Struggling and in need of advice and help

Magic18

*Warning a lot of questions and explanations about my situation hoping others can relate and give me advice

So I have a problem. Due to medical conditions, 30g of carbs are taken up a day from medical use alone. That doesn't leave me very much. Typically to go to 50 net I can eat another 40 or so total carbs.

For those who have used the stick to measure if they are in ketosis, what is the most carbs you can typically eat to reach it? I hate that all my meds take up half my carbs as it makes this so much harder but I'm committed.

Additionally, does anyone ever use their carbs on processed sugar? I have a sweet spot for ice cream I can't get rid of and cannot find ice cream made with stevia. (If you know of any PLEASE let me know!) all other sugar substitutes bother my stomach. The weightwatchers bars are 9g and I only do it as a treat if I'm in the 50s total as I was going for 75 but now that I switched to net and keep lowering of each week there will be no room for it as I want to get my veggies in and a little fruit or whole grains. I just end up almost feeling like withdrawals when I don't get a little something sweet and then late at night I want to snack and it has created a disgusting habit (tmi coming up) where I chew and spit the craving.

Any support could be useful right now from someone who is more experienced. It's great having friends who are just starting out with me but I think I need someone who can help me more. As I said in my other post my nutritionist recommended this and all my weight gain is from medicine as I am typically thin. The weight is coming off double, from the diet and lowering medicine but one medicine I have to stay on low dose (steroids) for life and some may know they are notorious for weight gain. Still I am determined to give this diet a fair chance and once I reach 120 bump up to a low carb diet. I suppose that was another question I had. When you reach a certain weight do you continue this diet or do you move up to low carb?

So sorry for the long post with so many questions and speaking of my difficulties. Anything you can answer or share similar stories would help me so much as I feel so alone in this as it seems that I am going into this with an unfair start.

lodro

I'm not in your situation, but after a few false starts I can safely say that I'm planning to stay on keto for as long as possible. Every time I upped the carbohydrates I ended up in worse shape than before. Not this time though. I'm not in any position to offer advice but if I were in your situation, with the steroids, I'd stay at as low a carb count as possible and leave it there. Why do you feel the need to go "low carb"? Do you miss carb-y foods terribly?

Magic18

I tried low fat I tried low calorie and all those diets failed me so the nutritionist put me on low carb. She wants me to go on ketogenic eventually but we are figuring that out still. Unfortunately as I said meds do take up 30 total carbs and there really is not much fiber in there so Keto is very very hard with 50 net being the lowest I can see and I'm not sure if that could count as Keto. As for your question since starting the diet I so miss carby foods a lot, hence the nasty habit of chewing on them just to get the flavor and spitting it all out (pretty sure that's some sort of eating disorder so I have to be careful not to make a habit)

Since posting I have found a cure to my ice cream problems. I am freezing in little cups my plain whole milk Greek yogurt 1/4 cup and sweeting it with stevia. I can make different flavors like crushing one tiny chunk of dark chocolate (one carb) or adding a tablespoon of chocolate whip cream to make it chocolate ice cream, again low carb. Other options is making it fruit flavor with a couple berries. So thank goodness for that.

I'm also going to get ice pop molds and I have 0 carb flavored teas which I can pour into them for berry or chocolate pops. This should satisfy my sweet tooth more for cold things as I've been just chewing on ice right now. Otherwise I do usually have one fruit a day staying under 10 net carbs and veggies under 10 net carbs as well and that with the yogurt and on occasion nuts is the only carbs I will have in addition to my medicine with the rare gram or two in my meals.

So I've got the hang of it and I net now in the 50s and 60s and I'm losing inches everywhere but I still feel I'm not doing it right and I just can't stop the cravings and I don't know how long it will take to stop, I hope the treats I make will help. I just wish the low calorie diet worked as it always had in the past, not sure why it didn't this time, we dropped me to 800 and nothing and just couldn't go lower safely. So if I want to lose weight the nutritionist said my best and probably only bet will be to become a extreme low carber and I just have to get used to it.

Sorry to hear it didn't work every time you upped it. I was hoping when I reached my goal to be able to stay low carb but up my net to 75 and I would have a much easier time with that.

At least I am in a better headspace today so maybe something is going right.

Well wishing everyone luck here and always happy to make friends so feel free to add me.

lodro

Yeah, but that's why I said: "in my case.." Everyone is different, there's no one size fits all. Why would keto be impossible for you? If you eat sufficient fats and keep protein moderate, there is no reason why you couldn't be in ketosis, even with 50g carbs. You might find that doing that curbs your cravings in a major way. It did for me. If you're losing inches, that's great. As you lose bodyfat, you will also find that your hunger lessens, in addition to appetite suppression through taking in fats.

One thing I always think about very low calorie diets is that they're low carb by design (in absolute grams), but they're also low fat and that's setting up for failure, hunger - wise.

lodro

PS, I bought one of those cheap freezer elements icecream machine and started making my own icecream. Keto of course.

http://www.charliefoundation.org/resources-and-tools/find-recipes-home/desserts-and-sweets/item/718-ice-cream

also, MCT oil.

Magic18

I never knew you could go into ketosis at 50, so that is encouraging. Everyone always says that it is between 20-40g so I thought that was the magic number and higher was considered a low carb diet. I am still learning the differerences and how to know if I'm on a Keto diet vs a low carb diet. Despite all the reading I still can't figure it out and how to tell, especially since I'm doing net carbs. One day I'll invest into an ice cream maker

McShorty7

The more you cater to your sweet tooth the more you will crave sweets, fruits and sugar alternatives included. It's fantastic that you've found alternatives and they sound really tasty. It will take time to find out what is best for you -you just have to find the time to "tune in to yourself", listen to your body and try not to compare yourself too much others.

mariannedelanywright

I have been following the keto diet for about a month. I have noticed that as I have increased the fat in my diet, I've lost my insatiable hunger and my sweet tooth cravings. I have made different fat bombs and enjoy my new "sweet treats" when I have a hankering for one.
Before I started the keto plan, my mind was constantly on my next meal, or what was in the fridge or freezer that I could get into. I felt like I was held hostage by cravings and my strong appetite. I have been set free since following the keto plan. I think limiting the carbs and upping my fat has made a world of difference for me. I actually stop eating after a "meal", which in the past could go on for hours. Gone are the hours wasted on thinking about food.
There is so much information out there on MFP, YouTube and the Library, internet, etc. on the Keto (and other) diets that you can research. I'm so glad I found out about the keto diet, I think its the way of life for me. Now if only my body would shrink while I sleep!

Magic18

McShorty7 wrote: »

The more you cater to your sweet tooth the more you will crave sweets, fruits and sugar alternatives included. It's fantastic that you've found alternatives and they sound really tasty. It will take time to find out what is best for you -you just have to find the time to "tune in to yourself", listen to your body and try not to compare yourself too much others.

I bought ice pop molds and now just made a bunch of 3 ounce plain Greek yogurt pops all different flavors using blueberries dark chocolate chips pecans and different goodies. Looking forward to dessert tonight. I don't think I'll get rid of the sweet tooth so it's best to feed it with healthy options.

Magic18

mariannedelanywright wrote: »

I have been following the keto diet for about a month. I have noticed that as I have increased the fat in my diet, I've lost my insatiable hunger and my sweet tooth cravings. I have made different fat bombs and enjoy my new "sweet treats" when I have a hankering for one.
Before I started the keto plan, my mind was constantly on my next meal, or what was in the fridge or freezer that I could get into. I felt like I was held hostage by cravings and my strong appetite. I have been set free since following the keto plan. I think limiting the carbs and upping my fat has made a world of difference for me. I actually stop eating after a "meal", which in the past could go on for hours. Gone are the hours wasted on thinking about food.
There is so much information out there on MFP, YouTube and the Library, internet, etc. on the Keto (and other) diets that you can research. I'm so glad I found out about the keto diet, I think its the way of life for me. Now if only my body would shrink while I sleep!

Thanks for sharing! Appetite is one place I am blessed. I am never really hungry, it's just the sweet tooth craving but a little bit goes a long way for me, however I didn't want to start with processed sugars. I actually struggled my first few weeks on low carb because I was only making 700 calories a day and my energy was becoming drained. I had to learned some high calorie snacks and foods to incorporate into my day, but most days I'm happy to just make around 1200 which was the lowest the nutritionist recommend for me. I'm used to a 1000 calorie diet and it's amazing how those 200 more is hard to adjust to but my body really struggled (probably because I didn't hit 1000 a lot of days...)

I'm so glad everything works for you now. I'm doing better so I hope it continues to get better each day for me as well. I have been researching as much as I can and that helps a lot too. Best of luck to you and everyone else!

lodro

When I started out and I was hungry I would take a few teaspoons of MCT oil. Just to have the calories in, cause satiety and keep the carb levels down. Are you eating sufficient fats? In my initial phase I didn't worry too much about calories, but I did track my macros very carefully and I used ketosticks for feedback on whether I was excreting ketones.