FIT_Goat wrote: »

I'm about to wander way off into wacky-land, for some of you. I'll probably step on some keto-toes. This is all my opinion. Much of it is supported with many of the books I've read about various low carb diets, but you can reject it as lunatic ramblings if you want. Just don't forget, you can't win an argument against a goat in a suit.

Don't get me wrong. Keto did a lot of good for me, but there are some things that are "keto" that drive me crazy. I could be completely wrong. At the risk of committing a "No True Scottsman" fallacy, I've got to say that if you're having trouble being satisfied, naturally, eating an amount (on a low-carb/keto diet) that causes your weight to normalize on its own, then you're probably doing something wrong or your body is recovering from years of adapting to famine-level calories and will get on board when it realizes that this isn't just a temporary thing.

If you're not losing weight and you're adding butter to coffee, you're doing something wrong. I like butter in my coffee, sometimes. It's delicious. But, it's not something I think is a great idea unless you're using it as an IF type thing to replace a morning meal that would otherwise spike your insulin. And, if you're adding butter to your coffee and eating too much, that's the first thing I would kick out.

Similar things with nuts, cheese, fat bombs, and alcohol. While they all can play a role in a successful low carb diet, they are things which can make it nearly impossible to eat without restriction.

First, and foremost, a low carb meal should be centered around a fatty meat. It should be the first thing you eat as well. Then you should think of low carb sides (vegetables, salad, etc.) that you might want with the meat. For example, "Strong Medicine" advocates for a minimum of 8 oz of what would be equivalent to 75%/25% ground beef three times a day. After you've eaten the meat and fat, you could have more meat and from a limited selection of vegetables (although even those were removed if you weren't losing weight). Plus, you get a cup of coffee. This was the minimum for all patients on the program to lose weight. That's around 2,000 calories as a minimum each day. I'm not saying you need to go that high. But, if you are hungry, your first instinct should be to eat a meal centered around a fatty meat.

[ Edit: This would still be a very ketogenic diet, assuming the minimums. It would be around 108 grams of protein, 172 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs... 78% fat and 22% protein. So, it's high meat... but not high protein. As, I believe most low-carb diets should be. ]

Second, added sauces and fats are excellent, assuming that using them is still allowing you to make your goals and they aren't playing a leading role in a meal. If you've got lean meat, a heavy cream based sauce is an excellent addition to balance the meal out with some fat. If you want to add some butter to make the vegetables more palatable, that's probably fine. A 4 oz chicken breast with 1,000 calories of Alfredo sauce just makes no sense. Fat is great, don't fear fat. Fat should be the majority of your calories, but it doesn't need to be the majority of what you eat.

All your calorie data from a mixed diet is useless when eating low carb. I can't use the fact that I gained weight at 1,900 calories when eating a "balanced" diet to help me determine a calorie goal to lose on low-carb. In fact, I lost almost all my weight averaging around 1,900 calories on low-carb. Have people gained weight doing everything right on low carb? Yeah, I, personally, know someone who gained weight for six months. They started at a "healthy" weight that they had been starving and exercising to maintain. They gained weight for six months when the stopped counting calories. Then the weight all went back off just as fast as it came on. Still without counting, except the person now felt and looked better. And, that person was now able to eat until satisfied all the time and didn't need to exercise, unless they wanted to.

I know people here are struggling to keep making progress at 1,400 calories a day. And, maybe 1,400 is the right amount for you. But, if it was, it wouldn't be something you needed to struggle to manage. It would be something that would happen automatically. If you're struggling to make it happen, you're probably messing something up. Chances are, you know what it is too. My areas have always been cheese and nuts. I would know I ate too much on them. I would feel it.

In the end, it all comes down to my belief that everyone should be able to trust their body and eat as much as they want while maintaining a healthy and normal weight. For some, especially those with metabolic issues and/or diabetes, this may be a pipe-dream. I'd like to believe those are the exceptions though, and not the rule.