Temporary or Forever?
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Christine_72 wrote: »Going_The_Distance wrote: »Short Version: Its too soon to ask this question, especially during the first few weeks of Keto. I did lose around 70 lbs (in 6 months) and also gained around 20 lbs of Lean Mass in last two years. Keto for me is a life style choice.
Longer version:
Though weight loss (lbs lost) is a good motivator, its also the reason people yo-yo so much. The cycle is Lose weight, gain weight, lose weight, rinse and repeat. People often focus on the numbers with out changing the underlying cause of weight problems, which could be behavioral or medical.
Keto fixed my behavioral problems (Craving, snacking, binging etc) and changed my relationship with food for ever. During the first 4 weeks of keto adaption, I didn't throw away carbs nor I hid them. Yeah, first 4 weeks were night mare going through symptoms of carb addiction withdrawal. But after initial 5-6 weeks, till date I never had to use will power or control when it comes to carbs or over eating. I do indulge in carbs, sweets on family birthdays or some special occasions. When I do eat carbs, I don't feel that great and I see some of those old cravings starting to come back.
Medically Keto helps for people with lower insulin sensitivity and some level of insulin resistance. Don't confuse with the normal or abnormal numbers doctors use to diagnose diabetes, insulin resistance. My doctor told me I had normal blood glucose but could never explain a weight gain averaging 2000 cal/day. I paid for additional testing from my pocket and found out I had average carbohydrate metabolism. What that means is, if I eat carbs or sugar ( paleo compatible or not) my body can only use part of them and other part is stored as fat. I supplement chromium which helps in metabolizing carbs. After being in Keto for last 2 years my body breaks down carbs much better than before.
The reasons why I have been on keto for more than 2 years.
1. I eat once or twice a day when I have time or if I am hungry. I am rarely hungry compared to when I had to eat every 3-4 hours on normal diet. Thats a disaster when you are busy or stressed.
2. I don't count calories nor have to use self control or do detailed meal planning. Even when I am stressed, traveling or busy I can maintain weight.
3. The energy through out the day with out crashing is awesome. I don't drink coffee nor use any stimulants.
4. I have no inflammation, soreness or pain. I can train like a freak and recover easily. Even 20 year old athletes, half my age can't keep up with me.
5. I don't want to go back to eating 1600 cals to maintain weight when I can feast every meal and not get fat.
I can write a book on why I wouldn't get off keto.
Your number 5 point.. Are you saying you can eat more on keto and maintain your weight than on a regular diet?
Yes. Absolutely. For me its around 700 cals difference as measured by metabolic tests. I don't count calories though, I just eat to satiety. I eat more if I am more hungry and I don't stuff when I am not hungry. Every one is focussed on first law of thermo dynamics for calorie in and calorie out theory but ignore the second law of thermodynamics which asks the question is calorie a calorie? Its important because body uses different pathways to breakdown carbs, fat and protein.
Here is a good summary and starting point. Go through multiple studies referenced in this paper.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129158/
If you analyze the raw data in some of those studies, few subjects who ate low carb ketogenic diet accounted for a difference of up to 300 cals/day compared to standard diet.
Its a simple math, lets say I eat 2000 cals per day.
on Keto:
100 g protein=400 cals
25 g carbs= 100 cals
167 g fat = 1500 cals.
The body doesn't have to worry about managing glycogen or sugar because the carbs are low. The body uses different pathway to breakdown fats.
On standard diet MFP recommends for 2000 cal.
250g Carbs = 1000 cals.
100 g protein = 400 cals
67g fat = 600 cals.
Now, the body has to break down 250g of carbs and if its especially high in sugar and some one with average or poor carbohydrate metabolism. The excess glycogen/glucose can be stored as fat. How much depends on individual basis, which is why some don't gain and some gain weight easily.0 -
Some form, forever. Weight loss is what brought me to LCHF and eventually Keto, but how well I feel eating this way AND with all I have learned about the dangers of sugar to MOST people, eventually; and the way food manufacturers and the government were complicit in making us dependent on processed foods, I am more then happy to make a long term commitment to Keto. To each their own though.0
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I just love fruits and there's the tomatoes that I can't live without for the rest of my life. This is the only reason I can't see myself keto forever. Fruits! Cherries! Peaches!
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Astharteea wrote: »I just love fruits and there's the tomatoes that I can't live without for the rest of my life. This is the only reason I can't see myself keto forever. Fruits! Cherries! Peaches!
All of the things you list here, @Astharteea, are allowed on keto, just having to pay attention to quantities and pairings...1 -
I'm hoping that once I get to maintenance phase I can incorporate more fruits. Right now though, I'm putting them on hold.0
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »Astharteea wrote: »I just love fruits and there's the tomatoes that I can't live without for the rest of my life. This is the only reason I can't see myself keto forever. Fruits! Cherries! Peaches!
All of the things you list here, @Astharteea, are allowed on keto, just having to pay attention to quantities and pairings...
True, but sometimes I can't have just a peach a day. I guess I can just buy 1 peach at the time. I see your point.0 -
Astharteea wrote: »KnitOrMiss wrote: »Astharteea wrote: »I just love fruits and there's the tomatoes that I can't live without for the rest of my life. This is the only reason I can't see myself keto forever. Fruits! Cherries! Peaches!
All of the things you list here, @Astharteea, are allowed on keto, just having to pay attention to quantities and pairings...
True, but sometimes I can't have just a peach a day. I guess I can just buy 1 peach at the time. I see your point.
@Astharteea Or buy frozen ones. Add one or two slices to a low carb smoothie/shake. Or dice it up and eat it with heavy cream. Or get some sugarless greek yogurt. Make a cream cheese dip...(barely sweetened enough to take the edge off). Or use peach extract (unsweetened - can be found on amazon, etc.) to make tea that tastes like peaches...or homemade yogurt...or ice cream. There are many many many ways to add those foods in.
Peaches are a stone fruit - meaning it has a stone in the middle of the fruit, meaning that in limited quantity, it is a lower carb fruit. Other good choices are strawberries, other berries, etc. And if you're like me, getting A peach used to mean eating 2-3 at a time. As you go on and get more calories from your fats, you'll be able to enjoy smaller portions and relish the flavor, all of the aspects... It's...life changing!
EDITED TO ADD: Remember, that ongoing keto carb range can be 20-50 grams of carbs, depending on how your body reacts to them. You could lose better at 50 grams than someone else does at 20 grams. It's all personalizing your choices and making it work for you instead of the other way around!0 -
While I do miss some of the healthy higher carb foods, I do not miss being a sugar burner. The trade off is more than worth it, IMO. I have been doing this since January and it just gets easier, I can now see it as a lifestyle more and more. I can get my nutrition in with this way of eating, and I make sure I do. Like you I went into this with a 'I will see' attitude, assuming I may just try it a few weeks, but now I have no plans to go off of it. Hope it works for you too1
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Keto forever. That said, I'm having difficulty finding the sweet spot of going from strict keto for weight loss to varied food choices and maintenence level macros. Still trying out various plans but so far haven't hit my stride in that area.
One thing for sure is that my sweet tooth is poised and ready to pounce full force, so that is something I need to accept and wrassle with. Too bad since sugar is my fav food group. But the choice is overweight and unhealthy or fit and fabulous.1 -
I will stick to this way of eating for life because I want to be the best, healthiest version of me for myself and my children.
I used to be motivated only by weight loss and this on its own is never a good enough motivator because once you've lost the weight - the motivation has gone and the weight creeps back up. Since I realised that a number on a scale has no bearing whatsoever on my self worth, but treating myself with the respect I deserve by honouring my health with good choices, my self esteem has increased and I am so much happier.
Health is a constant motivator - in fact, I can only see that becoming moreso as I become older.bypu are so much more then your weight.
Weight is all about how we want to look and be perceived by others, health is more personal.
I would recommend grain brain by Dr. David Pelmutter as a good motivator for me is retaining mental clarity throughout my life and I believe this way of eating will help my chances.
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While I don't think I'll be in ketosis for the rest of my life, I will most likely do it for the majority of the time. Lessening of hunger, energy steadiness, no brain fog and some sports-specific advantages are pretty much my reason (outside of weight loss and metabolic issues) to keto, so after I hit my 'goal' weight I'll probably stick to it. That being said, I may, at some point, experiment with cyclical/targeted ketogenic diet, and I'm sure at some point I might decide to have 'treat' meal, I just wouldn't be making them a daily or weekly occurrence.2
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Keto for life. Like someone else said, I could write a book on why.0
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It's going to have to be "Keto for life" for me too. I've goofed up, and I've intentionally tried going back to eating normally, but simply cannot. The sugar makes me feel gross, as well as the excessive carbs. I figure at this point, there are so many viable subs for the things I used to like, that it makes no difference to me.0
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I started reading Maria Emmerich's blog 5 years ago, but only started keto 2 weeks ago - its so hard to undo all the low fat training we've been subjected to. I think keto could be a way of life for me because I am now in complete control over food and for someone that's been fat their entire life - that's a new and empowering feeling.
OP, you're concerned about nutrition? Grass fed and finished meats have a lot more nutrition than corn fed. Pastured eggs (cage free doesn't mean what you think it means) far more nutritious.
This isn't the exact list I was looking for, but this quote from Maria Emmerich gives you an idea of the nutrition
obtained from spices and herbs.
"NO FRUIT? How will I get nutrients? When I am asked if I eat fruits, I jokingly say of course! I eat avocado, olives, cucumber, coconut and tomatoes! But most people think I am a bit extreme when I limit most vegetable consumption for my clients too. To get keto adapted, even some low-starch vegetables may keep someone with a damaged metabolism out of ketosis. Which is why my Accelerated 30 day meal plans are so detailed with what low-starch vegetables, herbs and spices are allowed to get into ketosis fast while getting plenty of nutrients.
Fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, oregano and basil are the most nutrient rich plants you can consume. For example, everyone thinks spinach is the perfect food, but fresh oregano has eight times the amount of antioxidants! Sure, we don’t eat a cup of oregano like we would spinach, but it does show that a little bit provides a huge benefit. Instead of consuming fruits and starchy veggies that have fructose and raise blood sugar quickly, I suggest using herbs and spices more often in your cooking preparations.
Vanilla beans are high in phenolic compounds which are potent antioxidants (as well as anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory). Most people often use vanilla extracts rather than the bean because it is easy to find and affordable. But if you are side stepping using real vanilla beans, you are missing out on some awesome antioxidants"
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I'm noticing a pattern here, and I'll have to go along with the consensus. I've been on a keto protocol for 10 months and lost almost all of the 85lbs I set out to lose. For the first six months I looked forward to a maintenance phase where I would add back in fruit and "good" carbs in some fashion. However, at this point I'm not motivated to change anything. I am so much healthier than I was in everyway that I'm just not interested in giving it up. The variety of foods I eat has become quite satisfying and I just don't miss things I use to. It maybe a different story for you - but you don't have to rush into a decision - your body will tell you what's right for you.0
