Ketogenic Struggle.

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Critcrittle
Critcrittle Posts: 25 Member
edited May 2015 in Getting Started
Day 2 of the Ketogenic life. I am struggling with this whole carb deal. I have no issues not eating "carby foods" like pasta, bread, rice, cake, etc. BUT...as I am logging what I am eating...I am finding that most everything has CARBS! How do you differentiate between what carbs are okay and which one's aren't?

Does anyone know anything about the Ketogenic diet?
Have any expereicne ro advice in this area?
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Replies

  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I'm on a Keto diet for sport performance and to keep off the menopause tummy in maintenance. Remember that it's net carbs you need to be tracking, ie total carbs MINUS grams of fiber. If you reset your macros to track carbs then make the macro next to it fiber grams it just makes it easier to figure out. After a week you should be feeling less cravings for carbs and generally more satisfied with your food. If you want menu ideas you can friend me if you like, or my diary is public - I don't mind lurkers, lol. I'd focus the carbs you do get from fresh veggies, plain greek yogourt, cottage cheese, and lower carb/higher fibre fruits like berries. It's just more satisfying that way and better nutrients than processed carbs.
  • busywaterbending
    busywaterbending Posts: 844 Member
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    greens, veggies, mushrooms, nuts. fermented dairy. what's not to get?
  • Critcrittle
    Critcrittle Posts: 25 Member
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    greens, veggies, mushrooms, nuts. fermented dairy. what's not to get?

    Yes, I understand what I CAN eat. My question was in regards to CARBS.

    "How do you differentiate between what carbs are okay and which one's aren't?"


  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    What's wrong with carbs??
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
    edited May 2015
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    greens, veggies, mushrooms, nuts. fermented dairy. what's not to get?

    Yes, I understand what I CAN eat. My question was in regards to CARBS.

    "How do you differentiate between what carbs are okay and which one's aren't?"


    Pretty much any carb that isn't starchy (corn, potatoes, yams, etc...).

    I would check out the Keto group as the expertise tends to be more specialized.

    And here is Reddit Keto
  • Critcrittle
    Critcrittle Posts: 25 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    greens, veggies, mushrooms, nuts. fermented dairy. what's not to get?

    Yes, I understand what I CAN eat. My question was in regards to CARBS.

    "How do you differentiate between what carbs are okay and which one's aren't?"


    Pretty much any carb that isn't starchy (corn, potatoes, yams, etc...).

    I would check out the Keto group as the expertise tends to be more specialized.

    And here is Reddit Keto

    Thank You! (:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    psulemon wrote: »
    greens, veggies, mushrooms, nuts. fermented dairy. what's not to get?

    Yes, I understand what I CAN eat. My question was in regards to CARBS.

    "How do you differentiate between what carbs are okay and which one's aren't?"


    Pretty much any carb that isn't starchy (corn, potatoes, yams, etc...).

    I would check out the Keto group as the expertise tends to be more specialized.

    And here is Reddit Keto

    Thank You! (:

    No problem. People tend to freak out here when you discuss removing carbs from a diet. And while Keto is unnecessary to lose weight (outside of having a medical condition), if it's a strategy that you can stick with and enjoy, then great.

  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    edited May 2015
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    Keto is a radical change and a very restrictive plan. That means that ideally you will work with a dietitian who can help you get to speed with out to do it correctly. At the very least, you should read a comprehensive guide and get your questions answered so that you have a more complete understanding of how it works and the reasons you are doing it (before you start). Good luck!
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    More info on Keto for sport performance:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4113752/

    A quote from an extremely detailed review of several studies on mitochondrial usage of ketones for energy by the University of Oxford published Oct 29 2014:
    "Given the well-characterised demands of endurance exercise and the importance of dietary substrates on athletic metabolism, there is a clear rationale for the nutritional provision of exogenous ketone bodies in this context. With the recent development of novel forms of dietary ketone ester now undergoing rodent and human testing, the stigma of this much maligned substrate may yet be challenged."
    Full article with links to the studies here: http://www.extremephysiolmed.com/content/3/1/17

  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    @Critcrittle - See articles above... ;)
  • Critcrittle
    Critcrittle Posts: 25 Member
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    Thank you! I will check it out!
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    You aren't aiming for zero carbs to be ketogenic, just low carbs. Some of the things in your diary like grapes and berries should probably be avoided in the early stages of a ketogenic diet. Bagels are out, and many processed / diet / light / low fat options aren't great either.
  • Critcrittle
    Critcrittle Posts: 25 Member
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    yarwell wrote: »
    You aren't aiming for zero carbs to be ketogenic, just low carbs. Some of the things in your diary like grapes and berries should probably be avoided in the early stages of a ketogenic diet. Bagels are out, and many processed / diet / light / low fat options aren't great either.

    @yarwell

    Okay ^ that is actually really helpful! Thank you!!!
    The dietician who was explaining it to me, told me I could eat pretty much any fruit. It's not my own personal dietician though, it more like work conversation, haha.
    I have cut out bagels...and al bread really! This is literally only day three for me so far though...and today has started out totaly wrong -__- I will get the hang of it though!!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
    edited May 2015
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    yarwell wrote: »
    You aren't aiming for zero carbs to be ketogenic, just low carbs. Some of the things in your diary like grapes and berries should probably be avoided in the early stages of a ketogenic diet. Bagels are out, and many processed / diet / light / low fat options aren't great either.

    @yarwell

    Okay ^ that is actually really helpful! Thank you!!!
    The dietician who was explaining it to me, told me I could eat pretty much any fruit. It's not my own personal dietician though, it more like work conversation, haha.
    I have cut out bagels...and al bread really! This is literally only day three for me so far though...and today has started out totaly wrong -__- I will get the hang of it though!!

    Edit: You need to concentrate on getting a lot more fat. Most days, your fat (and calories) looks really low. If you keto or low carb, fat has to significantly be increased.

  • Critcrittle
    Critcrittle Posts: 25 Member
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    yarwell wrote: »
    Edit: You need to concentrate on getting a lot more fat. Most days, your fat (and calories) looks really low. If you keto or low carb, fat has to significantly be increased.

    @psulemon

    Do you have any reccommendations on what foods/snacks I could potentially add to my diet in place of some of the things I apparently need to cut out....like wawa coffee -___- ha.



  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
    edited May 2015
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    yarwell wrote: »
    Edit: You need to concentrate on getting a lot more fat. Most days, your fat (and calories) looks really low. If you keto or low carb, fat has to significantly be increased.

    @psulemon

    Do you have any reccommendations on what foods/snacks I could potentially add to my diet in place of some of the things I apparently need to cut out....like wawa coffee -___- ha.



    So here is my general question, why are you trying to do a keto diet? Because before you start a diet like this, you really want to educate yourself as you can't just remove carbs and thing it's fine. You need to replace with fats (full fat dairy, avocado, nuts, fatty cuts of meat, etc...

    And if you want coffee, either black or look up bullet proof coffee.
  • Critcrittle
    Critcrittle Posts: 25 Member
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    I decided to do this after speaking with a dietician that I work with! I don't work with her as often as the other NPs at my job, so I am only able to get some info from her a bit at a time, unfortunately. After talking to her I decided this would be a good choice for me because I have a big goal to reach and I want to be healthier as well. I want to lose over 100 lbs and stay that way! Plus...my family history...carbs are not good...I'm very much Sicilian and my father was recently teling me (jst met him a year ago) that his entire side of our family struggles with keeping weight off because we are prone to pastas and breads and so many unhealthy choices. I have a million reasons for wanting to do this...I just need some guidance along the way, just as many people probably do initially.

    I will look into the bulletproof coffe, I have had a few people mention it!

    @psulemon
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
    Options
    I decided to do this after speaking with a dietician that I work with! I don't work with her as often as the other NPs at my job, so I am only able to get some info from her a bit at a time, unfortunately. After talking to her I decided this would be a good choice for me because I have a big goal to reach and I want to be healthier as well. I want to lose over 100 lbs and stay that way! Plus...my family history...carbs are not good...I'm very much Sicilian and my father was recently teling me (jst met him a year ago) that his entire side of our family struggles with keeping weight off because we are prone to pastas and breads and so many unhealthy choices. I have a million reasons for wanting to do this...I just need some guidance along the way, just as many people probably do initially.

    I will look into the bulletproof coffe, I have had a few people mention it!

    @psulemon

    Just for clarification, family history as in medical issues (e.i. diabetes, PCOS, etc..) or the family tends to have portion control issues? Because you can lose weight in a healthy manor, regardless of the lifestyle choice.

    Either way, if you want to move forward, I would start with low carb until you get enough information on keto (you can google reddit/keto or the groups to help set you up). Just like going vegan/vegetarian, you can do more harm if you do not implement correctly. So i can't stress enough how important education is. Last thing you want to do is become deficient in a nutrient and end up in the hospital (I have seen this happen with both vegetarians and keto people).

    For now, I would work on getting most/all of your carbs from veggies (maybe 1 serving of fruits if you want), increase fat intake (use stuff mentioned earlier) and the good amount of proteins. If you want, you can later your marcos here to increase fats and decrease carbs. It may be beneficial to aim for 15% carbs, 60% fats and 25%. And then eventually up fats a bit, protein a bit and then lower carbs.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    I decided to do this after speaking with a dietician that I work with! I don't work with her as often as the other NPs at my job, so I am only able to get some info from her a bit at a time, unfortunately. After talking to her I decided this would be a good choice for me because I have a big goal to reach and I want to be healthier as well. I want to lose over 100 lbs and stay that way! Plus...my family history...carbs are not good...I'm very much Sicilian and my father was recently teling me (jst met him a year ago) that his entire side of our family struggles with keeping weight off because we are prone to pastas and breads and so many unhealthy choices. I have a million reasons for wanting to do this...I just need some guidance along the way, just as many people probably do initially.

    I will look into the bulletproof coffe, I have had a few people mention it!

    @psulemon

    Just for clarification, family history as in medical issues (e.i. diabetes, PCOS, etc..) or the family tends to have portion control issues? Because you can lose weight in a healthy manor, regardless of the lifestyle choice.

    Either way, if you want to move forward, I would start with low carb until you get enough information on keto (you can google reddit/keto or the groups to help set you up). Just like going vegan/vegetarian, you can do more harm if you do not implement correctly. So i can't stress enough how important education is. Last thing you want to do is become deficient in a nutrient and end up in the hospital (I have seen this happen with both vegetarians and keto people).

    For now, I would work on getting most/all of your carbs from veggies (maybe 1 serving of fruits if you want), increase fat intake (use stuff mentioned earlier) and the good amount of proteins. If you want, you can later your marcos here to increase fats and decrease carbs. It may be beneficial to aim for 15% carbs, 60% fats and 25%. And then eventually up fats a bit, protein a bit and then lower carbs.


    Good advice^^
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    edited May 2015
    Options
    psulemon wrote: »
    yarwell wrote: »
    You aren't aiming for zero carbs to be ketogenic, just low carbs. Some of the things in your diary like grapes and berries should probably be avoided in the early stages of a ketogenic diet. Bagels are out, and many processed / diet / light / low fat options aren't great either.

    @yarwell

    Okay ^ that is actually really helpful! Thank you!!!
    The dietician who was explaining it to me, told me I could eat pretty much any fruit. It's not my own personal dietician though, it more like work conversation, haha.
    I have cut out bagels...and al bread really! This is literally only day three for me so far though...and today has started out totaly wrong -__- I will get the hang of it though!!

    Edit: You need to concentrate on getting a lot more fat. Most days, your fat (and calories) looks really low. If you keto or low carb, fat has to significantly be increased.

    Yep! up protein & especially fats. Berries are NOT a higher carb fruit - they have a lot of fibre. Compare with watermelon, or grapes, or a peach.
    Also this as quoted from psulemon:
    "For now, I would work on getting most/all of your carbs from veggies (maybe 1 serving of fruits if you want), increase fat intake (use stuff mentioned earlier) and the good amount of proteins. If you want, you can later your marcos here to increase fats and decrease carbs. It may be beneficial to aim for 15% carbs, 60% fats and 25%. And then eventually up fats a bit, protein a bit and then lower carbs."