Former Ketoer... frustrated and at a loss

Tumbles617

Hello! Former keto gal here. I loved keto, I felt great and lost weight. However I really don’t want to live that way for the rest of my life. It’s too much cooking, too expensive and just inconvenient for me.

I’m back on this calorie counting lower carb train but I feel fat. When I was on keto everyday I woke up with no bloat whatsoever. Today and the past couple of days I just feel bloated. Even though everyday I am under my calories and generally eating healthy. I’m also drinking lots of water and have regular digestion.

I’m scared that I will not be able to Continue with this woe and will have to go back to keto. I don’t want to. I’m happy being lower carb and still being able to count calories and track things and enjoy foods without feeling like I’m doing something wrong.

Why do I feel fat and bloated? I just want results. I’m exercising and I sync everything with my Fitbit. I weigh in Sunday morning but I’m afraid to. I didn’t lose a crazy amount on keto but I always felt great and I felt like my body was changing. I’d like to lose about 60 pounds. I don’t have a time frame although the sooner the better of course lol
I just want to find a way of eating and stick with it. I thought I found that with keto but I just can’t get myself back to it and I dread all the cooking and lack of fiber and vitamin deficiencies that go along with it. I just want to feel better and look better and reach my goal while developing a healthy relationship with food.

Has anyone had success while feeling the way I feel from time to time? Or came back from keto and enjoyed not being on it?

I apologize for the negthy post and thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far!

88olds

My only go at keto was many years ago. But I did do very well with counting calories (WW points, actually the same) after years of being stuck at about the 2/3 point in my 100 lb loss.

Do I read you right that you have not had a WI since switching off keto? You know this- you need to give it more time. Water comes and goes for a lot of reasons. But you’re on the right track. We need a program that results in losses and we need to be able to live with it. There’s a tendency to go all in on the weight loss and try to just suffer through the living. Even though reading this board a lot shows that an approach like that rarely works out. Clearly to lose 60 lbs you have to be able to live with your plan long term.

Keep trying. Trial and error can be frustrating but there’s something out there you can actually live with. You just have to find it.

nikkit321

Perhaps you need to ease back into a higher carb count and keep starchy carbs/bread low. You're probably noticing a food intolerance which is resulting in the bloat, could be dairy, wheat, ...

Fuzzipeg

I was also thinking food intolerances and agree with above suggestions though there are other less common reactions. The other day I discovered having low progesterone can contribute to bloat but there are a wide of additional symptoms. I don't want to medicalise it, so this is just an idea to dismiss. All the best.

moonangel12

Ditto the potential for food intolerance... dairy and wheat being the top two I would look at first. My husband started gluten free this past spring in hopes that it would help slow down his vitiligo (autoimmune) and has been shocked at how much better his stomach is doing! He has always had a finicky stomach, but never considered food could be the culprit (it runs in the family) until our daughter’s food allergies and my gluten Ataxia... he caved a few times early in with cookies, cakes, etc. only to find the repercussions not worth it.

snowflake954

If you find you don't have food intolerances you could try low carb. Since you felt better on keto but it was too hard, try something in the middle. Good luck.

anubis609

What are you including in your current low carb diet that you excluded in keto?

mom23mangos

How long has it been since you did Keto and what age are you now? I suffer from bloat almost every day of the month except when I start my cycle. It’s very hormonal driven. The joys of perimenopause.

cherys

I agree that low carb would be a good way to ease into it. I'm doing low carb, except for the days when I feel like I need more carbs, then I just switch to straight calorie counting. It works well. Lower carb definitely helps with bloating. I avoid white flour and sugar. These days when I eat white flour I get stomach ache and instant bloat. I don't think I have a gluten intolerance, just a sensitivity to it. You could try replacing white flour products with wholemeal or rye or rice/oats-based ones and see if that helps.

flynntrader

Former keto guy here and I quit. It’s a waste of time and cannot be sustained over the entirety of life