To quit keto or not quit keto?
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That's not a fact, that's just opinions. Every body is wired differently, in my case high protein and high fiber is enough for me to feel full and I also need volume which restricting carbs won't do since high fatty meals are more caloric (remember that 1g of fat = 9 calories opposed to carbs and proteins who are 1g = 4 calories) especially if I want volume. And in my case, I need to workout with carbs or else I feel weak at the gym. In the end, you do what your body prefers. In my case, I usually eat a high carb diet even when cutting, I sometimes have to force myself to add fats in order to hit my minimum of 15% fats.i remember trying the keto mode. i was told calories didnt matter. was having as much has 4000 calories of fried meat. gained so much weight over a short period of time. That said, i think keto works, in short any diet works as long as you have a deficit. I guess people would say keto is better because you lose appetite. However for me it was hard sticking to it. the oil alone was making up 1000calories in my diet. plus most nice meat cuts for me are the fatty bits. so it wasnt sustainable.
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@KrazyKrissyy are you working with a nutritionist at all? If so, approach him/her with your updated info and see if you can get some recommendations on what to change (if anything).
To lose the weight again, you'll probably have to track to make sure you're not eating more than you burn.
To keep the seizures under control, you might need to continue with keto but simply need to track what you're eating more closely. Or maybe full keto is too aggressive and you should aim more for LCHF and you might not need to track as religiously.
I don't know. For me, I have to track at least periodically to keep myself in the right mindset or I will overeat and gain weight. Best of luck to you. :flowerforyou:1 -
Many in this forum nailed it. Using an app, counting calories and the ratios of carbs/fat/protein matters. Additionally, quality of food. Pork rinds may have zero carbs but do they nourish your body. (No judgement here... I bought some searching for crunch...after eating a couple just couldn’t). I have used then ground up to coat chicken tenders. Bottom line, your body is responding to Keto! Reduced seizures is a sign. You just need to tweak and figure out what your body wants. There are books that discuss a lighter Keto keeping carbs under 50 so you could add in some lower carb veggies & fruit. Good luck! Your beautiful at either weight. Seek health and I’m sure you’ll find a personal balance.4
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Whether or not you should continue keto is more of a medical question it seems like. What I find fantastic about this thread is the OP understanding both the benefits of keto medically (potentially) and realizing that energy balance is still what matters for weight loss. Kudos @KrazyKrissyy for the open mind on this.9
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Keto or not, you still need to be in a deficit in order to lose weight. I've successfully lost nearly 70lbs following a Ketogenic diet, but I also make sure that I'm consuming less calories than I am burning. Keto is not a free for all, you still need to make healthy food choices and eat reasonable portions. I like to eat volume as well, so salads are a great option loaded with low GI veggies and then throw in some healthy fats. These people that are just dousing their foods in oil and eating all the cheese are doing nothing for their health or their waistline. Keto can be a wonderful diet, if done correctly, which unfortunately, the vast majority see it as a quick fix and excuse to eat all the fats.
I really think that you need to do some more research on the Keto diet, especially as it relates to your health condition.2 -
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »Dietary approach before keto (left) and current (right).
Currently eating net 20g carbs. I eat vegetables, admittedly in smaller quantities than I'd like, but still vegetables. Why does your keto side look completely void of any vegetables?13 -
Bookmarking this for the next time someone says “everyone doing keto knows calorie deficit is required for weight loss, no one says otherwise”
OP I would speak with your doctor and do some further research (real research, not whatever site told you that calories didn’t matter on keto) about if there is a carb threshold that impacts your seizures, maybe you can maintain the positive health benefits for your condition without being fully in ketosis. Even if you start tracking your calories it doesn’t seem like this is your preferred way of eating so it’s a bit of a conundrum. Good luck.25 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Bookmarking this for the next time someone says “everyone doing keto knows calorie deficit is required for weight loss, no one says otherwise”
OP I would speak with your doctor and do some further research (real research, not whatever site told you that calories didn’t matter on keto) about if there is a carb threshold that impacts your seizures, maybe you can maintain the positive health benefits for your condition without being fully in ketosis. Even if you start tracking your calories it doesn’t seem like this is your preferred way of eating so it’s a bit of a conundrum. Good luck.
This. Find out how many carbs you can eat to keep your seizures lower. And then eat them. Your "after" photos include no leafy green vegetables. That doesn't sound fun at all. Perhaps a nutritionist working with your doctor can show you how to eat a nutrient dense, delicious keto level diet.
Here's a visual: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/20-50-how-much
PS: Are you aiming for a weight BETWEEN 117 and 151? 117 is 3 pounds from underweight, of course.
Best of luck.7 -
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »
and you believed that BS?
you can gain weight eating an excess amount of veggies.
calories matter. it is the ONLY thing that matters. how you achieve the needed reduction in calories is you to you (and personally i think ANY diet that tells me to omit entire food groups is full of shhhhh it.
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Big fan of keto but can't imagine losing if I didn't also track calories. Many of us just lack that "stop eating!" device. Another vote for staying on keto, upping your veggies and staying under/within your calorie limits.6
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Running_and_Coffee wrote: »Big fan of keto but can't imagine losing if I didn't also track calories. Many of us just lack that "stop eating!" device. Another vote for staying on keto, upping your veggies and staying under/within your calorie limits.
I have the problem of actually eating. I eat lunch and I’m full for the day. Was just told I may be eating too much fat. Example
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As everyone has said, calories matter. They control weight. Some people, usually those with insulin resistance, might lose a bit faster with keto than on a higher carb diet, on which they would be slower than healthy people, but for those without metabolic issues, they lose fine at any calorie deficit.
If you want to stay ketogenic, it looks like you are back to counting calories and logging. Weighing is helpful too.
Perhaps look into vegetarian or vegan ketosis to increase your plant, and volume, options. The Low Carber Daily has a list of LC diet resources, including vegetarian and vegan, in their launch pad stickie. It might help you switch over to large salads with a fatty dressing, or broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, or pepper and spinach omelettes, instead of plain avocado or bacon and eggs.
The LCD and Keto groups often have recipe threads going that could help with varying your diet.
Do you have a set carb goal? Can it be increased a bit? If the photos are your food for a day, it looks like your carbs were under 10g. Do you need to keep it that low? Most keto'ers I know tend to eat more veggies than what you are consuming.
Do you use MCT or coconut oil? That will raise ketones even in the presence of carbs, and might help you get in a few more carbs while keeping ketones high. Cooking everything in MCT oil and using it as a salad dressing might work. Go slowly adding it in though, probably no more than 1 teaspoon a week, because it can lead to diahrrea.
Exogenous ketones might also help with less of a caloric impact, although I've heard the taste can be prohibitive. Ketone esters or ketone salts would be something to look into. Ignore garbage products like raspberry ketones.
If you are a volume eater, have you considered IF? If you ate just twice a day, perhaps with one small snack if needed, that would allow you to eat more volume at your meals. Ifor example, if you eat 1500 kcal a day, that would be two 700kcal meals and a 100 kcal snack.
You might want to consider increasing sodium. Fatigue, brain fog, moodiness, headaches, nausea, BM problems,muscle weakness and spasms are all symptoms of low sodium. Most keto'ers need at least 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day in order to replace the sodium they are low on. Two cups of salty broth or boullion, pickle juice, salt tablets, homemade salty Mio ketoade, or just eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with a chaser of water (on top of normal salt usage) may help. 2300 mg sodium = 1 teaspoon salt, so you may need more than 2 teaspoons of salt a day. Try it. If it helps you'll know within a day. If it is too much sodium, you'll just excrete it out.
You may need some magnesium and potassium too. Those tend to get leeched out and used if sodium is unavailable. Be wary with those. Magnesium can cause loose BMs, and too much potassium is a dangerous thing. Most seem to find that if sodium is taken care of, then magnesium and potassium take care of them selves.
Good luck.9 -
callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »KrazyKrissyy wrote: »
and you believed that BS?
you can gain weight eating an excess amount of veggies.
calories matter. it is the ONLY thing that matters. how you achieve the needed reduction in calories is you to you (and personally i think ANY diet that tells me to omit entire food groups is full of shhhhh it.
OP has participated in plenty of keto threads on these boards in which the caveat that calories are still the driving force for weight loss is stated repeatedly. Apparently she chose to ignore all those comments and listen only to the misinformation instead.12 -
To get back to your original point - you have a major health condition (seizures) that keto is helping with (keto has a 100+ year history of use as a treatment for seizures). I'd prioritize overall health over a mild weight issue each and every time.
Why don't you try dialing in keto so that you find a way to both control your seizures and address your weight concerns? Have you tried intermittent fasting? I find that 1-2 bigger meals a day helps me feel full on keto and keeps weight loss goals moving in the right direction. There are other ways you might be able to tweak your keto diet - are you getting enough protein and fiber to feel full?3 -
As everyone has said, calories matter. They control weight. Some people, usually those with insulin resistance, might lose a bit faster with keto than on a higher carb diet, on which they would be slower than healthy people, but for those without metabolic issues, they lose fine at any calorie deficit.
If you want to stay ketogenic, it looks like you are back to counting calories and logging. Weighing is helpful too.
Perhaps look into vegetarian or vegan ketosis to increase your plant, and volume, options. The Low Carber Daily has a list of LC diet resources, including vegetarian and vegan, in their launch pad stickie. It might help you switch over to large salads with a fatty dressing, or broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, or pepper and spinach omelettes, instead of plain avocado or bacon and eggs.
The LCD and Keto groups often have recipe threads going that could help with varying your diet.
Do you have a set carb goal? Can it be increased a bit? If the photos are your food for a day, it looks like your carbs were under 10g. Do you need to keep it that low? Most keto'ers I know tend to eat more veggies than what you are consuming.
Do you use MCT or coconut oil? That will raise ketones even in the presence of carbs, and might help you get in a few more carbs while keeping ketones high. Cooking everything in MCT oil and using it as a salad dressing might work. Go slowly adding it in though, probably no more than 1 teaspoon a week, because it can lead to diahrrea.
Exogenous ketones might also help with less of a caloric impact, although I've heard the taste can be prohibitive. Ketone esters or ketone salts would be something to look into. Ignore garbage products like raspberry ketones.
If you are a volume eater, have you considered IF? If you ate just twice a day, perhaps with one small snack if needed, that would allow you to eat more volume at your meals. Ifor example, if you eat 1500 kcal a day, that would be two 700kcal meals and a 100 kcal snack.
You might want to consider increasing sodium. Fatigue, brain fog, moodiness, headaches, nausea, BM problems,muscle weakness and spasms are all symptoms of low sodium. Most keto'ers need at least 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day in order to replace the sodium they are low on. Two cups of salty broth or boullion, pickle juice, salt tablets, homemade salty Mio ketoade, or just eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with a chaser of water (on top of normal salt usage) may help. 2300 mg sodium = 1 teaspoon salt, so you may need more than 2 teaspoons of salt a day. Try it. If it helps you'll know within a day. If it is too much sodium, you'll just excrete it out.
You may need some magnesium and potassium too. Those tend to get leeched out and used if sodium is unavailable. Be wary with those. Magnesium can cause loose BMs, and too much potassium is a dangerous thing. Most seem to find that if sodium is taken care of, then magnesium and potassium take care of them selves.
Good luck.
I used coconut oil for a while. Not anymore. As for intermittent fasting, I can't do it. I have non-diabetic hypoglycemia (doctor doesn't know why) and the longer I go without eating, the more my blood sugar continues to drop. It hit 24mg/dl the last time I went 20 hours without eating (was following 20:4) which produced a hypoglycemic seizure.3 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Bookmarking this for the next time someone says “everyone doing keto knows calorie deficit is required for weight loss, no one says otherwise”
OP I would speak with your doctor and do some further research (real research, not whatever site told you that calories didn’t matter on keto) about if there is a carb threshold that impacts your seizures, maybe you can maintain the positive health benefits for your condition without being fully in ketosis. Even if you start tracking your calories it doesn’t seem like this is your preferred way of eating so it’s a bit of a conundrum. Good luck.
This. Find out how many carbs you can eat to keep your seizures lower. And then eat them. Your "after" photos include no leafy green vegetables. That doesn't sound fun at all. Perhaps a nutritionist working with your doctor can show you how to eat a nutrient dense, delicious keto level diet.
Here's a visual: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/20-50-how-much
PS: Are you aiming for a weight BETWEEN 117 and 151? 117 is 3 pounds from underweight, of course.
Best of luck.
Thank you for the link.
My current goal weight is 125 by the way. 4 -
Another thought - you mentioned in a later post that your insulin levels had spiked while on keto - which is very unusual. Your weight gain and spiked insulin (4 to 11) might be related to another health condition like PCOS. You might want to talk with your healthcare provider about checking out other health issues since this might not just be an issue of diet alone.5
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KrazyKrissyy wrote: »As everyone has said, calories matter. They control weight. Some people, usually those with insulin resistance, might lose a bit faster with keto than on a higher carb diet, on which they would be slower than healthy people, but for those without metabolic issues, they lose fine at any calorie deficit.
If you want to stay ketogenic, it looks like you are back to counting calories and logging. Weighing is helpful too.
Perhaps look into vegetarian or vegan ketosis to increase your plant, and volume, options. The Low Carber Daily has a list of LC diet resources, including vegetarian and vegan, in their launch pad stickie. It might help you switch over to large salads with a fatty dressing, or broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, or pepper and spinach omelettes, instead of plain avocado or bacon and eggs.
The LCD and Keto groups often have recipe threads going that could help with varying your diet.
Do you have a set carb goal? Can it be increased a bit? If the photos are your food for a day, it looks like your carbs were under 10g. Do you need to keep it that low? Most keto'ers I know tend to eat more veggies than what you are consuming.
Do you use MCT or coconut oil? That will raise ketones even in the presence of carbs, and might help you get in a few more carbs while keeping ketones high. Cooking everything in MCT oil and using it as a salad dressing might work. Go slowly adding it in though, probably no more than 1 teaspoon a week, because it can lead to diahrrea.
Exogenous ketones might also help with less of a caloric impact, although I've heard the taste can be prohibitive. Ketone esters or ketone salts would be something to look into. Ignore garbage products like raspberry ketones.
If you are a volume eater, have you considered IF? If you ate just twice a day, perhaps with one small snack if needed, that would allow you to eat more volume at your meals. Ifor example, if you eat 1500 kcal a day, that would be two 700kcal meals and a 100 kcal snack.
You might want to consider increasing sodium. Fatigue, brain fog, moodiness, headaches, nausea, BM problems,muscle weakness and spasms are all symptoms of low sodium. Most keto'ers need at least 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day in order to replace the sodium they are low on. Two cups of salty broth or boullion, pickle juice, salt tablets, homemade salty Mio ketoade, or just eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with a chaser of water (on top of normal salt usage) may help. 2300 mg sodium = 1 teaspoon salt, so you may need more than 2 teaspoons of salt a day. Try it. If it helps you'll know within a day. If it is too much sodium, you'll just excrete it out.
You may need some magnesium and potassium too. Those tend to get leeched out and used if sodium is unavailable. Be wary with those. Magnesium can cause loose BMs, and too much potassium is a dangerous thing. Most seem to find that if sodium is taken care of, then magnesium and potassium take care of them selves.
Good luck.
I used coconut oil for a while. Not anymore. As for intermittent fasting, I can't do it. I have non-diabetic hypoglycemia (doctor doesn't know why) and the longer I go without eating, the more my blood sugar continues to drop. It hit 24mg/dl the last time I went 20 hours without eating (was following 20:4) which produced a hypoglycemic seizure.
Yikes.
How is your BG while keto? I ask because lower BG levels seem to be tolerated much better when one is fat adapted. BG might fall, but the patient does not experience the same symptoms.... But the study I saw on that was not done on epileptics.1 -
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »As everyone has said, calories matter. They control weight. Some people, usually those with insulin resistance, might lose a bit faster with keto than on a higher carb diet, on which they would be slower than healthy people, but for those without metabolic issues, they lose fine at any calorie deficit.
If you want to stay ketogenic, it looks like you are back to counting calories and logging. Weighing is helpful too.
Perhaps look into vegetarian or vegan ketosis to increase your plant, and volume, options. The Low Carber Daily has a list of LC diet resources, including vegetarian and vegan, in their launch pad stickie. It might help you switch over to large salads with a fatty dressing, or broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, or pepper and spinach omelettes, instead of plain avocado or bacon and eggs.
The LCD and Keto groups often have recipe threads going that could help with varying your diet.
Do you have a set carb goal? Can it be increased a bit? If the photos are your food for a day, it looks like your carbs were under 10g. Do you need to keep it that low? Most keto'ers I know tend to eat more veggies than what you are consuming.
Do you use MCT or coconut oil? That will raise ketones even in the presence of carbs, and might help you get in a few more carbs while keeping ketones high. Cooking everything in MCT oil and using it as a salad dressing might work. Go slowly adding it in though, probably no more than 1 teaspoon a week, because it can lead to diahrrea.
Exogenous ketones might also help with less of a caloric impact, although I've heard the taste can be prohibitive. Ketone esters or ketone salts would be something to look into. Ignore garbage products like raspberry ketones.
If you are a volume eater, have you considered IF? If you ate just twice a day, perhaps with one small snack if needed, that would allow you to eat more volume at your meals. Ifor example, if you eat 1500 kcal a day, that would be two 700kcal meals and a 100 kcal snack.
You might want to consider increasing sodium. Fatigue, brain fog, moodiness, headaches, nausea, BM problems,muscle weakness and spasms are all symptoms of low sodium. Most keto'ers need at least 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day in order to replace the sodium they are low on. Two cups of salty broth or boullion, pickle juice, salt tablets, homemade salty Mio ketoade, or just eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with a chaser of water (on top of normal salt usage) may help. 2300 mg sodium = 1 teaspoon salt, so you may need more than 2 teaspoons of salt a day. Try it. If it helps you'll know within a day. If it is too much sodium, you'll just excrete it out.
You may need some magnesium and potassium too. Those tend to get leeched out and used if sodium is unavailable. Be wary with those. Magnesium can cause loose BMs, and too much potassium is a dangerous thing. Most seem to find that if sodium is taken care of, then magnesium and potassium take care of them selves.
Good luck.
I used coconut oil for a while. Not anymore. As for intermittent fasting, I can't do it. I have non-diabetic hypoglycemia (doctor doesn't know why) and the longer I go without eating, the more my blood sugar continues to drop. It hit 24mg/dl the last time I went 20 hours without eating (was following 20:4) which produced a hypoglycemic seizure.
Yikes.
How is your BG while keto? I ask because lower BG levels seem to be tolerated much better when one is fat adapted. BG might fall, but the patient does not experience the same symptoms.... But the study I saw on that was not done on epileptics.
Post meal bg is good on keto. It's the fasting I can't do.1 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Bookmarking this for the next time someone says “everyone doing keto knows calorie deficit is required for weight loss, no one says otherwise”
OP I would speak with your doctor and do some further research (real research, not whatever site told you that calories didn’t matter on keto) about if there is a carb threshold that impacts your seizures, maybe you can maintain the positive health benefits for your condition without being fully in ketosis. Even if you start tracking your calories it doesn’t seem like this is your preferred way of eating so it’s a bit of a conundrum. Good luck.
This. Find out how many carbs you can eat to keep your seizures lower. And then eat them. Your "after" photos include no leafy green vegetables. That doesn't sound fun at all. Perhaps a nutritionist working with your doctor can show you how to eat a nutrient dense, delicious keto level diet.
Here's a visual: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/20-50-how-much
PS: Are you aiming for a weight BETWEEN 117 and 151? 117 is 3 pounds from underweight, of course.
Best of luck.
Great visuals!
Getting to 20 grams of carbs by just eating spinach (bottom right plate) requires an enormous effort. At 1.4 grams of digestible carbs per 100 gram you’d have to eat about three pounds (1.5 kilos) of spinach. Please note that this is even more than is shown above, this is simply all the spinach we could fit onto the plate!
However, by adding some slightly more carb-rich vegetables like peppers and cherry tomatoes, it’s quite easy to get to 20 grams (top left plate). Full low-carb vegetable guide >
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