To Keto or not to Keto

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Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    I do keto, and it’s very helpful to me because it helps me keep a calorie deficit more easily than when I eat a lot more carbs (even quinoa, beans, sweet potatoes, and veggies can make me ravenous). Fats satisfy me better than carbs and I have far less cravings for foods (breads, pasta, granola, ice cream, etc.) that easily take me past calorie goals. I am a volume eater and low carb veggies really satisfy because I can eat a large amount of them. For me, calories do matter on keto. I have to count them along with macros to be successful. I more or less do a weekly average for macros and calories because I am hungry some days. I do not need to stay under 20 net grams of carbs to see fat loss. Under 50 works for me to stay in ketosis. It’s worth a shot to try it if you are struggling to lose weight, and if you think you can sustain it. It can feel rather restrictive if you focus on what you shouldn’t eat on keto rather than focusing on all that you can have.

    Congrats! I wanted to add that I believe your last sentence is true for any other dietary change as well. Focus on what you want to add more of or want to prioritize, and let it naturally push out the other stuff :smiley:
  • Lyrica7
    Lyrica7 Posts: 88 Member
    edited April 2018
    Lyle McDonald has books on how to cycle a ketogenic diet to cut and bulk-calories do play a part.
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,628 Member

    Very inspiring with your weight loss. Congrats!! I was pre diabetic before doing keto/intermittent fasting and no longer am. No fatty liver, no high blood sugar anymore. :smile:

    I'm curious, with your large amount of weight loss have you been able to get out of the diabetic state? Are you currently taking insulin or other medicines, or other?

    I'm curious because I have a relative who had T2D and he was and still is a very thin, lean guy. 42 years old. No where near being obese but still had the Diabetes. He has been eating keto for only about 5 months and has completely reversed his T2D. He was on insulin and no longer takes that or any other meds. He went from a very high carb intake to barely any. Funny how so many folks say it's not possible to reverse it and that it's all fat related (of course obesity is a major player) but facts show that even skinny people have Diabetes and can still reverse it if they do what's needed to do so.

    I am completely off meds. I took metformin and then had it reduced. The doctor took me off of it in January, and my last A1C was 5.9 - so high normal. I am working on bringing it down some more. I still consider myself T2D, but I am just managing it with diet. Once I get to goal weight, I may see if I can tolerate a few more carbs in maintenance, but that is why I have the meter.

    I managed to do all this in the span of less than 18 months since diagnosis. The weight loss helped, but even before losing weight, the diet brought down the glucose numbers dramatically and gave me a lot of motivation to stay with this diet. I tried the Diabetes Association diet initially because that is what the doctor gave me, and it really did not work for me or seem to help my numbers at all. I would have to check but I think I did not see a reading under 200 (fasting or otherwise) until I started restricting the carbs to 50 a day. I tried lower carb amounts to see if the downward trend would continue, and they did. I reduced carbs to 20 and formally adopted keto in October of 2016. Numbers then were very good and were reflected in subsequent A1C's.

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,281 Member
    2t9nty wrote: »
    annwyatt69 wrote: »
    My family (4 of us) started the Ketogenic Meal Plan three days ago. I, myself, have already seen a 6 pound weight loss. I'm sure this is mostly water. Today--the 3rd day I achieved ketosis and the ketones are at large. My family and I are focusing on keeping are macros in check--70% fat, 10% carbs, and 20% protein. I am a type I diabetic on an insulin pump and since starting my blood sugars have been completely level. I am not seeing the ups and downs that are normally seen after meals and the lows prior. Steady levels throughout. I also have decreased my insulin usage from about 37 units per day to 15 units per day. Interestingly no one in my family has felt hungry and the meal planning is a family thing. I find it interestingly also that my calories are pretty much equal to what I ate prior to starting, but I was gaining slowly and now I am losing. I also like the intermittent fasting and plan to do that whenever possible.

    I am a T2D and was trying to lose weight and manage glucose levels. By monitoring with the meter, I found that the lower I kept the carbs, the more stable the glucose readings were. The keto diet looked like a solution for the weight loss and glucose control. I went with it.

    I keep my carbs under 20 a day. My macros are 5% C, 60% F, and 35% P. I have lost a pound a week more or less since October of 2016 on keto. I had lost about 40 lbs pre-keto and before my T2D diagnosis. I am 116 lbs down total since I resolved to lose some weight in January of 2016.

    My experience is that you have to watch the calories carefully (as I would expect). As I went into this I calculated basic caloric needs. I went with a daily 500 calorie deficit to meet the goal of losing a pound a week. Periodically I hit a plateau. After I notice the plateau and get tired enough of it to be motivated, I will drop the daily calorie intake by 200 and be really strict with measuring portions to get back on track. There is calorie creep in estimated servings (or mine anyway). That always gets the scales moving again.

    I do find that for me the keto diet provides very good control of appetite, and I find the food satisfying. Neither of those might be true for someone else. For me keto is a good fit.

    Very inspiring with your weight loss. Congrats!! I was pre diabetic before doing keto/intermittent fasting and no longer am. No fatty liver, no high blood sugar anymore. :smile:

    I'm curious, with your large amount of weight loss have you been able to get out of the diabetic state? Are you currently taking insulin or other medicines, or other

    I'm curious because I have a relative who had T2D and he was and still is a very thin, lean guy. 42 years old. No where near being obese but still had the Diabetes. He has been eating keto for only about 5 months and has completely reversed his T2D. He was on insulin and no longer takes that or any other meds. He went from a very high carb intake to barely any. Funny how so many folks say it's not possible to reverse it and that it's all fat related (of course obesity is a major player) but facts show that even skinny people have Diabetes and can still reverse it if they do what's needed to do so.

    Obesity is a major risk factor for developing T2 diabetes.

    However that does not mean everyone who develops T2 diabetes is or was obese. Some were not, this is true.

    For those who are not and who are , yes, i accept a low carb diet is benificial and may help control BSL's and result in reduced or no medications - diet controlled diabetes - wont be acheivable for everyone but will be for some.

    However important to realise this is not reversing the diabetes - it is controlling it with diet. It has not gone away.

    Insulin is also not always permanant - sometimes used short term in newly diagnosed diabetics to stabilise blood sugars more quickly. This is regardless of keto diets - have seen this used many times and none of the patients adopted a keto diet. They improved their diet and usually their activity level and reduced carbs and sometimes used oral meds as well as the insulin - but they did not go to a keto diet.

  • PaulChasinDreams
    PaulChasinDreams Posts: 439 Member
    2t9nty wrote: »

    Very inspiring with your weight loss. Congrats!! I was pre diabetic before doing keto/intermittent fasting and no longer am. No fatty liver, no high blood sugar anymore. :smile:

    I'm curious, with your large amount of weight loss have you been able to get out of the diabetic state? Are you currently taking insulin or other medicines, or other?

    I'm curious because I have a relative who had T2D and he was and still is a very thin, lean guy. 42 years old. No where near being obese but still had the Diabetes. He has been eating keto for only about 5 months and has completely reversed his T2D. He was on insulin and no longer takes that or any other meds. He went from a very high carb intake to barely any. Funny how so many folks say it's not possible to reverse it and that it's all fat related (of course obesity is a major player) but facts show that even skinny people have Diabetes and can still reverse it if they do what's needed to do so.

    I am completely off meds. I took metformin and then had it reduced. The doctor took me off of it in January, and my last A1C was 5.9 - so high normal. I am working on bringing it down some more. I still consider myself T2D, but I am just managing it with diet. Once I get to goal weight, I may see if I can tolerate a few more carbs in maintenance, but that is why I have the meter.

    I managed to do all this in the span of less than 18 months since diagnosis. The weight loss helped, but even before losing weight, the diet brought down the glucose numbers dramatically and gave me a lot of motivation to stay with this diet. I tried the Diabetes Association diet initially because that is what the doctor gave me, and it really did not work for me or seem to help my numbers at all. I would have to check but I think I did not see a reading under 200 (fasting or otherwise) until I started restricting the carbs to 50 a day. I tried lower carb amounts to see if the downward trend would continue, and they did. I reduced carbs to 20 and formally adopted keto in October of 2016. Numbers then were very good and were reflected in subsequent A1C's.

    Amazing and very inspiring. Thanks for sharing your story with us.