Really frustrated - Please Help

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Replies

  • Iwanttobetheoldme
    Iwanttobetheoldme Posts: 53 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    charl152526 wrote: »
    You’re trying to follow 2 diets at once. Low calorie AND Keto. They are different. Just choose one and stick to it for a couple of weeks and assess your progress.

    You DONT calorie count on Keto because it is impossible as you are experiencing! Yup just restrict carb intake. That’s it. You eat about 40-50g carb a day. Everything else you eat is fat and protein. Irregardless of the calories.

    We don’t use ‘net carbs’ in the UK so not sure re this

    There is absolutely nothing "impossible" about calorie-counting while following a keto WOE. The two are not remotely mutually exclusive. Lots of people on here do both.

    Just my opinion. I found it impossible and seems OP is too. Its probably a lot easier for those who have bigger cal allowance. I think very hard on a 1200 per day and such low carb too.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited September 2019
    charl152526 wrote: »
    You’re trying to follow 2 diets at once. Low calorie AND Keto. They are different. Just choose one and stick to it for a couple of weeks and assess your progress.

    You DONT calorie count on Keto because it is impossible as you are experiencing! Yup just restrict carb intake. That’s it. You eat about 40-50g carb a day. Everything else you eat is fat and protein. Irregardless of the calories.

    We don’t use ‘net carbs’ in the UK so not sure re this

    Why would it be impossible to calorie count on keto? You just weigh your portions and log it like any other food.

    Everyone loses weight by being in a calorie deficit. Some people find keto naturally inhibits their appetite so they end up in a deficit without actually counting the calories.

    I would say many of the ketoers here watch their calories too, and we see threads all the time where they discover they are actually under eating because they're full.

    It's difficult to do 1200 calories on any diet! Luckily the vast majority of women don't need to eat that low.
  • lady_bug_jd
    lady_bug_jd Posts: 221 Member
    I did Keto for a little over a year and am sharing how I approached starting the diet. From reading your posts I’m not sure you actually did the diet correctly.

    When I started I did not count calories at all for the first few weeks. I wanted to give myself time to adjust and then afterwards I set a calorie limit and started looking at macros.

    I started with 20 NET carbs (Total carbs minus fibre) - This was usually around 40 total carbs per day and generally the lowest amount recommended. This is a basic number that most people will go into ketosis. After a few months I began increasing my carbs a little at a time while checking that I was still in ketosis. There’s no magic low number of carbs you have to remain at - find the highest number of carbs you can eat and remain in ketosis.

    When I began restricting calories, I still never went below 20 NET carbs.

    I also greatly increased my sodium intake at the beginning. “They say” you lose much more sodium, potassium and magnesium on this diet and this can contribute to the Keto flu (headaches, fatigue, leg cramps).

    I will say, i did lose weight eating Keto but no more than on other diets I’ve tried. I now am eating a well-rounded whole foods reduced calorie diet. I am 5’4 and weight 206lbs. I’m eating an average of 1500 calories per day, and 170-200 carbs per day, and walk or exercise about 30 min. most days and lost 4.4lbs in August. Most diets will work, it’s just finding one you can stick to long term.
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
    charl152526 wrote: »
    You’re trying to follow 2 diets at once. Low calorie AND Keto. They are different. Just choose one and stick to it for a couple of weeks and assess your progress.

    You DONT calorie count on Keto because it is impossible as you are experiencing! Yup just restrict carb intake. That’s it. You eat about 40-50g carb a day. Everything else you eat is fat and protein. Irregardless of the calories.

    We don’t use ‘net carbs’ in the UK so not sure re this

    I didn't really think of it that way. I am trying to count too many things with what I am doing.
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    charl152526 wrote: »
    You’re trying to follow 2 diets at once. Low calorie AND Keto. They are different. Just choose one and stick to it for a couple of weeks and assess your progress.

    You DONT calorie count on Keto because it is impossible as you are experiencing! Yup just restrict carb intake. That’s it. You eat about 40-50g carb a day. Everything else you eat is fat and protein. Irregardless of the calories.

    We don’t use ‘net carbs’ in the UK so not sure re this

    There is absolutely nothing "impossible" about calorie-counting while following a keto WOE. The two are not remotely mutually exclusive. Lots of people on here do both.

    I seem to be getting better at watching my calorie intake and at the same time carbs, although I did mess up recently. Too many carbs. Probably just need a little time to get in a routine.
  • dmcforthewin
    dmcforthewin Posts: 135 Member
    lady_bug_jd wrote: »
    I did Keto for a little over a year and am sharing how I approached starting the diet. From reading your posts I’m not sure you actually did the diet correctly.

    When I started I did not count calories at all for the first few weeks. I wanted to give myself time to adjust and then afterwards I set a calorie limit and started looking at macros.

    I started with 20 NET carbs (Total carbs minus fibre) - This was usually around 40 total carbs per day and generally the lowest amount recommended. This is a basic number that most people will go into ketosis. After a few months I began increasing my carbs a little at a time while checking that I was still in ketosis. There’s no magic low number of carbs you have to remain at - find the highest number of carbs you can eat and remain in ketosis.

    When I began restricting calories, I still never went below 20 NET carbs.

    I also greatly increased my sodium intake at the beginning. “They say” you lose much more sodium, potassium and magnesium on this diet and this can contribute to the Keto flu (headaches, fatigue, leg cramps).

    I will say, i did lose weight eating Keto but no more than on other diets I’ve tried. I now am eating a well-rounded whole foods reduced calorie diet. I am 5’4 and weight 206lbs. I’m eating an average of 1500 calories per day, and 170-200 carbs per day, and walk or exercise about 30 min. most days and lost 4.4lbs in August. Most diets will work, it’s just finding one you can stick to long term.

    When I started with my carb number, I never subtracted fiber counts first, so if the item was 8 carbs and 3 of that, were fiber, I would count it as 8 carbs total for that meal/item. I did eventually, after almost 3 weeks get over the Keto side effects. I started upping my salt and besides my food nutriton, I am now taking extra supplements of magnesium and potassium.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited September 2019
    charl152526 wrote: »
    You’re trying to follow 2 diets at once. Low calorie AND Keto. They are different. Just choose one and stick to it for a couple of weeks and assess your progress.

    You DONT calorie count on Keto because it is impossible as you are experiencing! Yup just restrict carb intake. That’s it. You eat about 40-50g carb a day. Everything else you eat is fat and protein. Irregardless of the calories.

    We don’t use ‘net carbs’ in the UK so not sure re this

    No, they aren't different. What happens is following keto makes many people low cal even without counting. It's perfectly easy to count and do keto, I've done it. Everyone on any diet loses because of a calorie deficit.

    Keto is typically about 50 g total carbs, more like 25 g or less net carbs, although I did 60 g total, 35 g net when I was doing it. That was high, but I'm very particular about getting in some nuts, lots of non starchy veg, etc. "Carbs" on packages in the UK (and the EU generally, maybe you will go back to total carbs like the US and Canada soon, who knows) are net carbs.

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