Transitioning off KETO..HELP

jschmidty38

Hi all,

I’ve been doing the keto diet on and off for about 4 months now. The diet had its ups and downs but I recently made the ultimate decision to try a traditional diet/excersise plan. I want to stick to something sustainable and a little more flexible. I feel brainwashed after being on keto for this long. I have no idea how to incorporate carbs into my diet because in my mind, carbs are the enemy and will make me fat.

I guess what I’m trying to ask is, what is a balanced, nutritional meal plan that promotes successful weight loss?

Thanks so much!!!

Ps. I’m planning on doing 5 days of 60 min hiit workouts.

zeejane03

Enter your info into MFP and it will give you your calorie target, factoring in what deficit you need to have in order to lose weight.

Expect to see an increase on the scale initially-this is water weight from reintroducing carbs and is not actual fat gains.

As far as what's a balanced way of eating-I prefer the models of the DASH diet or the Mediterranean diet (these aren't weight loss diets per se, but patterns of healthy eating).

MichelleSilverleaf

One you enjoy that helps you stick to a calorie deficit.

Don't make it more complicated than it has to be. Eat things you enjoy, get in lots of fruits and veggies, eat lots of protein. Moderate sweets and treats. You're going to experience a bit of a gain because bringing back carbs will result in water increase so be prepared for that. Weigh everything you eat, play around with foods to see what keeps you satisfied enough to help you stick to a deficit.

janejellyroll

Instead of adopting another meal plan, why not just eat the foods you enjoy in portion sizes that fit your calorie goals?

A calorie deficit is what creates weight loss and you can have one of those while eating in many different ways. Eating what you like is more sustainable and flexible than anything else I've ever tried.

If while eating what you like you notice you aren't meeting your nutritional needs, you can always begin making small adjustments to address that.

nvmomketo

Just start adding in the carbs that you feel are best. If that's veggies, add veggies. If it's fruit, add fruit. etc.

And don't worry if you regain a few pounds of water weight. It's just water.

apullum

Any meal plan that allows you to consistently be in a calorie deficit will lead to weight loss. For overall health, it's good to get at least enough protein and fat; there's no need to worry about carbs unless you have a medical condition related to carb intake.

Many people feel more satisfied if they eat protein, fat, and/or fiber. You can try out combinations of these nutrients to see which one(s) help you feel full.

It's also good to eat a variety of foods that provide different micronutrients. If you don't have any diagnosed deficiencies or other relevant conditions, a varied diet that includes fruits and veggies is probably going to get you the vitamins and minerals you need.

garystrickland357

You’ve been given good advice above. Just eat food. It doesn’t need to be complicated. As far as macros go, don’t stress so much. I’ve lost 80 pounds and here’s what worked for me - YMMV.
#1 I aim for my calorie goal. Weight loss is all about a calorie deficit.
#2 I aim for my protein goal to guard against muscle loss.
#3 I don’t stress about carbs and fats. Some days one is up, some days another.
Good luck!

Dontkillbill

I am planning on doing the same after a few more months. Hoping to stay off sugar, white rice and white bread. I think sweet potatoes, steel cut oatmeal and quinoe are good choices. I am watching with interest.

LyndaBSS

Eat the foods you love. Stay in a calorie deficit. Lose weight.

Good luck with your journey!

lgfrie

Hard to argue with the above posters. Just go to the MFP Goals too, give it the data it wants, tell it how much you want to lose (e.g. 1 lb per week), it'll tell you how many calories to eat, eat that much and lose the weight.

As for detox-ing from the Keto mindset, here's a suggestion. Completely ignore carb counting. Just forget all about it. In fact, why not just go drive a stake through it right now. Go have a bagel for breakfast, a slice of pizza for lunch, and a bowl of pasta for dinner. Count your calories while doing so, make sure you don't go over your calorie limit, and voila, you will lose the fat. You will lose just as much fat as your neighbor who's staring at her 1000th consecutive day of chicken and eggs. You won't lose one molecule of fat less than her.

You may have a week or three of being up a couple of pounds. Keto artificially depresses scale weight because carbs cause water retention, so obviously a low carb diet will lead to a temporary low water weight. When you start eating normally again - more carbs - you'll retail a few pounds of water on an ongoing basis to balance the higher carb intake. So be ready for that and just absorb it as the cost of getting out of the Keto cult. It's only water; it doesn't mean anything.

Really, go have some pizza and enjoy it. That's probably the first, best step off the keto train. Or these. This is my 3:00 snack today. Nothing says "I'm not on keto anymore" better than sending 24 grams of delicious carbs down your gullet for an afternoon snack.

Diatonic12

Don't overthink it. It's not complicated. Eat the widest variety of foods you can in reasonable amounts. MFP is a reasonable boundary and all of the constructs are here. Set yourself up and you can tweak your macros while you keep tooling along.

jelleigh

What motivated you to do keto to begin with?
For myself, I find that many of the foods I easily overindulge in are carbs so by cutting them I naturally drop weight easier because I can't eat so much actual 'real food' compared to pizza and chips.
If you are like that at all, maybe start increasing your carb intake slowly with foods that have a bit more to offer nutritionally. Carby vegetables, quinoa, w/e.

Some people seem to have little problem regulating the amount they eat - all they need is the nutritional breakdown and they will eat the reasonable amount within their goal. I envy these people and I know I will get there eventually, but if I was so great at moderation I originally wouldn't have gotten fat to begin with. So for now I find it better to avoid certain food groups. Anyhow that's off topic a bit - I just mean that if you have a similar issue, then upping your carbs with non trigger foods will probably help you avoid a backslide.

neyagoal

There was good post I found from AnnPT77 explaining how to do lose weight without any fad diets (I thought it was already a sticky but now I can't find it) I hope someone can link it for u or find it for urself.. on other side (not to be rude or anything) but no way for average person to be able to do proper HIIT for 60 min, 5 days a week.. u should look a bit into it too in order to be able to log properly

neyagoal

neyagoal wrote: »

There was good post I found from AnnPT77 explaining how to do lose weight without any fad diets (I thought it was already a sticky but now I can't find it) I hope someone can link it for u or find it for urself.. on other side (not to be rude or anything) but no way for average person to be able to do proper HIIT for 60 min, 5 days a week.. u should look a bit into it too in order to be able to log properly

Oh I found it, it's sticky but can't link it, anyway search on mpf:FREE Customized Personal Weight Loss Eating Plan! (Not Spam or MLM)

NovusDies

neyagoal wrote: »

There was good post I found from AnnPT77 explaining how to do lose weight without any fad diets (I thought it was already a sticky but now I can't find it) I hope someone can link it for u or find it for urself.. on other side (not to be rude or anything) but no way for average person to be able to do proper HIIT for 60 min, 5 days a week.. u should look a bit into it too in order to be able to log properly

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

peggy_polenta

you should not be doing 5 days of 60 mins of HIIT. in fact if you are doing HIIT for 60 mins...you are not doing real HIIT. its not likely at all you could sustain a true HIIT for 60 straight mins if you are doing it right. HIIT should be about 20 mins (i put 5 mins on each side of that) and you should really only do 3 sessions per week. you can do other things on the other days either cardio or strength related.

flotek72

I would suggest finding your TDEE (this doesn't include cardio). Then subtract 100-200 calories and start there. If you are not losing more than a pound a week, then drop calories again or up the cardio (although you are doing a ton of cardio it seems). Now, break up your calories into macronutrients (proteins, carbs, fats). Protein should be about 1g/lb of body weight. Fats should be 20% of your daily calories. The rest should be carbs (remember units are in grams). Try to stay within 5g (under or over) of each macronutrient.

I have done this plan before and I believe it can work for anyone.

P.S. If you don't want so much protein because you aren't trying to gain muscle, then feel free to shift that over to carbs. Carbs aren't bad, they give you energy. As long as you are under your TDEE calories, you will lose weight, no matter what your carb amount is.

fitness9656

Intermitent fasting. Eat what you want for 6 days, eat nothing for one day. Repeat.