Anyone 5'1 looking to lose the last 10-15 pounds?

I do keto sometimes. I usually eat pretty low-carb anyways, makes a WORLD of difference to my mood and energy levels, but when I really want to speed up fat loss, I keep carbs under 30 g/day and will do that for 2-3 weeks. There are a couple of tricks to this:

(1) Do high fat, moderate protein, low carb. If you do high protein, you won't end up in ketosis because your liver will convert the amino acids to glucose.

(2) Make sure you're eating enough calories. BMR, minimum. This helps with getting through the "carb flu" when you're feeling sluggish due to depleted glycogen levels and decreased blood sugar. It also helps with the protein sparing process -- after a while your body will start catabolizing your muscles for glucose if it thinks it's not getting enough energy, and you certainly don't want that.

(3) For the first 2-3 weeks, do only low-intensity exercises (walking, light cycling, etc). You have to give yourself time to adjust to burning fat rather than glucose as your primary energy source. Also, weight lifting or high-intensity, anaerobic exercises REQUIRE glycogen from your muscles. You'll be in for a bad ride if you try doing these when your glycogen is really low. You may want to consider a few higher-carb days (quinoa, yams, sweet potatoes, wild rice) thrown into the mix if you plan on doing high-intensity exercises.

(4) It takes most people 2-4 days to get into ketosis by eating very low carb. I'm impatient and almost never want to wait that long, so when I start a cycle of ketosis I do a 1 day water-only fast, and usually take about a 45 minute walk. Works like a charm. I'm in ketosis within 15-18 hours.

Good luck!

I typically do some combinations with the following:

Meats: beef, bacon, chicken

Oils/Fats: coconut oil, butter, ghee, olive oil

Dairy: Eggs, cottage cheese (full fat), unsweetened coconut milk, mozzarella cheese

Fruits: Avocados, Blueberries, raspberries

Vegetables: Kale, bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, spinach

Nuts: almonds, pecans

Other: Coffee, balsamic vinegar, whey protein without a sweetener, stevia

Just track your veggies, fruits, and nuts accurately until you find your personal tolerance to carbs while in ketosis. Also, watch it with dairy and some cheeses, they tend to be higher in sugars so I use them sparingly. Putting balsamic vinegar on your salads can actually lower its glycemic index. When my budget allows I try to get my meats, eggs, and butter from pasture-raised sources because they're much better for you.

I DO get sick of bacon and eggs in the morning sometimes, what I'll often do is blend up a smoothie with some berries, coconut milk, coconut oil, kale, and either raw eggs or protein powder. 16 oz of that will keep me full till dinner. I use the nuts as snacks. If you drink coffee, try blending it with coconut oil or full fat cream. It gives it a nice consistency and good flavor. If you do have a sweet tooth, you can use stevia or truvia, but pay attention to it, because for some people it takes them out of ketosis.

As far as results, it's almost immediate, especially if you kick it off with a fast. You'll probably see a 1-3 lb water loss in the first day or two. After that, given that you're already pretty small, I would guess you'd lose about 2-3 lbs/week. Remember, you still have to be at a caloric deficit, but it doesn't have to be huge.

Hope it goes well, keep me updated!

I'm 5'1 and have been doing a ketogenic diet since late July. If you haven't already read them, I recommend Stephen Phinney's and Jeff Volek's books "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance" and "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living". Also Peter Attia's blog on low carb exercise. http://eatingacademy.com/media/videos-peter-likes.

Yes! I came across Attia's blog just a few weeks ago and learned so much...I'm a science geek so I loved that Attia knows the physiology and biochemistry, you'll find no "bro-science" there. Been meaning to read Phinney and Volek.