Starting over!

Moooofit

I did keto for 8 months and lost 50lbs. Thanksgiving last year I fell off the wagon ☹️
Starting was 230 and dropped to 180. Now (from eating crap) I am back up to 205. And I am having a horrible time trying to stay on it this time. What kind of things keep y'all motivated? Should I count calories? This time seems harder and not be working as well! Any advise?
Thanks

rsclause

I have just reduced carbs and added some fat and seem to do well other than an occasional beer or four. I find it easy to stay <50g but I must admit my wife cooks incredible meals and packs a great salad for me daily. I just read every label for carb totals and if it is high I find something else to eat. I never eat any breads, pastas, root veggies and have really cut back on the beer.

teresamwhite

At first, I didn't worry too much about calories. Just cutting back on sugar and carbs was tough enough! I focused on keeping my carbs under 50g per day and drinking enough water. Every two weeks I would check my MFP and then make another small adjustment...probably not the most efficient way to do it, and probably not the best way to start, but baby steps always work better for me than going "all in"...

Weeks 1-2: No sweets, drink enough water, keep carbs to 50g, walk 1 mile every day.

Weeks 2-4: Keep net carbs to 25g, drink enough water, make sure fat is at least half of my calories, walk 1 mile every day, do 10 minutes of HIIT (usually jumping jacks, or jump rope), keep calories to 1800.

Weeks 4-6: Keep net carbs to 25g, drink enough water, make sure fat is at least 70% of my calories, walk 1 mile every day, do 10 minutes of HIIT, make sure I am getting 20g fiber daily, keep calories to 1700.

Weeks 6-8: Keep net carbs to 20g, drink enough water, make sure fat is 70% of my calories, walk 1 mile every day, do 15 minutes of HIIT, make sure I am getting 25g fiber, keep calories to 1600.

Weeks 8-10: 1500 calorie calorie goal, 70%fat, 20% protein, 10% carbs with 25g fiber daily. Walk 2 miles every day, plus 15 minutes of HIIT. (This is where I am now!)

Small changes work better for me...If I have jumped in with both feet I think I would have become overwhelmed and then abandoned it. I think it gives me time to develop these changes into habits, too.

(PS> I only weight myself every other Sunday, at the end of a two week "adjustment" period, too...!)

kpk54

Good luck with your plan @teresamwhite. I was already eating low carb when I trialed keto so reducing carbs to <20 further was pretty easy. A year later when I upped it to 50, well it was a welcomed change for me. 2 years later, I've experimented again with carbs ~100 but am finding that 1) I have fewer lethargic episodes when keeping carbs lower than 100 (since I'm not exercising) and 2) keeping carbs around 50 for me has become pretty easy and 100 is almost "hard" to hit since I rarely eat carbs other than vegetables. Seems kind of silly for me to be "pushing" to hit 100 by adding legumes and such. Will add: I've already lost my weight and have been maintaining for a few years so for me, it is all about where I feel best. 1 thing for sure, I'll likely always be a "low carber".

iceneyes

I have a weird approach to maintain motivation. I engage my brain in something "Keto" everyday. I try to find a positive news article, a youtube video, a form post or a podcast to think Keto daily. It only takes a few minutes in the morning before getting ready for work and it keeps my brain focused on my goals.