Everything Keto

denisemlarnder

I couldn't find a keto-specific thread here in Larger Losers, so I made one! Discussion for all of us who are doing keto!

I just finished slowly transitioning to a keto diet (I did it very gradually to avoid the keto flu) and I'm loving it! (I love the results I'm seeing too! Faster weight loss and improved energy, no more mid-afternoon crashes!)

If you're a Larger Loser who is doing keto or plans to start doing keto, add me as a friend!

PAV8888

I think @bmeadows380 leans your way.

Since you mentioned keto flu you probably know this.

But for hamster 🐹 management reasons never forget that **initial** __extra__ weight loss on keto induction is a borrowed water weight change that will come back with glycogen replenishment and go away again on return to keto. And will come back again with glycogen replenishment.... and go away again with return to keto. And will...

Misinterpreting this weight movement as actual fat loss and fat gain has cost a lot of grief for a number of people I personally know who may have otherwise found more lasting success using this way of eating.

Beyond that... be healthy, control your calories, and don't forget your vitamins and fiber!

denisemlarnder

I don't think it's primarily water weight because I reduced my carbs very gradually.

conniewilkins56

I hope you do well on Keto….there is another lady that has done really well on it….I will try to find her screen name for you….good luck!

PAV8888

It's not a bad things to move water weight. And it doesn't negate any fat that has moved. The only reason to be aware of it is so that you don't go into emotional super lows when you "fall off the wagon" and super highs when "I'm back on". Because these lows and highs have a way of contributing to giving up... when you're just observing changes that don't matter.

i.e. it is not the end of the world when you gain, EXAMPLE, 5lbs when going off keto by mistake. And it is not 5lbs when you get on successfully. The weight level is still changing behind the scenes based on calories. but the basic glycogen weight change still takes place.

And speed is not the issue. When you reduce carbs you either quickly (or slowly) consume the carbs stored in your body near your muscles and in your liver. Sure, if you do it fast your electrolyte levels don't have time to balance, hence keto flu.

But slow or fast, each glycogen molecule is formed by a carb and water in a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 or so. So each gram (4 Cal) of carb is stored with a couple (or more) of grams of water. So you get rid of one gram of carbs worth of glycogen (i.e. 4 calories) and you lose 3g+ of "weight".

But the net fat level change for that transaction was zero. And if/when you go off keto and glycogen replenishes again it will do so with extra water molecules and that weight will come back. That weight. Not the actual fat you've also lost.

Most people back in the day who I knew personally and who were "doing Atkins" gave up because they "went off the program and look at all the weight I gained and it is not worth it since I keep gaining so easily, I'll just give up".

Vs realizing that short term weight change in and out of keto is a non-event and says nothing about the effectiveness of your chosen way of eating long term.

Long term all that will matter is what caloric balance you manage to maintain in terms of how many calories you spend and how many you take in. And for a lot of people eating less carbs and more fats and protein is satiating enough that they reduced their total caloric count more easily than if they consume carbs.

Even though I too can see how some foods with a lot of carbs make me more likely to over-eat, I am not, personally, one for keto, because I know that long term I wouldn't adhere and wanted to concentrate on only doing things I believed I could adhere to. And some foods high on carbs (apples, boiled or baked potatoes, watermelon for example), I do find highly satiating for their calories too and they would be out on keto.

That said, it doesn't mean that I don't see how keto could be effective for many other people.

As long as they... don't forget their veggies and their fiber!

denisemlarnder

Very insightful, thanks for the info!

PAV8888

Hey @denisemlarnder .... its been almost a month! How are things going? Are you counting calories in addition to eating keto?

bmeadows380

still needing to count calories is what I've finally started to get through my husband's head when it comes to KETO dieting. I finally got him to see that even keto foods will contribute to weight gain if you don't count the calories; that a calorie is nothing more than a measure of energy, and losing weight still boils down to taking in less energy than your body needs so that you force your body to use what it has stored.

And I've found for me, KETO wasn't working. I need to get to lower carb for my husband because he says he feels better when he's eating lower carb, but the calorie density of the higher fats you eat to replace the carbs I've found doesn't help me at all because fats don't satiate me as well as carbs do.

Course, that makes me think of the old nursery rhyme about Jack Sprat and his wife.......lol

DFW_Tom

bmeadows380 wrote: »

still needing to count calories is what I've finally started to get through my husband's head when it comes to KETO dieting. I finally got him to see that even keto foods will contribute to weight gain if you don't count the calories; that a calorie is nothing more than a measure of energy, and losing weight still boils down to taking in less energy than your body needs so that you force your body to use what it has stored.

I couldn't agree more. Staying in ketosis (and still get enough fiber and protein) is all but impossible for me unless I track the calories and macros daily. MFP's app helps. Many of the foods I eat each day I've eaten before so I use a spreadsheet to cut 'n paste a daily tally which saves a lot of time. Makes it easier to plan meals ahead too.