Keto diet help

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  • gaelicstorm
    gaelicstorm Posts: 94 Member
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    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    You don't need to do keto to lose weight - you can continue eating all your favourite foods, including sweets, as long as you stick to a calorie deficit.

    I did keto for a while but I love sweets and carbs so it just wasn't sustainable for me, and I regained all the weight I lost with keto.

    Now with calorie counting alone, I have lost MORE weight while eating all my favourite foods every day. All you need to do is track your calories accurately with a kitchen scale (every day!) and stick to a calorie deficit.

    Yea I've been doing calorie counting it's just taking me so long to lose the weight and I don't eat much fat now because of calorie counting but I love cheese and fatty foods so much .. it's just the sweets I will miss like even with oranges bananas and apples .. I just thought if I found something to replace it with I should be OK .. and how long did you do it ? I really don't want to diet I want to make it a lifestyle change so I don't gain it back

    I did keto for a year. I had good intentions of sticking with it forever, but it was too restrictive and affecting my life negatively. Social obligations were difficult. And if I ever decided to have a 'cheat day' with carbs and sweets, my stomach would be miserable and in pain for hours afterwards.

    It doesn't have any weight loss benefits over just calorie counting. You do drop a large amount of water weight when you first begin keto, somewhere between 3-10lbs - but that's not fat loss. Fat and protein can be filling, so people find it easier to naturally stick to a deficit.

    When I was doing keto, I relied on berries and sugar-free sweeteners. But a life without apples and bananas wasn't worth it for me!

    Why not try just lowering your carbs a bit to make more room for higher fat and protein options? Keto is "hardcore" low-carb eating (20g carbs per day), but there's no reason you couldn't drop your carbs to 150g or 100g to see if you prefer that.
    That's a good idea ! Instead of going so low its just my fitness pal has goals for like 60 grams of fat and it makes me miserable lol and they have high carbs which I hit easily.. I try to look at calories and macros but I always go over something

    Yes, you can definitely customize your macro goals to whatever you prefer. I generally eat pretty low-carb, around 100g of carbs per day. It's nice because I can still enjoy all my favourite carby things in moderation. I believe my macros are around 30% carbs, 30% protein, 40% fat.

    I eat a diet with those same macro settings and it works very well (for me). I love love love carbs but as a diabetic I do have to moderate them. I get about 100 g of carbs each day which allows me to still eat grains and some fruit, as well as treats like ice cream! I swap out veggies for a lot of carbs and try to stay away from things like pasta, bread and white rice because I love them so much that I always want more (and then I feel miserable).

    Last night I swapped barley pilaf for the mac n' cheese the rest of the family had. I made enough that I can have it as a side dish multiple times (I actually just had a bit here at work as my snack!). I swap out brown rice for white rice, and I usually pick the sweet potato over the gold or russet potatoes the rest of the family eats.

    I also find that batch cooking keeps me on track. On Sunday I made a zucchini lasagna (full of mozzarella and ricotta cheese) and made 6 servings from it. It has been my lunch for this week. I also love the Halo Top pancakes and waffles ice cream. It feels indulgent and keeps me on track.

    Best of luck to you! You are welcome to add me as a friend and we can keep each other motivated!

    Wow thats awesome I hope one day I can learn how to substitute the bad things out ! Where do you find your recipes ? I think I need to start prepping and planning ahead .. because when I don't I find myself having to est fast food .. and I try to watch my sodium intake and go over too it can get stessful trying to stay within my goals made for me lol

    I get a lot of recipes from Pinterest! The swapping wasn't too awful for me (although I do look longingly at plates of pasta) but it does take a little planning.

    I also do eat fast food! I still like my occasional Quarter Pounder from McDonalds but I get a side salad instead of the fries. I also enjoy what I call a "naked burger salad"--when the family has cheeseburgers on the grill I put mine on a salad instead. It's really yummy!
  • whitneyb0421
    whitneyb0421 Posts: 36 Member
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    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    You don't need to do keto to lose weight - you can continue eating all your favourite foods, including sweets, as long as you stick to a calorie deficit.

    I did keto for a while but I love sweets and carbs so it just wasn't sustainable for me, and I regained all the weight I lost with keto.

    Now with calorie counting alone, I have lost MORE weight while eating all my favourite foods every day. All you need to do is track your calories accurately with a kitchen scale (every day!) and stick to a calorie deficit.

    Yea I've been doing calorie counting it's just taking me so long to lose the weight and I don't eat much fat now because of calorie counting but I love cheese and fatty foods so much .. it's just the sweets I will miss like even with oranges bananas and apples .. I just thought if I found something to replace it with I should be OK .. and how long did you do it ? I really don't want to diet I want to make it a lifestyle change so I don't gain it back

    I did keto for a year. I had good intentions of sticking with it forever, but it was too restrictive and affecting my life negatively. Social obligations were difficult. And if I ever decided to have a 'cheat day' with carbs and sweets, my stomach would be miserable and in pain for hours afterwards.

    It doesn't have any weight loss benefits over just calorie counting. You do drop a large amount of water weight when you first begin keto, somewhere between 3-10lbs - but that's not fat loss. Fat and protein can be filling, so people find it easier to naturally stick to a deficit.

    When I was doing keto, I relied on berries and sugar-free sweeteners. But a life without apples and bananas wasn't worth it for me!

    Why not try just lowering your carbs a bit to make more room for higher fat and protein options? Keto is "hardcore" low-carb eating (20g carbs per day), but there's no reason you couldn't drop your carbs to 150g or 100g to see if you prefer that.
    That's a good idea ! Instead of going so low its just my fitness pal has goals for like 60 grams of fat and it makes me miserable lol and they have high carbs which I hit easily.. I try to look at calories and macros but I always go over something

    Yes, you can definitely customize your macro goals to whatever you prefer. I generally eat pretty low-carb, around 100g of carbs per day. It's nice because I can still enjoy all my favourite carby things in moderation. I believe my macros are around 30% carbs, 30% protein, 40% fat.

    I eat a diet with those same macro settings and it works very well (for me). I love love love carbs but as a diabetic I do have to moderate them. I get about 100 g of carbs each day which allows me to still eat grains and some fruit, as well as treats like ice cream! I swap out veggies for a lot of carbs and try to stay away from things like pasta, bread and white rice because I love them so much that I always want more (and then I feel miserable).

    Last night I swapped barley pilaf for the mac n' cheese the rest of the family had. I made enough that I can have it as a side dish multiple times (I actually just had a bit here at work as my snack!). I swap out brown rice for white rice, and I usually pick the sweet potato over the gold or russet potatoes the rest of the family eats.

    I also find that batch cooking keeps me on track. On Sunday I made a zucchini lasagna (full of mozzarella and ricotta cheese) and made 6 servings from it. It has been my lunch for this week. I also love the Halo Top pancakes and waffles ice cream. It feels indulgent and keeps me on track.

    Best of luck to you! You are welcome to add me as a friend and we can keep each other motivated!

    Wow thats awesome I hope one day I can learn how to substitute the bad things out ! Where do you find your recipes ? I think I need to start prepping and planning ahead .. because when I don't I find myself having to est fast food .. and I try to watch my sodium intake and go over too it can get stessful trying to stay within my goals made for me lol

    I get a lot of recipes from Pinterest! The swapping wasn't too awful for me (although I do look longingly at plates of pasta) but it does take a little planning.

    I also do eat fast food! I still like my occasional Quarter Pounder from McDonalds but I get a side salad instead of the fries. I also enjoy what I call a "naked burger salad"--when the family has cheeseburgers on the grill I put mine on a salad instead. It's really yummy!

    Nice!! Doing it this way will be less stressful than Keto looks
  • gaelicstorm
    gaelicstorm Posts: 94 Member
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    mph323 wrote: »
    kikih64 wrote: »
    If you're interested in keto, you should try it. I say weight management and health is a science experiment, we all respond a bit differently (although the concepts are the same). If you want advice other than "don't do it", try posting on a keto board. I'm not frowning on any advice given, but if you're going to give it a whirl talk to people that can give you real world advice. Good luck!

    I disagree with this. She's looking at keto as a way to lose weight faster, not as a lifestyle that might suit her. She's already got a way of eating that's successful for weight loss, and doesn't express any interest in limiting her food choices for any other reason than to lose weight. I would say the same if she suggested she wanted to go plant-based or any other drastic change to her current diet.

    I agree with you! I can't track too much at once. I track my macros and keep an eye on my fiber and that is enough for me! Making it too complicated is overwhelming and in my opinion, a recipe for disaster!
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    You don't need to do keto to lose weight - you can continue eating all your favourite foods, including sweets, as long as you stick to a calorie deficit.

    I did keto for a while but I love sweets and carbs so it just wasn't sustainable for me, and I regained all the weight I lost with keto.

    Now with calorie counting alone, I have lost MORE weight while eating all my favourite foods every day. All you need to do is track your calories accurately with a kitchen scale (every day!) and stick to a calorie deficit.

    Yea I've been doing calorie counting it's just taking me so long to lose the weight and I don't eat much fat now because of calorie counting but I love cheese and fatty foods so much .. it's just the sweets I will miss like even with oranges bananas and apples .. I just thought if I found something to replace it with I should be OK .. and how long did you do it ? I really don't want to diet I want to make it a lifestyle change so I don't gain it back

    I did keto for a year. I had good intentions of sticking with it forever, but it was too restrictive and affecting my life negatively. Social obligations were difficult. And if I ever decided to have a 'cheat day' with carbs and sweets, my stomach would be miserable and in pain for hours afterwards.

    It doesn't have any weight loss benefits over just calorie counting. You do drop a large amount of water weight when you first begin keto, somewhere between 3-10lbs - but that's not fat loss. Fat and protein can be filling, so people find it easier to naturally stick to a deficit.

    When I was doing keto, I relied on berries and sugar-free sweeteners. But a life without apples and bananas wasn't worth it for me!

    Why not try just lowering your carbs a bit to make more room for higher fat and protein options? Keto is "hardcore" low-carb eating (20g carbs per day), but there's no reason you couldn't drop your carbs to 150g or 100g to see if you prefer that.
    That's a good idea ! Instead of going so low its just my fitness pal has goals for like 60 grams of fat and it makes me miserable lol and they have high carbs which I hit easily.. I try to look at calories and macros but I always go over something

    Yes, you can definitely customize your macro goals to whatever you prefer. I generally eat pretty low-carb, around 100g of carbs per day. It's nice because I can still enjoy all my favourite carby things in moderation. I believe my macros are around 30% carbs, 30% protein, 40% fat.

    That sounds more like what I might need ! I'm going to have to look into adjusting their goals they have for me

    Why don't you look at the macro pie chart in the "Reports" section and flip through a couple of weeks of your diary. If you've been eating to your calorie limit (and it sounds like you have since you're losing weight congratulations!) with foods that you like, you can flip through a few weeks and see what your macros naturally look like. You can then change your goals to suit the way you like to eat, and/or make small tweaks that will nudge you toward changing your eating style slowly. Best of luck!

    Ok that's a good idea ! And yes I've been steadily losing 2 pounds a week but I see people on this keto diet losing more .. I thought I was doing something wrong ! I do want to focus on my macros more and I'll go back and see what I usually eat and adjust it and stick with it !

    2 lbs a week is the highest weight loss goal MFP will allow you to set - you really shouldn't try to lose more unless you're obese and have some urgent health reason to get to a lower weight fast. Being on a severely restricted diet for an extended period can lead to health issues as well as unnecessary muscle loss and other unpleasant side effects (posters here have shared hair loss stories, for example). You're doing fine with your rate of loss, I would focus on nutrition and finding the types of food that make you feel satisfied now and be sure to rein in the rate of loss as you get closer to your goal.

    eta: when you see people losing a lot of weight on keto, you're most likely seeing people just starting, and losing a lot of water weight. Fat loss will depend on how many calories the person is eating vs. how many they're burning, just like any other way of eating. My guess is that in real life you probably don't know many (if any) people who have stuck long enough to see the weekly fat loss totals.

    Great advice ! I'm feeling better about my personal journey now .. I need to focus on myself and now I realize 2 pounds in a week is good .. I don't know anyone doing it personally just see it online really

    Trust no one and nothing in your social media feed - people are delusional, misguided or downright dishonest most of the time when it comes to weight loss and health :(

    Do take a look at the first page or so of this thread - it talks about diet breaks, and is a good resource for strategies to reach your goals and maintain.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1
    I will look at that thank you !! And do you think intermittent fasting works ? That’s another thing I wanted to look into .. like is it a healthy way to live ..

    You are doing just fine eating the way you are now - why are you looking at changing up your food habits so drastically? Typically, when a person makes a radical change in the way they eat to lose weight or "eat healthier", they find that not only are they not able to stick to it, they've now disrupted the previous eating pattern that was working for them.

    Intermittent fasting can be as healthy a way to eat as any other way, as long as calorie calorie and nutrition goals are met. It's really just restricting when you eat to hours that make sense for you. Limiting yourself to eating in an 8 hour window, for instance, can be helpful to control snacking, or noshing after dinner, or eating in even shorter time frames can let people eat bigger meals if that's what they prefer, but it all boils down to calories and nutrition in the end.

    My strong advice is to stop looking at ways to change the way you're eating since you're currently successful, and focus on tweaking it slowly to make it even more of a good fit for you.

    True indeed ! I just need to stick with what I’m doing .. my body seems to like it but as far as this app I start getting stressed trying not to eat too much sodium sugar fat etc.. I think I will start planning out meals

    I think you're stressing yourself out by making this too complicated :) Make your goals simple, and easily achievable. If you have no medical reason to restrict sugar and sodium, ignore those limits for now. Focus on your macros. Make sure you are meeting your protein goals. Let the carbs and fats fall wherever they fall. S-l-o-w-l-y tweak your food choices toward things that you consider healthier than others, and I suggest again don't try to do it all at once, get used to changes one step at a time.

    Ok! I think I got this !!! I just thought the sugar and sodium will make me bloated or not lose the weight .. but I'll slowly get there !Thank you

    The only thing that will make you lose, maintain or gain weight is the number of calories you eat. If sugar or salt makes you feel bloated or uncomfortable, then certainly that's a good reason to limit the amount (and eating more sodium than usual in a meal or a day may make it look like you're gaining weight, but it's just water and will work itself out after a day or two). Otherwise, there's no food that will make you gain weight as long as you are meeting your calorie goals.
  • whitneyb0421
    whitneyb0421 Posts: 36 Member
    Options
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    mph323 wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    toxikon wrote: »
    You don't need to do keto to lose weight - you can continue eating all your favourite foods, including sweets, as long as you stick to a calorie deficit.

    I did keto for a while but I love sweets and carbs so it just wasn't sustainable for me, and I regained all the weight I lost with keto.

    Now with calorie counting alone, I have lost MORE weight while eating all my favourite foods every day. All you need to do is track your calories accurately with a kitchen scale (every day!) and stick to a calorie deficit.

    Yea I've been doing calorie counting it's just taking me so long to lose the weight and I don't eat much fat now because of calorie counting but I love cheese and fatty foods so much .. it's just the sweets I will miss like even with oranges bananas and apples .. I just thought if I found something to replace it with I should be OK .. and how long did you do it ? I really don't want to diet I want to make it a lifestyle change so I don't gain it back

    I did keto for a year. I had good intentions of sticking with it forever, but it was too restrictive and affecting my life negatively. Social obligations were difficult. And if I ever decided to have a 'cheat day' with carbs and sweets, my stomach would be miserable and in pain for hours afterwards.

    It doesn't have any weight loss benefits over just calorie counting. You do drop a large amount of water weight when you first begin keto, somewhere between 3-10lbs - but that's not fat loss. Fat and protein can be filling, so people find it easier to naturally stick to a deficit.

    When I was doing keto, I relied on berries and sugar-free sweeteners. But a life without apples and bananas wasn't worth it for me!

    Why not try just lowering your carbs a bit to make more room for higher fat and protein options? Keto is "hardcore" low-carb eating (20g carbs per day), but there's no reason you couldn't drop your carbs to 150g or 100g to see if you prefer that.
    That's a good idea ! Instead of going so low its just my fitness pal has goals for like 60 grams of fat and it makes me miserable lol and they have high carbs which I hit easily.. I try to look at calories and macros but I always go over something

    Yes, you can definitely customize your macro goals to whatever you prefer. I generally eat pretty low-carb, around 100g of carbs per day. It's nice because I can still enjoy all my favourite carby things in moderation. I believe my macros are around 30% carbs, 30% protein, 40% fat.

    That sounds more like what I might need ! I'm going to have to look into adjusting their goals they have for me

    Why don't you look at the macro pie chart in the "Reports" section and flip through a couple of weeks of your diary. If you've been eating to your calorie limit (and it sounds like you have since you're losing weight congratulations!) with foods that you like, you can flip through a few weeks and see what your macros naturally look like. You can then change your goals to suit the way you like to eat, and/or make small tweaks that will nudge you toward changing your eating style slowly. Best of luck!

    Ok that's a good idea ! And yes I've been steadily losing 2 pounds a week but I see people on this keto diet losing more .. I thought I was doing something wrong ! I do want to focus on my macros more and I'll go back and see what I usually eat and adjust it and stick with it !

    2 lbs a week is the highest weight loss goal MFP will allow you to set - you really shouldn't try to lose more unless you're obese and have some urgent health reason to get to a lower weight fast. Being on a severely restricted diet for an extended period can lead to health issues as well as unnecessary muscle loss and other unpleasant side effects (posters here have shared hair loss stories, for example). You're doing fine with your rate of loss, I would focus on nutrition and finding the types of food that make you feel satisfied now and be sure to rein in the rate of loss as you get closer to your goal.

    eta: when you see people losing a lot of weight on keto, you're most likely seeing people just starting, and losing a lot of water weight. Fat loss will depend on how many calories the person is eating vs. how many they're burning, just like any other way of eating. My guess is that in real life you probably don't know many (if any) people who have stuck long enough to see the weekly fat loss totals.

    Great advice ! I'm feeling better about my personal journey now .. I need to focus on myself and now I realize 2 pounds in a week is good .. I don't know anyone doing it personally just see it online really

    Trust no one and nothing in your social media feed - people are delusional, misguided or downright dishonest most of the time when it comes to weight loss and health :(

    Do take a look at the first page or so of this thread - it talks about diet breaks, and is a good resource for strategies to reach your goals and maintain.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1
    I will look at that thank you !! And do you think intermittent fasting works ? That’s another thing I wanted to look into .. like is it a healthy way to live ..

    You are doing just fine eating the way you are now - why are you looking at changing up your food habits so drastically? Typically, when a person makes a radical change in the way they eat to lose weight or "eat healthier", they find that not only are they not able to stick to it, they've now disrupted the previous eating pattern that was working for them.

    Intermittent fasting can be as healthy a way to eat as any other way, as long as calorie calorie and nutrition goals are met. It's really just restricting when you eat to hours that make sense for you. Limiting yourself to eating in an 8 hour window, for instance, can be helpful to control snacking, or noshing after dinner, or eating in even shorter time frames can let people eat bigger meals if that's what they prefer, but it all boils down to calories and nutrition in the end.

    My strong advice is to stop looking at ways to change the way you're eating since you're currently successful, and focus on tweaking it slowly to make it even more of a good fit for you.

    True indeed ! I just need to stick with what I’m doing .. my body seems to like it but as far as this app I start getting stressed trying not to eat too much sodium sugar fat etc.. I think I will start planning out meals

    I think you're stressing yourself out by making this too complicated :) Make your goals simple, and easily achievable. If you have no medical reason to restrict sugar and sodium, ignore those limits for now. Focus on your macros. Make sure you are meeting your protein goals. Let the carbs and fats fall wherever they fall. S-l-o-w-l-y tweak your food choices toward things that you consider healthier than others, and I suggest again don't try to do it all at once, get used to changes one step at a time.

    Ok! I think I got this !!! I just thought the sugar and sodium will make me bloated or not lose the weight .. but I'll slowly get there !Thank you

    The only thing that will make you lose, maintain or gain weight is the number of calories you eat. If sugar or salt makes you feel bloated or uncomfortable, then certainly that's a good reason to limit the amount (and eating more sodium than usual in a meal or a day may make it look like you're gaining weight, but it's just water and will work itself out after a day or two). Otherwise, there's no food that will make you gain weight as long as you are meeting your calorie goals.

    Ok ! No it doesn't make me feel anyway just stuff I've read about how it's bad for you but this is good to know !! My next thing is taking my scale out the bathroom smh talk about stressing myself out !! Lol
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    If you do have some interest in low carb or keto, look into the Low Carber Daily and Keto MFP groups.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1143-keto

    There is also an IF and OMAD group for more info there.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/20634-omad-revolution

    Some people find that these changes make weight loss easier to achieve and improves their health. Others have better success without these changes. They find restricting all calories better than restricting calories by skipping meals or restricting calories by cutting carbs. It all comes down to a restriction of some sort though.

    BTW, carbs do cause some bloating. When insulin is higher you will hold onto more water and electrolytes. When people cut carbs, if they don't replace their electrolytes, they will lose up to a few pounds of water weight. But it's just water and not fat, so it's not a big problem when it comes to weight management.
  • whitneyb0421
    whitneyb0421 Posts: 36 Member
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    Thank you !!!
  • pdxhak
    pdxhak Posts: 383 Member
    edited March 2018
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    .
  • tonyabozeman
    tonyabozeman Posts: 2 Member
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    I am on a Keto plan...LOVE it. The macros that I use are 70/25/5. 70 fat 25 protein 5 carbs...those are percentages by the way