Really frustrated - Please Help

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  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
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    mmapags wrote: »
    Why do you feel controlling carbs is so important? All research on weight loss concludes that, other than initial water weight loss, low carb has no advantage and compliance and sustainable diets that hit calorie goals are what matter.

    Also, it would be helpful if you would share your starting weight, goal weight, and height for better feedback.

    I do understand what you are saying and I am thinking about the whole Keto thing. I was on some Keto forums, where so many were posting progess numbers and photos of their weight loss success, so it got me wanting to try. I also was recommended by some friends about doing the low carb keto. I do get what you are saying, though. Here are my numbers.

    Start weight - 237
    Goal weight - 130
    Height - 5'4''
    Started my diet on 8-13-2019
    Present Weight - 225

    Where did you get 16g of carbs from? The lowest I had heard previously was 20g and that seems frankly ridiculous (unless, as mentioned above, you are counting net carbs). A common number for keto diets is 50g, for example.

    Also, at 225, there is no need to be eating as low as 1200 calories, much less 1100, unless ordered to do so by a doctor due to sever health complications. I speak as someone who started out your size just a few months ago. Please feed your body so that you can be healthy! The point of the keto diet is to limit carbs (but seriously, it is not necessary to limit them as much as you have been) and fill in the rest of the calories with fats and proteins. However, I will grant you that some of those spectacular successes result from severely limiting calories, since keto diets suppress appetite for many, right up until the person crashes and burns and puts all of the weight back on.

    I went on so many Keto sites and watched many videos, even with Doctors explaining and they all said in order to get started on Keto and into fat burning as quickly as possible, to stay 20grams of carbs or less (for the first few weeks) They said as soon as your body depletes all of your glycegon stores (which has to first, before fat) from the carbs for your energy, you body would eventually start producing Ketones that will start burning your fat at a fast rate unless you consume a high number of carbs again, then the process would reverse, until you burn the glycogen once again. They did say, once you get into Ketosis and become fat adapted, where you are no longer using the sugars stores, you can slowly add more carbs in, but not go over board. I understand the Keto process to some degree. I guess if someone is eating healthy whether on Keto or not, and are not over doing it on bad carbs, they will lose weight.

    As far as the 1200 calories, after setting up my profie info, Myfitness gave me a calorie number of 1240, but I just dropped it to 1200. I understand completely all that you said in your post. I probably didn't make any sense from all my rambling. Sorry
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I’d recommend running your stars through MFP to set your calorie level correctly (and if you walk an hour+ a day you aren’t sedentary); then set your goal to 2lbs loss a week (with 80ish lbs to lose that is an ok rate)
  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
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    Will do just that. Keto dieting is stressful to me.

    So why do it? I would be super unhappy without my carbs. But I know that however much I like them, they don't fill me up. I have 30+ pounds to lose and I'm eating 1700 calories a day (+ exercise calories). I have my split as 40% carbs, 40% protein, 30% fat. I still go over on carbs, but I'm working on it.

    Oh, and to make your diary public, go to FOOD, then go to SETTINGS and scroll down to the bottom and change it to PUBLIC

  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
    edited August 2019
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    I understand the desire for quick weight loss that is easy as Keto often suggests. Having finally found what works for me and reaching goal weight I realize that Keto would never have been sustainable for me anyway. The biggest benefit to the 2 years it took me to get to goal weight was that I learned so much along the way. This is what enabled me to keep the weight off. Had I lost the weight on Keto I doubt I would have maintained it because I can't live that way for life. My experience was miserable both times I tried it. I got sick each time. I know people who have lost on Keto and are maintaining but they love the lifestyle so it works for them. I hated it. Find what works for you that you can live with the rest of your life. Good luck.
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
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    I’d recommend running your stars through MFP to set your calorie level correctly (and if you walk an hour+ a day you aren’t sedentary); then set your goal to 2lbs loss a week (with 80ish lbs to lose that is an ok rate)

    I went back and looked over and made some changes to my carb levels. I changed it to 60 min, walking instead of 75 (for now) and I set my carbs at 48 (instead of 20 approx), fat 93, and protein 65. I don't want to go over 50 carbs. I am going to keep my calories at 1290 for now. That is what MPF gave me the other day, with my excercise amount and wanting to lose 2 ilb a week. I just made some macro adjustments. I may end up changing the proteins and fat amounts around later, depending on how I do. Thanks for the advice.
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
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    jayemes wrote: »
    Will do just that. Keto dieting is stressful to me.

    So why do it? I would be super unhappy without my carbs. But I know that however much I like them, they don't fill me up. I have 30+ pounds to lose and I'm eating 1700 calories a day (+ exercise calories). I have my split as 40% carbs, 40% protein, 30% fat. I still go over on carbs, but I'm working on it.

    Oh, and to make your diary public, go to FOOD, then go to SETTINGS and scroll down to the bottom and change it to PUBLIC

    Your plan sounds pretty reasonable. Thanks for sharing. I only started tracking yesterday, since I just signed up, Glad to know how to make my diary public now, if I ever need to. My whole issue with Keto was the carbs. I also have issues with finding enough calories and not go over my fats and protein numbers. I guess you can't get the numbers perfect though. I think it's the OCD I have at times.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    jayemes wrote: »
    Will do just that. Keto dieting is stressful to me.

    So why do it? I would be super unhappy without my carbs. But I know that however much I like them, they don't fill me up. I have 30+ pounds to lose and I'm eating 1700 calories a day (+ exercise calories). I have my split as 40% carbs, 40% protein, 30% fat. I still go over on carbs, but I'm working on it.

    Oh, and to make your diary public, go to FOOD, then go to SETTINGS and scroll down to the bottom and change it to PUBLIC

    Your plan sounds pretty reasonable. Thanks for sharing. I only started tracking yesterday, since I just signed up, Glad to know how to make my diary public now, if I ever need to. My whole issue with Keto was the carbs. I also have issues with finding enough calories and not go over my fats and protein numbers. I guess you can't get the numbers perfect though. I think it's the OCD I have at times.

    There's really no reason to worry about going OVER your fat and protein, even if you are doing a very low carb diet. Sure there are extremes where too much protein can be a problem, but the average person isn't going to accidentally hit those levels.

    If your main goal is to lose weight, worry about calories first - not too high, not too low.
    Then, you can try to get your macros as close to whatever level you want to shoot for.
    Honestly, even those of us who worry about macros at all pick one that we prioritize, and only then worry about the rest. For me, after calories I pay attention keeping my protein high enough, then fiber. I don't personally really worry about carbs and fat. Other people do it differently. Your weight will respond to calories, the rest is about making it as easy as possible to get your calories right.
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    Sounds like you’re on the right track with doing research, asking questions and trying to find the right sustainable approach for you. I recommend reading the stickied “most helpful forum posts” at the top of the getting started section of these forums they are a wealth of information (maybe someone not on the app could provide a link to a few of them - hint hint).

    Then - go into MFP and enter your current stats, goal weight, goal rate of loss (for you 1.5-2 lbs/week should be reasonable). Once you have that, focus on logging consistently and accurately (ideally using a food scale). Eat a variety of foods focusing on those that provide satiety, nutrition and enjoyment. If eating lower carbs helps fill you up and suppress snack cravings, then by all means continue to do a lower carb approach but that could be anything up to 100g of carbs per day. When you exercise, log and eat back at least some of those calories.

    Good luck!

    I appreciate your help. I have my carbs set to 48 (up from 14-20g), just to give me more energy. I don't crave bad foods and I am more full between meals because of the higher healthier fats I was consuming, but I need to focus on getting my energy back. Maybe since I upped my carbs, that willl help. I have been researching a lot online and on tv for the past two weeks about Keto and I pretty much get the whole idea, but don't think it's exactly for me. Thought I would test it out.
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
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    NovusDies wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    Hi Everyone. I hope you guys can give me some thoughts or ideas. I understand if you haven't any ideas yourself, based on my issue. I am doing the Keto diet. My carbs are 16g, fats 86g and protein 69. I started out on a 1290 calorie diet. I had to lower it to 1100 because I was having issues trying not too go over my carbs, yet still hit my calories for the day, so I can log my day entry. I don't know what to do. I am trying to plan tomorrows meals, but I can't seem to stop going over my carbs, fat and protein, and hit my calories. I know I may be confusing, and I understand if you can't help.

    How do any of you hit your daily calories, without going over your carbs and maybe even the fat and protein? I am about to give up. I was only eating like 800 calories a day before tracking, but I decided I needed to track, It's not helping my stress levels. It woud be a lot easier if I wasn't on Keto, but I need to be super careful about carbs, since I am in Ketosis. Thanks!

    First things first. Calories come before ketosis. You must eat a healthy amount of calories to maintain a good level of energy and nutrition for yourself. You could do yourself a lot of harm by under eating.

    Secondly, why are your carbs that low? 30 should be fine and even 50 for most people. Also, as @Constance320 points out these should be net carbs not total carbs. Net carbs meaning that you subtract fiber from the total carbs.

    Thirdly, why are you trying to control fats and proteins so much? Your protein should probably be a little higher anyway.

    Lastly, you should not be trying to force yourself into a keto diet that you do not fully understand. Any way of eating that results in a calorie deficit will help you lose weight. Keto and ketosis are not required. You pick a method that you find easy so you can sustain it for a long period of time. Maybe you can do that with keto if you educate yourself on it better, if not, you should ditch it.

    I understand what you are saying. The thing is that I have been a number of Keto sights, some pretty good ones and after putting in all my profile, age, weight, exercise, that is what they are sending me for my macronutrients. I have been looking at tons of you-tube videos and they all say the same thing as far as the Keto, They all say, based on your calories to do, 5-10% carbs (to switch over your fat burning to use Ketones, rather then glycegon, 65-75% fat and around a range of 20% protein. Now, they do say once you are fat adapted in a few weeks at earliest, which I am approaching, you can adjust and up your carbs little by little. I use the blood tester at home to help me know if I am still in Ketotosis (fat burning). I have tried different ways, but cutting my carbs and upping my fats from the information everyone is giving me seems to be working, at least for now.

    I think I should up my carbs to 30, as you said. I have been thinking on pushing it upward some.

    The reason why I am trying to have higher fats, is so my body can run on energy from my fats, insted of excess carbs which I was doing and never losing. I would only buring my glycegon sugar stores and I guess not switching to Ketones for burning fat. I am still new and trying to sort it all out. I do appreciate your feedback very much.

    That is what I am confused about. You can add more fat and increase your calories pretty easily. Fat is 9 calories per gram.

    Just keep in mind that fat adaptation is not about stored body fat it is about dietary fat. Store body fat will get used regardless of ketosis if you are in a calorie deficit.

    Thank you for your comments. I am going to stop the Keto and do what I have in the past, which is portion control and stay away from junk food and processed foods. I have done that in the past many times and it did work for weight loss. I just started reading up on the Keto one day and watching a man named Dr Berg on you-tube talking about Keto and before I knew it, I was trying it out. Boy, I wasn't having an easy time and it has only been 2 weeks. Time to change back to reality. Lol

    No harm in trying an experiment. I tried keto for a short time myself. I was miserable. I don't find fat to be that satiating or desirable. I see pictures of people's keto dishes and I know they find them delicious but I find them nauseating in appearance.

    I totally get what you are saying. I was on the Ketogentics forum website and someone asked in one post for everyones normal day of eating. Some described and some people put pictures of what a normal full day of food was. One woman had like a plate of tons of bacon strips (like a whole pack), around 8-9 sausage links, bunch of eggs, hotdogs, other meats and a lot of other high fat and protein items, not much carbs. I looked at the whole table of foods they would eat for the whole day (I guess they preplanned it for that days allowance) and I felt queezy. No way could I eat all that. Wish I had the photo to post.
  • Tedebearduff
    Tedebearduff Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Hi Everyone. I hope you guys can give me some thoughts or ideas. I understand if you haven't any ideas yourself, based on my issue. I am doing the Keto diet. My carbs are 16g, fats 86g and protein 69. I started out on a 1290 calorie diet. I had to lower it to 1100 because I was having issues trying not too go over my carbs, yet still hit my calories for the day, so I can log my day entry. I don't know what to do. I am trying to plan tomorrows meals, but I can't seem to stop going over my carbs, fat and protein, and hit my calories. I know I may be confusing, and I understand if you can't help.

    How do any of you hit your daily calories, without going over your carbs and maybe even the fat and protein? I am about to give up. I was only eating like 800 calories a day before tracking, but I decided I needed to track, It's not helping my stress levels. It woud be a lot easier if I wasn't on Keto, but I need to be super careful about carbs, since I am in Ketosis. Thanks!

    Stop doing keto and just track your calories... it doesn't seem to be working for you so why bother doing it? carbs aren't the enemy and keto is the end all be all of diets it's just a diet plan... couple years back it was Paleo or GF now it's all about keto... wait a few more years and it will be something else or the same thing with a new name.

    I decided last night to stop worrying about Keto. I was new to all the info a couple weeks ago, so I thought I would give it a try for a little bit. I am realizing I don't care for it much. Thanks for the feedback!

    Research, research, research!! Learn all the stuff!!! The more you learn the more successful you will be at everything. Best of luck on your venture, glad the stress of Keto is gone and you can focus on just tracking calories!
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
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    I understand the desire for quick weight loss that is easy as Keto often suggests. Having finally found what works for me and reaching goal weight I realize that Keto would never have been sustainable for me anyway. The biggest benefit to the 2 years it took me to get to goal weight was that I learned so much along the way. This is what enabled me to keep the weight off. Had I lost the weight on Keto I doubt I would have maintained it because I can't live that way for life. My experience was miserable both times I tried it. I got sick each time. I know people who have lost on Keto and are maintaining but they love the lifestyle so it works for them. I hated it. Find what works for you that you can live with the rest of your life. Good luck.


    Honestly, I have been feeling so bad from day one. Two weeks exactly. I have zero energy and feel nauseated all the time. I know they say there is the Keto flu some get and you just have to push through it until it pasts and you get your energy back. Putting that aside. I feel as you do after thinking about it. My parents have even told me their opinons on this as well (they feel as you do). I know witout a doubt, I can't live like this long term, but it took me the two weeks in to realize that. I guess I just wanted to get the weight to my goal and then switch it up afterwards, all while monitoring from then on out. However I can't see myself dealing with the Keto plan for another year or so. I think just focusing on the heathy foods and portion control + exercise might be best for me. I hate eating all the fats Keto requires. I am kind of sick of it. Thanks!
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i would ditch the keto because i dont believe in fad diets.

    with your stats you can eat way more than 1200 calories a day and still lose steadily.

    im 5'1 and 41 years old and 1400 puts me right around a 1-2 pound a week loss with no exercise. 5 years ago at your weight, i lost a steady 2 pounds per week with exercise (on average 45 minutes 3-4 times per week) eating around 1600ish
  • Cat_A_89
    Cat_A_89 Posts: 93 Member
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    I gave up keto after a few months it was too stressful for me counting calories AND carbs especially being someone that LOVES carbs haha. I went to a normal calorie deficit healthy diet and lost almost 40 pounds so far. On keto I lost 10 pounds which im sure was mostly water weight.
    At the end of the day if it works for you great but its not your only option