Keto diet ... does it work?

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  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    SCoil123 wrote: »
    LazSommer wrote: »
    Eating less works, regardless of high carb, low carb, no carb. Yes, your metabolism may be lower than you'd like, but that means you don't need as much as you're eating. Your body isn't storing fat and starving.

    I don't think you understand thyroid disorders. Eating specific foods does actually affect your health and weight with these disorders. Eating less does not always work. Its much more complicated than simple CICO like for healthy people.

    When I switched my eating, without altering total calories, I dropped 20lbs related to inflammation and water retention.

    eating less carbs will cause inflammation to go down and you will lose water/glycogen, but its still about CICO. doesnt matter how you do it but even with thyroid or other orders cutting down certain foods may help but if you arent in a deficit you wont lose the weight no matter what you do or dont eat. if you eat what you burn your weight stays the same,if you eat more than you burn you gain. if you lose weight eating less carbs its because you are in a deficit. simple as that now it may be harder for those with health issues to lose weight and they may have to increase exercise or change something but still many here with thyroid and other health issues lost weight eating less.

    Wow I should have you talk to my doctor since you obviously know more than they do.

    The first 20lb I lost without any deficit. That's a fact. You are free to ignore it if you'd like. I'd tried many calorie deficit programs before and was never going to lose much as long as I stayed sick and continued getting sicker. And I never gave up or even counted carbs...I said I changed what I eat. Specific foods are off limits for me like wheat and soy. I eat tons of rice, corn, and other high carb foods.

    Now that my health is under control I can continue to lose weight with a deficit but I still can't eat certain foods regardless.

    There are many different thyroid disorders and people with the same disorder may be at different stages requiring different medications and dietary restrictions. It really isn't as simple as you try to portray it and I find your comment potentially harmful as opposed to helpful.

    ok first of all there was NO reason for you to get snarky, as for avoiding certain foods I never said you didnt have to. the only certain foods affect your health is if you have an intolerance,allergy or other health issue to them. which of course I never stated I just stated that cutting down on certain foods may help. I never said NOT to cut them down or out.you cut out wheat and soy,well obviously you had an issue with those foods.

    cutting them out probably cut down on any inflammation you had which can result in water retention which can last longer than most people,if you cant eat certain foods you cant eat them I never said you had to. but most here will tell you its still about CICO.I know there are many different thyroid disorders I never discounted that, a lot of people with thyroid issues do go low carb and find it helps them,you may find it harmful but there are many people whom I have helped lose weight(on here) and yes a lot of them have health issues as well.

    If someone is having issues losing weight its usually because they are eating more than they think, overestimating calories burned and eating all of those calories back,their hormones are out of whack or some other issue,and once they get things sorted they start losing again,cutting certain foods out can result in a deficit if you dont replace those calories and weight loss happens.I too lost weight without a deficit it was because I was moving more but that was at the very beginning of my weight loss journey. There are members here who have all kinds of thyroid issues,PCOS,diabetes,etc and they lost weight due to CICO. as for knowing more than your dr ,most drs arent trained in nutrition long enough to know whats right or wrong when it comes to diets,I had a dr tell me to eat 1200 calories a day to lose weight,my BMR is over 1400, and with so little weight to lose that would have been dangerous for me so drs dont know everything. I never said I know it all either.

    I guess you are a rare snowflake indeed

    Actually you did say its all about CICO and it doesn't matter how you do it. That's what I was responding to because that isn't exactly true with many medical conditions. Its dangerous to tell someone with a medical condition that too because you could prevent them from getting the right treatment and help.

    I'm not rare or special. Just a girl who struggled with hashimoto and felt like a failure when traditional weight loss methods were not enough. I don't want other people who struggle to feel like I did and delay finding a plan that works for them and their health.

    how am I preventing them from getting the right treatment and help? Did I say NOT to go see a dr? if you dont lose weight and its not one of the reasons I mentioned above then yes they should see a dr to rule anything out. I never said they shouldnt do that at all.but usually its one of those reasons above(even with health issues). I never said NOT to go to a dr, I never said that a medical condition cant mess with things. but even those with thyroid issues lose weight with CICO sure it may be a little harder to lose which is why a lot of people up their exercise. I said that a lot of people with thyroid disorders(which means they have been to a dr to rule thats their issue) lose weight eating low carb,some dont have to do low carb. I am not telling anyone to eat a certain way and NOT see a dr. nowhere did I say my advice or CICO takes the place of a dr. but those with thyroid issues should be seeing a endo not a regular doctor.a dietitian who also specializes in those disorders can help too.

    you never said if your dr was an endo or not. those types of drs do know more than a regular family dr. maybe had you said my endo, then I would have answered a bit differently. again a lot of people here like I stated have these health issues and go low carb, or vegetarian, or even vegan and while they are losing weight its because again they are in a deficit.you can still become overweight being a vegan or vegetarian if you eat more than you burn. its common science.now those with thyroid issues sometime it takes time for them to get the right dosage of meds before they see any results,for them a lot of it is hormonal and once they get straightened out then things get going again. but even with health issues if you eat more than your body burns you wont lose weight. I have several health issues that I thought might be the reason why I wasnt losing weight like I thought I should,and nope none of those issues cause my weight loss to be slow.I still lose just slower than most(I have tried many ways of eating and even cut certain foods out before,thyroid issues run rampant in my family).some people have to find the right amount of calories to eat too because MFP's calorie goal is just an estimate. some people have gone as far as having their BMR tested to see where its at. For you cutting out certain foods works because it put you in a deficit and was causing other issues(maybe masking weight loss with water retention or maybe causing inflammation).

    I never said that people should not cut out foods if its causing them health issues.even if you eat high carb foods,like you stated as long as you are in a deficit you will lose. sure it may be slower but weight loss is also not linear so you cant expect it to come off fast or even in the same amounts every week.some people also find that weighing all their food helps get the weight loss going again. weighing is a tool and can be helpful,it was for me I wasnt losing weight I was gaining and once I started weighing food,I realized I was eating more than I thought(I was using measuring cups before). for me that worked. if you read some of the threads for people that say they arent losing weight and they are doing everything right,most of them arent doing everything right they may have one flaw in what they are doing. then people suggest weighing,(if they say they are using cups) using the right entries,making sure they arent overestimating their calorie burn and eating back all exercise calories, most people once they start trying these suggestions come back to say they started losing again(even with health issues) I dont think anyone has ever said if you arent losing weight after doing everything right to not see a dr to rule anything out. I didnt say that either. Im not going to debate anymore, if you think your way has nothing to do with CICO then so be it.

    I never said my loss had nothing to do with CICO, I said its more complicated than that. The first 20lbs I lost changing what I eat without calorie reduction, the rest diet and exercise. You are dead set though on proving yourself right over my statement. Have fun with that. I have an amazing medical team and am doing great. I initially responded to a blanket statement made to a person with illness that it all comes down simply to CICO. It doesn't for certain people and there are other factors including certain food triggers. That's it, whole point. I made it and you continue to look for argument.

    Now I just got home from a great walk and still need to do Insanity so I'm turning my phone off. Have a great day.

    To the OP....try different plans and work with your doctor to find what works for you. Keto isn't for me but I've heard some people get great results.

    This seems to be a misunderstanding. Saying it's always about CICO doesn't mean that what you eat is irrelevant. For example, if eating certain foods aggravates a medical condition like Hashi's that makes the thyroid perform poorly (which is my oversimplification of what I think you are saying), changing your diet could fix a problem that was lowering your CO side of the CICO equation (in other words, your metabolism increases). You lose as predicted by CICO, but not because CI changes in terms of calories, but because CO increases.

    What people object to is the idea -- which is essentially an oxymoron -- that one can lose without CI being less than CO. That would be impossible.

    So when people say keto works (which of course it does), that doesn't mean that it works by allowing you to lose on unlimited calories (as some do claim). It works by typically removing the factors that make it hard to intake the right calories or, with some, by even making you decrease calories without thinking about it or counting (since it tends to reduce appetite).

    As I understood CharlieBeansMom, she wasn't questioning at all that medical conditions may be a problem or that changing your diet might be important for some people in addressing them. She was saying that ultimately that doesn't mean that CICO is not still a proper description of what is happening -- if you lose weight you are intaking fewer calories than you output, and if you output fewer than you intake you will gain weight (and if someone has a problem with absorbing calories such that they don't absorb most of them -- a serious medical problem -- that changes the CI).
  • alexpn
    alexpn Posts: 59 Member
    edited August 2016
    Ultimately, Keto Diets and/or Atkins... after those initial body glycogen dumps (water weight exiting the body) - however it's packaged or marketed - the long term success will eventually come down to the same weight loss process in terms of calories in and out.

    There is definitely still misconceptions out there that you can eat as much cheese, coconut oil, butter, meat, fat and mayo as you want - it's just not the case. Trust me on this, I've tried it.

    Personally, I find the results a bit more consistent against higher carb diets, because when I get weighed, there are less chances of random water weight spikes on the scales.

    Realistically, after time, if you stick to it, hunger levels do naturally drop off and you end up eating less food, it's very very hard to stick to long term though, you just start having crazy cravings for fruit, and sweet things.
  • Claire_Wahlen
    Claire_Wahlen Posts: 1 Member
    I understood that the all you can eat myth came from the fact that many people, on a well measured out fat/protein diet, can eat all they want because they only want so much of it (because they always feel full). But I also figured this isn't the case for everyone and comes after a long time of measuring, so that perhaps there was a subconscious mental aspect as well.
  • GoldenDLish
    GoldenDLish Posts: 4 Member
    I have been doing LCHF/Keto for a few months on and off and really love it. I enjoy cooking so its really fun to make new recipes. I highly recommend the cloud bread/ oopsie recipe online and well as "fathead" dough recipes for homemade crackers and pizza dough. The cauliflower crust recipes are time consuming but oh so worth it!
    I used keto urine sticks about once a week when i first started but now i only use them to see if something has kicked me out of ketosis. (its not very accurate.) I found that i lost 10 lbs in the first fews weeks and 25 after 3 months.
    I was off on my eating habits for three weeks while on tour and I have to say that do be prepared for water bloat if you choose to go off of the fdiet for a week or so. you will gain back about 10 lbs of water weight, totally normal.
    I have hypoglycemia and diabetes in a few forms runs in my family. I decided to try this diet to resolve any future issues.
    Bottom line. I love it. I eat great food. Shirataki noodles are mind blowing. It gets easier.
    Pinterest is really great for finding a ton of recipes in one place. Good luck! This is definitely a lifestyle change and not necessarily a diet.
  • GoldenDLish
    GoldenDLish Posts: 4 Member
    I do about 1350 calories per day, 10% carbs 30% protein 60% fat
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    I understood that the all you can eat myth came from the fact that many people, on a well measured out fat/protein diet, can eat all they want because they only want so much of it (because they always feel full). But I also figured this isn't the case for everyone and comes after a long time of measuring, so that perhaps there was a subconscious mental aspect as well.

    @Claire_Wahlen I have been keto for two years and it is no myth in my case that I can eat all that I want as long as I stay away from sugar and all grains and do not go over 50 carbs daily or 90 grams of protein. I am so full I have to stop eating but with carbs I physically get full but just keep on eating for some reason.

    In my case it is all about macros and not about counting calories because with my LCHF macro I would gag if I ate enough to cause much weight gain. I have a ten pound weight range however but automatically stay within that range. My triglycerides have dropped from 209 to 36 over the past two years.
  • collegefbfan
    collegefbfan Posts: 346 Member
    I love the keto way. I posted about keto in another thread and was told to join one of the groups for more help. But no one is hardly in those groups. I eat less than 25 grams of carbs a day. I love the foods, the choices, the way I feel.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    edited August 2016
    I love the keto way. I posted about keto in another thread and was told to join one of the groups for more help. But no one is hardly in those groups. I eat less than 25 grams of carbs a day. I love the foods, the choices, the way I feel.

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

    Here is one group.