Daily check-in for keto friends... volume 3
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I had a 5 lb. weight loss goal for March. I've accomplished .5 pound. I'll take it. It's been a stressful month. If I keep up this pace in 10 months I'll have that five pounds gone. lol
I guess my real goal now is to not look like a beached killer whale in my wetsuit in a month when we go diving.....2 -
3/31/18: Reflection Post #1
At the end of each month, my plan is to post a reflection in this thread of my thoughts and feelings. Then, as I progress through my weight loss journey I can go back and look at my posts to see more clearly the changes I have made. My goal is to lose over half of myself (152 pounds total). I hope to do that in about 18-months give or take. It will be a long journey for me, so reflection and focus will be important.
I met my March goal to lose 12 pounds. I started eating Keto on February 25th, so I have only been on this diet for about 5 weeks. I started this diet on February 25 and have been on a CPAP machine for the last 18-months. When I was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea that was an all time low for me. Having to put on a mask every night just to sleep comfortably, especially at the young age of 47 is embarrassing. Not being able to cuddle with my husband for a bit when we first get into bed because I cannot breathe well when laying flat is devastating to me. I miss that more than any of the other things that being this heavy has prevented me from doing.
My brother moved to our house from Missouri 4-weeks ago and started eating Keto also as soon as he got here. He has already dropped almost 30 pounds. I am of course happy for him, but watching him lose so much quicker than I has been a bit of a let down for me. His starting weight was much less than mine (249 vs 272). I know that men typically lose faster and I need to celebrate what I have done...so I am trying to do just that.
I started walking in the second week of March hoping to accelerate my weight loss. I did actually drop a couple of pounds quickly but then ended up getting a cold which sidelined that idea. I am just now starting to feel better again so I will start the walking this weekend. I plan to really push to meet or surpass my 10 pound weight loss goal for the month of April. Just knowing that I have lost 14 pounds since I started this journey only 5 weeks ago does make me feel good and I have more energy than I have had in months.
The thing that I have found most amazing is the sense of control that I have on the Keto diet. I have tried so many different types of diets over the years...I have always struggled with my weight since my teen years. With the high carb diets I was perpetually hungry and in the end I would eventually give in to the insane carb cravings. This crash off the plan would leave me feeling like a weak minded ninny....less than everyone else around me that didn't seem to have any trouble eating mindfully and maintaining their ideal weight. On the Keto diet, I feel like I have more control over the cravings and more control over myself. The only time I get any kind of real craving for carbs is if I smell one of my favorite foods, so I just do what I can to avoid that...but even when I do get into that situation I seem to have enough power to overcome it.
I am a sugar addict...I've known that for years. It is my truth. Big picture, when I get to my goal weight of 120 is to transition to the Paleo way of eating. Cautiously I would like to be able to eat a potato and more fruits every once in a while. What I know for sure is...I do not want to ever be 272 pounds. As my 3X size clothes become too loose, I will box them up and give them to the Goodwill. Each year, as I have gotten larger and larger I have boxed up my clothes and stored them with the intent on losing weight and being able to wear them again. So, I have 2X and 1X clothes sitting in boxes waiting for me to open. I am so looking forward to the day when the 1X size no longer fits me and I get to actually go shopping for new smaller clothes. With a bunch of hard work, and a bit of luck I hope to make that shopping trip at the end of the summer beginning of fall.
I didn't take a photo in February before I started the keto diet but here is an photo of my husband and I at our grandsons troll themed first birthday party in October 2017. At that time I weighed approximately 268 pounds.
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Lori Fulton! You go girl. Everything you mentioned I have done. It is doable and... I no longer need the C-PAP!
At first I lost about 13 a month from keto and exercise. Then I stopped exercise cuz i overdid it, and still lost 10 a month just with keto alone. Total of 110. You can do this! Don't compare your path to others. Listen to your own body. I gave away bags and bags of dwindling size clothes. Felt great every time!!!!!!
Maintenence is a bit trickier for me but I'm still at it! I'll never stop.
Good luck, pal!9 -
Maintenence is a bit trickier for me but I'm still at it! I'll never stop.
Elize I might not always comment but I do always read your posts and I am inspired by your persistence, tenacity, and perseverance. We all go through ups and downs in both weight and motivation and I really appreciate seeing your long term commitment - always circling back to that place of dedication.
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River_Goddess wrote: »Maintenence is a bit trickier for me but I'm still at it! I'll never stop.
Elize I might not always comment but I do always read your posts and I am inspired by your persistence, tenacity, and perseverance. We all go through ups and downs in both weight and motivation and I really appreciate seeing your long term commitment - always circling back to that place of dedication.
Ditto!2 -
I returned to keto about a month ago. I only started tracking my weight around the 20th of March. However, it seems that I am losing VERY slowly if at all. I have been bouncing between 181 and 182 since that time with the exception of my time of month, which was about 3 pounds higher. I know the whole cico and tracking macros routine. I have a food scale. I have some days of being over my caloric limit by 50 or so calories and some below by 100 or more. I hit my protein goal and keep my carbs to 25 and below net. I guess I'm just looking for a boost because I am so close to giving up (again).2
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I started Keto for the 3rd time back in Dec-Jan and then fell off the bandwagon. But I am back at it for the 4th time and I’m already on day 8 going on 9 so I’m feeling the effects and hunger suppression. It’s easier to resist sweets because my sister is doing it with me (I got her into it and she’s loving how she feels as well as the weightloss and she’s already losing inches which she sees as more of a success). I just need reminders to drink water. It’s like I drink a lot at the beginning to help with headaches and keto flu and then I slow down and barely remember to drink any. Does anyone have a way to Force themselves to drink more water? Even before keto I never really drank anything unless I was thirsty but never soda or juice.2
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I returned to keto about a month ago. I only started tracking my weight around the 20th of March. However, it seems that I am losing VERY slowly if at all. I have been bouncing between 181 and 182 since that time with the exception of my time of month, which was about 3 pounds higher. I know the whole cico and tracking macros routine. I have a food scale. I have some days of being over my caloric limit by 50 or so calories and some below by 100 or more. I hit my protein goal and keep my carbs to 25 and below net. I guess I'm just looking for a boost because I am so close to giving up (again).
Hi girl. I’m far from an expert on keto but I did realize that while I was on medication for depression I would see my scale just go up or never moving. I decided to kick the meds and I am actually feeling so much better without them. I found that even something as small as a pill can affect ketosis and stuff. What day are you on? I would maybe try to lower your carbs even more just to kick start the weightloss again. I sometimes eat 15g of carbs or less. Today I did 23g but it’s rare that I ever go past 20g. And maybe going back to the basics would help, I dunno if you have fancy dinners or keto mocks of your favorite carby foods like ice cream and stuff, but cutting that for a while may help. Good luck and don’t give in!! You won’t regret it. What’s your calorie intake? And macros?
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Wow so can I just talk about how much energy I have??? Just finished up my first week of keto, and it wasn't perfect, but overall really good. The first few days I was so tired, that I honestly thought the extra energy thing was just going to be a myth! Honestly, I'm usually tired and sleepy on my weekends off and never get much done even though I want to...not this weekend though! I've been cleaning like a mad woman and I don't feel tired or worn out at all! Definitely makes me happy that I decided to do keto and I really feel like it's something I'll stick with.3
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Keeping up with a bouillion cube for salt, and also potassium and magnesium daily makes all the difference for me. When in ketosis, I always have energy. Really it is my favorite state to be in, but I find it hard to always sustain. So often it is something that I aspire to, but nothing beats that keto energy for me.
One day...It will be my true lifestyle.
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Speaking of energy, I rarely ever have an overabundance of energy like everyone else on keto seems to have.
I'm well into this WOE now (day 44), and while I don't feel like I'm dying like when I had the keto flu, I still don't have a lot of energy. I know I'm doing well on my electrolytes. So I don't know what's going on with that. 1 -
xDaniDragonflyx wrote: »Speaking of energy, I rarely ever have an overabundance of energy like everyone else on keto seems to have. I'm well into this WOE now (day 44), and while I don't feel like I'm dying like when I had the keto flu, I still don't have a lot of energy. I know I'm doing well on my electrolytes. So I don't know what's going on with that.
@KnitOrMiss should be able to give you some advice I also had a similar question when I first started but can't remember her advice!1 -
xDaniDragonflyx wrote: »Speaking of energy, I rarely ever have an overabundance of energy like everyone else on keto seems to have. I'm well into this WOE now (day 44), and while I don't feel like I'm dying like when I had the keto flu, I still don't have a lot of energy. I know I'm doing well on my electrolytes. So I don't know what's going on with that.
@xDaniDragonflyx
The first things that come to mind here are:
Underlying health conditions previously unknown or un/under-treated.
MICROnutrients lacking in your consumption.
Too little sodium.
Too few calories.
Too little protein/too much fat (your ENTIRE calorie deficit should come out of your fat calories - because you're filling it in with burned body fat...)
Dependence on caffeine.
Low stomach acid/digestive drama.
Too little whole foods.
Too much convenience foods.
Underlying food intolerances/mild allergies.
Tendencies to eat too much food at one time.
Snacking rather than larger meals (the more break you give your body, the more it will burn).
SLEEP - too little or poor quality.
STRESS - too much, not managed well, etc.
Insulogenic foods (foods not necessarily with sugar or carbs - but that trigger and insulin response - whey protein is one than can do that, as well as foods containing whey, etc.)
Dependence on nuts/dairy for fats.
Artificial sweeteners.
Booze.
Added sugar, even within macros.
Too much/too little veggies.
Wrong types of fats (ditch the canola and vegetable oils!)
Okay, sorry, there are TONS of factors! I always forget that until I let my mind wander.
This is one article that really helped me confirm that I was headed in the right direction to heal...
http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2015/12/why-not-losing-weight-2.html3 -
@xDaniDragonflyx
Looking at your diary, the first thing that jumps out to me is that if you have a more than 20 or so pounds to lose, your deficit is probably WAY TOO HIGH!
Great job eating whole foods, though. Too many of us fall into the trap of fat bombs as meals and all the fats/snack foods at first... That was a personal struggle for me. 1 -
Hi everyone. This is my second time getting healthy. When I was 50 I made a run at my health and lost most of the weight and was in pretty good shape too using Keto and exercise. I then got injured and gained it all back again due to my inability to workout and subsequent loss of motivation. So here I am back at 52 and ready to take on my health challenges head on .. again :-/
My goals are simply to be in the best health/shape of my life. I used to be an athlete in high school and I realize how crazy that sounds .. but I’m shooting for the moon here. Thank you for any input or advice you have. Feel free to add me .. I can use some like minded people on my friends list. Have a great day!3 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »@xDaniDragonflyx
Looking at your diary, the first thing that jumps out to me is that if you have a more than 20 or so pounds to lose, your deficit is probably WAY TOO HIGH!
Great job eating whole foods, though. Too many of us fall into the trap of fat bombs as meals and all the fats/snack foods at first... That was a personal struggle for me.
I'm sorry I'm such a newb, but what do you mean by defecit?
And thanks for the props! I really haven't had much interest in fat bombs/desserts. I totally do snack foods at night though, when I don't feel like cooking (bring on the nuts and pork rinds!) But I'm trying to get more veggies in every day. 1 -
@xDaniDragonflyx
She means that you are eating too few calories....For instance, if you are eating 1200 calories when your body needs 1800 to maintain current weight, the difference between those number is your deficit. Good luck! I have also curiously found that I will lose more with lower carbs and relatively tame deficits than if I bump my calories down too low. 2 -
@xDaniDragonflyx
She means that you are eating too few calories....For instance, if you are eating 1200 calories when your body needs 1800 to maintain current weight, the difference between those number is your deficit. Good luck! I have also curiously found that I will lose more with lower carbs and relatively tame deficits than if I bump my calories down too low.
>.< I had a feeling that's what she meant. I'm redoing my macros now, I use the ruled.me one and yeah, I had the deficit at 50%, which I know they say not to go over 30%, but I didn't think it'd be too bad for a while. I'm currently eating 1204 calories a day, and under if I can manage.
Upping my deficit to 35% puts me at 1400 calories...
I just wanted to lose the max amount of pounds...
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xDaniDragonflyx wrote: »@xDaniDragonflyx
She means that you are eating too few calories....For instance, if you are eating 1200 calories when your body needs 1800 to maintain current weight, the difference between those number is your deficit. Good luck! I have also curiously found that I will lose more with lower carbs and relatively tame deficits than if I bump my calories down too low.
>.< I had a feeling that's what she meant. I'm redoing my macros now, I use the ruled.me one and yeah, I had the deficit at 50%, which I know they say not to go over 30%, but I didn't think it'd be too bad for a while. I'm currently eating 1204 calories a day, and under if I can manage. Upping my deficit to 35% puts me at 1400 calories...
I just wanted to lose the max amount of pounds...
When you go that low, your metabolism will burn strong for a little bit, and then it will all but stop until you level out how many calories you're eating. So you might burn a lot for a week or so...then you'll stall for WEEKS...
So not worth it.
Keto is muscle sparing and it burns body fat, but the body/metabolism is not stupid. It will catch on to what you're trying to do.
P.S. the slower you lose your weight, the easier it is to maintain that loss, and to give the skin the best time to shrink with it. Believe me, loose skin on a still chubby person (aka me) is NOT pretty... I feel worse now than 40-60 pounds heavier about some parts of my body, TBH.
35% of a deficit is STILL over the max recommended.
When we are morbidly obese, (most of the time) our body will naturally shed weight more easily because there is so much to lose. The body doesn't panic. However, if you're WAY undereating your calories, your body will panic, and it will lose slower because it can't figure out what is going on...
Remember, that unless you're medically monitored, 2 pounds per week is the max suggested healthy weight loss. Anything more than that is hard on your body and your heart and such... (there's a little bit of leeway with keto as weight loss is different in the mechanism than just not eating, etc.)...
Please be careful.5 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »
35% of a deficit is STILL over the max recommended.
When we are morbidly obese, (most of the time) our body will naturally shed weight more easily because there is so much to lose. The body doesn't panic. However, if you're WAY undereating your calories, your body will panic, and it will lose slower because it can't figure out what is going on...
Remember, that unless you're medically monitored, 2 pounds per week is the max suggested healthy weight loss. Anything more than that is hard on your body and your heart and such... (there's a little bit of leeway with keto as weight loss is different in the mechanism than just not eating, etc.)...
Please be careful.
Boo... Guess I have to make some more adjustments... But seriously, I'm going through my food diary for tomorrow, TRYING to figure out how to add more protein and it's just not happening. AND I was hoping to start IF soon, but if I only have a 6 hour window, I have no idea how I'm supposed to eat everything I need to, because I can't cook most days because of my work schedule. This just got really hard all of a sudden. 1 -
xDaniDragonflyx wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »
35% of a deficit is STILL over the max recommended.
When we are morbidly obese, (most of the time) our body will naturally shed weight more easily because there is so much to lose. The body doesn't panic. However, if you're WAY undereating your calories, your body will panic, and it will lose slower because it can't figure out what is going on...
Remember, that unless you're medically monitored, 2 pounds per week is the max suggested healthy weight loss. Anything more than that is hard on your body and your heart and such... (there's a little bit of leeway with keto as weight loss is different in the mechanism than just not eating, etc.)...
Please be careful.
Boo... Guess I have to make some more adjustments... But seriously, I'm going through my food diary for tomorrow, TRYING to figure out how to add more protein and it's just not happening. AND I was hoping to start IF soon, but if I only have a 6 hour window, I have no idea how I'm supposed to eat everything I need to, because I can't cook most days because of my work schedule. This just got really hard all of a sudden.
It's not hard at all! You just have to slow down. Small changes equals huge success!3 -
fanncy0626 wrote: »
It's not hard at all! You just have to slow down. Small changes equals huge success!
Yeah, I know... Just means I have to actually cook more, haha! More dirty dishes. More effort. I'm so lazy that I would rather open a can of tuna and eat like 3 of those then cook me a turkey or chicken. But ya gotta do what you gotta do. 0 -
xDaniDragonflyx wrote: »fanncy0626 wrote: »
It's not hard at all! You just have to slow down. Small changes equals huge success!
Yeah, I know... Just means I have to actually cook more, haha! More dirty dishes. More effort. I'm so lazy that I would rather open a can of tuna and eat like 3 of those then cook me a turkey or chicken. But ya gotta do what you gotta do.
@xDaniDragonflyx Maybe cook big meals that you can eat the leftovers for a couple of days. Takes some of the pressure off of making something everyday. Also, one thing I always keep in my freezer now is frozen grilled chicken, Tyson makes it and there are some generic brands too, but it's fully cooked grilled chicken strips that you just pop in the microwave for like a minute, and it's ready to eat! And to my surprise it's pretty juicy and not dried out like I thought it would be. Makes meals so much easier, whether it's just you, or you're feeding a family and your toddler is strapped to your leg and extremely hangry(hungry + angry).
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »xDaniDragonflyx wrote: »@xDaniDragonflyx
She means that you are eating too few calories....For instance, if you are eating 1200 calories when your body needs 1800 to maintain current weight, the difference between those number is your deficit. Good luck! I have also curiously found that I will lose more with lower carbs and relatively tame deficits than if I bump my calories down too low.
>.< I had a feeling that's what she meant. I'm redoing my macros now, I use the ruled.me one and yeah, I had the deficit at 50%, which I know they say not to go over 30%, but I didn't think it'd be too bad for a while. I'm currently eating 1204 calories a day, and under if I can manage. Upping my deficit to 35% puts me at 1400 calories...
I just wanted to lose the max amount of pounds...
When you go that low, your metabolism will burn strong for a little bit, and then it will all but stop until you level out how many calories you're eating. So you might burn a lot for a week or so...then you'll stall for WEEKS...
So not worth it.
I can speak from first hand experience that this is true!!
The macro calculators all said I should eat 1500 cals per day, but that seemed way too high to me. I was losing fine at that number, but I thought maybe if I ate less I'd lose faster. So I lowered my goal to 1000 - 1200 cals per day. I felt satisfied, but no matter how much I stuck to my plan, or exercised, or drank water, or hit my macro percentages, I wasn't losing (much). I went from losing 10 lbs/ month to losing 5 lbs over two months. I scoured my diary for what I was doing wrong or different. I felt like the freaking posterchild for keto, spot on every day. So what gives?
I put my calories back up to 1450. I lost 7 lbs over two weeks, right off the bat. My body thanked me for the extra fuel. I've stuck to 1450/day and lost another 2.8 lbs this week 5 -
@rae1388 I had not even thought of that! I'm headed to the store right after work to pick some up! Thank you for the idea!
@River_Goddess My body has been sending me all kinds of signals that something was wrong. I mostly ignored them for the first few weeks because I was losing still. But @KnitOrMiss helped me see where I was going wrong. 1500 calories DOES seem like a HUGE amount for me to eat. That's what I'm supposed to be eating now. I've already played around with my food diary for tomorrow seeing how I can get all my macros in.
Thanks everyone for your support! I'm totally loving this group because I haven't found anyone this helpful anywhere else (and I've LOOKED).
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Keto friendly and needing sleep ... if I take a nap today .. how many carbs are in that?1
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xDaniDragonflyx wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »
35% of a deficit is STILL over the max recommended.
When we are morbidly obese, (most of the time) our body will naturally shed weight more easily because there is so much to lose. The body doesn't panic. However, if you're WAY undereating your calories, your body will panic, and it will lose slower because it can't figure out what is going on...
Remember, that unless you're medically monitored, 2 pounds per week is the max suggested healthy weight loss. Anything more than that is hard on your body and your heart and such... (there's a little bit of leeway with keto as weight loss is different in the mechanism than just not eating, etc.)...
Please be careful.
Boo... Guess I have to make some more adjustments... But seriously, I'm going through my food diary for tomorrow, TRYING to figure out how to add more protein and it's just not happening. AND I was hoping to start IF soon, but if I only have a 6 hour window, I have no idea how I'm supposed to eat everything I need to, because I can't cook most days because of my work schedule. This just got really hard all of a sudden.
I bought a Kindle version of a keto cookbook (was under $5) with simple recipes that you can make either ahead of time or in under 30 minutes. I also found a Keto slowcooker cookbook, which I might also get, but would definitely help with not wanting to cook when you get home from work. Set it in the morning and it will be hot and ready when you get home!
Also, I'm still trying to figure out the best calorie/macro balance for my body. Week 1 I ate between 1500 - 1700 calories a day (the online macro calculator said 1580 for me), and lost 2.6 lbs. Week two, I lost 0.4lbs. It might take a little bit to get used to what my body actually needs, but I am trying to remind myself that this is a way of life and not a short term "fix" (at least for me). I ate relatively healthy before starting Keto (no added sugar, and low carb-ish [no white flour, no high starch veggies]) and lost some weight, but very very slowly. I have a history of ED and yo-yo dieting for 20 years, so my body is likely very resistant to changes in diet. I realize I have to respect the process and let my body be where it needs to be for right now (so hard to do though!).
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My first time losing weight it took me a few months to line out my calorie/macro/diet plan that seemed to work best for my body. I’d say you are doing quite well so far figuring out what you need. Great job!2
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::bragging a lil:: For the first time in a longggggg time, I weigh in the 220's -- okay, so it's 229.4, but I'm not in the 240's anymore. And, whilst I'm not one to toot my own horn, I am a lil proud of myself for getting on the bandwagon to better health. Most of all, I want to say THANKS for the encouragement I've been receiving since joining the forums. Reading over these posts inspires me, teaches me and encourages me to keep going! #38lbsToGo9
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