Keto Friends

FireTurtle75

I started off setting the bar high on calories, but I'm at the point where I need to drop it to something more reasonable. I didn't want to give up because I was hungry at the begining, which is something that I was used to on all of my past low fat diet attempts. I'd have to look at my FB to see the actual day I started on Keto, but I definitely have realized I don't need that many calories to stay full between mealtimes. There are things that I still need to cut out & replace with healthier options. Hot dogs for one, but they are so easy. Especially when I just don't feel like making anything. I need to replace about half of the carbs I get with ones from stuff like veggies instead of using those carb allowances as a place to indulge in coffee with lots of cream or a small glass of milk.
Speaking of milk, if you love it & must have it, I found the Fairlife Ultra Filtered milk has half the carbs of regular milk. It's pricey, but I drink & use a lot less milk than I used too, so a carton still lasts me about a week.

lolajustlola

I had a friend who eats keto help with me with my macros. I eat 1469 calories a day and never feel deprived. My struggle is with sweets. I'm trying not to use sugar substitutes and I was super addicted to sugar when I started this diet. I would eat SO much sugar. It's getting easier but I still find myself wanting sweets now and then.

ambersta10

I'm on my 5th day of keto. I'm 5'6" 178 lbs (down from 183, I'm assuming mostly from water weight loss). I've got my calories set at 1440 and macros at 111-130g fat, 90g protein, 20-30g carbs. Everyone keeps saying they are never hungry, but I have been really hungry tonight and last night, less during the day. I've purchased MCT oil and exogenous ketone salts (I've only used the MCT oil so far) and I'm only ever going over in fat. I've been at about 20g of carbs and I keep going over on calories. I guess I'm wondering if I need to change something. I bought ketone test strips and I'm in the optimal ketone zone 2.2 mM. Any tips for me?

ambersta10

@Lolajustlola, I've been making something that tastes similar to chocolate. Cacao nibs (ground in a coffee grinder), butter, stevia, and vanilla (I used vanilla Mct oil), and some cocoa powder. Melt it, mix it, put it in the fridge. The cacao nibs have 1g net carbs. It's all fat, basically. It has a nice flavor. I also found a place called Lincoln's Pantry that sells a flavor thing called keto aid that tastes like hot chocolate, made with Stevia.

lolajustlola

ambersta10 wrote: »

@Lolajustlola, I've been making something that tastes similar to chocolate. Cacao nibs (ground in a coffee grinder), butter, stevia, and vanilla (I used vanilla Mct oil), and some cocoa powder. Melt it, mix it, put it in the fridge. The cacao nibs have 1g net carbs. It's all fat, basically. It has a nice flavor. I also found a place called Lincoln's Pantry that sells a flavor thing called keto aid that tastes like hot chocolate, made with Stevia.

Oh, that's awesome! How much of each ingredient do you use?

lolajustlola

ambersta10 wrote: »

I'm on my 5th day of keto. I'm 5'6" 178 lbs (down from 183, I'm assuming mostly from water weight loss). I've got my calories set at 1440 and macros at 111-130g fat, 90g protein, 20-30g carbs. Everyone keeps saying they are never hungry, but I have been really hungry tonight and last night, less during the day. I've purchased MCT oil and exogenous ketone salts (I've only used the MCT oil so far) and I'm only ever going over in fat. I've been at about 20g of carbs and I keep going over on calories. I guess I'm wondering if I need to change something. I bought ketone test strips and I'm in the optimal ketone zone 2.2 mM. Any tips for me?

What are some of your usual meals? I really new to this but I definitely don't get hungry between meals much. Just wondering what you're eating.

BedsideTableKangaroo

ambersta10 wrote: »

I'm on my 5th day of keto. I'm 5'6" 178 lbs (down from 183, I'm assuming mostly from water weight loss). I've got my calories set at 1440 and macros at 111-130g fat, 90g protein, 20-30g carbs. Everyone keeps saying they are never hungry, but I have been really hungry tonight and last night, less during the day. I've purchased MCT oil and exogenous ketone salts (I've only used the MCT oil so far) and I'm only ever going over in fat. I've been at about 20g of carbs and I keep going over on calories. I guess I'm wondering if I need to change something. I bought ketone test strips and I'm in the optimal ketone zone 2.2 mM. Any tips for me?

i'd read more into exogenous ketones. i've heard they're a waste of money. your body creates ketones while burning fat; exo ketones add nothing to the process.

lolajustlola

Okay, I bought the test strips. How do I know if I'm in the "optimal ketone zone"? Maybe I'm just dumb. Haha

cee134

There is a low carb group that you might find more useful then here in Chit Chat. The group includes people doing Keto.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

BedsideTableKangaroo

lolajustlola wrote: »

Okay, I bought the test strips. How do I know if I'm in the "optimal ketone zone"? Maybe I'm just dumb. Haha

from what i understand, you just want any shade that's not "negative." it's more of just a yes/no answer to if you are in ketosis. i've read that the urine tests are not as reliable as blood tests, but i've always shown some level of positive ketones since a couple of weeks after dropping my carbs.

lolajustlola

Thank you, @BedsideTableKangaroo!

ramskermfc

BedsideTableKangaroo wrote: »

lolajustlola wrote: »

Okay, I bought the test strips. How do I know if I'm in the "optimal ketone zone"? Maybe I'm just dumb. Haha

from what i understand, you just want any shade that's not "negative." it's more of just a yes/no answer to if you are in ketosis. i've read that the urine tests are not as reliable as blood tests, but i've always shown some level of positive ketones since a couple of weeks after dropping my carbs.

I found "ketostix" (either the real ones or the Walgreen's brand) to be "helpful" when I was first getting into Keto and occasionally just as a check. My understanding was basically that you were either in or out--so the color doesn't really make all that much difference in the end. But eventually you become pretty in tune with other signs--the taste you get in your mouth, how you feel generally, etc. And really, if you are keeping your carbs low enough and getting exercise it's not too hard to maintain ketosis.

But the stix can be unreliable--false negatives, false positives, etc. Also . . . they expire--so you can't buy some, open them, and have them around for a few months and expect them to work very well. So I think they are a good tool, especially at the beginning, but you'll probably come to use them less as you move forward.

FireTurtle75

Doing pretty good so far. Last night I even dropped my overall calorie goals by 500 because I didn't really need them. It will help me to be more mindful of what I eat even more.
3 weeks total on keto & I'm down about 15lbs.

Ladycocoa143

FireTurtle75 wrote: »

I'm the chef in the house, but I'm the only one doing keto so figuring out family meals has been rough these first couple of weeks. Are any of you in a similar situation? If so how do you handle meals? So far, I've been making the wife & kids one meal & then making something really simple for myself like a pork chop & an avocado or a cheese omelet, etc.
I've been buying meat in bulk & seasoning then sealing in individual or daily portions for me & then freezing them.

I'm also the chef at home and the only one on keto, usually I make the same foods for my husband and myself, however I will add rice or bread to his portions. Also, I'm starting to go strong with my bulletproof coffee and tea in order to add more fat macros without cooking. I suggest using a blender to help the oils mix into the coffee. Hope this helps, good luck.