My noob keto questions
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JeromeBarry1
Posts: 10,182 Member
I've seen many keto advisors say that we should disregard calories while consuming low carb and high fat foods. The combination, I understand, provides satiety automatically with no need of counting calories. I've only been at this for 2 days. Maybe I just need a word of reassurance.
Is it really ok to stop eating when I'm satisfied? My calories are way low.
Is it really ok to stop eating when I'm satisfied? My calories are way low.
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Replies
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FWIW, I am noobish (started in Nov), and tracked my calories for roughly a month - 6 weeks. I found that I could easily stay under calories, with the exception of days were I went heavy on nuts (I *LOVE* homemade roasted pecans & almonds!) or peanut butter. So I make a mental note of how many nuts I am consuming, and if there is a major stall/plateau, then to spot check calories again.
I don't know if this helps at all, but as long as you are eating a fairly balanced LCHF diet and know what might be hard for you to keep in check, you should be fine.2 -
While it does matter the number of calories you eat, we rarely need to look at this. Why? Because the amount of satiety brought to us from what we eat will naturally restrict the amount of calories we are eating.
Does this mean you can eat however much you want and never gain weight on a ketogenic diet? Of course not. If you are overeating with calories, you are going to put weight on, simple as that.
Just find your daily calorie requirements and do 70%-20%-5%. Make sure you always hit or exceed protien. Hit or go below on carbs and fill in rest with healthy fats tell full.
It’s easier to control calories on a keto diet because fat and high-fat meals are more satiating. Fat-rich meals don’t raise blood sugars (and insulin), so they keep you full for longer. On a high-carb diet you often feel hungry one or two hours after a meal. On a keto diet you can go without meals for many hours.
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I am not a medical professional. Depending on what you mean by way low, under eating could be problem. I wouldn’t worry about it in the short term (a few days to a week). Most of us under eat from time to time. If it continues you will be forcing your body to use your lean body mass for fuel. That is a recipe for long term problems and lasting damage.
1200 calories a day is the magic number that gets used most often as a target that you want to meet most days. If you are large frame, male or very active, 1200 could still be too low.
The appetite suppression on a Keto diet can be very strong, especially in the beginning. I recall forgetting to eat for the first time in my life when I started. Choose to fuel your body with good whole food and it will benifit you for the rest of your life.
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I've seen many keto advisors say that we should disregard calories while consuming low carb and high fat foods. The combination, I understand, provides satiety automatically with no need of counting calories. I've only been at this for 2 days. Maybe I just need a word of reassurance.
Is it really ok to stop eating when I'm satisfied? My calories are way low.
When eating a strict Keto/LC diet, I often have days where I am satisfied with around 1000 calories (for a 5'8" male)... I also have days where I want to eat all the food in the house... in the end, I find that it balances out and I lose weight in the long run.4 -
Calories often even themselves out for me. When I'm tracking I notice I usually have 1 or 2 higher calorie days, followed by a couple of lower days. At 2 days in, first, get used to this way of eating then begin to tinker. You'll find a sweet spot for yourself.5
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I would say to enjoy it while it lasts! Haha. My appetite was pretty well under control for a while when I first started, but it picked up later. However, I have never done strict keto and have usually kept my carbs at around 35-50.2
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »I've seen many keto advisors say that we should disregard calories while consuming low carb and high fat foods. The combination, I understand, provides satiety automatically with no need of counting calories. I've only been at this for 2 days. Maybe I just need a word of reassurance.
Is it really ok to stop eating when I'm satisfied? My calories are way low.
When eating a strict Keto/LC diet, I often have days where I am satisfied with around 1000 calories (for a 5'8" male)... I also have days where I want to eat all the food in the house... in the end, I find that it balances out and I lose weight in the long run.
This is me too. I have 1000kcal days and 3000 kcal days. It seems to average out to my advantage.
I would not say that low carbers should disregard calories - not all can - but many can get by without calorie counting.
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I fall more on the low carb end. Meaning 45- 50 carbs per day, but I do not net the fiber out. My protein about 90, In theory I have about 85 grams for fat. Often on purpose I come in low during the week, so I can have a bit more on weekend.
I figured out what my percentages needed to be, so I got my grams and shoot for grams daily. If I am falling fairly close then I am on target for calories and deficit.
And a number of bloggers, will say not to force yourself to eat all the fat grams, if you feel satisfied with less. That really helped my mind set.1 -
I am not a keto expert, but I have been doing it since October 2016. I tried different macros to figure out what was best for me in terms of general satisfaction with what I was eating. I watch blood glucose like a hawk since I am T2D. I track everything and keep an eye on calories and sodium as well as the macros, but maybe I am just compulsive that way.
I eat about 50% fat, 45% protein and 5% carbs. I try to stay under on the fats and meet or exceed the protein. There is probably some name for this higher protein version of keto. Dunno - it is what I do, and I am happy with it.
So - you might give yourself time to settle in and try changing the macros to suit yourself. The critical bit for keto is the low carbs. I have intentionally tried to stay a little lower on fat than most people because I um... had some fat reserves. I wanted to burn some of the body fat instead of consuming it.2 -
I stay higher protein too. Shoot for carbs under 35g (when I am not recovering from surgery and almost pass out in the shower like this morning), protein 112g daily and fat about 90g.
In practice, most of the time my carbs are under (including under 20g), I meet or exceed my protein and let fat do whatever fat does. At 275lbs, I have plenty of stores of my own to burn.2 -
Let me quote Ash Simmonds on how he determines his calories:0-6,000 cals/day, average probably 2,500-3,000 maybe.
That's as close as he comes to counting. And, he never restricts. I am opposed to calorie restriction as a weight loss method. You'll find my ranting about it here. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10715031/reminder-low-carb-is-not-about-starving-yourself-until-youre-skinny#latest
In the end, everyone needs to make up their own mind. But, I would say to try it the way it was intended to be done. If you wish to shoehorn calorie restriction into it, that can always be added later.3 -
This is my 3rd day, and is the closest I've gotten to 80% F, 15% P, 5% C.
I thank all of you for your replies. @FIT_Goat I read the entire discussion.
I tried to look at the food diaries of successful keto-ers, but I couldn't find any with open diaries. Mine is open.0 -
I would share mine, but I don't log. I am a strict carnivore these days (well for going on five years now). I eat meat to hunger. I don't weigh anything or count anything. My diary today would be "ground beef and NY strip steak with a small handful of cheese." The amount of each meat is probably a pound, but it could be 0.75 of a pound or 1.5 pounds each. Tomorrow will be the same. Actually, the next week will be burger and NY strip for every meal. The burger is a staple food, and the NY strip is what was on sale this week and I bought enough to last until the weekend.3
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When eating a strict Keto/LC diet, I often have days where I am satisfied with around 1000 calories (for a 5'8" male)...
This is me a lot of the time. I've had a hair under a thousand calories today and yet I'm absolutely stuffed. 5'6"ish male, sedentary, disabled. Even when I ate "normal" I doubt I ate 1500 calories a day on average. My average now is anywhere between a thousand and 1500.
Occasionally I have a 1700 - 2000 calorie day, but those are rare and generally when I get a salt/savory craving and eat a few ounces of nuts and have some pork rinds. I also stay higher protein, still have quite a bit of my own fat left to lose. Today I had 101g protein, 57g fat, and 17g carbs.
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