Why low carb didn't work for me

I did a keto diet a while back, for about three months. I shed an additional 15lbs while on the diet, and it has stayed off, but I felt like garbage. Not just the keto flu, once that passed I just continually felt "nasty". Dirty, greasy, like I was dripping meat from every pore :P.

I still eat a high protein diet, but not one that's particularly carb restrictive. I just try to be careful about what carbs I am choosing.

Diets like that have their place, they seem to work very well for some. It did seem to kick me off of the plateau I was on, I've found that occasionally changing my eating habits will help kick start some more weight loss.

Ever thought about paleo? Its similar but probably more options for you to feel more satisfied

A week and a half you say? Just long enough to be miserable. There's a reason they call induction the "keto-flu."

The first two weeks are rough. They are easily the hardest weeks. And, if you're an athlete, the first month and a half can be pretty demoralizing (until your performance returns). Once you're past the hump, that's when all the good stuff happens. This is one reason why the keto-cult tells people to not restrict calories at all during the first few weeks. You're already going to be uncomfortable while your body is making the switch, you don't need to be hungry on top of that.

The food restrictions are mentally tough, at first. That fades, too.

The main thing, in my opinion, is do what you want. If you have no compelling reason to get and stay in keto, don't bother.

Indeed. You really need to commit for a month at minimum, especially if you're active to see how you'll really feel. It's the difference between in ketosis and keto adapted. However, if you really don't want to try it again and push through the initial period, there are other things you can try.

Things you liked about low carb:

1. Less sugar
2. Less white, processed, filler stuff. Like white potato, sugar, refined flour, etc.


If you like not eating those foods, you don't have to. Someone mentioned Paleo, which might fit the bill for you. Except fruit sugar (and today, when I really screwed up) I don't eat those things, and I'm vegan high carb (but not today, see the part where I said I screwed up).

If you're going to try again, I would advise eating more protein at first than you'll eat later. Lyle McDonald recommends 150g / day regardless of lean body mass or exercise level until you've adapted. This reduces the loss of muscle mass. You should keep the net carbs very low (<25g), as you already know. And, at first you should eat very near to maintenance. Make sure to use the lite-salt with potassium and take a magnesium supplement. After you've done it a while, you don't really need to keep those up.

You mention avoiding nuts. There's little reason to avoid them. Most of them are perfectly fine in moderation. Careful with peanuts because they have more carbs than most. But, you can still have some. You can satisfy your fruit cravings with berries. Those tend to be lower carb. You can mash cauliflower in place of mashed potatoes. You can make fake breads and a bunch of replica recipes from flax meal, almond flour, coconut flour, and other stuff. I am not a fan of most of them. And, none of them are perfect replacements. But, they can help with cravings.

If you have no reason not to, get acquainted with sugar-free sweeteners. I am a fan of the Torani sugar free syrups. They are great for adding a hint of sweetness and flavor to things.

After the first two weeks, you can drop the protein down to something more appropriate for your lean body mass. It will probably be around 90g or so. And, you can also drop the overall calories down to the deficit level you're comfortable with. Overall, this will mean just dropping a little bit of fat when you bring the protein down.

If you run, bike, or lift heavy... expect decreased performance for several weeks. You can still do those activities. Just expect less reps/weight, and less distance/speed until you fully adapt. After you adapt, you should be right back to your previous levels of performance.

Edit: But, I will repeat again. If the food restrictions are something you can't imagine living with, then keto might not be for you. There's nothing wrong with doing what works for you. I am shocked that I took to it, personally. I used to be a bread junkie myself. I made it at home (two loaves at a time and would eat a whole loaf a day). I make bagels, rolls, etc. That and rice. If you had told me that I could lose weight, but I would need to give up rice and bread, I wouldn't have done it. After a couple months, I realized that I didn't miss those things. But, I wouldn't have guessed it.

A week and a half you say? Just long enough to be miserable. There's a reason they call induction the "keto-flu."

The first two weeks are rough. They are easily the hardest weeks. And, if you're an athlete, the first month and a half can be pretty demoralizing (until your performance returns). Once you're past the hump, that's when all the good stuff happens. This is one reason why the keto-cult tells people to not restrict calories at all during the first few weeks. You're already going to be uncomfortable while your body is making the switch, you don't need to be hungry on top of that.

The food restrictions are mentally tough, at first. That fades, too.

The main thing, in my opinion, is do what you want. If you have no compelling reason to get and stay in keto, don't bother.

:drinker:

Sheryl - When you are evaluating what types of changes to make, the first thing is to evaluate where you are. As you can see from my profile pic, I used to be a larger woman (size 26-28) and completely understand 'pool party hell'. The problem with Morbid Obesity is that - by definition - it means your weight is killing you. So staying where you are isn't really an option because you're already on a down-hill slope and your health will decline if you don't make changes.

But before you can make changes, you have to look at what you're currently doing. What types of foods are you eating? what are you doing RIGHT? How much water are you drinking? How much exercise are you getting? That's where MFP is a great place to start. Just track what you are doing right now and then look at your food and exercise diaries to see what types of changes you need to make.

What's ONE THING you can do today to help move you in the direction of health? Perhaps get more sleep? Perhaps have another 15-20 ounces of water? Is there some food that you eat often that you could drop from your routine?

One of the things I've noticed is that when I don't get enough sleep, I skip making breakfast at home. I still eat breakfast, but then I'm stuck with options made by other people which are higher carb, lower protein than what I would have made. When I do that *regularly*, I gain weight.

Can't add too much more to some of the advice here, but if you are interested in doing low carb again, my suggestion would be to do it gradually. Simply dial back the carbs to a level you're happy with. No diet is effortless, but with low carb, I find it easier to follow than other methods I've tried. Always remember there are three different approaches - high carb-low fat, moderate carb-moderate fat, and low carb-high fat, just pick the one that works best for you

Paleo is amazing:happy:

All I can think of is that it must be a real pain to go out to eat with friends or family when you have such a diet. It just doesn't sound sustainable to me.