Whats keto like?

Honeyacid

In the recent years I've noticed that keto has become more and more popular. And although I myself haven't tried it, it's a very fascinating way of eating to me. I probably wouldn't be able to do a normal ketogenic diet because I'm not eating meat at the moment. But I would really love to feel what its like to be in a state of ketosis. Regardless, if you've done it, and have had great results, please feel free to share them with me!

CentaurusSoter

When in ketosis, it's like I'm not hungry all the time. I get hungry, especially if I'm fasting or have worked out and need a meal. But I don't sit around all day in need of food, chasing something feeling of "full" that I can never hit while always feeling like I haven't eaten enough.

3,000-4,000 calories on carbs is a day of me feeling hungry constantly. 1,500-2,500 calories on ketogenic macros has me mostly fasting, eating 1-2 large meals, and being energized and productive instead of letharigic.

That's a ketogenic diet, in ketosis, without using much or any artificial sweeteners outside of sucralose, and being fat adapted. Not something you'll get after a day, mind you.

Go low carb, keep carbs low for a while, enter ketosis. It's a trip. But the diet can be restrictive and figuring out what you can and can't eat can be a pain, especially if you're doing all this solo.

the subreddit vegetarian keto handles keto without meat based proteins. People seem to find a way. I assume pea protein powders? If you follow pescatarian versions, seafood is hella keto friendly.

Here https://old.reddit.com/r/vegetarianketo/ and veganketo might be worth checking out.

As for results, I'm down 110ish in 333 days. Not my lowest weight, but I'm also biking a lot and building muscle and trying to retain the muscle I already have.

My only real tip to success: Whatever you do, whatever diet you find, even if you don't stay with MFP, stay with something. Login daily, log what you can, ideally eveything you eat. But just login. I've been here long enough to see people come, stop logging in, and quit. The logging in part is the easiest thing in the world. We all have bad days and good days, but the good outweighs the bad when you don't log on and log the foods. It's all starting with logging in to whatever you're using.

Good luck, hopefully I answered some of your questions!

Also, you could probably do a low carb vegetarian diet pretty easily, since that allows plenty of beans/veggies.

anubis609

A state of ketosis isn't anything special. Inducing ketosis is arguably the worst part about it, with reports of lethargy, moodiness, and cravings. It is a restrictive diet with no added benefit of enhancing fat loss since it doesn't escape the law of energy balance. However, it does tend to drive people to focus more on protein and avoiding highly refined carbs, so if there is a positive it would be that.

I naturally trend to a low carb diet out of personal preference. And that's the only reason why anyone should choose a diet, other than medical reasons. If it fits your eating preference, then by all means go for it.

MikePTY

If you don't eat meat, Keto is probably not a good fit for you. There are Vegetarian/Vegan Keto dieters, but it is super restrictive.

Keto is all the rage because there always needs to be something that is all the rage. There always needs to be an "in" diet. Before Keto it was Atkins, which is very similar to Keto. When that flamed out, Keto seemed to rise from the dead in it's place.

Keto is hot because people can lose weight in the beginning very quickly on it, because going into Ketosis rids your body of glycogen stores, you drop some water weight very quickly. That gives people a woosh on the scale. But long term, a ketogenic diet doesn't lose anymore weight than a non-ketogenic diet.

I have no interest in going on keto for a number of reasons. One is that I have lost weight perfectly fine without needing to do it, and still eating the foods I like. Another is that fats actually don't fill me up at all. But carbs do. So I don't think I would do very well on it.

For people who like ketogenic foods and find that those macros keep them more satiated, it may be a good choice. But for the rest of us, regular calorie restriction is fine.

Deanner03

MikePTY wrote: »

If you don't eat meat, Keto is probably not a good fit for you. There are Vegetarian/Vegan Keto dieters, but it is super restrictive.

Keto is all the rage because there always needs to be something that is all the rage. There always needs to be an "in" diet. Before Keto it was Atkins, which is very similar to Keto. When that flamed out, Keto seemed to rise from the dead in it's place.

Keto is hot because people can lose weight in the beginning very quickly on it, because going into Ketosis rids your body of glycogen stores, you drop some water weight very quickly. That gives people a woosh on the scale. But long term, a ketogenic diet doesn't lose anymore weight than a non-ketogenic diet.

I have no interest in going on keto for a number of reasons. One is that I have lost weight perfectly fine without needing to do it, and still eating the foods I like. Another is that fats actually don't fill me up at all. But carbs do. So I don't think I would do very well on it.

For people who like ketogenic foods and find that those macros keep them more satiated, it may be a good choice. But for the rest of us, regular calorie restriction is fine.

Bolded for truth. I eat keto, but not because I believe that carbs are evil, or that there is any magic to ketosis. I find that I'm less hungry and more able to stay within my calorie goals on a lower carb, higher fat diet.

grubb1019

I had lost 40 lbs several years ago by counting calories. I decided to try keto when a co-worker had started it and lost 25 lbs in a couple of months. I already had been eating gluten free for two years and watched my sugar, so it didn't feel like a huge adjustment. I never got the so called keto flu. I like it because I am a lot less hungry, a lot less tired feeling, and have more energy. I don't think it is necessarily a faster or better way to loose weight, it just works for me. I have lost 24 lbs in 50 days.

concordancia

For me, it means anxious jitters, sometimes constipation because it can be hard to get fiber in without too many other carbs.

Actually, I am in ketosis now due to an elimination diet (I pulled out my keto strips just for this thread). It isn't doing my brain any favors, but I promised my husband I would be his diet buddy to see if we can find any triggers for his inflammation.

JeromeBarry1

"Feels"? The best I can say is this: I have been a person who goes to a place with people on Sunday morning and sits quietly. Back when I was not doing keto, I'd have my carby breakfast and fall asleep where I sat a few hours later.

Doing keto, I can have my breakfast of fatty coffee and sit awake and alert all Sunday morning.

Doing keto, I can drive long distances (ok, the length of a normal daily work commute) without feeling drowsy.

Are there other feels? I don't know.

Blythmag

It's a way of eating that works for me, I'm at my lowest adult recorded weight because of keto, my body is leaner and I'm very rarely hungry. The biggest thing I notice is that I have very little appetite, its restrictive when you want to eat quick on the move like I do so you need to prepare and plan meals.
The cost can be high at the beginning as well as you invest in the food for the first few weeks then as your appetite diminishes it gets easier.
I never got keto flu or any symptoms other than smelly breath(yuk) but that ketosis, you dont "feel" different at all.
I love it but it's not for everyone.my partner is doing it and she's also vegetarian but she loves it too..she's now in great shape quicker than any other diet .
Love keto me

COGypsy

Keto was horrific for me. I tried it for about a week. It was a week of constant nausea, regurgitating burps, heartburn, vomiting, constipation, tired and foggy all the time. I had to work in my office with the door closed because after the first couple of days I couldn't hold back the belching and it was best to keep the trash can handy in case more came up than I expected. It was just gross. It was probably another two weeks on my normal diet before I felt like myself again.

Not everyone can handle a high fat diet. I was a blazing technicolor example of that. Low fat and low fiber is the way to go for me.

temazur

Mileage may vary. A lot.

My wife and I did it last year. She flourished. She had energy, never felt tired or hungry, she was rocking it hard. She lost a good bit of weight in 18 weeks, probably close to 30 pounds.

Me, I didn't do so well. Grumpy, always hungry, terrible mood swings, lethargic, etc. It didn't matter how much water I drank, keeping electrolytes and potassium up, I was just never happy on it. I lost on it, too, but at the same rate as if I were tracking and working out (was just over 20 pounds). Oh, and on keto I never had enough energy to work out, so no fun endorphins.

And we were eating the same things, so it wasn't like I was doing it "wrong" and she was doing it "right". It's a very individualized thing. You kinda have to try it for a good 3-4 weeks to see how it goes for you.

I did see a few benefits. I definitely had more energy in the mornings than normal, but it didn't last. It completely reset my palate and I found I had no sugar cravings afterwards at all. Even now if I overdo it on sugary things I get a food hangover the next day, and I rarely crave sweets. So that's a good thing.

Being handy in the kitchen helps make it easier, too. It's soooo easy to fall into a food rut with keto, so you want to have a recipe game plan and do meal prep, cause there is also nothing fast about keto.

smoofinator

temazur wrote: »

Mileage may vary. A lot.

This. My mom is really happy doing keto. She has a ton of great recipes and is able to stick with it (for almost a year now). She feels great. I was miserable and gained weight because I, like so many before me, wasn't counting calories in addition to watching my carbs. I ate all the cheeses... all of them. I was still hungry all the time because I tend to stay fuller longer on a higher number of carbs, so keto just wasn't working for me.

I switched to just counting calories and found that the absence of the keto diet restrictions was better for my situation.

I think keto can compliment a CICO way of eating if it helps people stay fuller longer and is sustainable in the long-term.

Mishilovescolours

I am managing to stick to it. And I am a huge carb lover. But of course Keto is a low carb way of eating. I have been on it nine weeks and lost 23 pounds. I’ve had one day off and ate quite s few carbohydrates. It took days to get back into losing weight again, even though I got back on track the following day.

Blythmag

Just weighed in at a record low.Keto has the scales moving again.

Strawblackcat

For me it was a week of constant exhaustion, heartburn, reflux, nausea, and greasy diarrhea. Turns out my body runs much better on high protein / moderate carb / low fat.

But for some people, Keto helps them cut calories without being as hungry or deprived. If you're curious, I'd suggest you try it for a week, but Keto's hard to do if you don't eat much meat.

amusedmonkey

How you feel is different for different people. We experimented with this as a family and the results were fascinating. For me, it was lack of energy, digestive distress, a weird mental flip into depression that isn't characteristic for me, and extreme hunger (which resulted in overeating and weight gain). My sister felt much better than I did, but eventually missed carby foods and quit. My mom was barely hungry and we had to nag her to eat.