My Keto Month
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raenright
Posts: 54 Member
Hi all,
I'm finding it hard to figure out how you really get talking to people on MFP community. It's like there's too many people and posts. So I'm taking someone else's idea and starting my own thread on my keto journey.
I generally live in a happy +/-5lbs zone but my weight went up 20lbs during all the covid lockdowns as essentially I used them to treat myself to too much pizza and wine!!
I lost 6lbs on a regular calorie controlled, low fat, lots of salad diet but then plateaued for 4 months and kept bouncing up and down the same 2lbs. Very frustrating!!
So I jumped on the keto bandwagon and I have to say I'm loving it!!
Pros:
- broke the plateau and down 4lbs 🥳🥳
- all my fav foods, cheese, chicken with the skin on, bacon, cream in my coffee are allowed 😁
- my energy levels are def more even throughout the day
- lots of new tasty recipes to try (I got some great new cookbooks)
Cons:
- way more time spent on food prep and planning
- usually have to ask for substitutions when going out for dinner (veg instead of fries etc)
I'm going travelling for work for the next six weeks so wish me luck managing my macros while away from home 😁
Ruth.
I'm finding it hard to figure out how you really get talking to people on MFP community. It's like there's too many people and posts. So I'm taking someone else's idea and starting my own thread on my keto journey.
I generally live in a happy +/-5lbs zone but my weight went up 20lbs during all the covid lockdowns as essentially I used them to treat myself to too much pizza and wine!!
I lost 6lbs on a regular calorie controlled, low fat, lots of salad diet but then plateaued for 4 months and kept bouncing up and down the same 2lbs. Very frustrating!!
So I jumped on the keto bandwagon and I have to say I'm loving it!!
Pros:
- broke the plateau and down 4lbs 🥳🥳
- all my fav foods, cheese, chicken with the skin on, bacon, cream in my coffee are allowed 😁
- my energy levels are def more even throughout the day
- lots of new tasty recipes to try (I got some great new cookbooks)
Cons:
- way more time spent on food prep and planning
- usually have to ask for substitutions when going out for dinner (veg instead of fries etc)
I'm going travelling for work for the next six weeks so wish me luck managing my macros while away from home 😁
Ruth.
2
Replies
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luck!
just a thought - when i start keto, there's a big water woosh/weight drop the 1st week - sometimes I don't lose much weeks 2 and 3. my thought is the body is catching up with actual weight loss those weeks, then, continues downward. and, that i do still need to pay attention to total calories even with keto... I love the foods as much as other foods and can easily overeat... agree that it can be time consuming to meal plan/prep and find the balance - find the mfp tracker remains helpful for total cals - and did adjust my macro goals in the tracker to match carbs/fats & proteins... which helped visually on wrangling the carbs.1 -
Thanks LifeChangz!!
I've found the same with still having to keep an eye on calories. I was found 2lbs after my first week on keto but then went up a lb 🙀
Turns out that every though my macro ratios were good for keto I was way over on total calories.
I've been using the MFP diary to plan my meals out in advance so I can see total calories and the macro breakdown and I seem to have a handle on it now, down another 2lbs.
What does get me is that I'm not really feeling hungry and sometimes I get busy in the evenings and skip a meal (my main meal is lunch so it's only a snack-size meal that I'm skipping) but I find my body seems to go into starvation mode and weight loss plateaus very quickly if I go too far under calories. So it's something I need to keep an eye on.
@LifeChangz how long have you been doing keto? Do you do it all the time or go back and forth? A friend of mine recommends 2 months on 2 months off with Keto.0 -
Hi @raenright
we started doing keto before we knew it was keto ~ lol. My 1st go was the Stillman, then jumpstart Atkins & So. Beach diets - so essentially similar principles. What I have found to my surprise is that calories still matter - the books on those plans talk about how lbs will just melt off - and, if you follow their meal plans - the lbs do melt off because, i think, it's a big water woosh the 1st week AND the meal plans are probably only 800 - 1,200 calories in their 'jump start' meal plans; they just ain't sayin' so!
over the years, I fell into yoyo diet/regain cycles - and shifted to the "it's a lifestyle approach - find ways to eat permanently" and back to now I sometimes still do jumpstarts or other approaches for whatever reason.
I find the "diet" and "lifestyle" a bit of circular semantics; "diet" is either the foods we eat or in many contexts "a meal plan for weight loss which is also a choice of foods and quantity" ~ and, "lifestyle" is our approach to eating which is also our choice of foods and amounts to eat - so I no longer worry about defining it.
The question for me becomes - well, what should I be doing now and why.
the main reason I ever really go 'keto' now is to break voracious appetite; which seems to take a few days, 3 or 4 and I go through the keto flu, and then appetite resets and I can stay with keto pretty well.
For awhile, I was having some medical issues that the doctors thought 'keto' might help - so I did keto for a straight 8 weeks and there was no impact on the particular medical issue from the dietary changes and keeping carbs below <50g per day and +/-12g per meal or snack. this is when i discovered again, that it is possible to gain weight if i don't pay attention to calories too.
so, upshot though for what i do as an approach is driven by the fact that I adore carbs, and find the keto diet a little too restrictive emotionally. However, the most compelling reason for me to do keto or restrict/manage amount of carbs is appetite control - if I eat too much carb (of whatever kind/threshold i am not quite sure where the line is) then my appetite roars. So, my main approach currently is 'low carb' which is +/-30g of carbs per meal or snack (100-125g/day)... This is keeping my appetite in check.
i *think* it is hard to switch between keto/fat burning energy in the body and regular/carb burning energy. I do better physically and emotionally on the low carb, and I definitely get the keto flu when I start keto - so my current thinking is 2-8 weeks of keto as a jump start if & when needed; low carb the rest of the time. Every time I venture into higher carb, appetite roars back - i don't know if that will ever change or be better, so i consider this probably to be a permanent approach, at least for now.... lol
How are you doing today? I find it helpful when the body is physically satisfied - i find my inner 2 year old wild child has other ideas though... wants to feast!2 -
popping back in ~ @raenright
as far as I can tell - there are just these 2 bigger keto and low carber groups... and sometimes do not seem real active... sometimes the discussion forums seem to have good conversations...
anyhoo - hope you have a good weekend! we had snow this morning, maybe more Sun! i can't wait for grilling season - that's when we do our bbq... i like to grill up veggies and meat for a few days meals.1 -
Thanks for the info @LifeChangz !
So I've lost my keto streak 😥 Ive travelled by ferry to Spain and my food options were limited with no cooking facilities so sandwiches and burgers it was. And my weight has magically gone up 3lbs!!!!
I say magically because I did not go over in calories so I'm sure it's water weight from eating so many carbs, I def feel more bloated.
I'm settled in my new apartment now though and I did a big food shop this morning (including some lovely fresh salmon) so back to keto it is 👍
I definitely need to keep an eye on both macros and calories0 -
nods - get that @raenright ~ glad you're shopped & in a new kitchen - will be so much easier!
-- i do think switching back into carbs is the water rebound - it's like you can hear your body sucking up water! lol hopefully will woosh right back off!0 -
@LifeChangz And the whoosh has happened 🤣🤣🤣 2 days back on keto and I've gone down 4lbs!! Immediately more comfortable. I'm much more aware of the bloating feeling carbs cause now. What used to feel normal now feels bloated.
Fantastic fish options here, even the salmon in regular supermarket is really good quality so I'm getting the omegas in 😎 And lots of long walks along the prom with the dog 🐕
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@LifeChangz and @raenright
I too am disappointed in the activity on MFP in the discussions. Always best to have support and motivation. I succeeded once on keto. Over the last year I fell back into old habits, joints started to ache again, regained some weight (30 pounds) , and now back to full tracking again since Monday (March 27) and determined to get back to goal by end of summer. Would love to keep discussions going!2 -
Welcome back to keto @dja060 !!
I have to admit I used to think keto was a bit of a fad diet, too unnatural to maintain and not very healthy. But the more I read up on it, try out different recipes and have success on it the more I'm coming around to really see the benefits.
There are downsides, trickier to eat out and more food planning and prep but the positives are huge! I was very demoralised with a lengthy plateau which keto got me to break through and I'm really enjoying the new recipes.
I definitely think good recipes books are the way to go to see how to put keto meals together and keto-tarian recipes as I don't want every single meal to meat and/or eggs, need to have options 😎1 -
Check-in
Starting Weight: Sept 2022 - 12st 6
Starting Weight (keto): 4 Mar 2023 - 11st 12
Current Weight: 29 Mar 2023 - 11st 7
Goal Weight: 10st 7
Going to start posting check ins for a bit of accountability 😎0 -
woohoo @raenright - moving on down! kudos2u!
health reasons is why docs had me start keto - some want combined with IF, some want low-carb, others want the surgeries - i figure I'd rather eat my way down - and i find it easier for my appetite with keto or low-carb... but, am leaning low carb... open to change though
speaking of challenges, there's a monthly challenge i find helpful - focuses on just 3 things; tracking, staying in calorie limits (i also focus on carb limits) and 20m of movement a day. no weighins so it has helped me stay focused on daily food choices. if you're interested, the team accepts request to join the new monthly team for about the first 3 days of the month...
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/144689-ultimate-accountability-challenge-april-20230
