First timer... question

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Hello all! So this is the first time doing the keto diet and I am having a hard time figuring out exactly how many carbs I should be eating a day. I hit almost 30 just by lunch.. how do some of you stay so low?? I've herd of a calculator to get a idea of how many I should have per day but is there a certain one that is more accurate than another? I can use all the help I can get! Recipes, quick snacks, easy dinners. I'd love to see some diaries of low carb eating so I could get an idea of some things! Sorry I feel like i am going to get overwhelmed so I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible!!!
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Replies

  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Check out the information that is stickied at the top. It is very helpful! Welcome aboard. My diary is open, but if you go back several days you'll see I've not been great at logging but if you go back a few months you can see some reasonable data.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    My diary is open, but I'm low carb, not keto...feel free to browse around anyway...I've been on an egg and avocado kick this week!
  • mommaporter11
    mommaporter11 Posts: 56 Member
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    Thanks I will check out that info!! I'm adding you both!!
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    Generally, the macronutrient ratio varies within the following ranges:
    60-75% of calories from fat (or even more),
    15-30% of calories from protein, and.
    5-10% of calories from carbs.

    I have mine set to 60F, 25P, and 15C

    It might be easier to start with carbs at the higher end, and then shift them lower as you become accustomed to eating keto.
  • mommaporter11
    mommaporter11 Posts: 56 Member
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    I do that in my settings? I'll play around with it. I use mfp on my phone I've never tried to change the macros on here :#
  • moonlights
    moonlights Posts: 141 Member
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    I find that if I don't eat bread, any wheat products, potato, sugary fruits erc then keeping my carbs under 20/25 isn't an effort at all.

    Let us know what you're eating and we might be able to pinpoint what you could cut back on.
  • mommaporter11
    mommaporter11 Posts: 56 Member
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    I had coffee for breakfast with my creamer which I need to cut out cause I think there's 10carbs just in that but I find it hard to get through my morning without coffee. And lunch today I had salami with pimento an side salad with ranch.
  • emaline2210
    emaline2210 Posts: 57 Member
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    I've been just planning on getting my carbs from plants and nuts. This way, it takes the guess work out of it.

    Yesterday my day looked like this:

    B: bulletproof coffee
    L: 2 hardboiled eggs, a pickle, and a handful of pumpkin seeds.
    S: a spoonful of peanut butter and a square of dark chocolate
    D: 2 slices of cauliflower crust pizza ( I modified it a bit to limit the cheese, because I'm mostly dairy free, but I've been finding that to be difficult on keto) and a salad.

    I also had a couple of vodka sodas, because on Wednesday, we play poker.

    I'm not sure what the grand total of carbs was off the top of my head, but it is below 50. My goal is to stick to about 5% of my total.
  • Cadori
    Cadori Posts: 4,810 Member
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    Without sugar, fruit, starches and grains it gets pretty easy to hit a low carb total. Nuts and milk can end up being a bit high, so I watch those, but meat, eggs, green veggies and cheese are my friends.
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    I had coffee for breakfast with my creamer which I need to cut out cause I think there's 10carbs just in that but I find it hard to get through my morning without coffee. And lunch today I had salami with pimento an side salad with ranch.

    Drink your coffee - just work on changing what you use as creamer. Consider transitioning to HWC, coconut milk, or none at all. Then there is the add butter to your coffee camp, of which I am a part!
  • mommaporter11
    mommaporter11 Posts: 56 Member
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    lol I've herd of adding butter, coconut oil, whipping cream. I just am not sure about the taste. I think I'll try some butter an stevia tomorrow morning!!
  • HawkPNP
    HawkPNP Posts: 106 Member
    edited November 2016
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    lol I've herd of adding butter, coconut oil, whipping cream. I just am not sure about the taste. I think I'll try some butter an stevia tomorrow morning!!

    I can't do the butter thing in my coffee, no matter what I try. But definitely try heavy whipping cream that comes in the carton. I use it all the time to up my fats. There are also flavored liquid stevia out there -- I love the english toffee one!

    Also, add me as a friend and you can check out my diary. My eating has been on plan but not "healthy" the last two days. Mainly because I am craving ice cream. And crap. But hey, I'm still in ketosis and under my net carbs ;)

    This is my favorite calculator: http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/keto-calculator/
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    OP, if you use butter or coconut oil or something, make sure to blend it. Either with a bullet blender, a regular blender, or one those frother things. You don't want a giant oil slick in your coffee.
  • mommaporter11
    mommaporter11 Posts: 56 Member
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    Where do you buy flavored stevia!!!!??? I have honestly never herd of that before! See this is why I love being on MFP you learn new stuff everyday.
  • HawkPNP
    HawkPNP Posts: 106 Member
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    Where do you buy flavored stevia!!!!??? I have honestly never herd of that before! See this is why I love being on MFP you learn new stuff everyday.
    This is the brand I use: http://sweetleaf.com/stevia-products/sweet-drops/

    I bought it at a local store but I bet Amazon has it or your local health foods store/Whole Foods/Etc.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    Coconut cream is a good creamer too. But whipping cream is just the higher fat version of half n half. So, not even a little bit weird since people use half n half all the time for coffee creamer. You can even just use that...
  • Cadori
    Cadori Posts: 4,810 Member
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    Coconut cream is a good creamer too. But whipping cream is just the higher fat version of half n half. So, not even a little bit weird since people use half n half all the time for coffee creamer. You can even just use that...

    Yup. I use coconut oil, half and half and a little Torani sugar free syrup.
  • dkginger
    dkginger Posts: 167 Member
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    Hello all! So this is the first time doing the keto diet and I am having a hard time figuring out exactly how many carbs I should be eating a day. I hit almost 30 just by lunch.. how do some of you stay so low?? I've herd of a calculator to get a idea of how many I should have per day but is there a certain one that is more accurate than another? I can use all the help I can get! Recipes, quick snacks, easy dinners. I'd love to see some diaries of low carb eating so I could get an idea of some things! Sorry I feel like i am going to get overwhelmed so I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible!!!

    Are you counting total carbs or net carbs? I am not doing keto yet, but planning to start on Monday and gearing myself up for it. After I logged my lunch I was like Holy Cow! I already have 17 grams of carbs and all I've had are eggs and a salad! Then I went back to look at fiber and my 7.8 grams of carbs in my 1/2 avocado has 6 grams of fiber, Romaine was 3g with 2 of fiber and my cucumber was 4.3g with 1.4 of fiber.

    By counting net carbs this dropped my intake from 14+ to around 5.7. I'm not sure what everyone else does and I would like to hear some veterans' opinions on the correct way to count. I currently do CICO and my net carbs fall between 80 and 120 most days usually from copius amounts of vegetables. I plan to start full-on with a goal of less than 25g.
    Kristine

  • mommaporter11
    mommaporter11 Posts: 56 Member
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    dkginger wrote: »
    Hello all! So this is the first time doing the keto diet and I am having a hard time figuring out exactly how many carbs I should be eating a day. I hit almost 30 just by lunch.. how do some of you stay so low?? I've herd of a calculator to get a idea of how many I should have per day but is there a certain one that is more accurate than another? I can use all the help I can get! Recipes, quick snacks, easy dinners. I'd love to see some diaries of low carb eating so I could get an idea of some things! Sorry I feel like i am going to get overwhelmed so I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible!!!

    Are you counting total carbs or net carbs? I am not doing keto yet, but planning to start on Monday and gearing myself up for it. After I logged my lunch I was like Holy Cow! I already have 17 grams of carbs and all I've had are eggs and a salad! Then I went back to look at fiber and my 7.8 grams of carbs in my 1/2 avocado has 6 grams of fiber, Romaine was 3g with 2 of fiber and my cucumber was 4.3g with 1.4 of fiber.

    By counting net carbs this dropped my intake from 14+ to around 5.7. I'm not sure what everyone else does and I would like to hear some veterans' opinions on the correct way to count. I currently do CICO and my net carbs fall between 80 and 120 most days usually from copius amounts of vegetables. I plan to start full-on with a goal of less than 25g.
    Kristine

    I didn't realize MFP didn't subtract the fiber from carbs already
  • 1thankful_momma
    1thankful_momma Posts: 298 Member
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    Where do you buy flavored stevia!!!!??? I have honestly never herd of that before! See this is why I love being on MFP you learn new stuff everyday.

    Fred Mayer has it in the Whole Food/Organic Isles next to the gluten free flour. I found it in the baking isle near the sugars in another store. They all seem to put it in different places. I think all the brands of stevia taste different. I like certain things in hot drinks, and certain things in cold drinks. So be sure to experiment.