Hard to get to calories!

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Help! I'm on Day 2 of my Keto diet and I just can't seem to get a decent amount of food before I go over my carb limit - even though I'm avoiding it!

I just don't know what else to do - do I eat more cheese? More deli meat (blergh).

Please take a look at my diary and let me know where I'm going wrong. I'd love to eat more veggies, but it seems like I've already gone over my carb limit. I want to make a salad with romaine, celery, feta, avocado, evoo...but will that not let me go into ketosis? I don't know!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Seattle4135

Thanks a lot!

Replies

  • praxisproject
    praxisproject Posts: 154 Member
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    More fat and protein, fat will easily up your calories. EVOO is fine. Coconut oil in coffee can up your calories if you're too low.

    Make sure you're counting net carbs. You look like you've had 22 net carbs which should be okay for ketosis. Are you hungry?
  • Bill_from_Philly
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    Follow what Praxis said, more fat to help with the calories and 22 net carbs isn't bad at all. Don't worry about calories too much, eat when hungry, stop when full and drink plenty of water. I routinely fall below the calorie limits.
  • Seattle4135
    Seattle4135 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks for the reply! No, I'm not really hungry...not starving...but definitely could eat. I guess I don't know how much I should really be sticking to 20g of carbs. If my carb limit goes over 25 or 30 because I'm eating broccoli or spinach, I don't want to think that I'm screwing myself up.

    I guess I'm worried that I won't be able to do this for the long haul because I won't be effective.
  • rachaelfisher1
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    You need to increase you're protein intake.
    I'm on keto at the moment and my macros are based on <60grams protein and ~150 grams of protein.
    I did notice that you're carbs are around the 20gram mark which is really low!
  • alexstosic
    alexstosic Posts: 11 Member
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    It's the same here,
    I'm new to keto, I've probably joined the keto clubfor 1day 1/2 friday saturday morning.
    Still my carbs can't get under something like 50.

    I got only one keto tester positive thursday night after soccer training but I really felt different.
    Saturday afternoon after a test Nike Training Class I was sweating like hell and so much wornout but I really felt like I could start again any minute.

    Unfortunately I carb loaded on sunday, way too soon, but I'll try now to get adaptation for two weeks before doing another carb up.

    p.s. I'm vegetarian
  • rachaelfisher1
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    You need to increase you're protein intake.
    I'm on keto at the moment and my macros are based on <60grams protein and ~150 grams of protein.
    I did notice that you're carbs are around the 20gram mark which is really low!

    ** <60 grams of carbs and ~150 grams of protein.
  • aramass
    aramass Posts: 4 Member
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    Your food diary looks absolutely fine. I think you didn't subtract your fibre to get the net carbs.
  • wildfirediva
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    Keto as a vegetarian is tough are you allowing egg whites? Jay Robb Egg white protein powder has been one of my favorites and looking into Pro7ein Synthesis (36g protein per serving? Hummm).

    While I am not vegetarian I have been doing a lot of whey and egg white protein to meet my protein goals. Getting enough fats does not seem to be an issue for me (heavy cream, coconut, flax and hemp oil mostly). I didn't allow a whole lot of veggies (even minimal greens in induction. I also didn't allow carb ups during induction, but before and after an anticipated good hearty work out I would have a bit of flavored hemp protein powder (Nutiva brand) which has a nice balance of protein, fiber and carbs.
    Their coconut mana is also awesome.

    I have been using the Body Media Fit Link to help mostly track activity and sleep efficiency which has also been a great asset for data gathering and tracking.

    Don't get too caught up on staying below a certain caloric limit on keto, just trying to stay under your daily caloric output is the key.

    What are you MFP Goal Percentages set to for your Macros?
  • Chlo92x
    Chlo92x Posts: 168 Member
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    Hey, Iv been doing low carb / keto for 2 days now so im also new to it. Iv been under my calorie goals since doing it and under my carb goals... I have just been eating meat, veg and gravy and eggs or salad for lunch and also using sweetener in my tea. X
  • wildfirediva
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    Chlo92x: What types of veg? Also some sweeteners (mostly the sugar alcohols found in sugar free foods...the ones that end in -ol like maltitol, sorbitol, and erithritol ) can delay entering ketosis. Don't do carb ups within the induction phase (first 2-3 weeks).

    Watch your Macros (fat, protein, carbs) not necessarily your calories (you will be good as long as you stay under your daily caloric expenditure, which is your Basal Metabolic Rate plus your activity and workouts thru the day.
    Help your micros along with a quality Multi Vitamin (I use Solaray High Potency One Daily)

    Protein shakes are your friend (egg white, whey +cassein, and hemp) are my favorites.
  • alexstosic
    alexstosic Posts: 11 Member
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    Keto as a vegetarian is tough are you allowing egg whites? Jay Robb Egg white protein powder has been one of my favorites and looking into Pro7ein Synthesis (36g protein per serving? Hummm).

    While I am not vegetarian I have been doing a lot of whey and egg white protein to meet my protein goals. Getting enough fats does not seem to be an issue for me (heavy cream, coconut, flax and hemp oil mostly). I didn't allow a whole lot of veggies (even minimal greens in induction. I also didn't allow carb ups during induction, but before and after an anticipated good hearty work out I would have a bit of flavored hemp protein powder (Nutiva brand) which has a nice balance of protein, fiber and carbs.
    Their coconut mana is also awesome.

    What are you MFP Goal Percentages set to for your Macros?

    my goals are C 5%, Protein 25% Fat 70%, formerly were 5% less fat and more protein but I think that whey could kick me out of ketosis too often.

    I'm now doing quite well, loosing 2/300gr of fat per week and gaining the almost same amount in lean
    I've increased my calories intake now to 2300 net exercise to see if I could gain more lean tissue (I've lost a lot due to normal restricted diet)

    Although my keto stix very very rarely became purple (ketur test has only 3 settings 0/+/++) I can feel the difference in energy and I don't get any of those bad cravings I remember.
    About keto stix... I drink a lot of water (like 4lt per day) could this be the issues with the stix?
  • astronomer25
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    I thought I would chime in...

    Everyone has their own ideas....
    1) If you are very insulin resistant (have a lot to lose), then I would do the following...

    5% carbs
    15% protein
    85% fat

    eat whenever you are hungry - try to eat 2x-3x fat as protein (so if I eat 30grams of protein, I eat 60grams of fat). I always try to get a minimum of 2x of fat, then you should rarely be hungry.
  • praxisproject
    praxisproject Posts: 154 Member
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    and if you're still hungry but have maxed out all your allowances, have extra fat, it'll take less of a toll on your blood sugar.
  • missyyclaire
    missyyclaire Posts: 572 Member
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    The Ketostix measure a substance in your urine, but I've read they can be rather inaccurate. Evidently, a better marker of your body burning ketones for fuel is tested via your blood by a ketone meter. This substance is called betahydroxybutyrate. If you check out Jimmy Moore's "n=1" experiment on his livin la vida low carb blog, he talks about this.

    I just ordered a meter through Amazon and test strips from Canada. A friend of mine has been using his meter and has really learned what puts him in ketosis or not. I'm kinda excited to do the same.

    About the protein....if you have more protein than your body needs, your liver converts the protein to glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis. If you're wanting to stay in ketosis, it's best not to get too much protein for this reason. Lowering my protein intake has aided in getting me out of a 5-6 month stall. Generally we only need about 60-80g of protein per day, which is lower than I used to eat. I do my best lately to eat lots more fat, 85% or so.

    http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/jimmy-moores-n1-experiments-nutritional-ketosis-day-1-30/14409
  • praxisproject
    praxisproject Posts: 154 Member
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    Your protein intake should be guided by your lean body mass (not your weight), some have more than others. I'd lose muscle mass on a number that low :)
  • missyyclaire
    missyyclaire Posts: 572 Member
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    Upon looking up a little info on our protein needs, I found this webpage quite helpful. Looking at it, it seems there are different opinions from professionals on protein requirements (imagine that!). For me, Dr Rosedale's recommendation for my body's needs would be about 71g per day of protein. I'll wager I'm getting more than that in my daily diet, which could be a reason for my stalling lately. It's probably time for me to go back to my food diary and take a look at just how much protein I'm getting. I can do that starting (again) today.

    http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/daily-protein-requirement.html