Anyone Doing Keto?

Honestly I gave it a legitimate try recently.

I spent about 6 weeks at under 20 net carbs a day.

I was tired, sluggish (that energy boost everyone else gets, didn't happen), foggy minded, weak, constantly hungry, famished, hangry and emotional the entire time.

It was miserable.

And, I got sick, truly sick, and missed two days of work, for the first time in years.

20 net carbs is not enough for me to take in the fruit and veg level my body thrives on.

I've seen it do "miracles" for others, but my body doesn't jive with it's chemistry.

I went back to normal Paleo (which is still pretty low carb) but I've been really enjoying bananas, mangos, and sushi!

I love not caring less if I go over 20 carbs and my keto stick is clear than I feel sluggish for days because I just couldn't live without another serving of veg. That's kind of like intentionally dieting yourself into sickness.

Good luck!

Do what works for you.

PS I lost 0 weight in keto. I truly believe what I did lose was water weight because I started in the 180's, ended in the 180's, and I'm still in the 180's. Lots of suffering for 0 progress.

You like paragraphs.

No, she likes sentences.

When people write in the MFP forms in one big paragraph it seems like a cluster **** of tl:dr, and I wind up scanning it for key words but not taking the time to read each and every line without intense focus. I find spacing out the paragraphs to be far easier for the reader to read.

A friend of mine did Keto, he lost a bunch of weight really fast and looked great, as soon as he went back to regular eating he gained it all back and an extra 20lbs. it's not sustainable.

A friend of mine counted calories, lost a bunch of weight and as soon as he got complacent and went back to his old habits, he gained it all back and then some. But, big surprise, that's irrelevant to a discussion of calorie counting and it certainly doesn't mean that calorie counting is not a good way to lose weight.

As for the OP, the reason you might want to go keto from a low carb diet at 50-80g is that you might actually feel more energetic on a keto diet. That said, depending on what exercises you do, you may run into issues with muscle glycogen on a keto diet (addressable issues, but it requires a bit more work). Otherwise, I might consider going a bit higher in your carb macro, while still keeping it low'ish if you find that helps you (maybe 100-125g?).

Taking a step back though, the main reason to keep carbs low is because it serves as an appetite suppressant for a lot of people and it all but eliminates the ability to eat certain calorie-dense foods (ice cream, cake, etc.). If you're plateauing, rather than looking at your carb macro, I'd look at your calorie intake, your logging habits and your exercise. How long have you been plateauing? What's your exercise routine? What's your calorie target/day? How are you calculating exercise calories? And so on. I suspect you'll have more luck focusing on the answers to those questions rather than tweaking your carb macro.

I think keto is great and works for many people. I also keep my carbs lower and feel much better that way. My advice is to make sure you take magnesium everyday and if you start feeling flush, a good remedy is to drink some bone broth (beef or chicken broth). I think making some soups for the first few week is helpful.

I'd also come up with a plan for how you will get into maintenance later. What foods you'd like to reintroduce and carb levels at each stage. I, personally, would like to maintain with lots of fruit and veggies in my diet. I also like to have plenty of good fats. Right now, I watch fruit, but in maintenance, I will want to eat more.

Honestly I gave it a legitimate try recently.

I spent about 6 weeks at under 20 net carbs a day.

I was tired, sluggish (that energy boost everyone else gets, didn't happen), foggy minded, weak, constantly hungry, famished, hangry and emotional the entire time.

It was miserable.

And, I got sick, truly sick, and missed two days of work, for the first time in years.

20 net carbs is not enough for me to take in the fruit and veg level my body thrives on.

I've seen it do "miracles" for others, but my body doesn't jive with it's chemistry.

I went back to normal Paleo (which is still pretty low carb) but I've been really enjoying bananas, mangos, and sushi!

I love not caring less if I go over 20 carbs and my keto stick is clear than I feel sluggish for days because I just couldn't live without another serving of veg. That's kind of like intentionally dieting yourself into sickness.

Good luck!

Do what works for you.

PS I lost 0 weight in keto. I truly believe what I did lose was water weight because I started in the 180's, ended in the 180's, and I'm still in the 180's. Lots of suffering for 0 progress.

I am glad you at least tried! Paleo is what my aim is to be once I hit my goal.

A few questions - were you aware of the notorious "keto flu" and the rigorous adaptation your body goes through to the diet changes you're giving it? Depending on many things, the flu can last between a few days to a few weeks. Did you also take care of your electrolytes while feeling under the weather?

I know this lifestyle doesn't work for everyone, but typically the research into ketosis goes far beyond keeping your carbs below 20 grams. In fact, vegetables are a staple to this diet -- especially leafy greens like spinach which help your adaptation.

Yes, but I kept getting keto flu over and over, the whole 6 weeks was basically the flu!

I like a lot more veggies than leafy greens and spinach, I missed onions, tomatoes, carrots, you could have a tiny enie weenie perfectly measured amount, but seriously? I like to get down on some veg, not a tiny little 2oz serving.

And I'm almost certain the reason I got sick was cutting out my "daily apple", that monster would've been over 20 net carbs alone.

I ate high salted foods, took magnesium, broth etc etc...

It's just not right for me.

I wanted to believe in the science behind it, and I'm not saying it's fake, I do see that it clearly works for others, but not me.

I love sweet potatoes, apples, baby carrots (12oz at a time if I feel like it).

I also missed that little amount of dark chocolate I could I have eating primally. I didn't realize how far a little went a long way until I couldn't have it (or have to chose between a nibble of dark chocolate or veg!) I didn't deal well with that kind of restriction.

Now... I would've dealt with that kind of restriction IF I had the astounding weight loss results everyone else had, but I didn't. I didn't lose any weight. I would have miserably forced it to see the scale move, but it didn't.

So it became a moot point for me.

Have any females encountered this !?

Im in my 5th week of proper ketosis , 0.7 on the blood ketone meter. Ive been trying to enter and maintain ketosis since July this summer and it took a bit of tweaking and alot of reading to find out why I was failing / struggling. During the whole time I have not had a TOM , have any of you ladies experienced this ? should I be concerned?

p.s I already have irregular cycles which is a big part of why Im wanting to be adapted. Ive been stuck at 0.7 for 2 weeks now so Im fat fasting for a week starting today .

Your thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated !