Newbie - Balancing "good fats"/fatty meats & Potassium equation?

wordlarry

I'm a 53 male, new to group.
-Originally, starting 04/2017, I was 80#+ overweight but I've dropped 50# in last 4 months; getting better at this "healthy lifestyle" each month & so now I'm focused on "IF + Keto diet" with three ?'s:

(1) Folks say they eat 1-2 avocados/day for its good fat but that would exceed the 20g carb limit I'm chasing each day; thus I end up taking (drinking) Extra Virgin Olive Oil like its food
**[are liquid oils - EVOO, Flaxseed, Avacado - above 1 tsp. each/day dangerous in & of itself???]

#1b - I'm confused by their comment given my desire for ketosis (maybe I'm focusing on 20 Gross carbs/day and they're looking at 20-50g carbs/day - idk but it's a question I have)?

(2) Who gets 4700 mg. of potassium/day when supplement tabs are typically only 99mg due to concerns RE: over-Potassium risk & non-food supplements have terrible absorption rates typically (what your body can actually use from pill vs. whole food kinda thinking.....), combined with fact that 2 bananas/2 avocados/etc. exceed my 20g/day carb.limit....what to do as I cannot seem to manage both of these objectives (20g carb vs. 4700 mg.potassium) ?

(3) Like my "drinking 2-3 tsp. "liquid fat oil"/day to HIT MY FAT macros. ?, is taking "ONE tsp." of say NO SALT in and of itself "medically safe" if my overall sodium consumption is around 2300 mg/day ?

Can anyone "set me straight" OR provide links & insights for me on these or related issues?

L- Ga.

Alaplum

Larry, congrats on your progress! I'm sure those who have a lot more expertise than I will be around soon. In the mean time, I can direct you to some information that you're looking for.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10057456/so-which-is-it-total-carbs-or-net-carbs.

Some people count total carbs but I count net carbs.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10358179/keto-flu-dizzy-weak-tired-headaches-cramping-muscles-electrolyte-imbalance-may-be-your-problem#latest

I'm not sure if it's possible to get your potassium and magnesium except thru a supplement but perhaps others have ideas for you.

Salt, that's easy, bouillion, or ketoade. There are recipes for ketoade.

camtosh

Hi Larry, congratulations on your progress. Just one thing to consider -- beware of adding too much fat. Basically, stick to 20gr or lower carbs per day (mostly veg carbs so avocado is fine, lots of fiber in that), moderate protein to your body's requirements and fat to satiety. No need to drink olive oil if you are feeling full.
If you are trying to balance out MFP macros, don't worry. Just keep to the 20-carb limit and it should work out.

canadjineh

Yep, just to add that if you want to lose body fat you don't need to add extra fat to your diet. You want to be taking it from your 'on-board pantry.'

cstehansen

If you are losing weight, part of your fat macros is body fat, which it sounds like you are doing quite successfully. Drinking straight EVOO won't kill you, but you shouldn't need to do it. Avoid really lean meat like skinless chicken breast and use oils when cooking any hitting the right macros shouldn't be too hard.

Avocados are fairly high in fiber, so you should be good there. Also, they have more potassium than bananas, so if you were to eat 2 a day you shouldn't need to supplement potassium as I would assume you are getting at least some in other foods.

Using some No Salt as seasoning on food is fine if you want to be sure you are getting enough, but you shouldn't need to take it straight.

Sunny_Bunny_

You get more potassium than you realize. It's not labeled on everything. And you're right to be concerned about over supplementing. My daughter takes prescription potassium because she's chronically deficient and it's only 90 or 99mg. Can't remember.

The fat thing though, just like has already been said, you don't ever need to eat or drink straight fat if bodyfat loss is why you are keto.

kpk54

Potassium will be required on labels by 7/26/2018. We are currently in a transition period and beginning to see it more and more as manufacturers change their labeling.
https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm. It is easy to do a google search for "foods high in potassium" and determine which of those foods you want to include in your long term way of eating. At some point you may include sun-dried tomatoes in your diet. They're loaded with potassium and fit into my current carb limit of 50 or fewer TOTAL per day.

If you're eating a well rounded diet, you're getting more potassium than you think. Leafy greens, mushrooms, avocados, fish, meat, dairy products, etc have potassium. Even the HWC I have in the refrigerator (meets new labeling requirement) indicates 15mg/1Tbsp serving.

Kudos on your weight loss. I'm curious as to your "desire for ketosis" as mentioned in your original post. You do not have to be in ketosis to lose weight though it has served you well!

ETA: potassium will be required on US labels. Don't know about elsewhere.

RAC56

About time they started requiring potassium on the labels. Thanks for that info.

Many of us here count NET carbs so avocados are fine. I try to stay around 20 NET carbs a day, but since I'm in maintenance I'm not as exact as I was before. For NET carbs you take the total carbs and subtract the fiber which equals NET carbs. If you do that with an avocado you'll find that they're easier to have while staying around that 20 net carb mark. Celery works out pretty well when counting net carbs too. Check out labels. For instance, some chia seeds are more carbs than others. The brand I use has 1 carb and 1 fiber which means 0 net carbs.

Don't think that you have to drink a gallon of water a day. If you like water and you want to drink that much, then that's fine, but water will act like a magnet drawing sodium out of your body so make sure you're getting plenty of sodium.

RalfLott

It might be helpful to have a good intro guide to refer to when you're stumped. There are several, but I like Phinney (see video above) & Volek's New Atkins for a New You, which has good explanations, as well as how-to advice and sample meal plans.

swezeytba

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

You get more potassium than you realize. It's not labeled on everything. And you're right to be concerned about over supplementing. My daughter takes prescription potassium because she's chronically deficient and it's only 90 or 99mg. Can't remember.

The fat thing though, just like has already been said, you don't ever need to eat or drink straight fat if bodyfat loss is why you are keto.

This....I am going to have to start adding fat before too long as I have stopped losing weight, but body fat is still dropping off.....Not minding it now, but won't be too long before I need it to stop.....

ladipoet

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

You get more potassium than you realize. It's not labeled on everything. And you're right to be concerned about over supplementing. My daughter takes prescription potassium because she's chronically deficient and it's only 90 or 99mg. Can't remember.

The fat thing though, just like has already been said, you don't ever need to eat or drink straight fat if bodyfat loss is why you are keto.

Yeah, I think this is one of those areas that applies to everybody's body is different and responds differently. Me, for example (sorry my friends...not trying to rock the boat here on purpose). During my weight-loss phase I did make a point of hitting my fat % ratio every single day and even though over the course of 22.5 months I successfully eliminated 167 pounds, hitting those fat % macros every day never appeared to adversely affect me in any way. FWIW, I actually ate MORE fat during my weight-loss phase than I do now in my maintenance phase (shrug).