New to Keto - question

jen_zz

Hi all! I'm happy to have found this group. The discussions held here are so helpful and productive (as compared to so many judgmental trolls on the main forum.. )

Anyway, I just wanted to ask. I know it's "all about calories in calories out". But over the years I feel like I have poor insulin sensitivity and I tend to binge on carbs, hence why I want to give keto / low carb a go.

My question is, or rather please share your experience, whether you lose more weight (fat loss not just water weight) with the same calorie limit, but with a much lower carb count? Or you up your calories when you went on keto?

Thanks in advance.

kiramaniac

For me it's been higher cal, but I don't know how much higher. Most recent was weight watchers. Since they do the points thing, and not calories, I'm not sure where I was at for calories.

Use the keto calculator to help figure your macro targets:
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

MermaidTX

Hi all! I'm happy to have found this group. The discussions held here are so helpful and productive (as compared to so many judgmental trolls on the main forum.. )

Anyway, I just wanted to ask. I know it's "all about calories in calories out". But over the years I feel like I have poor insulin sensitivity and I tend to binge on carbs, hence why I want to give keto / low carb a go.

My question is, or rather please share your experience, whether you lose more weight (fat loss not just water weight) with the same calorie limit, but with a much lower carb count? Or you up your calories when you went on keto?

Thanks in advance.

I used the keto-calculator that kiramaniac reco'd when I started 3 months ago. It gave me my calorie goals & macros for fat/protein/carbs. The first couple weeks I concentrated on keeping my carbs under 20. In the process, I found it very hard to eat the reco'd 1500 calories. In fact, I still have to eat what seems to me a *lot* to get to 1500!

Cutting the carbs will help naturally suppress the appetite is what I'd heard & I found that to be true. I lost cravings for starchy carbs (like bread, white potatoes, rice, pasta, etc). I still like to have something sweet but even at that, some things (like almost all store-bought 'unsweetened' stuff) is so sweet I gag. I make my own sweet treats w/ a tiny bit of Stevia powder. And some treats, like whipped Heavy Whipping Cream w/ a little cocoa powder, tastes sweet enough to me that I don't add anything.

I guess to answer your question about calories or carbs, it''s been a combo of both in my experience. After starting keto, I'm just not as hungry so I don't eat as much high-calorie meals. It's been terrific to eat in a way that I don't feel restricted because I'm not constantly feeling hunger pangs & thinking about *food* every waking minute!

jen_zz

Thanks both for sharing!

bacitracin

I had some research laying around somewhere (maybe from /r/ketogains) that indicated that it was possible to still metabolize fat for energy in a caloric surplus as long as you're in ketosis. That makes it way easier to build muscle. I'll try to find it.

jen_zz

Great! I find it so hard to maneuver around reddit!