. I've stripped a few parts off it, parts that will get replaced, and yesterday I went for a 1.5 mile walk with it folded up on my back. The rationale will be discussed in a future post.