Need Advice on Calories for Keto diet

anneandyanderson

I'm moderately active so I set my calorie goal to 1400, but I struggle to eat 1000 a day. I'm not very hungry and I do have to contend with food sensitivity.

It wasn't as bad before the Keto Diet, but now it's increasingly hard to make it to or past 800 calories.

I can't eat eggs or soft cheeses because of a digestive issue. But between my breakfast lunch dinner and snacking I barely manage to keep my calorie intake anywhere near acceptable by the apps. I found my self searching out high calorie snacks just to push myself to the 1000 point. I am forcing myself to eat and it's making me miserable.

I snack on berries and almonds and cold cuts and hard cheeses like aged gouda. I eat full meals coming away "stuffed" but now I am at a loss of what to do. I don't want to keep constantly snacking when I am not hungry just to get my calorie intake.

Any one else having this issue, any advice?

livingleanlivingclean

Eat foods that enable you to eat more.

You didn't become overweight by eating too little, so at some point you have consistently eaten more food. Include those foods in moderation.

Also check your logging. 800 cals of food is minimal, especially if you're doing keto and eating a high percentage of fat. I can't comprehend how you'd feel "stuffed" on that little food.

Christine_72

Before trying to fit in more food, be sure that your calorie counting is accurate. Are you using a food scale? Are you choosing accurate data base entries?

If you're snacking on cheese, nuts and cold cuts on top of regular meals then i don't understand how you could not be getting significant calories.. Cheese and nuts are HUGE calorie bombs.

SLLeask

I would advise you to stop doing keto. Any "diet" is hard to do with sensitivities. Don't over complicate or think you can only lose weight by following some plan. Just plug your stats into MFP, weigh, measure accurately and eat things that don't cause you problems until you reach your calorie goal for the day. Plan / pre-log for the day if it helps. Good luck.

sijomial

anneandyanderson wrote: »

It wasn't as bad before the Keto Diet, but now it's increasingly hard to make it to or past 800 calories.
I found my self searching out high calorie snacks just to push myself to the 1000 point. I am forcing myself to eat and it's making me miserable.

If these two statements are accurate then keto isn't the right diet for you.


But....

I eat full meals coming away "stuffed"

Sorry but full meals plus snacking doesn't gel with only eating 800 - 1000 calories.

Are you losing weight at a very rapid rate?
If you aren't then would suspect you aren't logging accurately.
Nuts and cheese have huge amounts of calories - I could easily add 1000 calories to my normal diet just snacking.

Would be a good idea to open your diary if you want advice.

anneandyanderson

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

Eat foods that enable you to eat more.

You didn't become overweight by eating too little, so at some point you have consistently eaten more food. Include those foods in moderation.

Also check your logging. 800 cals of food is minimal, especially if you're doing keto and eating a high percentage of fat. I can't comprehend how you'd feel "stuffed" on that little food.

I do not have a scale. I scan the barcode and measure everything. I've always ate small amounts. Such as 1/4 bowl of cold cereal and milk before the Keto Diet. I also can't eat full servings, like blue berries. I cannot eat more than 1/4 cup.

I had rapid weight gain (40lbs in 2 months) when I started a long term medicine in high school. I was diagnosed with SLE and a blood clotting disorder. I've never gone over 210lbs but since then I have never been below 160. It's been a constant battle.

I will look into investing in a food scale. Thank you for the advice. I never considered getting one.

anneandyanderson

sijomial wrote: »

anneandyanderson wrote: »

It wasn't as bad before the Keto Diet, but now it's increasingly hard to make it to or past 800 calories.
I found my self searching out high calorie snacks just to push myself to the 1000 point. I am forcing myself to eat and it's making me miserable.

If these two statements are accurate then keto isn't the right diet for you.


But....

I eat full meals coming away "stuffed"

Sorry but full meals plus snacking doesn't gel with only eating 800 - 1000 calories.

Are you losing weight at a very rapid rate?
If you aren't then would suspect you aren't logging accurately.
Nuts and cheese have huge amounts of calories - I could easily add 1000 calories to my normal diet just snacking.

Would be a good idea to open your diary if you want advice.

I actually am. Since I started a little under two weeks ago, I have lost 7lbs. I feel I am fairly inactive since I work a call center job and sit at a desk 8-10hrs a day. But I do walk a lot especially since I don't drive. So my doctor told me to keep my Calories at 1440 for activity.

I don't eat full servings and I rarely eat at or over servings. Breakfast for me is a 12oz glass of unsweetened Almond milk, 1/4 cup of blueberries, 2 slices of uncured bacon and I am full. For a snack I might make a kale smoothie with mango, but it's water based. And a full glass will leave me full.

I think as Christen stated, I might need to start weighing my food as I may be incorrectly count calories.

anneandyanderson

SLLeask wrote: »

I would advise you to stop doing keto. Any "diet" is hard to do with sensitivities. Don't over complicate or think you can only lose weight by following some plan. Just plug your stats into MFP, weigh, measure accurately and eat things that don't cause you problems until you reach your calorie goal for the day. Plan / pre-log for the day if it helps. Good luck.

My doctor put me on it to try and lower my inflammation levels. Until the doctor says otherwise I will follow the diet.

livingleanlivingclean

anneandyanderson wrote: »

SLLeask wrote: »

I would advise you to stop doing keto. Any "diet" is hard to do with sensitivities. Don't over complicate or think you can only lose weight by following some plan. Just plug your stats into MFP, weigh, measure accurately and eat things that don't cause you problems until you reach your calorie goal for the day. Plan / pre-log for the day if it helps. Good luck.

My doctor put me on it to try and lower my inflammation levels. Until the doctor says otherwise I will follow the diet.

Dr's know little to nothing about nutrition and diet. The meals you've mentioned sound nothing like meals someone on keto would eat.... How are you determining what to eat?

spacecase76

To me, your diet doesn't sound keto. Most keto plans that I'm aware of don't allow snacking. They push for three meals a day with your macros divided by 3. Berries and fruit are not on any keto-approved diet I've ever seen because of carbs and sugar.

I recommend getting back to basics and reworking your diet. My husband and I have been keto for a while now. We eat bacon, sausage, steak, different types of "roasts" (including brisket), fish / shrimp, leafy green veggies (and cauliflower), butter, mayo (watch for added sugar), and cheese. Probably 70% of our calories come from meat. We do IF. We actually don't do many eggs. It would be easy to skip the cheese.

Right now it sounds like you're losing weight because of calorie restriction, not due to being in ketosis. Be sure to get a scale. You'll find that the weight of food usually doesn't line up with the measurement of food exactly.

Good luck!

nvmomketo

I follow keto for insulin resistance and to treat some autoimmune issues. ITP is one of mine.

If you drink coffee or tea, a quick way to add calories is with coconut oil, cream or butter, and protein powder. I like a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil, a couple drops of stevia, and a teaspoon of protein powder in my cofee. I use a travel mug so I just shake it to mix it. If you add larger amounts, you could easily add a few hundred calories per drink.

I agree with getting a food scale. That can tell you a lot.

Measuring out nuts and leaving them out to graze on may help you get in more calories too.

Another thing to consider is that a drop in appetite early in the keto diet is quite common. If it only lasts a week or so for you, I would not worry about it. It will change eventually, although some find it isn't until they approach a weight closer to their goal.

anneandyanderson

Now. I try to respond to everyone who's asking for more information because they genuinely want to give me advice on the issue I am asking. And some have come up with excellent ideas that I never considered. Yes, stereotypes will perpetuate. Assumption for weight loss being the goal is the most common. That I am "fat" because all I did was pig out and eat unhealthy foods is the next most common. Thats to be expected and frankly it typically falls on deaf ears, or in the case, blind eyes. I wish I could edit this in my original post, but I don't know how. So I have to settle for posting here. After this. I will take the excellent advice of some and if I see an improvement I will definitely come back to thank those with the advice.

That being said. There was a particular respondent or two who concerned me. This is the Internet, I understand that by posting and asking complete strangers advice. Sometimes the feedback has to be taken with a massive grain of salt, but when you tell a stranger that doctor's know nothing of nutrition, that they know nothing of diets. Well this is foolhardy at best and down right dangerous. You do not know of my medical background. I did not post anything of my medical background because I found it irrelevant to the calorie question at hand. I did add information of diet discrepancies so to show where some difference between traditional Keto type diets and mine were. Because it affects the calorie count. If you were in the medical or even the nutritional industry you would not be so hasty to make these types of comments without asking for more information. Then the fact that there are those who liked and found those types of comments to be insightful was even more disturbing.

You literally just informed someone with life threatening conditions that their doctors do not know what's best for them. Without any knowledge or know hows of how my doctor came to the conclusion that a Keto type diet may work for me. Thankfully this doesn't affect me negatively, but it perpetuates a distrust of doctors and dangerous stereotypes.

So let me inform you and enlighten just how dangerous your uninformed dietary opinion is.

1. I have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The good news. This illness, if managed correctly, is no longer a death sentence. Thanks to those Doctors "who know nothing about nutrition" I can now live a semi-normal lifestyle with service dog and walking cane included.
2. Because of SLE I have a secondary condition that causes blood clots. I have an MRI with contrast scheduled annually to check for aneurysms and I have to watch out for "Thunderclap" headaches. I also have to avoid exersional headaches and heat strokes.
3. I have cluster headaches. I am the 2nd woman in my family to be diagnosed with them. Due to this I have to avoid known triggers such as added sodium nitrates and high sodium levels. I haven't touched processed grocery foods since I was 13. Oh that's when I was diagnosed.
4. My SLE affects my nervous system and musculoskeletal system. Which means that I suffer from phrephial neuropathy (probably misspelled that. Auto correct doesn't like medical terms much). This affects how I cook and prepare foods sometimes.
5. I've had my gallbladder removed. This means I am lower on my fat intake than most traditional Keto type diets.
6. Over the years I have progressively developed food sensitivities. I cannot drink dairy milk without having adverse breathing issues. Nor can I eat yogurts, ice creams, or extremely soft cheeses in copious amounts. Again without adverse breathing issues. I cannot eat eggs without immediately vomiting. I cannot drink coffee without vomiting. I am pretty sure this is due to environmental issues. I don't fully trust modernization or Western medicines and I am a bit of a hippy new wave clean eater now because of these developments. But it doesn't mean I discredit modernization or Western medicines either.
7. I see a RA, a neurologist, hematologist, ophthalmologist, physical therapist, and a dietitian. Oh lets not forget my Primary. You asked how I get my determination. I was given a guide line of foods to avoid and foods I can eat. I was given a 15% carb 30% protein and 55% fats beginner steps for this month. And I go back to my dietician in 2 weeks to adjust as needed. I was advised of websites and apps to use such as the myfitnesspal app. Now I figured since I knew nothing of calorie counting and am very new to it, before panicking to my doctor, I would ask others and rely on their experiences. Why? Because I was fairly certain it was error on my part.

A Keto Type Diet has many definitions. To some it's extremely low carbs such as under 30g. However a simple google search will show that there are many types of keto type diets and if I am not mistaken I am, by internet consideration, considered moderate carb intake since my is currently advised at 55g or less. So you may see more items and less fats in my diet that wouldn't be fully considered keto by some. To me this is an extreme cut in my carb intakes as my original diet consisted heavily in rice, beans, vegetables, tubars, and lentils. I was a vegetarian. I was intaking an average of 200 - 300g of carbs a day. Therefore my calories came easy, but they still were high. Even then I was only avergaing 1600 to 2000 a day, I found this out at my first dietician appointment after reviewing my food journal. Mayo, Bacon, deli meats, Butter, Meats, Animal fats; these are things I am learning to eat after years upon years of not eating them.

So...

I have ordered a kitchen scale.

I will (cringingly) add some fats into my tea. I have never ever added anything into my tea's.

And I will wait these next to weeks out to see if my appetite increases after such drastic diet changes.

These were excellent suggestions. I am also less worried now because as a few pointed out, it's probably an entry error on my part. Thank you all for your guidance.

livingleanlivingclean

Perhaps providing the appropriate information would get you responses you don't have a problem with. Starting your initial post with "I have X condition and my treatment team has me on a modified diet but I'm struggling with my calorie intake" would have been a good start.

I still stand by most GPs knowing little to nothing about nutrition. Those working with patients having condition that are affected/improved with dietary modifications are clearly going to know about diet, but this wasn't something you mentioned in any previous posts.

lorrpb

If you can't eat the foods on a keto diet and you can't eat more than 1000 cals of keto food, maybe that's not a good diet choice for you. No one HAS TO eat keto.

lemurcat12

Keto means carbs that are so low that you will go into ketosis, usually less than 50 g carbs, and high fat. Is that what you are doing?

Logging and using a scale is a good idea.

I don't find it tough to eat way more than 1200 on keto if I want, and I don't normally snack.

Saying you were eating more than 1200 to gain/overate/ate more calories than you burned if you gained weight is NOT the same thing as saying you ate like a pig or ate unhealthy foods or whatever. It's just fact: impossible to gain if you don't eat more than you burn. I got fat (and then lost the weight) and mostly did not eat giant amounts or lots of junk food or whatever "like a pig" means. I overate. To lose, I ate less (or the same but with more activity).

General idea of my low carb/keto day (I'm not doing keto now, but I did for a while), although as you have sensitivities you'd use what foods work for you.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, smoked salmon (or I might have greek yogurt instead), vegetables, some feta cheese in an omelet, on the pan I use a little olive oil. If I wanted to add calories I might have half an avocado. Calories around 400 but could be closer to 500 with the avocado.

Lunch: salad (variety of veg) and also on the salad I would have olives, some dressing made with olive oil and vinegar, some protein, could be lots of things such as chicken or steak (or maybe black soy beans), some nuts or seeds on the salad. Easily 400-600 cal again.

Dinner: whatever meat I want (meat includes fish/shellfish and I eat a lot of fish), lots of vegetables, if the meat is lean I might add a bit of a sauce with some fat and I'd cook everything in olive or coconut or avocado oil. I often do a somewhat lower cal dinner, but it's quite variable, could be 350-550.

If dinner was low cal or I otherwise have calories, I might finish dinner with some high quality or interesting cheese or some nuts or maybe some dark chocolate (I really like Chocolove Extreme dark, 88%, and currently have a 99% dark chocolate that tastes nice with some nut butter on it). I also might stir a bit of nut butter into full fat greek yogurt.

kaye4health

my question is, why did you want to go keto? I myself eat LCHF, but I do not go into keto. If it is to lose weight, then you don't need to be in full blown keto. Just lower carbs. I as others have said, with the sensitivity to foods (protein, high calorie foods) why would you choose Keto as a way to go? I keep my carbs around 89 to 100 and lose just fine. Also I eat 1200 to 1500 calories a day. Main meals and snacks. meat has lots of calories... don't get it??? Ok, disregard my comment. I see above you said your DR put you on keto diet. maybe discuss with your Dr that you find it hard to get the calories and see what he/she thinks? Write down or print off MFP food diary and take it with you to show your DR. Good luck.

Lillymoo01

anneandyanderson wrote: »

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

Eat foods that enable you to eat more.

You didn't become overweight by eating too little, so at some point you have consistently eaten more food. Include those foods in moderation.

Also check your logging. 800 cals of food is minimal, especially if you're doing keto and eating a high percentage of fat. I can't comprehend how you'd feel "stuffed" on that little food.

I do not have a scale. I scan the barcode and measure everything. I've always ate small amounts. Such as 1/4 bowl of cold cereal and milk before the Keto Diet. I also can't eat full servings, like blue berries. I cannot eat more than 1/4 cup.

I had rapid weight gain (40lbs in 2 months) when I started a long term medicine in high school. I was diagnosed with SLE and a blood clotting disorder. I've never gone over 210lbs but since then I have never been below 160. It's been a constant battle.

I will look into investing in a food scale. Thank you for the advice. I never considered getting one.

You can not ALWAYS have eaten small amounts if you have had a constant battle to get below 160 pounds. You are eating way more than you think you are. Invest money in some food scales and then you will realise that your food consumption is much more than you think it is.


Edit. Just read on and saw that scales are ordered. This will be money well spent. Hopefully you find what works for you.

GlassAngyl

I know exactly what you mean. When I don't cheat and stick strictly to keto, I have to find ways to add more calories because I feel so stuffed by the end of the day. I LOVE IT! I would rather struggle with trying to eat more than fight temptation and try to eat less. But for someone who has spent her whole life fighting binges (sorry folks, I refuse to get counseling. I know why I do it and they can't fix my issues..) to for once being on the opposite side of the fence.. I'm not going back. It's easier to grab a BP coffee to fill in the gaps than it is fighting cravings.

Speaking of bp coffee.. 2tbs of butter and 2tbs of heavy whipping cream equals 300 extra calories. You can add MTC oil for another 100 if needed. A lot of ppl LOVE it. I do not. But it DOES keep me full and helps me reach my fat and calorie allowance. And you can sip at it instead of eat it.

GlassAngyl

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

Awesome group to try

spacecase76

anneandyanderson wrote: »

I will (cringingly) add some fats into my tea. I have never ever added anything into my tea's.

Be careful with this! I can't do it, it tears my stomach up! I use heavy cream in my coffee, but I can't add any oil

nvmomketo

anneandyanderson wrote: »

So...

I have ordered a kitchen scale.

I will (cringingly) add some fats into my tea. I have never ever added anything into my tea's.

And I will wait these next to weeks out to see if my appetite increases after such drastic diet changes.

These were excellent suggestions. I am also less worried now because as a few pointed out, it's probably an entry error on my part. Thank you all for your guidance.

If you add oil or butter to a tea (chai is nice) whipping it really helps. It is the difference between a nice froth on top and an oil slick.