You don't NEED Keto if you don't like it

whatalazyidiot

My first personal milestone when I re-started in December was to get down to the lowest weight I got to when I was doing Keto. To convince myself I didn't NEED to do it to lose weight, which is what my dummy mind convinced myself.

It took a little less than 3 months to lose the 30 lbs I needed to get to that weight. I reached it ON my birthday (which was cool) on February 24th.

Just for data purposes:

I am 5'6.
I started at over 250 lbs. I'm now in the 220's.
I'm down about 2 sizes.
I set my goal to losing 2 lbs a week, try to eat about 1/2 or more of my exercise calories, but I work with a weekly deficit, so some days it's lower so that I can indulge over the weekend.

Finally getting to a place where I understand that I can eat what I want as long as I track and stay under my calories, has been a game changer. Not just for weight loss, but mentally I feel so much better. I don't feel deprived, I can still enjoy all the things I have always enjoyed, and I no longer cry on the kitchen floor because I ate a *kitten* donut (yes I have done that many times).

*Also I like the way MFP does it, because I am motivated to exercise more for what I call my "exercise snacks".

This is NOT an anti-Keto thread. If you like the food, you do you. I have friends on here who do and love Keto, so that's awesome. I just hated it. It was way too restrictive for me, I hated most of the food I was eating, and it just wasn't a right fit for me on an emotional and mental level. It made my binge eating worse, and I was just a raving witch most of the time.

This thread is not for people who love Keto, but the people who feel like you can't possibly lose weight with anything BUT Keto, feel trapped, and just want some damn bread again.

I still have a long way to go to reach my goal, but I'm sooo happy and feel like my relationship with food is healing by looking at weight loss from a different perspective, and ignoring all the bad advice I convinced myself was true.

amfmmama

1/2 the battle is knowing what works for you!

kgeyser

I'm glad you found what worked for you. As far as the feeling of being trapped or feeling like a failure, I think a lot of people feel that way until they find the practices that work for them. There have certainly been a lot of people on this site for whom trying to moderate the portion sizes of certain foods has been a complete failure, and they were feeling miserable and like something was wrong with them amongst people who were happily eating those foods every day and not having any of the same challenges.

It's a wonderful feeling when you finally figure out what's working, and then it just seems easy. If you are eating in a way that makes you happy and is helping you reach your goals, then it's the right way for you.

renaerussell18

amfmmama wrote: »

1/2 the battle is knowing what works for you!

That is the absolute truth! Low carb works, but I'm not going to eat like that the rest of my life! I eat what I usually eat but make it healthier and just watch calories in/calories out! It is working so much better for me than anything and I haven't missed anything or felt like binging.

durhammfp

I've never done Keto. I guess my weight-loss journey has been boring, but I have been keeping my macros near the mfp default, eating lots of carbs, and have been losing about 1.3 lbs/week since Oct 1. I think I will be at my ultimate goal in May or June. (I'm thinking of slowing down the weight loss rate when within 10 pounds of my goal.)

A calorie deficit will work for weight loss, it doesn't really matter so much the mix of foods within that deficit.

I will say that, even though I am eating lots of carbs, I am strict on counting calories and have largely cut out most refined carbs. I have found space in my calorie budget for treats when I want them, but they have to be intentional... not because I think they are "evil" but because I find they often keep me feeling hungry throughout the day. Legumes and non-starchy vegetables, otoh, really do fill me up and make me feel good. Also, I have been mostly a lacto-vegetarian (with occasional fish a few times a month) for the past decade and will remain that way after this diet, since I really like the food.

My diet, then, is just the way I usually eat but with a lot fewer calories.

The only other time I have tried to lose weight it was on an extreme (for me) vegan diet that eliminated whole categories of food... totally vegan, no rice/pasta/potatoes (ever), no alcohol, no coffee, no oils (at all). I can't believe I put up with it, but I did for 12 weeks and lost one pound per week, hating my life the entire way. Then I was invited to a holiday dinner and something in me just snapped. I fell off the wagon hard and within a year gained it all back.

I cannot let that happen again.

No one else lives in my body but me. I am trying to take care of it the best way I know how. Different strokes for different folks, though, and if keto or IF or eating five heads of romaine for lunch every day (^^^ see above) floats a person's boat, more power to them.

magnusthenerd

kgeyser wrote: »

As far as the feeling of being trapped or feeling like a failure, I think a lot of people feel that way until they find the practices that work for them.

If one had not found the practices that work, wouldn't one be a failure at those practices by definition?