newbie

wishfullthinking79

I started a low carb diet 2 weeks ago. I have lost 10 pounds so far. I am trying to learn the best way to do this. For the first week my diet consisted of fish, turkey and chicken which I love. I felt great. That is when I lost the weight. Then it was recommended to me that I increase my fat consumption. I have been trying to do that. This second week I have felt terrible. I try eating meat like bacon and hamburger meat (I do not typically eat any red meat at all) but I am barely able to eat it. I have been nauseas for days. I had to start drinking gatorade because the water was making it so much worse (I typically drink tons of water). I have been tracking my weight. last monday I weighed 141. Today I weigh 141.4.

Last night I did eat some fish with butter on it and an avocado. Had I not been already feeling bad I think I would of had a better night after that meal. Today is a much better day for me. I did try to eat a boiled egg for breakfast but I could do it. I ate like half. I have drank like anywhere from 8 to 12 cups of water today. Maybe more.

I really need to see a weight loss before I begin to get discouraged.

KnitOrMiss

Okay, first a reality check - then advice for dietary plan.

If you get discouraged after you've already lost 10 pounds, then Ketogenic dietary plan is probably not for you. Ketosis is all about ups and downs and water weight and everything else. Sodium balance, fat burning, all kinds of random craziness, particularly if your body is damaged metabolically or anything. Your body will heal before it will allow you to lose more than carb-retained water. You cannot expect miracles from this plan (or any plan, in all honesty) - nothing is instant, ever. A switch may flip in allowing your body to work FOR itself, but that takes time. Most folks don't even net the same weight losses you've had in 2 weeks as they would in 5-10 weeks... So some mindfulness and reflecting on what you've accomplished before determining how to move forward. Many folks start with a good loss in the first 7-10 days, and then the scale does not move for 4-12 weeks while their system converts over/body repairs damage or inflammation or any manner of madness. Converting the body from burning carbs as fuel to using fats as fuel is a process...and like everything else, takes time. I'm not wanting to discourage you - I promise. I'm just wanting to make sure your expectations match what is realistically possible - that prevents discouragement.


Take measurements and pictures. These will be crucial to keeping up your spirits when the scale doesn't move - because when the scale doesn't move is when inches and such are more likely to drop.


That all being said, there is no "best way." You have to find the best way for you, which may not match up to any other single person on the planet.

Rather than switching away from the meats you love to ones you don't tolerate well, try adding fats to those meals. Add some butter, make a cream sauce. Add a dollup of sour cream or cream cheese. Add avocados. Use nuts in a stir fry... Anything to get those fats up. Mayo on a un-wich, etc. There are literally dozens upon dozens of options for increasing fats.

Also, if you did well the first week, go back to that plan. If you get fatigued, continue to be nauseated, get fuzzy headed, lose your balance, etc., look at your electrolytes. Sip broth.

Another big thing about Keto - if you aren't hungry, don't eat. If you aren't hungry for breakfast, don't eat. Many people do a type of intermittent fasting in where they just eat all their calories in a shorter timeframe. Like some people will eat breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 1 pm, dinner at 6 pm or something.... Others will have breakfast at 2 pm, dinner at 8 pm, and that's all they eat in a day - the rest is water or what have you.

If eggs are hard on you, eat something else. Have your fish for breakfast... When you don't restrict what time of day to eat your foods, it helps. Eat when you are hungry, don't when you're not, and if you are consistently under calories or feel bad, add fats and watch your electrolytes (sodium, magnesium, and potassium - along with water).

Carbs interfere with the absorption in a lot of minerals and nutrients we need, but it's kind of a camouflaged response, so we don't notice the deficiencies as readily as we do on a ketogenic diet, because it's almost like they're uncovered, like a mystery. It may seem like you develop all kinds of issues, but it's far more likely those already existed and are just now "visible" to be able to be managed and treated.


So above all:

1. Do some thinking, make sure you can really commit. Ketosis really starts to hit it's stride for most folks in weeks 4-12.
2. Go back to what worked.
3. Watch your macros and electrolytes.
4. Adjust SLOWLY if needed.
5. Learn to listen to your body again.
6. If you're hungry, eat. If you're not, don't. Whether that means skipping breakfast or having a legitimate 2 am snack, because that's WHEN your body will tolerate it.
7. Look for more calorie dense foods - snacks like nuts and cheese - if you can do dairy - are good to have periodically - and the calories help you get enough nutrition in a day. Add fats to your veggies or proteins.
8. Give any changes a MINIMUM of 4 weeks before you know if they work for you. It takes the body a minimum of 2 weeks to adjust to any changes - and generally another 2 weeks to see legitimate progress from those changes.
9. Don't give up.
10. Remember to cut yourself some slack - if losing weight and getting healthy were easy, no one would have to fight to accomplish those things.

wishfullthinking79

@KnitOrMiss Thank you for all your suggestions. I do realize that I have to be patient with this process. I think the fact that I lost those 10 pounds so quickly set up the expectation that I would continue to lose at that rate. I have an unhealthy addiction to the scale. I think this is probably because I have body image issues. As a teenager into my early 20's I had an eating disorder. I was able to get a handle on it around 21-22 years old. I am now much wiser. Even though I desparately want to lose weight, I also want to be healthy. So I work really hard to fight the temptation to revert back to old behavior. My weight has actually been rally stable with a flucuation of 1 to 3 pounds until my winter break. I gained 15 pounds. I think that it was the result of many factors. It was almost like it just happened over night. I was so uncomfortable. Then when school started back I got a rude awakening. My jeans were not fitting me comfortably at all. I have managed to lose most of it, but I would really like to get down to about 130-135.

On Monday I weighed 141.4. This morning I weighed 143. I have just recently started back at the gym after not going for over 10 months. Today was day 3. When I got home I decided to take your advice and take some measurements. I measured my hips, waist, chest, thigh, and upper arm.

I measure my ph in the morning and the evening. There are times when there is no ketone registered. So I think I am obvious consuming something that is causing me to get kicked out of ketosis.

I do plan on no longer trying to force myself to eat something when I am not hungry. That does make things a lot easier for me. I have not figured out yet if I will be able to consume the necessary calories though. Last night I did a pretty good job I think. I did not reach 1000 calories though. I made some cauliflower rice for the first time. I used olive oil and then some butter. I ate 2.2 ooz of it. It was so good. I also ate about 3.5 oz of meatloaf that was half ground turkey and half ground beef. That was challenging for me. I felt uncomfortably full. This is the first time I have eaten any red meat in like forever. I am not a fan of it at all.

As far as snacking. I did manage to eat some pork cracklins while at my practicum yesterday. It is really rare that I snack on anything though unless I force myself to eat it. I just do not have a big appetite and now that I have decreased the carbs my appetite has decreased even more. I am still craving sweets and there are time that I do miss my cherry coke in the morning but it has been almost 3 weeks since I gave that up.

You know the first week off of carbs I felt amazing. Headaches disappeared. I had more energy and I was sleeping through the night which is unusal for me. The second week when I started trying to add all this extra fat is when I started feeling terrible.

I will continue to work at it. Hopefully I will find my sweet spot soon.