I feel SO bad. ๐
Please consider this my formal and sincere apology.
I normally donโt make mistakes like this, and I feel awful about posting a great low carb dinner idea that I know others chose to eat after I shared itโฆ knowing what I know NOW. ๐ฅ
I know better than this too. ๐
So here goesโฆ
Iโve been super focused on testing certain foods and improving my ketone levels to see what impact that had on both my weight loss and how I feel.
My tests were successful: ketone levels improved dramatically, and I even saw a 2.2 pound loss โ a โwhooshโ as we call it, after the scales not budging for weeks.
This is the Keto Mojo Testing Meter and that link will get you 15% off the kit for glucose/ketone testing.
Nutritional Ketosis is important to my low carb lifestyle.
There are various ways to eat low carb, but for me personally being in ketosis is KEY to maintaining an active feel-good lifestyle.
Even at my lowest weight (too low for me personally) I continued eating โketoโ to maintain nutritional ketosis, specifically to stay out of chronic pain.
Prior to going low carb I suffered terribly with chronic back pain, sciatica and at one point my doctor wanted to diagnose me with fibromyalgia (I refused).
I was on pain medication, did chiropractic and electronic and massage therapy up to 3 times a week (expensive!!), etc.
Once I went low carb, and got and stayed in ketosis specifically, my pain all but went away! I water skied for the first time in 23 years, I started hiking and rock climbing and dancing in high heels even! ๐
See this video: Nutritional Ketosis by Dr. Stephen Phinney to learn more.
Just so you understand WHY this is such a big deal to me, and the reason I do such DETAILED testing on the keto products I recommend to you.
Rewind back to Tuesdayโฆ
I was craving โjunk foodโ on Tuesday night and had a favorite show to catch up on, so it seemed like a perfect time to have a pizza night! ๐
I called up Dominoโs and ordered a medium pepperoni pizza with extra cheese on a thin crust with no sauce โ and simply peeled the toppings off and enjoyed them.
Yummy! ๐
I also ordered plain bone-in wings, well done (extra crispy):
Oddly enough I didnโt have that much of an appetite by the time the pizza arrived. I think I got busy or distracted or something, and ended up having one serving of the Pizza toppings and putting the rest of the pizza (and the wings) away to enjoy the next day.
The pizza toppings are fine, btwโฆ
Dominoโs publishes their nutrition facts and they have a nutrition calculator on their site, so it takes a little mathโฆ but first you use the PDF nutrition facts so you can subtract the crust (20 net carbs) and the sauce (2 net carbs) PER SERVING (the way I ordered mine) based on their nutrition facts.
Then you go to their nutrition calculator and put in what you ordered (the crust and sauce will be included by default). Mine came to 26 net carbs โ then I subtract the 22 net carbs for the โno sauce pleaseโ and the crust I didnโt eatโฆ which comes to 4 net carbs for 1/4 of the pizza.
At this point you may think Iโm โKETO OCDโ lol, butโฆ youโll see why!
I didnโt actually eat the wings until LATE the next nightโฆ
My ketone levels were strong before and after eating the serving of pizza toppings, btw:
So it was late Wednesday night when I finally crisped up the wings in the oven and sat down to enjoy them. And they were delicious. ๐
But then Thursday I felt OFF.
My back was hurting, I was aching all over, I was craving things I normally donโtโฆ
I tested my ketone levels and discovered I was OUT of ketosis! ๐ณ
Anything 0.5 or above is IN ketosis. Below 0.5 is NOT in ketosis. Learn more hereโฆ
I generally look EVERYTHING up.
Er, see my complicated pizza math above lol.
But chicken is just chicken โ right?!
Thatโs the only other โuntestedโ thing Iโd eaten, so I headed straight to the Dominoโs website and did exactly what I should have done in the first place.
I ABOUT FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR! ๐ฏ
Not only is an order of 8 bone-in plain (no sauce) wings 14 carbs, look at the INGREDIENTS:
holy-freaking-paragraph-of-ingredients! ๐ณ
FOURTEEN carbs for 8 little plain chicken wings!
Not so plain after all, are they? ๐
If you are just eating low carb and not concerned about nutritional ketosis, you should still be aware of the ingredients โ just in case one of them affects you, or you have a weird reaction to it.
And just because itโs good to know exactly what youโre eating!
Iโm not an ingredient snob by any means, but this was SHOCKING. I honestly thought I was just eating plain chicken. As in ZERO CARBS โplain ass chicken.โ Seriously.
Your blood ketone levels respond slower than your blood glucose levels, but I kept an eye on this out of curiosity. My ketone levels continued to drop throughout the day.
By 5pm the day after I ate the wings (about 4 1/2 hours after my last test), my ketone levels were even lower:
And by the next day, lower still!
This was Friday around noon:
Almost 8 hours later, Friday night at 7:47pm to be exact:
I continued eating super low carb, only ketone-tested foods, to see just how fast I could get my body back into ketosis.
In fact Friday night I skipped dinner altogether and just had a fat bomb packet.
I checked again on Saturday morning at 6:30am:
I was FINALLY back in Ketosis by 2:30pm Saturday (today).
It took me 3 days to get back into ketosis, or around 63 hours.
That was sixty three hours of chronic pain for me, plus bloating and cravings and energy tanking lowsโฆ all over 8 little โnaked wingsโ โ that are FULL of invisible ingredients!
I feel SO awful if anyone else ordered and ate these. ๐
I had NO idea.
Iโm truly sorry for not looking these up before I ordered them, and for sure before I shared them on Instagram and Facebook and other places around the web.
Especially since Iโm the one always saying you should look things up!
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Normally when I get knocked out of ketosis like this, I find it to be a great opportunity to go have sushi (or worse, lol) but I decided to use this as a test to see how FAST my body would get back into ketosis this time.
There were A LOT of eggs, and there was A LOT of finger pricking this week. ๐
I fought the cravings, and the usual tendency to just go ahead and enjoy something high carb โ since I was out of ketosis anyway. I mean, if you ARE going to eat something crappy, thatโs the best time to do it โ right?!
I know me though, and I know that could lead to me going totally off the rails, so I did what I always recommend to you:
I ate super clean and super low carb and got RIGHT back in ketosis!
I have overcome WAY too many food addictions and eating disorders over the years to let some โpoison chickenโ derail me. ๐
On the topicโฆ weโre discussing food problems on Facebook right now:
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To learn more about Ketone Levels and how to improve them, see:
4 Ways to Improve Your Ketone Levels for Optimal Weight Loss
The blood glucose & ketone testing kit I use is by Keto Mojo, and they were kind enough to set us up with a 15% discount on those:
Get 15% off the Keto Mojo Ketone Testing Meter
Without that meter, I never would have figured out this culprit โ and discovered what all (!!) they were putting in those poor little chicken wings.
Againโฆ my apologies.
Iโm sincerely sorry for the misleading post about what I thought was a keto-friendly delivery option. I feel AWFUL for not looking it up first before sharing it โ and definitely before eating it. Ugh.
Iโm going to go crawl in my box of shame and close the lid now. ๐
I hope this saves you from the same experience I had.
And maybe nutritional ketosis is not a goal for you, which is fine! But at least now you know what youโre eating โ and that those 8 wings are 14 carbs.
I honestly thought they were just skin-on, bone-in, plain old zero carb chicken wingsโฆ and Iโm sure Iโm not the only one that thought that!
It pays to look things up before you order them.
(Why did I not take my own advice?! Argh! lol)
*sigh*
Iโm happy to be back in ketosis. Part of me wishes Iโd gone out for sushi and donuts. Ha! But I have GOALS and I also have a responsibility to you to do the testing and see it through properlyโฆ
Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler
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Discount Code: LOWCARBTRAVELER
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Hi, Lynn. I wanted to ask when I saw your original post with the wingsโฆwhy no buffalo sauce? Just a taste prefernce, too much sodium, not clean enough??? We oven bake crispy wings at home often and use a sauce with 1 carb. Am I missing something I should be concerned about? By the way, stop beating yoursef up over the dominos recommendation. Your humble honesty is so aporeciated and Itโs a good reminder to always look up ingredients for meals we dont personally prepare. The garlic green beans you talked about from Applebees was anither good example. I never would have guessed and ate them several times before that.
Lynn..you are a great, amazing, wonderful, beautiful, talented, encouraging person. You do so much for the low carb community.
You provide so much free and valuable information to the Keto Community. But with that being said Lynn, itโs ultimately up to us to do our own research.
I know you might feel different but I do not feel you owe an apology.
I still love and respect you so very much. Please donโt be so hard on yourself.
Iโm proud of how well you handled being out of Ketosis.
Fan, admirer, friend for life!!!!
I agree with all of the above. You are awesomeโand we all make mistakes on this keto journey!
PS โCan you do anything about ChocZero??? Really wanted to make keto candy this year with the dipping cups and they are usually out of almost everything!
I spoke with the choczero people yesterday and they told me they wont be producing white chocolate anymore because theu use the same machine to make white chocolate and milk chocolate and they sell ,much more milk chocolate. I cant find any of the above.
Iโm really bummed about the dipping cups going away too, Liz. I canโt imagine they didnโt sell well! I really hope they bring them back at some pointโฆ ๐
Hi Lynn!
Donโt sweat it my friend. I agree with the others. We all make mistakes but the key is to share and learn from them. Keep calm and keto on!
Maybe your punishment is to go for a long hike ๐
Happy Holidays!
Nicole
I actually LOVE the work that I do and totally geek out over food science. ๐ What I feel bad about is recommending it publicly before looking it up.
For some people, nutritional ketosis is key to their health and well being. I suffered only pain and inflammation over it, but for someone with a worse case than mineโฆ I feel awful. There are people, even children, that use nutritional ketosis to control epilepsy for example. Or the diabetics following along.
But like I said in my original post, if nutritional ketosis is not an issue for you, no big deal.
By the time I figured out what happened, especially since I didnโt eat them for another 24 hours, dozens of people told me they ordered them for dinner that night. And thatโs just the people that took the time to reply, of around half a million.
I should have looked them up first like I normally do, and thatโs what I feel awful about: recommending something blindly that could affect even one personโs health in such a negative way.
Iโm thinking epileptic adults that are commuting to work the next morning, diabetic children, *shudder* โฆ Thatโs what bothered me most about it. Iโm used to my own body being a test subject. :p
Your heart is definitely in the right place Lynn as it always is. I understand your concerns and they are valid. I just wanted to show you support dear. Always and forever.
Oh dear. Who would of thunk it? tiny little chicken wings? and why do they cost so much? hmmm. Iโm sorry you had to experience the side effects. Thank you for letting us know. I do have a question. Iโve heard of testing your ketones but donโt understand if they are supposed to be high or low. and that the blood test is the best to use. What should your ketones be when you are in ketosis?
Hi Tamara,
I know, right? ๐
You definitely want to do blood ketone testing to see what your ketone production is IN your body. They make urine strips too, but those only test the ketones your body is discarding โ not the ketones your body is producing and using.
Anything 0.5 or higher means IN ketosis. Anything under 0.5 means you are not in ketosis. I didnโt really understand all of the details so I did a lot of research on it and shared that here: https://www.travelinglowcarb.com/22335/how-to-improve-ketone-levels/
The glucose/ketone testing kit I use is by Keto Mojo, and it comes with everything in the kit. They were kind enough to set us up with a 15% discount on those. Itโs coded into my affiliate link: https://keto-mojo.com/discount/nji98uhbvgy76tfc?rfsn=1556350.98e0df&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=1556350.98e0df if you want to check it out โ or watch the videos on their site. Their videos are very helpful!
Weโve all done the same, Iโm sure. I had a similar experience with an omelette from IHOP. Found out later they added PANCAKE BATTER to their omelettes!!! Why, God only knows โฆ to make them irresistible and fluffier I guess. When I learned this, I mentioned it to the server the next visit, but never felt like she totally understood me and didnโt trust that they didnโt add the pancake batter so didnโt eat anything except bacon. Iโve had a crappy year but Iโm fighting to get my mojo back. Thanks for the group โฆ it helped me lose 100#, of which Iโve now gained back 43# over the past year from not being strict due to stress (just an excuse) in my life. I do know you really have to live it and not take shortcuts. Iโm back on the road to losing, but itโs a daily struggle. I feel like crap when I eat off-plan foods. Iโm ready to feel good all the time like I did when I was in ketosis every day. Your โapologyโ isnโt necessary โฆ you provide so much help to so many people and we all make mistakes. But, on the upside, your words have inspired me once again not to give into temptations just because Iโm not in ketosis because of a bad choice. I will push forward and get back into ketosis and not continue using my failure as an excuse to continue failing. โThere are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.โโColin Powell
Oh gosh yes, I only get fried eggs when I eat at restaurants. You never know WHAT they put in eggs otherwise. ๐ See: https://www.travelinglowcarb.com/20998/ihop-low-carb-menu/ ๐
I had a tough year too so I get it. The key is to not add any MORE stress to your life with weight gain, dieting, โstrugglingโ, feeling bad about it, etc. I find itโs just a downward spiral if I allow myself to do that.
In the hardest times, it feels GOOD to have at least one point of control and also to be in your best health and mental mindset โ to power through those times. Feeling disappointed or disgusted with yourself is not a great place from which to deal with all the other things life can throw at us. ๐
I feel STRONGER and more capable of dealing with things when I am myself at least in control. Even when I canโt control all the chaos around me.
That sucks and unfortunately itโs not even surprising to me! I did this to my husband one time by accident. We ordered from a small local pizza place and I spontaneously added on an order of wings for him. I asked if they were breaded when placing the order and I was told they werenโt. When they arrived, they did not look breaded, so I thought they were โnakedโ wings. Later that night, my husband complained about having horrendous heartburn, which he had not had since going low carb. The next day, his back was killing him, and his energy levels were really low (and still had heartburn!). I knew immediately that those wings must have been dredged in flour or something before being cooked. We all make mistakes, and sometimes we trust too much. Now I ask a lot more questions, or look it up online ahead of time if possible. The good thing about being knocked out of ketosis is that we know how to quickly and easily get right back in and continue on like nothing happened. Our bodies are resilient , if nothing else!
Girl, do not beat yourself up over this!! It was an honest mistake. Who knew itty bitty little chicken wings could have so much junk on them? Seriously, restaurants are ruining our health! Thank you for your blogs โ you have been sooooo helpful and I look forward to your e-mails!
I LOVE all of your posts! I canโt wait until the end of the week to read your posts! You have helped me so much I have lost 59 pounds in 3 1/2 months ! Every single thing that I eat I follow your posts. For a 52 year old female it is literally melting off of me!
Thank you, Heidi โ and WOW, congrats! And kudos for taking control of your health and goals and seeing such great success as a result. ๐ ๐
You are so kind to update us on this. You touch a lot of lives and I for one appreciate the time you spend helping the rest of us on this journey to become healthy and slimmer. Thank you so much for all the help youโve given me over the years.
I too had similar experiences with โHidden Extrasโ in what I thought was โNaked Meatโ. There is a BBQ place I frequented (note past tense), and I always ordered their ribs and brisket with no sauce. I could never figure out what was up with feeling awful after just eating a normal portion of meat for dinner/lunch. Hereโs the rub, literally, I asked the manager how they prep their meats, he explained that the brine and use a rub. Well, I know the brine is salt, water and some sugar and spicesโฆ not enough to get upset about. The problem was the rub. They used Brown Sugar, White Sugar and crushed rice in their rub! You donโt taste the sweetness, due to the other spices and vinegar mopping, but it was in there. I go to a different place now. They use salt, pepper, and fire. Thatโs it!
LOVE YOUR COLUMNS!
Wow! Yeah, itโs really tough when youโre eating at local places or non-chains that donโt publish their nutrition facts because you never really know unless you ask, and sometimes even if you DO ask. ๐
Good catch!
Well itโs as I suspectedโฆ I read dominoes ingredients list. All of their hot wings, even the plain wings had this crazy list of stuff!! I thought, that canโt be keto friendly. So I googled. And I ended up here thanks for posting this so I wonโt be ordering them