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Beginning and need some help

marisanne
marisanne Posts: 38 Member
edited November 29 in Social Groups
my husband and I started transitioning to keto on Saturday. I don't really want to track calories just carbs. But I don't want to mess myself up. My calories say I need to be at 1200...I know yesterday I probably ate that much calories of healthy fats..not completely sure because I didn't track everything. I am doing 80 F 15 P 5 C. My grams are very small due to my calories. I have read the tips for keto, but I just want to make sure I am doing this right. I will probably be posting a lot for help

Replies

  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
    1200 seems kinda low to me, not sure though without knowing your other stats. You may find it easier to track calories in the beginning till you get a feel for it. If you don't want to though just keep your carbs in line and that should help keep your calories down since it naturally keeps your appetite low. You will really need to follow appetite cues though so if your hungry eat if your not don't eat, it may take a few weeks for their body to adjust and normalize.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Double check your caloric needs with http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ and make sure you don't have MFP set to 2lbs/week, as that's too aggressive for most people and is usually what results in a 1200 calorie limit.

    Also, check out the Launch Pad. There is a nifty little browser plugin that you can add to your computer to hide the calories, so all you see are the macros. (Sorry, it doesn't apply to the app, so you'll still see calories, there. Nothing I can do about that.)

    Since you've just started, don't worry about your calories for now. Just eat protein and fats (and salt!) until you're satisfied (not stuffed). You might feel "overly" hungry for a time, but it's part of the transition process. Your appetite will level out in a week or two.

    Other than that, feel free to ask questions, that's what we're here for. :)
  • hakamruth
    hakamruth Posts: 124 Member
    I kept my at 1200 calories but I don't pay attention to that figure. I look at the carb, fat, and protein section. I put the goal percentage 5%, 70%, 25% respectively. I am always over the calorie count even more than double the calorie count. As long as I stay within the percentage , keep carb grams low, and eat good fats I am always losing. I keep the MFP's dietary numbers to help see where I may be going off. But more important it is logging in what you eat to see if maybe a type of food maybe throwing you off. For example, for me cheese tend to slow down by weight loss. So I limit the amount of cheese I eat per week. Like the other are saying keep your ques from your appetite and see how your food may be responding to the foods you eat.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    edited February 2016
    Did someone explain the sodium needs? Sorry, I'm just popping in for a second and didn't read the whole thing.
    You'll be losing a lot of water and will need to replace lost sodium that goes with the water.
    Make it a point to stay above 3500mg sodium a day. Can go much higher than that. That's the basic minimum need. This will prevent you from suffering any symptoms related to low sodium and other electrolyte loss. People call it "Keto flu". I hate that because it's not keto's fault. It's 100% preventable but you have to get sodium and you have to understand the importance of electrolytes. Don't waste money on Powerade Zero either. Just eat some pickles, drink some salty chicken/beef broth or boullion. And salt all your foods.
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,436 Member
    Welcome to the group! You've gotten some great advice here! Always ask questions when you aren't sure! A wonderful thing about this group is that there's usually someone around who can provide an answer, or advice! Your questions help others too! Best of luck!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Karlottap wrote: »
    Welcome to the group! You've gotten some great advice here! Always ask questions when you aren't sure! A wonderful thing about this group is that there's usually someone around who can provide an answer, or advice! Your questions help others too! Best of luck!!

    Yes indeedy! I always learn something new when people ask questions. So ask away :lol:
  • hakamruth
    hakamruth Posts: 124 Member
    Just found something to help LCHF to use MFP more efficiently. Going to follow the instructions to see if I stay within my percentage goals better. http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4448/myfitnesspal-hack/
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    hakamruth wrote: »
    Just found something to help LCHF to use MFP more efficiently. Going to follow the instructions to see if I stay within my percentage goals better. http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4448/myfitnesspal-hack/

    That's actually in the Launch Pad. I also created a fork of that script that doesn't require fiber (counts total carbs, instead of net), as well as one that hides the calorie column. :)
  • WhatLouAte
    WhatLouAte Posts: 155 Member
    I have the scripts on, really useful! My calories are hidden and I can see the NET carbs.
  • ruffneck813
    ruffneck813 Posts: 98 Member
    edited February 2016
    Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »
    Did someone explain the sodium needs? Sorry, I'm just popping in for a second and didn't read the whole thing.
    You'll be losing a lot of water and will need to replace lost sodium that goes with the water.
    Make it a point to stay above 3500mg sodium a day.

    How much salt is that in teaspoons? And you say that should be a minimum? Trying to make sure I stay on track since I'm fairly new to the LCHF way of life. I've always eaten lots of salt but don't know if I should increase it even more.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,018 Member
    ruffneck813 wrote: »
    Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »
    Did someone explain the sodium needs? Sorry, I'm just popping in for a second and didn't read the whole thing.
    You'll be losing a lot of water and will need to replace lost sodium that goes with the water.
    Make it a point to stay above 3500mg sodium a day.

    How much salt is that in teaspoons? And you say that should be a minimum? Trying to make sure I stay on track since I'm fairly new to the LCHF way of life. I've always eaten lots of salt but don't know if I should increase it even more.

    1/4 tsp is about 580mg.
    The rec is 3,000mg-5,000mg total sodium intake per day. In the very beginning, aim for the mid to upper range. Over time, your body will become more efficient and you may be able to get by with less.

    Drink salty broth (I add NuSalt to my boullion cube) or make ketoade (water flavor like Mio, salt, NuSalt (potassium salt) multiple times per day.

  • marisanne
    marisanne Posts: 38 Member
    Double check your caloric needs with http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ and make sure you don't have MFP set to 2lbs/week, as that's too aggressive for most people and is usually what results in a 1200 calorie limit

    Thanks so much for this! I did it and it says I should be 1457 calories, 25 g carbs, 68g protein and the rest fat. Does that sound pretty accurate?


  • nzmegs
    nzmegs Posts: 15 Member
    Thats about what mine came up with too. Pretty tricky to get MFP to correlate with that though as they only have either 5% or 10% carbs. I need it to say about 7%. I just adjusted the calories (cause they are not really important anyway) until the macros were as close as possible. Ended up with 1600 cals and fairly close to the keto calculation.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    PeculiarLou wrote: »
    I have the scripts on, really useful! My calories are hidden and I can see the NET carbs.

    I'm curious as to why you'd want your calories hidden @PeculiarLou
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    PeculiarLou wrote: »
    I have the scripts on, really useful! My calories are hidden and I can see the NET carbs.

    I'm curious as to why you'd want your calories hidden @PeculiarLou

    Can't speak for that poster, in particular, but a lot of people want to just track carbs and have no interest in seeing the calories. Some also find that seeing the calories distracts them from their actual goal of monitoring macros.

    I originally wrote that script for the ad libitum challenge we had last year, where the goal was to not pay attention to calories. It allowed people to keep logging and track macros, without having to see calories.
  • ruffneck813
    ruffneck813 Posts: 98 Member
    baconslave wrote: »
    ruffneck813 wrote: »
    Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »
    Did someone explain the sodium needs? Sorry, I'm just popping in for a second and didn't read the whole thing.
    You'll be losing a lot of water and will need to replace lost sodium that goes with the water.
    Make it a point to stay above 3500mg sodium a day.

    How much salt is that in teaspoons? And you say that should be a minimum? Trying to make sure I stay on track since I'm fairly new to the LCHF way of life. I've always eaten lots of salt but don't know if I should increase it even more.

    1/4 tsp is about 580mg.
    The rec is 3,000mg-5,000mg total sodium intake per day. In the very beginning, aim for the mid to upper range. Over time, your body will become more efficient and you may be able to get by with less.

    Drink salty broth (I add NuSalt to my boullion cube) or make ketoade (water flavor like Mio, salt, NuSalt (potassium salt) multiple times per day.

    Thanks!
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