Keto diet?

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ac2662
ac2662 Posts: 47 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am thinking of trying keto, but the increased intake of fats is kind of scary for me. Is there anyone who has done keto available to give me any tips or advice on this? Is the increased intake of fats really more satisfying? Just trying to make sure I'm prepared for what I'm going to get myself into.
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  • Lucille4444
    Lucille4444 Posts: 284 Member
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    I started around 5 weeks ago. I'm rarely hungry except right before a meal, and when I am I snack on cheese cubes.
    I've only lost 15 lbs but then, I'm in this for the long haul so I'm not worried, I'm upping my exercise and know that I will slowly lose more fat and gain fitness.
    The first week there were days I did not feel great but I knew my body was switching over, got through that and now I feel good with lots of energy.
    I got rid of the stuff in my fridge and freezer that was high carb, it is helpful not to have it around for now.
  • TheopolisAmbroiseIII
    TheopolisAmbroiseIII Posts: 197 Member
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    There's nothing wrong with fat, it's just a dense form of food energy. You're probably scared of fat because of the anti-fat propaganda left over from the 80s. I've done Keto. It works for some people. It's no more or less effective than any type of eating, you still have to eat at a caloric deficit to lose, same as anything else.

    Some people will eat their keto meal of protein and fat and feel full a lot longer. I agree with this, because if I eat a bowl of cereal in the morning, I'm starving by 10am. If I eat two strips of bacon and an egg, I feel full longer.

    It didn't work for me because I love pizza and I'm not willing to do some weird cauliflower crust and call it pizza. It might work for you. Give it a try for 2 or 3 weeks and make an informed decision on whether or not it's a dietary lifestyle you can live with.

    Lots of people will tell you that you'll gain back all your weight loss as soon as you go off it. That's not true. When you first go on keto there will be a large amount of water weight loss, as there is with any low carb food lifestyle, and that water weight will go back on if you start eating higher carb again. However, any fat losses you have while on keto won't come back unless you start eating at a caloric surplus.
  • ac2662
    ac2662 Posts: 47 Member
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    Lucille4444 wrote: »
    I started around 5 weeks ago. I'm rarely hungry except right before a meal, and when I am I snack on cheese cubes.
    I've only lost 15 lbs but then, I'm in this for the long haul so I'm not worried, I'm upping my exercise and know that I will slowly lose more fat and gain fitness.
    The first week there were days I did not feel great but I knew my body was switching over, got through that and now I feel good with lots of energy.
    I got rid of the stuff in my fridge and freezer that was high carb, it is helpful not to have it around for now.

    I think 15lbs in 5 weeks is awesome. As far as exercise goes are you doing a mix of cardio and weights, or just one or the other?
  • ac2662
    ac2662 Posts: 47 Member
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    TheopolisAmbroiseIII wrote: »
    There's nothing wrong with fat, it's just a dense form of food energy. You're probably scared of fat because of the anti-fat propaganda left over from the 80s. I've done Keto. It works for some people. It's no more or less effective than any type of eating, you still have to eat at a caloric deficit to lose, same as anything else.

    Some people will eat their keto meal of protein and fat and feel full a lot longer. I agree with this, because if I eat a bowl of cereal in the morning, I'm starving by 10am. If I eat two strips of bacon and an egg, I feel full longer.

    It didn't work for me because I love pizza and I'm not willing to do some weird cauliflower crust and call it pizza. It might work for you. Give it a try for 2 or 3 weeks and make an informed decision on whether or not it's a dietary lifestyle you can live with.

    Lots of people will tell you that you'll gain back all your weight loss as soon as you go off it. That's not true. When you first go on keto there will be a large amount of water weight loss, as there is with any low carb food lifestyle, and that water weight will go back on if you start eating higher carb again. However, any fat losses you have while on keto won't come back unless you start eating at a caloric surplus.

    I think you're right and coming from WW I think has also helped fuel this fear of fat too. Thank you for the informative desponse, I think I'll give it a shot.
  • Lucille4444
    Lucille4444 Posts: 284 Member
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    ac2662 wrote: »

    I think 15lbs in 5 weeks is awesome. As far as exercise goes are you doing a mix of cardio and weights, or just one or the other?

    To be fair, part of the loss when one goes low carb is water, so I am not expecting to lose 15 every 5 weeks. Hoping for 5-10.
    I do a mix, have a little home gym I put together which works for me because for me it is more usable and accessible than going to a commercial gym.

  • creyes4182
    creyes4182 Posts: 29 Member
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    ac2662 wrote: »
    I am thinking of trying keto, but the increased intake of fats is kind of scary for me. Is there anyone who has done keto available to give me any tips or advice on this? Is the increased intake of fats really more satisfying? Just trying to make sure I'm prepared for what I'm going to get myself into.

    I'm on it, I'm getting great results. I actually did it before for a year and I got the leanest I've ever been in my life. Fats aren't as bad for you as you think, the whole notion of low fat high carb is based on bad science, why do you think obesity is an epidemic now. That wasn't the case before the west switched to low fat. I've done both low fat and low carb and there is way less rebound when you do low carb. It took me a month of sugar withdrawal to break through and stop craving sugar so get ready for a bumpy ride. Few benefits are you get leaner and more muscular with way less exercise. Also you'll be using mfp to make sure you eat enough instead of making sure you don't over eat. After your body fully adjusts you won't have any cravings for rice, bread, or sugar which makes losing weight even easier. Good luck
  • ac2662
    ac2662 Posts: 47 Member
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    creyes4182 wrote: »
    ac2662 wrote: »
    I am thinking of trying keto, but the increased intake of fats is kind of scary for me. Is there anyone who has done keto available to give me any tips or advice on this? Is the increased intake of fats really more satisfying? Just trying to make sure I'm prepared for what I'm going to get myself into.

    I'm on it, I'm getting great results. I actually did it before for a year and I got the leanest I've ever been in my life. Fats aren't as bad for you as you think, the whole notion of low fat high carb is based on bad science, why do you think obesity is an epidemic now. That wasn't the case before the west switched to low fat. I've done both low fat and low carb and there is way less rebound when you do low carb. It took me a month of sugar withdrawal to break through and stop craving sugar so get ready for a bumpy ride. Few benefits are you get leaner and more muscular with way less exercise. Also you'll be using mfp to make sure you eat enough instead of making sure you don't over eat. After your body fully adjusts you won't have any cravings for rice, bread, or sugar which makes losing weight even easier. Good luck

    Im not looking forward to the sugar withdrawal, that's really going to be my struggle. What you say really makes sense in regards to low fat diets. I had little progress doing so, often losing and gaining the same weight over and over again. Looking forward to this! Thanks!
  • Soopatt
    Soopatt Posts: 563 Member
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    You could also consider leaning in - depends on the sort of person you are - but you might try doubling your protein and halving your carbs - while staying within calories. I have done a few experiments and although I do not avoid carbs, I cannot deny that I am less hungry on the days where I have lot of protein and less than 100g of carbs, so I can see the appeal in low carb from that point of view.

    For me - I have stuck to this for more than six months by allowing carbs whenever I want them, hunger be damned as too much restriction leads me to obsess about a food. I eat a lot of rubbish but still lose weight - in return though, I am hungry A LOT. Somehow.. I am ok with that because I feel as though I can eat anything (in moderation). Not something that would work for everyone.

    It is true that there are no free lunches - the road to weight-loss is challenging no matter how you approach it, but what all plans have in common is keeping to a deficit - no matter what you crave or how you fill your calories.
  • anglyn1
    anglyn1 Posts: 1,802 Member
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    I've done keto for the past month as it improves my arthritis symptoms. I find I eat less naturally and I'm rarely hungry. I don't have any trouble with cravings either. I'm not afraid of the fat as I've always eaten full fat milk and butter and so far my labs have always looked great. My grandma lived to 93 cooking everything in lard so that's further reassurance for me. lol
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    In no way am I bashing low carb high fat. I felt very satisfied and lost weight. Unfortunately my blood work got worse after a year (even though I lost weight and started running again that same year). So I always recommend people make sure to track their numbers (which, really, is simply good advice for everyone keto or no) and make sure their body is responding well. Simply my experience, and many people find the exact opposite happens. So, ymmv.
  • totaloblivia
    totaloblivia Posts: 1,164 Member
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    Have lost 42lbs on keto. There are a couple of groups on mfp that might help you. The low carber daily forum and the keto groups. Lots of friendly knowledgeable people where you would be very welcome. PS Google fathead pizza for the tastiest low carb pizza.
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
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    Here is a link to the main low carb (keto) group on MFP. There are lost of knowledgeable members who would be more than happy to give you tips and pointers so perhaps re-post your question there:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
  • ac2662
    ac2662 Posts: 47 Member
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    Thank you everyone for the valuable I pu
    ladipoet wrote: »
    Here is a link to the main low carb (keto) group on MFP. There are lost of knowledgeable members who would be more than happy to give you tips and pointers so perhaps re-post your question there:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    Awesome!! Thank youso much.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    What might be beneficial is to start with low carb (see how your body responses) and then transition to keto if you do well with it. Not everyone does well with restrictive diets or even low carb diets. I certainly don't do well with either. But the low carb group has some good post to get you started with either path.

    Fats can satiate a lot of people, but for me (calorie vs calorie), starches do a much better job.
  • CommandaPanda
    CommandaPanda Posts: 451 Member
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    Couldn't agree with the above poster more.

    This is a great piece of advice. When I first wanted to go keto (I didn't know it was called that at the time) I started lightly restricting carb intake down to 80g per day. Then I slowly wormed my way down to keto levels over the next couple of weeks until I was really comfortable cooking and operating sub-30g of carbs per day.

    I think keto is great, I will always be a huge advocate for the lifestyle. But remembering back to when I first started, I didn't know what I could and could not eat. So higher carb restrictions gave me more room to make mistakes and fine-tune my meal plans. Most of the knowledge gained will be through experiential learning. Start simple and don't overcomplicate things too quickly. I see a lot of people wanting to do things like make their first "keto pizza" in the first week and they then express how difficult it is to stay within their macros, etc.

    Check out the LC group that another poster mentioned above, you'll get a lot of support and ideas from there.
  • creyes4182
    creyes4182 Posts: 29 Member
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    Few things you should watch out for. On keto you urinate a lot and you don't hold on to salt as much. You have to replace it and also get enough magnesium and potassium or you may cramp up. You don't have to go crazy with the salt just put I pinch in if somethings bland. Spinach has a lot of magnesium so a serving should take care of that. Potassium is the tricker one since it's hard to get from low carb sources. I recommend low sodium salt(has potassium in it) and avocados. Don't be afraid of carbs from fiber, eat lots of broccoli and spinach. Coconut oil is really really good for this diet as well. Without getting too technical the type of fat in that oil is really easy to break down into energy and it helps with keto. Nuts are good but they are easy to over eat. Imo almonds are the safest. Macadamia nuts are almost pure fat and really good. I use them if I want to get my macros right. As far as sweeteners go I use erythritol(also called xylitol) our body's can't do anything with it so it just goes through, sometimes I use stevia too. Splenda stalls me out for some reason, for most people it's ok though.
  • kimmothy9432
    kimmothy9432 Posts: 3 Member
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    Next week marks 3 months keto for me and I can't say enough good things about it. While I haven't experienced the dramatic weight loss that many report (about 14 pounds so far), I can say I've felt better than I have in years. More energy on less sleep, not feeling like a sugar junkie anymore, fitting into clothes I haven't been able to wear in six years, etc. I can't say enough great things about it, but of course everyone is different so I can only encourage you to try it out and see if it works for you. I will say this: you won't get "keto flu" if you manage your electrolytes correctly.
  • ac2662
    ac2662 Posts: 47 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    What might be beneficial is to start with low carb (see how your body responses) and then transition to keto if you do well with it. Not everyone does well with restrictive diets or even low carb diets. I certainly don't do well with either.
    But the low carb group has some good post to get you started with either path.

    Fats can satiate a lot of people, but for me (calorie vs calorie), starches do a much better job.
    I decided to low carb it first to get the hang of things. Keto seemes bit complicated to begin with.Thanks for the helpful advice.

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