Keto Diet (I might blow the spelling)

yesevedo

So some girls at my church have done the Keto diet and are looking really good. My friend just joined the craze and also looks good and mys sisters decided today to join the band wagon. I have a VERY hard time with eating right as it is... and it all just sounds soooooooo complicated and confusing as to how it works if you ask me. First of all, I hate following suit when people flock to the latest fads and second of all I lack will power and am struggling to log my meals and make good choices as it is. Is it wrong of me to pass up this “opportunity” or is it okay that I try to do things in a more traditional sense? Maybe someone can even explain the Keto to me? I just wanna look good and feel great!!!!!

kommodevaran

If your friends have lost weight, it's because they've been in a consistent calorie deficit for some time. This just means that they've eaten less. Keto is in its core only a way to make eating less, easier. But dieting is also a social activity, as you have noticed. So for social people, it's fun and feels good to do things together. That doesn't mean it's the most effective strategy for weightloss.

As I said, and everybody knows it, you have to eat less to lose weight. But that's also all you have to do. Fads are promoted as "aids", but they really only make simple things complicated and confusing. It sounds to me that you should just be doing your thing, but do some research, figure out whether "eating right" is a thing; investigate if you're doing unnecessary and/or unnecessarily hard things.

merc5150

I’ve been doing Keto for 2 years, after losing weight the low carb way. I next to never eat dairy or grains, and feel and look great inside and out. I highly recommend Kara Leigh Nutrition if you’re interested. Good luck!!

livingleanlivingclean

merc5150 wrote: »

I’ve been doing Keto for 2 years, after losing weight the low carb way. I next to never eat dairy or grains, and feel and look great inside and out. I highly recommend Kara Leigh Nutrition if you’re interested. Good luck!!

I lost weight without doing keto, enjoy dairy and grains, and feel and look great inside and out.

OP, keto isn't necessary to lose weight. I recommend eating foods you enjoy, making choices for physical health most of the time. Try different approaches if they interest you, it's how you learn what works and what makes you feel good.

psuLemon

yesevedo wrote: »

So some girls at my church have done the Keto diet and are looking really good. My friend just joined the craze and also looks good and mys sisters decided today to join the band wagon. I have a VERY hard time with eating right as it is... and it all just sounds soooooooo complicated and confusing as to how it works if you ask me. First of all, I hate following suit when people flock to the latest fads and second of all I lack will power and am struggling to log my meals and make good choices as it is. Is it wrong of me to pass up this “opportunity” or is it okay that I try to do things in a more traditional sense? Maybe someone can even explain the Keto to me? I just wanna look good and feel great!!!!!

A ketogenic diet is a carb restrictive diet where you get less than 50g of carbs per day to get in a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state where you transition from largely mainly to fat metabolism and use ketones of a fuel source (largely for your brain). Essentially, a person uses greater amounts of stored/eaten fat instead of a combination of fat and glucose (sugar). What that means... nothing; it only matters in endurance athletes and carbs are king. A person will use both in daily activities.

It still goes by the rules of energy balance, but in some people, they see greater compliance or improvements in health conditions such as insulin resistance, diabetes or PCOS. So if you are one who is not a huge volume eater, is satiated by fats, or become more compliant by a huge reduction in one macronutrient, then it can be beneficial. Additionally, since you deplete glycogen (stored carbs) and reduce insulin (which reduces electrolyte storage), you will need to eat a high sodium diet (3000-5000mg+).

It still has a high failure rate just like all other diets. And ultimately, you will need to see how your body would respond. Albeit, you could try to start low carb and slowly transition. Low carb is much less restrictive.

yesevedo

Thank you all for all your replies! I’m definitely learning a lot!

danceandplay

As a diabetic, keto helps me regulate my blood sugar without insulin. It has also stopped my cravings. Counting carbs is easy enough with MFP. As a diabetic, I have to count net carbs because fiber and sugar alcohols mess with how much is actually absorbed into the blood stream.

celestedbarker

I used to care for a boy who was on a very strict keto diet because he had snygap 1. Snygap 1 causes frequent seizures. His body was in constant ketosis so his seizures were less frequent and much shorter than before he was on the diet. I tried it because I was curious. I lost weight because I always felt full. Ketosis is a wonderful feeling, I was also very focused and had a ton of energy. I am also vegan so I really didn't want to keep up all the work. I stopped keto and went back to eating normally. I won't be going back but I implore you to try it out and see how you feel good luck!

lemurcat12

yesevedo wrote: »

I have a VERY hard time with eating right as it is...

What do you mean by eating right, and why do you have a hard time with it? Many people make it too complicated or too restrictive, think it's a choice between never eating foods they love again or not losing weight.

For weight loss all you need is to eat the right amount of calories, but that does require most people to look at what they are eating and to understand why they tend to overeat, to get some control over what they do. (I find a surprising number of people think that eating less should be about just deciding they will eat "healthier" and then continuing to graze all day and being upset they didn't eat less when doing so, or always make good choices. IMO, you need an actual plan: when do you want to eat, what do you want to eat, if you want to include snacks or dessert, what will they be? Stuff like that, at least at first.)

For nutrition it's also pretty simple, and mostly about what you DO eat (although it will leave less room for some other things). You know, eat your vegetables, eat protein, get most of your starchy carbs from whole foods or whole grains, including healthy sources of fat like fish and nuts and seeds, so on, but I think the real key is just eat your vegetables and have some protein (I do both at all meals).

and it all just sounds soooooooo complicated and confusing as to how it works if you ask me.

Keto? It's not, really, although it's not necessary, you can lose just as well without doing it. The deal with keto is that some just count carbs and find that simpler than counting calories, but it effectively reduces calories (for many people because it makes off limits foods they tended to overeat, for others because it controls the appetite, which it does for some, not all). Basically, it's super low carb, so you end up having meals made up of (basically) meat or eggs, plus non starchy veg (some don't prioritize these, but you should, IMO), and then (usually) some other source of fat -- an oil or butter based sauce, cheese, or just have meat with more fat in it, I guess. Main thing is you avoid sugar and starchy carbs.

is it okay that I try to do things in a more traditional sense?

Absolutely! I lost weight not doing keto, but in the more traditional way (meaning cutting calories, focusing on just eating a basically nutritious diet). Many of the foods cut out by keto (fruit, beans and lentils, potatoes and sweet potatoes, whole grains) are really good for you, many don't find cutting so low on carbs sustainable or don't enjoy such a high fat diet, and if you can learn to do it, absolutely nothing wrong with continuing to eat some high carb (and usually high fat) treat type foods in moderation. And, personally, I found a meal based around meat (often shrimp), veg, and pasta to be a healthy, easy staple when I was losing, so I'd never see a need to avoid pasta! ;-)

Many keto-ers on MFP track and count like those not doing keto, but IME many non MFPers see it as an easy fast diet (since you drop lots of water weight at first) since they just have to not eat "carbs" (other than vegetables) and thus don't have to track or anything and can still eat lots of foods they find indulgent. For some this means they lower calories and lose, but some find they overdo the indulgent foods (easy to make up calories with too much cheese, for example) and don't lose.

LivingtheLeanDream

You don't have to do keto just because others are doing it, its not for everyone - I know it wasn't for me.
People lose weight because they consume less calories than they burn - in other words eat at a calorie deficit. Eat foods you enjoy and like and stay within the allotted calories to lose (MFP will give you that number) and you will lose. Losing weight doesn't have to be complicated

eviiem

Hi Ladies! Came across this thread im new to trying to figure out how to add people. I have Pcos and doing Low Carb to try help it. Ive done low Carb before and lost a lot of weight and periods regulated felt better. Long story short i hurt my back fell out of plan so back at it again now! Would love to add some people that are along the same lines as myself so if you would be interested in being support buddies or whatever please add