Calories on KETO and need support partner

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Hi All,
I had been doing KETO for 5 weeks and doing very well. I decided to test the waters this weekend and I went out of ketosis. Today is day 2 of "recovery" and I am EXHAUSTED and missing how great I felt on Keto.

Anyway - I need to get my calories into a deficit and I need to STOP binging even on KETO foods. I had a very rough day at work yesterday (family business) and I was exhausted physically and mentally. By the time I got home from work (and I promised myself I wouldn't eat when I got home because I didn't need to!) I ended up binging on kale/pork rind nachos, quest cups with whipping cream and cream cheese, etc. Now I am feeling the emotional toll of this.

Also I need support because I am EXTREMELY hard on myself. Nothing is ever good enough and I have came SO far but I am never happy with my progress. I can't wait to get back into ketosis and feel as good as I did before.

People tell me NOT to track on KETO because it can stress you out. Stress is a big hindrance for me and I think a lot of the reason why I Haven't made more progress.

Replies

  • rainbowunicorns720
    rainbowunicorns720 Posts: 48 Member
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    Don't fall in to that trap...especially if you have problems overeating. Track your calories. I only eat about 1100 a day to lose steadily on keto. I can eat more...up to about 1500 but weight loss slows dramatically. Keto is great for many things but no matter how great it is...it's not magically exempt from the calories in/calories out rule. People who say don't track calories usually assume that you will feel full before you overeat and thus naturally control your calorie level. However, for emotional eaters or people who eat too fast it's very easy to overeat calories since fat has so many calories per gram. Protein/fat DOES keep you more full. I can easily eat 2500+ cals on the standard american diet...but i'm stuffed on 1700 calories worth of food that's keto compatible. So it does somewhat lower your calorie intake naturally...but it wasn't lowered enough for me to lose weight at the rate i wanted to. So i kept cutting it by 250 cals until i lost at the rate i wanted to.
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
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    Perfect response, thank you so much. I know I would over eat big time if I didn't count my calories (and it is SO easy to!) I really need to get my binging under control.
  • rainbowunicorns720
    rainbowunicorns720 Posts: 48 Member
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    Any time! Something I do that helps is to pre-log my food for the next day. Since I've been doing this a while i know how many calories i need and when. So, I log everything in advance that way i know exactly how much to eat ahead of time to meet my goal. Since Keto really suppresses my hunger i find i can be satisfied and stay satisfied with a lot less food than i would think if i were just estimating how much it would take to fill me up when i make it or going off of how full i feel right at the moment. Hope this helps! Once your body has done keto it doesn't take anywhere near as long to get back in it. With a two day splurge it would take me 3-4 days of very low carb (10 or under) to get back in to ketosis...so hang in there! :) You can also use high intensity exercise to burn all that sugar off and go in to ketosis faster.
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
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    Thanks so much rainbow! I try to log my planned food for the morning - and I usually leave 400 cals "open" for if I am hungry during the day (or snack when I am not hungry!)

    I usually workout REALLY hard and tonight was planning to go do some HIIT training but I am EXHAUSTED! I actually think I am more tired/head-achey readapting then I was when I originally started KETO? Thank you so much for the support. I can't wait to be in Ketosis again. I am trying not to be hard on myself and "regret" going out and taking it as a lesson learned.
  • mshea62
    mshea62 Posts: 7 Member
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    Hello,

    I only just started keto, so I'm not sure if you're interested, but I would love to be a support partner. My diary is open right now. I need to work on eating more fat and sodium, but since I'm only about six days in, I'm taking it slow. I've been in ketosis since day two, and feel amazing, but I think I'll need some encouragement soon (if I don't already!), because making this lifestyle shift is quite intense...

    Regarding binges, I totally understand where you're coming from. Before starting keto, I ate a hyper-restrictive diet (~1200 calories plus lots of exercise), but whenever something 'bad' happened, or I was tired, allowed myself food to make myself feel better. I can't say I've gotten rid of that habit since starting keto, but it does seem less frequent that I eat more than I should

    Let me know if you're interested in being support partners!
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    You are on a slippery slope if you eat around 1000-1100 calories especially on a low carb diet. The most common theme for people who eat around 1000 cals / day is negative nitrogen balance, which means they are losing muscle. Don't starve yourself by starving with some numbers, eat adequate protein, at least 1gm of protein/ kg of body weight.
  • sarrajune
    sarrajune Posts: 17 Member
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    I'm going to add you because I'd love to be another supportive friend :) but I figured I'd still say this here.

    Personally, I am new to Keto but no stranger to calorie counting, and I find it inspiring but that's me (I'm an achievement addict, so the dangling carrot works well without the carb cravings).

    Do you have your macros set up in MFP so that you have a goal percentage for Fat/Carb/Protein? For me, I was already inspired by trying to stay accountable and hit my goal calories, but having macros sparks my creative side of my brain or something. I am always cooking up new ways to hit those macros as close as I can while staying as full as I can (and I still try to improve how much nutrients I'm getting from green veggies in the process, since that ends up being the hardest part for me to add in). I have also made a game out of trying to become a better cook (and with new types of food instead of the same old stuff) while staying keto. It is a challenge for sure, but I like that I am killing so many birds with one stone :P

    Plus when you can open up MFP and see a pie chart that shows your carbs as under 5% and your Fat/Carbs around 65 and 30, man you feel like a million bucks! At that point, I usually don't want to overeat and I do okay.

    But yesterday, really for the first time, I DID overeat when I shouldn't have. I was exhausted and by going to sleep at like 7 o'clock pm I threw my whole biological clock out of whack and I woke up hungry at like 1 AM. I also unfortunately had some delicious snow crab legs left over and they just called to me. Even after I ate them (with loads of butter) I was still craving something and ate some more. I stayed KETO thankfully but I went over my calories.

    It is going to happen to everyone, but I think the key thing is to stay in ketosis even if you go over your calorie limit. Work out harder the next day and watch the calories tick back down on MFP, and your macro balance will stay intact, as well as your weight loss :)

    And girl, most importantly (and I'm not even saying this to be cheesy) have some FUN with it! This isn't a punishment for your body or a chore, it's a new way of life that might just make you feel amazing. I think you should go find some recipe that looks ridiculously tasty and try it keto-style, and set up the macros if you didn't (or just watch them more if you do) to make a game out of it! YOLO :p
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
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    SarraJune you are awesome!!!
    I do have them set up - when I started reading about Keto and decided to try it, I calculated the first couple days manually then realized I could change it in MFP!! What a life saver!!!

    For the 4-5 weeks I've done this I have had "cheats" where I binged and ate more than I should but I did stay KETO. Now after this past weekend and going out of KETO I realized it is NOT worth it! LIke wow. Day 3 of headache, exhaustion...

    I did drag myself to the gym last night and did 65 mins of HIIT spinning, which I felt much better about after. I have you to thank for that little push!

    You are SO right to enjoy it To be honest I really like the food I can eat on KETO. I don't miss any of the carbs (though I did have a dream about fresh bread with peanut butter just the other night! LOL) My only struggles are my social life. I have a large family and we do big dinners every week and they don't ALL seem to understand what I'm doing. They think I'm crazy!? My mom made chicken last weekend and I couldn't eat it because it was 53 grams of carbs for 2 chicken thighs (pecan whiskey glaze) lol but I just ate my own food and let them think I was nuts.

    Looking forward to MFP'ing it with you! Thanks SO much!
  • sarrajune
    sarrajune Posts: 17 Member
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    Oh I totally agree. I unfortunately hear it from my grandmother 24/7, who thinks about 5 times the normal servings of boiled potatoes, noodles, or rice are part of a normal healthy meal. When I stay under 2000 calories she acts like I'm starving myself, and if I have protein shakes with better nutritional content than ANYTHING I used to cook she acts like I'm drinking rocket fuel. It's definitely hard around people that don't understand!! I just try to focus on how I feel and remember that when I'm out running 10k's and losing weight and my skin is glowing from good health, they'll scratch their heads and ask how I did it instead of making accusations!! haha :)
  • shanniem1
    shanniem1 Posts: 35
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    Isn't that SO true! You are giving me so much hope! Thank you thank you thank you! I'm also suffering from TERRIBLE skin and hoping it will clear up SOON. How silly of me to "cheat" this weekend. On Saturday I had the best "fasted" workout, I actually got a "high" off of it! Then I went and ate carbs. Silly me. People don't realize all the benefits of a Ketogenic diet besides the weight loss. :)