New member, frustrated with Keto

amyrising
amyrising Posts: 39 Member
in Getting Started
Hi everyone! I am on week 3 of Keto and getting very frustrated. I am 46 yr old female with MS, Psoriatic Arthritis, Fibro as well as recently being diagnosed with OCD and Bi-Polar Depression. I have a heavy load of medications which I'm sure doesn't help. I have been pretty strict but I'm not loosing much weight. I am 5' 4" and 203 lbs. I seriously need to lose weight for my health and my children. Because of my weight and my chronic fatigue, I am not very active but I hope that will change if I can get some weight off. Maybe Keto isn't for me? I really need simple food ideas and even menu plan ideas. I am not opposed to eating snacks for meals. I just need some ideas to boost my weight loss while working with my fatigue and busy schedule (by busy I mean getting kids to school and me to work, lol). I have checked out every site I can but my cognitive issues make it hard for me to form plans. I'm a fat mess and I need help please!
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Replies

  • ritadeberry1960
    ritadeberry1960 Posts: 1 Member
    edited April 2017
    From I've read, especially the beginning, you need to do a strict 20 or less carbs, moderate protien, and high fat. There's no hard and fast on how much fat and protien, but the carbs must be low. There is a Facebook group called keto recipes. They share some phenomenal recipes. Eat veggies, but use this app to calculate your portions because many have carbs. My daughter and I are just starting this diet.
  • Goddess0921
    Goddess0921 Posts: 91 Member
    Hi Amy! I have been doing keto for about six weeks now. This is my second time, the first I lost 70 pounds. Pregnancy (...8 years ago...LOL) gained it all back for me. I have some medical issues as well and am also on a lot of medications. One recommendation I have for you is to meal prep on a day that you don't have work or plans, like on the weekends. Hard boil eggs, cook chicken, cut vegetables, etc. You can purchase keto-specific cookbooks on Amazon for less than $10 including ones for quick fix meals. I live on eggs and tuna many days a week because it's what I have time for. I highly suggest not giving up, keto can be so very helpful for health problems as well as weight loss.

    One thing I learned to make frequently the last time are egg muffins. You can make a dozen or so and then freeze them. Pop them in the microwave in the morning and you're good to go. I haven't made any recently, but they were delicious and easy!

    Anyway, if you need anything...support, recipes, or just a shoulder...I'm here!

    Shannon
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    Congratulations on taking these steps. It sounds like you have a range of issues and I wish you the best of success in conquering all of them. I think anyone with medical issues should discuss diet approach with PCP and other professionals, checking in regularly.

    I did low carb in the 90s for the better part of a year and I did lose weight, but I felt very low-energy all the time and also had digestive issues. I am very aware that many people make it work.

    I ended up raising the carbs to at least 30-40% of daily calories. I have demonstrated time again that I will lose weight on a 40%carb-30%fat-30%prot diet so long as I stick to the calorie limits. With this mix, I have much better energy, particularly when exercising. I eat a good fraction of my exercise calories back as carbs, which also works for me.

    Specific example: Normal carb afternoon snack might be an apple or orange, which seems to boost energy and is satisfying (particularly oranges, for some reason). The keto replacement might be 0.5oz nuts, which just doesn't leave me feeling full. (I mean, it's about 12 almonds.)

    Best of luck figuring out what works for you and, most importantly, DON'T GIVE UP!
  • sydneyhom
    sydneyhom Posts: 4 Member
    Hi Amy
    I'm 3 weeks into low carb myself, with good results. Just read a couple of excellent books on the subject, the best of which was "Why we get fat and what to do about it" by Gary Taubes (Kindle). The other one is "The art and science of low carbohydrate living", which was written by a couple of doctors (Drs. Volek & Phoney), for medical practitioners and technical types and is extremely thorough, thought provoking and compelling but pretty heavy going...

    My understanding of the literature is that it takes up to two to three weeks for the body to enter a ketogenic state, where it can burn fat instead of sugars for fuel, so hang in there...
    It is also important to keep the carbs very low, at least initially and most including Atkins recommend less than 20g per day. It is also important that you eat "good" fats i.e. animal fats, oily fish, olive oils etc. and plenty of it. This is hard to wrap one's head around, since we have all been told for the past 30 years that fat is the devil, which the above books debunk solidly.
    Your meds can also play havoc with your body functions, so make sure that you are getting proper medical supervision from a doctor, who is open minded and not totally indoctrinated into the Low fat - high carb mythology. Even from a common sense perspective, if you cut sugars and starch from your diet you will ultimately have to lose weight...

    Also don't count calories just carbs! A diet rich in fats and protein is very satisfying, which is limiting even my ravenous appetite. Sugar as food is relatively new to human consumption on an evolutionary scale and the recent massive intake of sugars, including starches and hidden sugars has played havoc on our bodies and in particular our insulin levels. No Keto is not magic, it just readjusts our bodies to a more natural state. The simplistic formula of calories in, less calories expended has failed the modern world and along with the low fat message has resulted in a Western epidemic of obesity, type 2 diabetes and lots of disgruntled hungry fat people.
    My advice is to be patient, be strong and be safe...
    Cheers George
  • sydneyhom
    sydneyhom Posts: 4 Member
    Oops....
    That was Drs Volek and Phinney who wrote "The art and science of low carbohydrate living".
    Damn spell checker (disrupter)...
    ; )
  • amyrising
    amyrising Posts: 39 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    What's your calorie intake...keto doesn't magically result in weight loss...you still have to be in a calorie deficit.

    I'm trying to stay right at 1200 calories. I do think my carbs are higher than i realized. This site has been an eye opener for me in that department.I have always been a sugar/carb addict so the 1st 2 weeks were really hard but now I'm starting to feel good. It's a plus to not feel hungry all day. I would feel better if I could lose more weight. :)

    Thank you all for the advice and comments. I appreciate them.
  • Goddess0921
    Goddess0921 Posts: 91 Member
    amyrising wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    What's your calorie intake...keto doesn't magically result in weight loss...you still have to be in a calorie deficit.

    I'm trying to stay right at 1200 calories. I do think my carbs are higher than i realized. This site has been an eye opener for me in that department.I have always been a sugar/carb addict so the 1st 2 weeks were really hard but now I'm starting to feel good. It's a plus to not feel hungry all day. I would feel better if I could lose more weight. :)

    Thank you all for the advice and comments. I appreciate them.

    Have you tried a daily caloric intake calculator? I used a keto-specific one, but there are others (there are all different ones to use online). You may not be eating enough calories...depending on your weight and activity level, 1200 seems like it may be too low. Check out a calculator and see what they say, raising your calories a bit may help your weight loss speed up. :-)
  • MaggieGirl135
    MaggieGirl135 Posts: 1,009 Member
    You may wish to try Whole30; it may help with some of your other concerns along with weight loss.
  • gsimrall
    gsimrall Posts: 3 Member
    I've done Keto diets, and they're okay, but my body tends to react better to the DASH diet. Because I'm eating raw vegetables, lean meats and eliminating sugar (and breads), it is fairly low carb. However, with the DASH diet you measure and weigh everything. If it tells me 3 oz. of baby carrots, that's what I eat. It's shocking when you begin to actually weigh your food. Especially measuring dips (hummus) and dressings.

    I do modify the weekly meal plan because it has you preparing a great deal of different foods, which means a ton of items to store. It's low sodium which helps with water retention.

    There are things I do not like about it, but my body responds best to it. Maybe it has to do with menopause and a person's unique hormonal make-up. Who knows.

    I did find with the keto diet I consumed a great deal of calories. In the beginning it's not much of a concern because eventually you find that you aren't hungry all of the time. But, as it was mentioned earlier, you must maintain a strict 20g or less carb intake for the first two-three weeks.

    Hang in there; nothing is easy and fast. Sadly, the older we get the more that truth holds.
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
    Hello and welcome OP. I suggest you check out the following main low carber daily forum group here in MFP. It's where most of us Ketophiles tend to hang out:

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

    There's a ton of great info in the launch pad / sticky note area of this group including dozens of links to websites with LCHF friendly recipes too!
  • DietPrada
    DietPrada Posts: 1,171 Member
    ritadeberry1960 wrote: »
    There's no hard and fast on how much fat and protien, but the carbs must be low.

    Not true. Your fat and protein are calculated based on your calorie target for weight loss.

    20g carbs, protein @ 0.6g to 0.8g per LEAN lb of body mass (not total) and fat to make up the rest of the calories. Your carbs are a limit, your protein is a target. As you lose weight and your total calorie goal lowers you still eat the same carbs and protein, you reduce your calories from your fat macro.

    Join this group - thousands of members with all kinds of health issues who do keto and can offer support and advice. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

  • jamalgq
    jamalgq Posts: 3 Member
    I have been in the fitness world for about 18 years now and from my experience 1200 calories is not a great idea. It sounds good on paper but what your really doing is putting your body into starvation mode- where it holds onto what it can in fear it is starving to death. It is how the body assesses certain risks and is something we cannot control as part of the central nervous system and the flight or fight reaction. I know your aiming at the 2lb a week loss right now that is why you are going down to 1200, but with keto there is comfort knowing that you can still get too 1600 calories a week for your stats (1625 to be specific) and lose tremendously. The reason being is science.

    Please look into the Kreb's cycle to understand glycogen in your body and how it is processed. I suggest to switch your goals in my fitness pal to carbs=5% fat =70% and protein=25%. Follow this formula for about 6 days or stretch it until 10 days if you have the energy. You will lose more at 1600 calories than 1200 because your training your body to not be in starvation mode and also that it should burn body fat when you are not eating by following the formula in my reply here.

    So on that 7th or 10th day you will be happy :) That day is your carb refeed day!! Where your stats will change to this (just for the day though) carbs=70% fat=5% and protein=25%. It is critical on refeed days to eat as little fat as possible and have no worries you wont gain because your body will be using its own fat all day for energy. But do realize the next day or two the scale may read 1 or 2 pounds heavier, but have no fear! That is simply water retention from the carbs and you will see that by the end of the week your farther down on the scale than you thought.

    The reason you have a carb load day is to replenish the glycogen in your body and the ATP (Dr word for energy in your muscles) to not feel sluggish and many other benefits. You can look into cyclic keto dieting for more in depth. But I gave you the simple version and simple means easy to understand (for me at least).

    ** note** on carb days you may splurge with some chocolate and other things you were looking for but I suggest as many clean carbs as you can. Things like the rice, beans, wheat pasta etc... but they dont have to ALL be 100% clean carbs...treat yourself a little and your going to be surprised you have a hard time eating enough becasue you feel so full :)... Best of luck!



  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    ^Nope. Starvation mode, as you explained, does not exist.
  • crazyycatlady1
    crazyycatlady1 Posts: 292 Member
    edited April 2017
    OP, with all your medical issues it would probably be a good idea to have your doctor refer you to a dietician, who can help you navigate through this.

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