The most difficult part for me so far (newbie since Mid-Oct) is rewiring my brain. Going from "fat bad" to "fat good" sounds easy to process until you begin to cook. That's when you have to fight your urge to leave all the fatty goodness out of what you're cooking. I LOVE good salads but used to eat them rarely because when you add in all the good stuff the calorie count got high. Now, I put on green and black olives, green onions, celery, pecans, and FULL-FAT dressings. Heck, last night I added a Tbsp of regular Mayo to the concoction just to drive up my fat macros a little more.

Lucky for me, I like to cook. I am currently experimenting with several recipes, usually on the weekends when I have more time available. My favorite so far is a thick cream cheese sauce w/ butter, cream, and spices. I am able to put it on all types of protein and drive the fat macros. I would soon like to open up another keto topic just for recipes that people have created and would enjoy sharing with others.

But my favorite has to be the freedom to eat Bacon & Eggs for breakfast every day!

I've been eating low-carb for nearly four years and strict keto for about six months now. I found that keto is much better for me in regulating my blood glucose levels (I'm diabetic) and also for weight loss. It isn't "melting" off me like some people claim, but I am seeing a steady and slow weight loss.

My macros have changed over the years. When I first started, I was at about 65% fat - 20% protein - 15% carbs. Today I am at 85% fat - 10% protein - 5% carbs and these seem to be the right proportions for me. I also enjoy the high energy of burning ketones, which I did not get until I upped my fats to the 85% mark. I'm even exercising for the first time in years! Don't have a ketone meter but every day I calculate my ketogenic ratio via an Excel formula and as long as the result is over 2 I'm happy and figure I'm in ketosis.

No carb cravings at all anymore but have a harder time with protein cravings and am thinking of upping the protein a bit, as I seem to gravitate more toward about 12 - 13%. It was hard to wrap my head around the idea of 'saturated fat is good for you' idea at first, but once I did, it's awesome. Being able to eat full-fat products and add all those delicious foods like keto cheesecake, keto fudge, chocolate & gelatin whips - oh my, my mouth is sooooo happy! And so are my glucose readings.

I've found that eating keto is much easier if you like to cook. That way you really do have good control over your diet. Virtually everything I eat is home-made from scratch, even the mayonnaise.

Sorry for the length. I'm known for my wordiness.

.....and add all those delicious foods like keto cheesecake, keto fudge, chocolate & gelatin whips - oh my, my mouth is sooooo happy! .

Ohhhhhh...I'm intrigued. Do you share recipes? I'm only in two weeks BUT the occational keto friendly yummy should be ok.

I tried paleo a few months ago and missed dairy too much, so this go around I'm allowing it. I haven't noticed whether it interferes with my losing or not because I'm only a few weeks in. It does give me some digestive upset, so I will likely start to taper off of it as I progress with the program. But yea, during induction I need something that I'm used to and comfortable with. I try and stay under 15g (5%) net carbs/day and am pretty successful. I'm also trying to do this within an established calorie goal. That's where I'm finding the most trouble. If I eat my fat macros and hit my carb then I'm like 300-400cal over/day.