Keto Newbie
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motherofdragons84
Posts: 58 Member
I just started the Keto diet yesterday. I've purchased two books (The complete Keto guide for beginners and a quick and easy Keto cookbook).
I'm looking for other online resources, tips and tricks.
I've had a hard time getting my fat in for the day while keeping my protein down. Any tips for that?
Any help is appreciated!
I'm looking for other online resources, tips and tricks.
I've had a hard time getting my fat in for the day while keeping my protein down. Any tips for that?
Any help is appreciated!
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Replies
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The two things you need to watch are your carbs (at or below your target level - what ever that level is) and your protein - try to hit this level every day. The fat percentage is not a 'hard and fast' rule - use fat to fill in the spaces and make sure that you are not getting hungry between meals. Assuming that you are trying to lose weight, the body has it's own fat stores that it will burn to make up for the missing calories (read fat that you do not consume) in the diet.
I will let others in the group chime in with recipes and such - I am a very simple eater and do many recipes at all.2 -
motherofdragons84 wrote: »I just started the Keto diet yesterday. I've purchased two books (The complete Keto guide for beginners and a quick and easy Keto cookbook).
I'm looking for other online resources, tips and tricks.
I've had a hard time [b]getting my fat in for the day while keeping my protein down.[/b] Any tips for that?
Any help is appreciated!
When you just can't stand any more butter, olive oil, bacon grease or coconut oil (true for me)...cream cheese and mascarpone cheese are nice additions that have high fat and LOW protein.
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I would not worry about fat - eat fat to satiety, once you are no longer hungry, job done. Concentrate on keeping the carbs low and get your protein in.
Fat is the easier one to add in (but watch the calories!)- Use full fat products (cheese/cream/milk)
- Add oils to your salads as part of the dressing
- Make your own yummy mayo
- Butter your vegetables
- Cook in butter/oil/coconut oil
- Avocado
- Oily fish
- Nuts (go for low carb nuts, unfortunately not all nuts are created equal)
- Pork Rinds
- Eggs
- Add fullfat milk/cream to your coffee or a stick of butter
- Eat the crispy skin on your chicken
Also: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10103966/start-here-the-lcd-launch-pad#latest
Fab resource for all things Keto, and do not forget to get your sodium in, salt is very important on Keto, without it you might get the "keto flu" (really dislike this name) which is nothing more than side effects from not getting enough salts in your daily diet.
Edited to add launchpad link3 -
I would not worry about fat - eat fat to satiety, once you are no longer hungry, job done. Concentrate on keeping the carbs low and get your protein in.
Fat is the easier one to add in (but watch the calories!)- Use full fat products (cheese/cream/milk)
- Add oils to your salads as part of the dressing
- Make your own yummy mayo
- Butter your vegetables
- Cook in butter/oil/coconut oil
- Avocado
- Oily fish
- Nuts (go for low carb nuts, unfortunately not all nuts are created equal)
- Pork Rinds
- Eggs
- Add fullfat milk/cream to your coffee or a stick of butter
- Eat the crispy skin on your chicken
Also: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10103966/start-here-the-lcd-launch-pad#latest
Fab resource for all things Keto, and do not forget to get your sodium in, salt is very important on Keto, without it you might get the "keto flu" (really dislike this name) which is nothing more than side effects from not getting enough salts in your daily diet.
Edited to add launchpad link
This info is very helpful. Pork rinds? Hmmm... I've never heard of those before.
All of my reading warns to not over do it on the protein from the beginning. I've been trying to stay in my Macros.0 -
The two things you need to watch are your carbs (at or below your target level - what ever that level is) and your protein - try to hit this level every day. The fat percentage is not a 'hard and fast' rule - use fat to fill in the spaces and make sure that you are not getting hungry between meals. Assuming that you are trying to lose weight, the body has it's own fat stores that it will burn to make up for the missing calories (read fat that you do not consume) in the diet.
I will let others in the group chime in with recipes and such - I am a very simple eater and do many recipes at all.
There is a ton of science that explains different sides of this coin, but here is some really good advice. The gist is if you aren't on a keto diet for therapeutic reasons or have diagnosed insulin resistance the arguments against protein don't apply heavily to you. The protein is lean muscle sparring in a calorie deficit. It also helps with satiety, second to fat, but it helps. Whether you have your protein macro at 10% or 20% hit that number! Also hit the carb number or below of course. Then fill in the hungry spots with fat. The list of full fat products posted above is a great place. Using things like guacamole, sour cream, cream cheese will help keep you full overall and help keep you emotionally happy in a deficit. The protein and resistance exercise (if you choose to indulge) will help you hold on to lean muscle mass which is what we all want whether we know it or not.0 -
motherofdragons84 wrote: »I would not worry about fat - eat fat to satiety, once you are no longer hungry, job done. Concentrate on keeping the carbs low and get your protein in.
Fat is the easier one to add in (but watch the calories!)- Use full fat products (cheese/cream/milk)
- Add oils to your salads as part of the dressing
- Make your own yummy mayo
- Butter your vegetables
- Cook in butter/oil/coconut oil
- Avocado
- Oily fish
- Nuts (go for low carb nuts, unfortunately not all nuts are created equal)
- Pork Rinds
- Eggs
- Add fullfat milk/cream to your coffee or a stick of butter
- Eat the crispy skin on your chicken
Also: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10103966/start-here-the-lcd-launch-pad#latest
Fab resource for all things Keto, and do not forget to get your sodium in, salt is very important on Keto, without it you might get the "keto flu" (really dislike this name) which is nothing more than side effects from not getting enough salts in your daily diet.
Edited to add launchpad link
This info is very helpful. Pork rinds? Hmmm... I've never heard of those before.
All of my reading warns to not over do it on the protein from the beginning. I've been trying to stay in my Macros.
NEVER HEARD OF PORK RINDS?!?!?!?!?
I love pork rinds.
Anyway, from a macro standpoint, the most important thing is to stay at or below on carbs. For protein, you want to get the minimum required. Different people can tolerate different amounts. The more active you are, in general, the more you can have without causing insulin spikes which is what you are trying to avoid. You are probably safest keeping them near that minimum for the first couple months and then look at experimenting to see how much more you can tolerate. If you are losing weight, it is OK and even preferable to lose some lean body mass in the form of skin, connective tissue, etc. Keeping your protein lower will help with this and help avoid the saggy look you see on people like the Biggest Loser contestants.
In terms of fat, if you are trying to lose weight, your body doesn't care if it burns fat from your diet or fat from your body, so eat to satiety, but don't worry about not having enough in your diet. Only increase it to what you need for satiety and your body will pull the rest from where you have your storage. As your body adapts to burning fat, you will find you have times when you are well below calorie goal but not hungry. Don't worry about force feeding yourself. In those times, your body is just burning the fat from your body. You will have other times when you are hungrier.
Pork rinds are one of the few foods I eat that are not "real" foods. I prefer to keep to real foods as much as possible.
That said, to get additional fat, I simply use olive oil, coconut oil and/or bacon grease to saute low carb veggies. I also add avocado oil or olive oil as well as blue cheese and feta cheese to salads.
The meat I eat tends to be fattier like chicken legs and thighs with the skin, 73/27 ground beef, and the fattiest pork and beef cuts I can find, so I don't generally need to add more fat, although I will fry steaks in butter mixed with a bit of garlic sometimes just because that is delicious.
Finally, I will second what @Bonny132 said about checking out the launch pad. I can't stress how important the info about electrolytes and other topics are in there.1 -
@Bonny132 - yours are better than what I can typically find in terms of limited ingredients.0
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@cstehansen pork rinds in the U.K. Are generally only made with rinds that are salted, not seen any other types here. My butcher makes some amazing ones, dead cheap compared to the stores, and oh so crunchy! I don't buy them too often as I find it hard not to eat the whole bag as they taste like a little piece of heaven.0
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@motherofdragons84, a serving of pork rinds typically has ~5 grams of fat and ~9 grams of protein. Since your interest is keeping your protein down (per your original post), do read the nutritional labels.0
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The general consensus seems to be not to worry about hitting that magical "fat" intake. However last time I was going keto, at around the 10 week mark my mental health deteriorated pretty much overnight. At the time I didn't make the connection between my diet (which had been going great!), and the sudden desire to end my life. Once I was out of the fog however, I realised that my fat intake had been too low for too long and had wreaked havoc with my hormones.
I make sure to keep on top of my fat intake now. Cooking my meat in oil, adding avocado to everything I can. And when all else fails and I need to up that macro, I make myself a cheesecake. Let me know if you want the recipe!0 -
I disagree, park rinds (or pork crackling) as we call them) is definitely proper "food" mine are hand fried with sea salt, no other ingredients. But then again, mine are awfully posh ones
Those look a lot better than the brand we get. Love pork rinds, especially with almond butter on 'em.1 -
I disagree, park rinds (or pork crackling) as we call them) is definitely proper "food" mine are hand fried with sea salt, no other ingredients. But then again, mine are awfully posh ones
@Bonny132 - Which shop sells this brand? I've only ever seen the brand they sell in pubs! Mr. Porky or something like that. I would be interested to try these out!0 -
I dream of being able to eat pork (rinds) scratchings... I haven't got the teeth for them anymore unfortunately. I started grinding my teeth in my sleep following a bereavement in my 20s, but once I'd got over that with the help of counselling the damage had been done. 10 years ago a dentist told me I'd got great teeth for a 65 year old man! Last time I tried to eat some I broke a molar clean in half... However, the slightly easier to eat 'pork crunch' version - basically pork scratchings which have been air blown during the cooking process - are good too, except that the protein/fat ratio is tilted too much towards protein so they have to be a very occasional treat... Proper greasy, crunchy scratchings though... Gorgeous!1
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@Lois_1989 I get these at Marks & Spencer's, Waitrose also have really nice ones.
If you want really crunchy ones, check at your local butchers, mine does some awesome ones for £1 a packet, which are ooohhhhh so tasty but you can break a tooth on them, if you do not have good teeth, but the taste! Scrummy!1 -
@Lois_1989 I get these at Marks & Spencer's, Waitrose also have really nice ones.
If you want really crunchy ones, check at your local butchers, mine does some awesome ones for £1 a packet, which are ooohhhhh so tasty but you can break a tooth on them, if you do not have good teeth, but the taste! Scrummy!
Oooooh I have a waitrose nearby, I'm looking forward to this! Thank you!0 -
I'm not a coffee drinker so the bullet idea never really hit for me; in other words, I don't drink butter or coconut oil in any way but work to get fat through other foods. I've found that cream of broccoli/cauliflower/chicken/?? soups do a great job when I've had a lot of protein and need a handful of veggies and fat. And they're really easy--just boil the veg in broth or stock for a few minutes, put in a blender, add heavy cream and a bit of cheese or spices (curry is great for this) and whirl away. I also eat deviled egg and egg salad, tuna salad, etc, usually in lettuce wraps. And yes, bacon and kielbasa and all the other fattier protein sources. Good luck--it's a learning curve but is actually quite simple--you'll know when you're veering off course.0
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The general consensus seems to be not to worry about hitting that magical "fat" intake. However last time I was going keto, at around the 10 week mark my mental health deteriorated pretty much overnight. At the time I didn't make the connection between my diet (which had been going great!), and the sudden desire to end my life. Once I was out of the fog however, I realised that my fat intake had been too low for too long and had wreaked havoc with my hormones.
I make sure to keep on top of my fat intake now. Cooking my meat in oil, adding avocado to everything I can. And when all else fails and I need to up that macro, I make myself a cheesecake. Let me know if you want the recipe!
I'd like to respond to this - no one (at least that I've seen) is advocating for cutting out all of the fat. We are simply saying that it is not necessary to eat all of the fat that your macro splits suggest that you eat. For example: my targets are 10 grams of carbs, 130 grams of protein and 165 grams of fat, so I eat less than 10 grams of carbs, do my best to hit 130 grams of protein and then I do eat fat but only as much as I need to feel full, whether that amount is 50 grams of fat or all 165 grams of fat - NEVER 0 grams of fat. Given my food choices - fatty cuts of meat, heavy whipping cream, bacon, eggs, etc - I am assured that I will have some level of fat intake each and every day.
What you bring up is an interesting point in our favor for eating this way and against the recommended low-fat diets - fat is absolutely essential for the absorption of key vitamins and for the production of various hormones in the body. Cutting fat to low of a level always has a detrimental effect on nutrition and overall health within the body. I know the standard answer to that with the establishment is 'we have meds to take care of those problems', but my stance is that if the body can do it itself, let the body do it.4
