Keto diet ... does it work?

24

Replies

  • BelleCakes2018
    BelleCakes2018 Posts: 568 Member
    DanaDark wrote: »
    The only thing that works is what you can stick with. Anything you can't stick with, won't work.

    Scientifically speaking, pretty much every single diet plan works. They are all focused on restriction of some sort (calories, food types, etc.) which all has the same result: reduced total calories eaten.

    So, if it works for you and does not have any ill side effects (Health problems, irritation, etc.) then yes, it works and keep at it!

    I like that first sentence very much! lol
  • BelleCakes2018
    BelleCakes2018 Posts: 568 Member
    Ccuser99 wrote: »
    I do low carb. Can't say I am keto because there are some days a week I eat between 75-100gm of carbs even though most of the time I am under 50gms. Love it! I have better energy, digestion, and the food choices seem to follow my natural rhythm of lots of veg, and protein with yummy fats to top it all off. When I follow my calorie goals I lose eating this way. When it comes down to it, calories are what matter. If keto helps you stay within goal then go for it!

    I have noticed that I am finding it much easier to stay in a calorie deficit on the keto woe because I'm not snacking and don't feel hungry until meal time. I am missing chocolate though, specifically minstrels

    I'm really pleased it's working for you. Water weight or not - it's still weight, makes your tummy flatter and is very motivating... as for minstrels... lol well remember dark chocolate is good for you - and for some reason after eating this way a little while it starts tasting really nice (think it's because the tastebuds change, lol)
  • ogmomma2012
    ogmomma2012 Posts: 1,520 Member
    My mother has been doing keto since 2005 and she loves it. It helped her lose 60 pounds and keep it off.

    I enjoy pizza and French fries too much so I could never do it.

    Then you've never had FatHead Pizza crust. Even my carb-chowing husband approved, and my 3 year old couldn't tell the difference! :open_mouth:
  • Ccuser99
    Ccuser99 Posts: 47 Member
    weighed in this morning, ive lost another 2 lbs! why have i never done this before! haha
  • Ccuser99
    Ccuser99 Posts: 47 Member
    Ccuser99 wrote: »
    I do low carb. Can't say I am keto because there are some days a week I eat between 75-100gm of carbs even though most of the time I am under 50gms. Love it! I have better energy, digestion, and the food choices seem to follow my natural rhythm of lots of veg, and protein with yummy fats to top it all off. When I follow my calorie goals I lose eating this way. When it comes down to it, calories are what matter. If keto helps you stay within goal then go for it!

    I have noticed that I am finding it much easier to stay in a calorie deficit on the keto woe because I'm not snacking and don't feel hungry until meal time. I am missing chocolate though, specifically minstrels

    I'm really pleased it's working for you. Water weight or not - it's still weight, makes your tummy flatter and is very motivating... as for minstrels... lol well remember dark chocolate is good for you - and for some reason after eating this way a little while it starts tasting really nice (think it's because the tastebuds change, lol)

    i even look forward to planning my meals now too! hehe
  • I_amnr
    I_amnr Posts: 129 Member
    Ccuser99 wrote: »
    weighed in this morning, ive lost another 2 lbs! why have i never done this before! haha


    personally I don't count the first two weeks of a keto diet :) .. loads of water loss usually
    BUT if defiantly works not the easiest diet and I gave up the second time I tried it but once you get passed the first 2 weeks your body gets used to it
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    edited April 2016
    I do low carb. Can't say I am keto because there are some days a week I eat between 75-100gm of carbs even though most of the time I am under 50gms. Love it! I have better energy, digestion, and the food choices seem to follow my natural rhythm of lots of veg, and protein with yummy fats to top it all off. When I follow my calorie goals I lose eating this way. When it comes down to it, calories are what matter. If keto helps you stay within goal then go for it!

    Duh ... veggies are carbs ... which ones are you including in your food plan, and how much of them? Any fruit? Any dairy?

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I'm another ketofile. :) I've eaten this way for close to a year. I lost 40 lbs pretty effortlessly; eating at a deficit seemed easy (~1500kcal) even when losing about 2lbs per week.

    I have found LCHF in general to be helpful to weight loss with thyroid issues. I am now taking meds for hypothyroidism, but about 5 years ago, when I was not yet treated, I temporarily lost 40lbs with a "clean diet" that is hindsight I see was LCHF. It worked very well.... I still remember that blueberry muffin that set me off to regaining my weight though. LOL LCHF worked for me, as long as I stick with it! I am now LCHF for life. :)

    Are you taking some sort of T3 for your hypothyroidism? I have found natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) to make a huge difference in my life. The synthetic T4s just didn't cut it fo me.

    Good luck. :)
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    Nikion901 wrote: »
    I do low carb. Can't say I am keto because there are some days a week I eat between 75-100gm of carbs even though most of the time I am under 50gms. Love it! I have better energy, digestion, and the food choices seem to follow my natural rhythm of lots of veg, and protein with yummy fats to top it all off. When I follow my calorie goals I lose eating this way. When it comes down to it, calories are what matter. If keto helps you stay within goal then go for it!

    Duh ... veggies are carbs ... which ones are you including in your food plan, and how much of them? Any fruit? Any dairy?


    Duh, yes they are!

    Keto is not no carb. I eat spinach, asparagus, limited peppers, celery, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I just punch it in and make sure he carb counts fit in my goals. I have at least 5 servjngs of veg a day. Frui I just do in smaller servings. 1/4cup of berries in my smoothie, half an apple, etc. I have never ever liked fruit. Aside from raspberries. So adding it to my diet in small bits is almost more of a nuciance than anything. I never just think to grab it. Full fat cheeses are high on my list of loved foods, cream, full fat Greek yogurt. I hate milk anyway so all good. This is not a deprivation diet. I eat with only small additions to our normal menus.
  • hlietz
    hlietz Posts: 5 Member
    Ccuser99 wrote: »
    weighed in this morning, ive lost another 2 lbs! why have i never done this before! haha

    Congrats on your weight loss so far!

    I'm also on the Keto diet, and I've lost about 4lbs since I started on Monday 4/25. If you'd like to add me as a friend on here, you're more than welcome to. I'm looking to lose about 15lbs more.
  • Purplebunnysarah
    Purplebunnysarah Posts: 3,252 Member
    Nikion901 wrote: »
    I do low carb. Can't say I am keto because there are some days a week I eat between 75-100gm of carbs even though most of the time I am under 50gms. Love it! I have better energy, digestion, and the food choices seem to follow my natural rhythm of lots of veg, and protein with yummy fats to top it all off. When I follow my calorie goals I lose eating this way. When it comes down to it, calories are what matter. If keto helps you stay within goal then go for it!

    Duh ... veggies are carbs ... which ones are you including in your food plan, and how much of them? Any fruit? Any dairy?

    I'm not the one you asked but I do eat LCHF so I can answer too. I eat a ton of veggies! Probably more now than I did before switching up my diet. My target is 50g net carbs per day although I'm typically happy with <60g on less strict days. I eat 1 serving of fruit a day in my breakfast smoothie, normally some type of berry. I eat a ton of spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, avocado, celery, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower. I'll occasionally eat small amounts of carrots or squash. Most dairy I eat is hard cheese, but I also eat 11% yogurt and I put 18% cream in my coffee with my fakesugar.

    What I avoid is refined sugars, grains, and pulses. I miss lentils the most out of everything on that list, less so bread products.

    Oh, and I made an amazing looking cake for my son's birthday today with chocolate cream cheese frosting and I'm gonna eat the crap out of that even if it does kick me out of ketosis for a couple of days ;).
  • Ccuser99
    Ccuser99 Posts: 47 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    I'm another ketofile. :) I've eaten this way for close to a year. I lost 40 lbs pretty effortlessly; eating at a deficit seemed easy (~1500kcal) even when losing about 2lbs per week.

    I have found LCHF in general to be helpful to weight loss with thyroid issues. I am now taking meds for hypothyroidism, but about 5 years ago, when I was not yet treated, I temporarily lost 40lbs with a "clean diet" that is hindsight I see was LCHF. It worked very well.... I still remember that blueberry muffin that set me off to regaining my weight though. LOL LCHF worked for me, as long as I stick with it! I am now LCHF for life. :)

    Are you taking some sort of T3 for your hypothyroidism? I have found natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) to make a huge difference in my life. The synthetic T4s just didn't cut it fo me.

    Good luck. :)

    My gp won't give me t3 or ndt but I'm hoping the endo will once I'm referred. I'm on Levi at the min.
  • Ccuser99
    Ccuser99 Posts: 47 Member
    hlietz wrote: »
    Ccuser99 wrote: »
    weighed in this morning, ive lost another 2 lbs! why have i never done this before! haha

    Congrats on your weight loss so far!

    I'm also on the Keto diet, and I've lost about 4lbs since I started on Monday 4/25. If you'd like to add me as a friend on here, you're more than welcome to. I'm looking to lose about 15lbs more.

    Thank you! And well done to you too! We can do it! I will defo add u and we can help each other along!
  • fat2fit1981
    fat2fit1981 Posts: 50 Member
    Do you eat Spaghetti Squash on the Keto? I see it has a higher carb but I love spaghetti squash. I am sorry, I am enjoying reading all of this advice I want to start this! (again as some one else stated if you can stick with it and I have a hard time sticking to anything except stuffing my face :( I can do that)
  • BelleCakes2018
    BelleCakes2018 Posts: 568 Member
    Do you eat Spaghetti Squash on the Keto? I see it has a higher carb but I love spaghetti squash. I am sorry, I am enjoying reading all of this advice I want to start this! (again as some one else stated if you can stick with it and I have a hard time sticking to anything except stuffing my face :( I can do that)

    lol, I like to stuff my face too - I do it MUCH less often if at all on this :) (wish i could get hold of spaghetti squash but can't find it easily in my supermarkets here)
  • andysport1
    andysport1 Posts: 592 Member
    I'm being flippant, I am in Ketosis, I don't do any of this % stuff, I concentrate on low carbs high protein and I don't even think about fat. my carbs Sat = 192g, Sun 179g and I'm in ketosis, I do quite a bit of exercise, I try not to consume more than 30g of carbs in any 30 minute window, if I'm on a rest day from training my carbs will be less than 100g, The only foods that are off limit to me are pasta, bread, cereals, cakes, pastries, potatoes can't think of anything else.
    Mfp stated yesterday my carbs target was 479g based on exercise.

    Keto works
  • andysport1
    andysport1 Posts: 592 Member
    edited May 2016
    I've just done the keto calculator, my results were 2957kcal per day, with 25g of carbs = really ? it actually stated 0g of fat no idea what it expects me to eat. 8g of carbs per 1000 calories which food is that ?
    It just goes to show what rubbish one can find on the internet.
    I've just done a search and I can't find any food that has a 0.8% carb content.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    andysport1 wrote: »
    I've just done the keto calculator, my results were 2957kcal per day, with 25g of carbs = really ? it actually stated 0g of fat no idea what it expects me to eat. 8g of carbs per 1000 calories which food is that ?
    It just goes to show what rubbish one can find on the internet.
    I've just done a search and I can't find any food that has a 0.8% carb content.

    That makes no sense. What keto calculator did you use?
    http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ or http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/ ?

    A typicl ketogenic diet has carbs around 5-10% of your calories; usually under 50g with many being closer to 20-30g. Protein is moderate, often 15-25% with some going higher or lower. Fat makes up 65-80% (approximately) of your total calories.

    Whatever you were typing in does not sound like a ketogenic diet. Either it was a bad program or you put in incorrect information due to not knowing what keto macros often are.

    ... But meat will have a carb count around 0.8%. ;)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    andysport1 wrote: »
    I've just done the keto calculator, my results were 2957kcal per day, with 25g of carbs = really ? it actually stated 0g of fat no idea what it expects me to eat. 8g of carbs per 1000 calories which food is that ?
    It just goes to show what rubbish one can find on the internet.
    I've just done a search and I can't find any food that has a 0.8% carb content.

    That makes no sense. What keto calculator did you use?
    http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ or http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/ ?

    A typicl ketogenic diet has carbs around 5-10% of your calories; usually under 50g with many being closer to 20-30g. Protein is moderate, often 15-25% with some going higher or lower. Fat makes up 65-80% (approximately) of your total calories.

    Whatever you were typing in does not sound like a ketogenic diet. Either it was a bad program or you put in incorrect information due to not knowing what keto macros often are.

    ... But meat will have a carb count around 0.8%. ;)

    I'm assuming when he said he was being flippant he meant he was being facetious. :)
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    andysport1 wrote: »
    I've just done the keto calculator, my results were 2957kcal per day, with 25g of carbs = really ? it actually stated 0g of fat no idea what it expects me to eat. 8g of carbs per 1000 calories which food is that ?
    It just goes to show what rubbish one can find on the internet.
    I've just done a search and I can't find any food that has a 0.8% carb content.

    That makes no sense. What keto calculator did you use?
    http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ or http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/ ?

    A typicl ketogenic diet has carbs around 5-10% of your calories; usually under 50g with many being closer to 20-30g. Protein is moderate, often 15-25% with some going higher or lower. Fat makes up 65-80% (approximately) of your total calories.

    Whatever you were typing in does not sound like a ketogenic diet. Either it was a bad program or you put in incorrect information due to not knowing what keto macros often are.

    ... But meat will have a carb count around 0.8%. ;)

    I'm assuming when he said he was being flippant he meant he was being facetious. :)

    Oops! I missed his post previous to the one I quoted. My apologies andysport1! Please ignore my last post.
  • wortn
    wortn Posts: 17 Member
    I'm trying the keto diet. I started last week, not sure if I lost anything, plus my measurements are the same. But my face looks thinner. I average about 30 gramms of carb per day. It's not easy to stay within this limit. On the upper side, fat keeps me from going hungry and I can stay at 1200 calories per day.
  • Ccuser99
    Ccuser99 Posts: 47 Member
    Don't forget to take your fibre numbers away from your carbs, that will give you a net carb figure. I don't worry too much about % either I'm just focusing on eating less than 20g net carbs per day to get into ketosis and I guess once I get more experienced I can tweek my stats :)
  • Ccuser99
    Ccuser99 Posts: 47 Member
    Do you eat Spaghetti Squash on the Keto? I see it has a higher carb but I love spaghetti squash. I am sorry, I am enjoying reading all of this advice I want to start this! (again as some one else stated if you can stick with it and I have a hard time sticking to anything except stuffing my face :( I can do that)

    I don't think we can get spaghetti squash here so I can't answer your question I'm afraid. Is it high in fibre? Does the fibre take a huge portion of the carb figure? The main thing is stay below 20g net carbs to start with
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,018 Member
    Per 100g spaghetti squash is about 6-7g carbs, with 1.5-2g of that being fiber. So it's not really all that bad.
    20g is generally recommended as a starting point to drop carbs and cravings really fast. Many people find that they can do 50g and still remain deeper in ketosis. So if a ketoer wanted to work in spaghetti squash, it's totally doable.

    I was keto for almost 2 years and lost 100lb.
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  • Ccuser99
    Ccuser99 Posts: 47 Member
    Ccuser99 wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    I'm another ketofile. :) I've eaten this way for close to a year. I lost 40 lbs pretty effortlessly; eating at a deficit seemed easy (~1500kcal) even when losing about 2lbs per week.

    I have found LCHF in general to be helpful to weight loss with thyroid issues. I am now taking meds for hypothyroidism, but about 5 years ago, when I was not yet treated, I temporarily lost 40lbs with a "clean diet" that is hindsight I see was LCHF. It worked very well.... I still remember that blueberry muffin that set me off to regaining my weight though. LOL LCHF worked for me, as long as I stick with it! I am now LCHF for life. :)

    Are you taking some sort of T3 for your hypothyroidism? I have found natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) to make a huge difference in my life. The synthetic T4s just didn't cut it fo me.

    Good luck. :)

    My gp won't give me t3 or ndt but I'm hoping the endo will once I'm referred. I'm on Levi at the min.

    I got my Nature-Throid prescription from a DO. Not one endocrinologist that I've seen would prescribe NDT or T3. Also, are you taking generic levothyroxine or brand name Synthroid?

    I meant to say Levo not Levi lol silly autocorrect! It's generic levothyroxine. Are you in the uk too?
  • Napa2SF
    Napa2SF Posts: 2 Member
    Starting all over here, this time carb counting. (so far first week down 5 lbs) but does anyone know a way to track carbs using this app or one compatible? Thanks
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    While I do not track on MFP I think there is a way.

    I need to start tracking my since I have added more carbs. It may be as I work out of the metabolic syndrome state that I can handle more carbs and still stay in ketosis at a .5 level or greater.
  • trollerskates
    trollerskates Posts: 87 Member
    I do it on non workout days