How important is calorie intake on keto.
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susiean437
Posts: 34 Member
I am on day six. Lost 5 lbs of which I am assuming is water weight. When I look at my diary I feel like I'm eating too much. Can anyone advise if I am heading in the right direction or not. I want this to be long term. I am expecting that I will have platues along the way. But don't want to sabotage myself. Thanks
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Calorie intake is not as important. Eat until you are full and only eat when you are hungry. As long as your fat is high enough as you become adapted you will naturally start eating less calories as you will be full for longer period of times.0
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Thank you. I was worried I may start going the other way when I was up to 1600.
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I suggest looking up your BMR and TDEE. That will give you a 'range' to stay in.0
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Calorie restriction in the first few weeks is not important, however for long term success, you still need to manage your calories. Most people advocate to eat as much as you want for the first few weeks, of only low carb high fat foods. Your gonna feel like crap for the first few days as your body switches from burning carbs first to burning fat, don't add hunger to that. After you get through the keto flu and have gotten comfortable with the WOE, you can look at the BMR and TDEE to figure out your calories, and then stick within that while still eating keto. Due to the high fat portion of the diet, most of us feel some consternation with our calorie intake. The first few days, eat to satiety and then start to moderate your intake if necessary. Good Luck!!0
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Thanks for the responses. I have ketostix, and I am showing that I am in ketosis. Is that possible after only a week? I have read so much. But it does get overwhelming. I found during the week it is easier to keep my calories lower and my fat higher, my protein not bad, and my carbs seem to be under 10, and thats not net carbs. But this weekend i had my calories up really high. I hope your right that after another week I will get more into the swing of things and learn how to control that more. I look at my food diary and I can see where I am over indulging. I think it will be an easy fix. It's very important to me to do this right and stay on track. I have a lifetime of yo yo dieting. I'm going to stick with this. Thanks again, Getting support for this is so important.0
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You need a deficit, but the fun thing about keto is that the high fat and moderate protein naturally creates a deficit because you're too full.0
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yeah, your ketostix will start showing ketones once your body starts processing them, which can certainly happen within the first week. However, that does not mean you are "keto adapted", and when that happens, people say the ketostix may start showing false negatives, as once keto adapted your body is burning fat differently and the sticks don't read it as accurately.
Just stay on top of your diet (Seems like you've got that down pat) and don't worry about calories. I'm just a week into another round (I fall off the diet a lot due to my love of beer and lack of discipline) of keto and finding that I am really just not hungry, and this the week before my monthly visit, when I normally inhale everything. I'm crediting keto for it.
You are going to see a lot of info on the net, some is going to work for you and some isn't. It's a learning curve, like anything.0 -
RobertHendrix wrote: »Calorie intake is not as important. Eat until you are full and only eat when you are hungry. As long as your fat is high enough as you become adapted you will naturally start eating less calories as you will be full for longer period of times.
absolutely spot on!!
on a couple of occasions, i have actually lost weight when i increased caloric intake (specifically, fat). i think this has to do with the thermogenic effect of fat metabolism & the science on this is still in its infancy.0 -
RobertHendrix wrote: »Calorie intake is not as important. Eat until you are full and only eat when you are hungry. As long as your fat is high enough as you become adapted you will naturally start eating less calories as you will be full for longer period of times.
yup what he said!!!!!0 -
I am never hungry cant even remember last time I had a hunger pain in my tummy.0
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http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ This link will help you figure out your numbers.
Personally, I don't track closely. Like you, this is a permanent choice for me. I tracked intensely for about 3 months. I loosely keep track of my carbs now, and I don't track anything else. I'm still losing inches and pounds. My numbers last time I checked them still came out around this range.
That being said, this here is a great story about why you might gain weight at first while your body fixes itself: http://myzerocarblife.jamesdhogan.com/wp/2015/03/when-lowering-carbs-causes-weight-gain/
This is not a short term fix. If you are healing your body and your metabolism and working to gain health, you have to be in this way of eating and way of life for the long haul. The more broken you were before starting this, the longer your path back to normal health may take. Some folks will respond better, as if their bodies are celebrating finally being nourished in the way they are geared to be nourished. Some folks may go slower, as they have more metabolic flexibility.
Personally, I say stick with what you are doing. Count your carbs tightly, use protein as a range, eat fats to satiety (not fullness, those are different things). Loosely keep an eye on your calories. If you're like me, sometimes you'll be hundreds of calories under your "goal" and sometimes you'll be 2-3 times as many hundreds of calories over. But what I have found is that my weekly deficit naturally levels out (after adaption) to about the same as if I'd forcibly restricted the whole time.
Due to hormonal cycles (men AND women), heavier activity days, and just random body processes, your body has different caloric needs on any given day. Forcing your body to eat to a plan rather than to it's own needs is likely what got all of us here in the first place! To me, a forced caloric goal (which is typically random anyway, unless you've had detailed metabolic testing done) is just as bad as anything else we've done to our bodies over time.
So my advice - keep doing what you're doing until it doesn't work anymore. Playing with and tweaking things now will only cloud and confuse your progress. Oh, and for the adaption, depending on a crazy number of factors, full adaption can take 3-12 weeks or longer if your body is stubborn - with zero "cheats." Good luck!0 -
Thanks so much. Hearing from people who live this daily is inspiring. It's easy to go online and read all kinds of crap that you don't know if you can believe. Actually talking to people is different. I think I have the right idea. I am definitely determined. My problem is also my weekend beer. So I have just told myself, no more beer. Although I drank low carb, it not only still had carbs, but when you drink, you just tend to forget how hard you have worked by eating the right things, and that thought of "Oh it's just one night" can screw up a lot of hard work. So I have resigned myself that although it's summer, it is what it is.No more yo yoing for me. If I want to feel good,, and lose the weight. No beer. Stay on track. Track vigilantely, and continue to study as much as I can about this. Thanks for taking the time to share with me. It truly does help to keep me motivated. Just finishing week one, with a long way to go.
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ladymiseryali wrote: »You need a deficit, but the fun thing about keto is that the high fat and moderate protein naturally creates a deficit because you're too full.
Completely agree with this.
I do still track my calories daily, but I don't necessarily restrict them.
If I'm hungry, I eat more. And if I go over my calorie allotment, so be it.0 -
susiean437 wrote: »Thanks so much. Hearing from people who live this daily is inspiring. It's easy to go online and read all kinds of crap that you don't know if you can believe. Actually talking to people is different. I think I have the right idea. I am definitely determined. My problem is also my weekend beer. So I have just told myself, no more beer. Although I drank low carb, it not only still had carbs, but when you drink, you just tend to forget how hard you have worked by eating the right things, and that thought of "Oh it's just one night" can screw up a lot of hard work. So I have resigned myself that although it's summer, it is what it is.No more yo yoing for me. If I want to feel good,, and lose the weight. No beer. Stay on track. Track vigilantely, and continue to study as much as I can about this. Thanks for taking the time to share with me. It truly does help to keep me motivated. Just finishing week one, with a long way to go.
Get yourself something to have in your hand so you don't feel deprived while your friends are drinking beer. Maybe have the bartender or hostess pour bottled fizzy water into a beer mug or bottle if necessary. Anything to help you get past that mental barrier. And make sure you are set up with keto friendly snacks so cheating doesn't seem easy.
If you aren't part of the other group, there are a lot of folks who aren't quite as low carb as us, but still have a huge number of success stories and info, too... I highly recommend being in both groups. There is some overlap, but tons of info in the other group, too.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group0 -
Calorie restriction in the first few weeks is not important, however for long term success, you still need to manage your calories. Most people advocate to eat as much as you want for the first few weeks, of only low carb high fat foods. Your gonna feel like crap for the first few days as your body switches from burning carbs first to burning fat, don't add hunger to that. After you get through the keto flu and have gotten comfortable with the WOE, you can look at the BMR and TDEE to figure out your calories, and then stick within that while still eating keto. Due to the high fat portion of the diet, most of us feel some consternation with our calorie intake. The first few days, eat to satiety and then start to moderate your intake if necessary. Good Luck!!
I'm so glad to hear this...I guess i'm still in the FLU stage as I can only tolerate 1 meal a day (1000cals if i'm lucky) due to nausea...and felt that keto was not appropriate for me. I guess I need to give it more time. 0 -
I have a calorie target but some days I feel hungrier than others (actual hunger not cravings)... on those days I end up above my calorie target. Some days I am not hungry at all and eat just enough to not end up feeling sort of 'off'. It's nice because I never get shaky and irritable on Keto and weight loss has been steady even though I average 1500+ per day and so far I've only been doing walking for exercise (that is about to change... it is... I swear it!). To keep the keto flu at bay, every morning put 1/2 to 1 tsp in a shot glass with cold water, give it a quick stir, and toss it back. Sounds gross but it's not bad and it keeps the flu at bay. 0
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With respect to motivation... if you're a reader or into 'foodumentarys' there is a lot of info on the benefits of Ketogenic diets on your hormone levels, metabolism etc. and I just watched FatHead on Hulu which was pretty informative as well as funny... he followed a lower carb diet but ate at fast food places and ultimately started eating keto but it shows his results from before lower carb fast food (which still got him good results albeit alot of processed food) through his Keto experiment. I've tried keto in the past but it was all about trying to lose weight quickly to look good in clothes and feel a bit better, but I couldn't stick to it after a couple of weeks. After continuing to yo-yo diet and pack on pounds, I have high blood sugar and insulin resistance issues. I kept eating carbage and not taking care of myself until my bad behavior caught up with me. I've finally figured out that if I don't want to die young or live to be older but in terrible health popping pills and in pain, I have to get rid of the carbs and take better care of myself and hopefully reverse the damage I've done to my internal systems. Feeling good in jeans or a swimsuit will be nice but it's waaaay down on the bottom of the list of reasons I've chosen to live this way now. Hopefully this helps!0
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Thurley160 wrote: »I have a calorie target but some days I feel hungrier than others (actual hunger not cravings)... on those days I end up above my calorie target. Some days I am not hungry at all and eat just enough to not end up feeling sort of 'off'. It's nice because I never get shaky and irritable on Keto and weight loss has been steady even though I average 1500+ per day and so far I've only been doing walking for exercise (that is about to change... it is... I swear it!). To keep the keto flu at bay, every morning put 1/2 to 1 tsp in a shot glass with cold water, give it a quick stir, and toss it back. Sounds gross but it's not bad and it keeps the flu at bay.
What do you but in the shot glass with water?? I'm assuming salt?0 -
susiean437 wrote: »Thanks for the responses. I have ketostix, and I am showing that I am in ketosis. Is that possible after only a week? I have read so much. But it does get overwhelming. I found during the week it is easier to keep my calories lower and my fat higher, my protein not bad, and my carbs seem to be under 10, and thats not net carbs. But this weekend i had my calories up really high. I hope your right that after another week I will get more into the swing of things and learn how to control that more. I look at my food diary and I can see where I am over indulging. I think it will be an easy fix. It's very important to me to do this right and stay on track. I have a lifetime of yo yo dieting. I'm going to stick with this. Thanks again, Getting support for this is so important.
I just started as well but don't have Keto sticks. Where did you get them?
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4031isaiah wrote: »susiean437 wrote: »Thanks for the responses. I have ketostix, and I am showing that I am in ketosis. Is that possible after only a week? I have read so much. But it does get overwhelming. I found during the week it is easier to keep my calories lower and my fat higher, my protein not bad, and my carbs seem to be under 10, and thats not net carbs. But this weekend i had my calories up really high. I hope your right that after another week I will get more into the swing of things and learn how to control that more. I look at my food diary and I can see where I am over indulging. I think it will be an easy fix. It's very important to me to do this right and stay on track. I have a lifetime of yo yo dieting. I'm going to stick with this. Thanks again, Getting support for this is so important.
I just started as well but don't have Keto sticks. Where did you get them?
Any pharmacy should have them. They are mainly used by diabetics to test for diabetic ketoacidosis.0
