LCHF help with calories...

kiwiapplepear

Totall newbie-5 ft 7" 103kgs looking to loose 30kgs -I am day 4 into LCHF aiming to get my carbs less than 20, its a real head spin really just how much fat I need to eat but I am going to go of of my calorie range of 1200 today I can see... I didn't realise Banana was such a no no until yesterday... I would love it if somebody could please look at my food diary for today and tell me an example of a good dinner... this is hard without guidance even when you read all the right things. I lack confidence but I am also extremely tired whcih is effecting my judgement- I am ususally a coffee drinker but cutting down as I dont think it has done my adreanals any good, but I need to start my day with a coffee... I am menstruating so prob the hardest time to begin this... should my calories be higher? I am quite big with 30kgs pounds to loose, my diet has been really awful combined with a stressful abusively relationship, I have dropped that rubbish out of my life, I am settled now in a new fabulous home without the toxic relationship and my stress levels have been waaayy better, hoping that LCHF will heal my hormones etc. I am 39 years old, I have not always been so awful with my weight/health/eating I know how to do it "right" in terms of traditional plans, I lost 12kgs here last year but then packed it on plus some due to stress etc.. .. this is the first time I have tried to be keto... any way thank you for any advice I will make my last few days of my food diary public...
Thank you - and what should I aim for my macros to be? sorry I have read the launch pad... but still not clear... many thanks

nvmomketo

My first piece of advice would be to join the Low Carber Daily MFP group. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group The people there really know their stuff and will be supportive of trying a very low carb diet, if that is your wish.

I'm 5'8" and started out at about 190lbs. I wanted to lose 40lbs so I set my deficit for about 1 lbs lost per week. About 1420 kcal per day although I ate 1500kcal instead. With that I lost 2-3 lbs per week for 3 months and then my losses slowed to less than 10lbs per month. Based on my personal experiences, I think your deficit of 1200 kcal is lower than what you need it to be. You could probably set your goal to somewhere between 1400 and 1900 and still lose well..

Have you tried a macronutrient calculator? These are pretty good:
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/

Since you are aiming for ketogenic levels of carbs, it is generally easiest to avoid most fruits. a very LCHF diet consists mainly of meat, veggies, seafood, nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, eggs, and full fat dairy (cheese, whipping cream) and some low GI fruits (berries) once in a while. Tropical fruits (bananas, mangos) and foods made from grains (oats, rice, corn, wheat and flours) are all high carb and should probably be skipped if you wish to keep carbs low.

If you want ketogenic macros, you'll want 5-10% carbs (under 50g), moderate protein of about 15-25% although some people go higher, and high fat of over 60%. If you simply want to be low carb, keep your macros under 150g, which is usually under 30%, and then decrease fats a bit.

And don't forget the extra sodium. When people start LCHF diets they will lose water weight and electrolytes with that. Ketogenic dieters find the need to consume 3000-5000 mg of sodium per day. That's 1-2 teaspoons! Drink broth, use salt tablets or drink salt water to help meet that goal. If electrolytes are low, the symptoms are fatigue, brain fog, headaches, nausea, muscle aches and spasms.

Good luck!

kiwiapplepear

Thank you so much for taking the time to write, you totally explained everything I was thinking. re the higher cals.
and I had read about the salt but didn't realise 1-2tsp I have just been salting my food ... explains the extreme tiredness... although its not mental fog, my thinking feels very clear, which is a immediate improvement from where I was 5 days ago... thanks I am excited its quite a interesting experiment... and has got me excited about food again! bless you!

CharlieBeansmomTracey

you can still have coffee on keto you just would have to use a sweetener or avoid sugar and use creamers,cream,etc. I dont see where it would cause issues with your adrenal glands

nvmomketo

kiwiapplepear wrote: »

Thank you so much for taking the time to write, you totally explained everything I was thinking. re the higher cals.
and I had read about the salt but didn't realise 1-2tsp I have just been salting my food ... explains the extreme tiredness... although its not mental fog, my thinking feels very clear, which is a immediate improvement from where I was 5 days ago... thanks I am excited its quite a interesting experiment... and has got me excited about food again! bless you!

No problem. Do join the LCD group though. They are a very helpful bunch.