Keto Diet?

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Emijanine
Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
I've been reading about the Keto diet. My crossfit friends are doing it. Anyone doing it on here, and what are the pros and cons in your opinion?

Replies

  • ivanfawcettgibson
    ivanfawcettgibson Posts: 193 Member
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    Yeah, I eat this way.
    Pro's for me are;
    More energy, less bloating, no IBS symptoms, I'm leaner while adding muscle, no pressure eating too much fat, cheese, I'm not sluggish or lethargic.
    Cons; beer. I love beer, but now it kills me. No pizza unless you make the base from coconut or almond flour.
    Some may get "keto flu" I didn't as I made sure I got enough salt.


    Make sure you do your own research though.
  • jenn26point2
    jenn26point2 Posts: 429 Member
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    I'm a paleo keto eater. I second the salt, but would also recommend paying attention to potassium and magnesium too - something this site does a terrible job of helping you track. By keeping them in check, you'll avoid keto flu and muscle cramps.

    I've lost 35 lbs in 11 weeks. My husband is 9 weeks in and he's lost 40. I was lifting heavy before I was in a car accident 4 weeks ago and my chiro said to hold off on the heavy lifting, but that hasn't stopped me from continuing to lose weight. My husband hasn't stepped foot in a gym or gone for a single walk.

    We watch our fat, which is not typical of keto diets. Most ketoers don't worry about fat, but we want to lose body fat, so we restrict to less than 100 gm per day. As a result, I'm down 23 total inches, but haven't lost a lick of strength and haven't at all felt fatigued. I'd done keto previously (2013) and didn't limit fat and only lost 12 lbs.

    I joined a FB group called ketogenic dieters and I credit that group with all my success. The admins have lost a combined total of over 1400 lbs, some losing 100 lbs as individuals, and know their stuff. The group is well worth the add if you're on FB. Good luck!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
    edited June 2016
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    It depends on how your body responses. Some respond very well to low carb/keto diets, some people don't respond very well. If you do keto, you want to eat 5000mg of sodium a day, and get a lot of potassium and magnesium from your carb sources.

    Pro' s - you find it as a sustainable diet.
    Con's - you don't find it as a sustainable diet.


    Personally, my body doesn't respond to low carb diets very well. My energy goes down the crapper. I can't get through exercise routines (this all starts around 150-180g of carbs or less for me). Just overall, feel like crap.

    I would recommend getting blood work before you start. Some people respond well to fats & cholesterol and some don't.

    Either way, Keto is no more special than any other diet. Fat loss is the same.
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
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    OP, if you are interested in following Keto, check out the main low carber forum group here in MFP. It's where most of us Ketofiles tend to hang out. Also, there is a ton of good information in the launchpad and sticky note area:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
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    Thanks all! I don't think it would work well for me. I've tried low carb before and I was like a zombie!
  • ivanfawcettgibson
    ivanfawcettgibson Posts: 193 Member
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    How long did you try it for?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Emijanine wrote: »
    Thanks all! I don't think it would work well for me. I've tried low carb before and I was like a zombie!

    Probably a good idea to avoid something that didn't work for you and just find a way of eating that supports your goals. For a large part, I more about my training than my weight. So I focus on calories, then protein and then just getting a wide range of whole foods, including: fruits, veggies, whole grains/oats, lean meats, fish, and dairy (mainly greek yogurt). If at the end of the day, I want a small treat, I don't limit myself, but overall, I limit that to a few times or less a week.
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
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    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
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    Emijanine wrote: »
    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!

    You said you've tried it before and you were like a zombie.. so which is it? If you aren't interested in losing weight and have no medical reason (ie diabetes or PCOS) then why restrict carbs to such a low amount? Not trying to be a b*tch just trying to understand what you're going for.

    If you've done low carb for at least a month you'll get out of that "zombie" phase, usually after 3-4 days.. but all new diet plans should be tried for at least a month to see any effects. Follow Jens advice above about magnesium and potassium as well to avoid the keto flu/zombie feelings.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    I guess the bigger question is, what are your goals OP?
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
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    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!

    You said you've tried it before and you were like a zombie.. so which is it? If you aren't interested in losing weight and have no medical reason (ie diabetes or PCOS) then why restrict carbs to such a low amount? Not trying to be a b*tch just trying to understand what you're going for.

    If you've done low carb for at least a month you'll get out of that "zombie" phase, usually after 3-4 days.. but all new diet plans should be tried for at least a month to see any effects. Follow Jens advice above about magnesium and potassium as well to avoid the keto flu/zombie feelings.

    No I said I tried low carb before. I did not try Keto. I was curious as some of my CF friends are raving about it but they all are kind of hefty.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Emijanine wrote: »
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!

    You said you've tried it before and you were like a zombie.. so which is it? If you aren't interested in losing weight and have no medical reason (ie diabetes or PCOS) then why restrict carbs to such a low amount? Not trying to be a b*tch just trying to understand what you're going for.

    If you've done low carb for at least a month you'll get out of that "zombie" phase, usually after 3-4 days.. but all new diet plans should be tried for at least a month to see any effects. Follow Jens advice above about magnesium and potassium as well to avoid the keto flu/zombie feelings.

    No I said I tried low carb before. I did not try Keto. I was curious as some of my CF friends are raving about it but they all are kind of hefty.

    Like many new comers to new diets, they probably just get entrenched in it. If the like it and it addresses their goals, great, but I know I would struggle to do any exercise on low carb diets. When i was paleo, I was starting to get down to 150g and I feel like complete crap. My body runs and performs very well on carbs.
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!

    You said you've tried it before and you were like a zombie.. so which is it? If you aren't interested in losing weight and have no medical reason (ie diabetes or PCOS) then why restrict carbs to such a low amount? Not trying to be a b*tch just trying to understand what you're going for.

    If you've done low carb for at least a month you'll get out of that "zombie" phase, usually after 3-4 days.. but all new diet plans should be tried for at least a month to see any effects. Follow Jens advice above about magnesium and potassium as well to avoid the keto flu/zombie feelings.

    No I said I tried low carb before. I did not try Keto. I was curious as some of my CF friends are raving about it but they all are kind of hefty.

    Like many new comers to new diets, they probably just get entrenched in it. If the like it and it addresses their goals, great, but I know I would struggle to do any exercise on low carb diets. When i was paleo, I was starting to get down to 150g and I feel like complete crap. My body runs and performs very well on carbs.

    I agree with you!! I'm the same. I just always try to do complex carbs like quinoa and oatmeal and sprouted bread!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Emijanine wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!

    You said you've tried it before and you were like a zombie.. so which is it? If you aren't interested in losing weight and have no medical reason (ie diabetes or PCOS) then why restrict carbs to such a low amount? Not trying to be a b*tch just trying to understand what you're going for.

    If you've done low carb for at least a month you'll get out of that "zombie" phase, usually after 3-4 days.. but all new diet plans should be tried for at least a month to see any effects. Follow Jens advice above about magnesium and potassium as well to avoid the keto flu/zombie feelings.

    No I said I tried low carb before. I did not try Keto. I was curious as some of my CF friends are raving about it but they all are kind of hefty.

    Like many new comers to new diets, they probably just get entrenched in it. If the like it and it addresses their goals, great, but I know I would struggle to do any exercise on low carb diets. When i was paleo, I was starting to get down to 150g and I feel like complete crap. My body runs and performs very well on carbs.

    I agree with you!! I'm the same. I just always try to do complex carbs like quinoa and oatmeal and sprouted bread!

    I may have to do some research on this bread you speak of.
  • Emijanine
    Emijanine Posts: 158 Member
    Options
    psulemon wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!

    You said you've tried it before and you were like a zombie.. so which is it? If you aren't interested in losing weight and have no medical reason (ie diabetes or PCOS) then why restrict carbs to such a low amount? Not trying to be a b*tch just trying to understand what you're going for.

    If you've done low carb for at least a month you'll get out of that "zombie" phase, usually after 3-4 days.. but all new diet plans should be tried for at least a month to see any effects. Follow Jens advice above about magnesium and potassium as well to avoid the keto flu/zombie feelings.

    No I said I tried low carb before. I did not try Keto. I was curious as some of my CF friends are raving about it but they all are kind of hefty.

    Like many new comers to new diets, they probably just get entrenched in it. If the like it and it addresses their goals, great, but I know I would struggle to do any exercise on low carb diets. When i was paleo, I was starting to get down to 150g and I feel like complete crap. My body runs and performs very well on carbs.

    I agree with you!! I'm the same. I just always try to do complex carbs like quinoa and oatmeal and sprouted bread!

    I may have to do some research on this bread you speak of.

    It is great! I get the Exekial bread from the freezer organic section at Wegmans. It doesn't make me feel bloated like regular whole wheat bread!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Emijanine wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    Sarahb29 wrote: »
    Emijanine wrote: »
    How long did you try it for?

    I didn't. Lol. I'm on the lower end of the weight spectrum.... 115# and 5'5". And still nursing so I don't want to lose any more weight!

    You said you've tried it before and you were like a zombie.. so which is it? If you aren't interested in losing weight and have no medical reason (ie diabetes or PCOS) then why restrict carbs to such a low amount? Not trying to be a b*tch just trying to understand what you're going for.

    If you've done low carb for at least a month you'll get out of that "zombie" phase, usually after 3-4 days.. but all new diet plans should be tried for at least a month to see any effects. Follow Jens advice above about magnesium and potassium as well to avoid the keto flu/zombie feelings.

    No I said I tried low carb before. I did not try Keto. I was curious as some of my CF friends are raving about it but they all are kind of hefty.

    Like many new comers to new diets, they probably just get entrenched in it. If the like it and it addresses their goals, great, but I know I would struggle to do any exercise on low carb diets. When i was paleo, I was starting to get down to 150g and I feel like complete crap. My body runs and performs very well on carbs.

    I agree with you!! I'm the same. I just always try to do complex carbs like quinoa and oatmeal and sprouted bread!

    I may have to do some research on this bread you speak of.

    It is great! I get the Exekial bread from the freezer organic section at Wegmans. It doesn't make me feel bloated like regular whole wheat bread!

    OMG, I love wegmans. I have 2 of them within 3 miles of my house. And even though there are 4 other closer stores (fresh market, whole foods, harris tetter, giant), I still drive further to go to wegmans. I use arnold's multi grain breads (5g of fiber per slice) and they treat me well but I love new variety.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Yea, it works great for some with medical issues.

    There is nothing magical about it though. It requires the same calorie deficit to lose weight and the same calorie surplus to gain weight/muscle.

  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
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    Some people like it; some people find it too restrictive. It works by making it easy to keep you calories low, and by removing hunger pangs that come (for some of us) with eating carbs.

    The only way to find out is to do it. The first 3 days suck, and then it becomes easy.

  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    Yeah, I eat this way.
    Pro's for me are;
    More energy, less bloating, no IBS symptoms, I'm leaner while adding muscle, no pressure eating too much fat, cheese, I'm not sluggish or lethargic.
    Cons; beer. I love beer, but now it kills me. No pizza unless you make the base from coconut or almond flour.
    Some may get "keto flu" I didn't as I made sure I got enough salt.


    Make sure you do your own research though.

    I didn't have go keto to get all your pro's. ;)
  • ivanfawcettgibson
    ivanfawcettgibson Posts: 193 Member
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    That's wonderful for you, really worthwhile comment.