Carb binge on a keto diet?

feathernaut
feathernaut Posts: 66 Member
Hi,

So I'm sort of new to this group.

I'm trying to slowly transition to a higher-fat diet because I have a ton of stuff in my pantry I can't bring myself to just throw out, and because I'm bad at meal planning right now. Anyway, yesterday I ate within my calories but ate a high-carb, medium fat day.

I guess my question is, is this when fats become 'bad" for you, when you still eat carbs at higher levels? Should I put off trying keto until I can remove the carby foods from my kitchen? I know I'll probably have one good keto day and then one bad keto day on and off if I start now; is that bad for my health? I'd stay within my calorie goals.

Thank you!

Replies

  • 1thankful_momma
    1thankful_momma Posts: 298 Member
    high carb and high fat are not a good combo... it has to do with the insulin response and what it does with the dietary fat.
    Are they 'junk' carbs(candy, chips,processed) or OK carbs?
    You would essentially be following a CICO diet, which some people lose on.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    edited June 2017
    Even on keto (for weight loss purposes) you don't need to add extra fat either. You just eat naturally high fat foods and cook with healthy fat. Adding extra fat comes in later when you want to slow or stop weight loss.
    So it's ok to put butter on veggies and cheese, mayo and sour cream on whatever you like, but you still have to manage portions and energy intake. The same would be true on the high carb diet.
    Keto isn't eating high fat. It's eating very low carb. That's why you can't really go keto in baby steps. You can cut carbs in baby steps... but it's not keto until they're very low and maintained.
    And you cannot do a keto day here and there because you won't be able to achieve ketosis that way. It requires consistency.
    However, you don't have to be keto to lose weight. Lots of people here do great with low carbs up to 100-150g a day. It still comes down to what those carbs come from though. You can't do low carb where you eat no carbs all day long so you can use them all on a bowl of ice cream at night. You don't want to have a large sugar influx like that at one time. You'd want to get your carbs from vegetables, possibly even starchy ones if that's your choice and some low carbers even include small amounts of whole grains if it works within their goals. They aren't using their carbs for junk foods in other words. That's not the path to long term behavioral changes.

    My honest opinion is if you hold onto the idea that getting rid of that food is wasteful so you must eat it, you'll have trouble any time in the future you're given something that doesn't fit your plan for the same reason. It's waaaaay to easy to justify eating something that you've previously decided you shouldn't. I'd say losing weight is 98% a mental game and this idea of wastefulness is an incredibly common theme.

    We are here for support whatever version of low carb you find yourself fitting into though. Best of luck to you! You can do this!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited June 2017
    If you don't want to toss stuff (I understand that!), can you maybe gradually cut the carbs down to however low you want to be? At 100 g or so you can still fit in some carbier things in smaller portions and doing that for a week to use up whatever it is and then lowering could even make it easier. I did 100 g of carbs, 100 g of protein, whatever was left of fat, and I found that a pretty easy way to eat although I was curious about trying lower carb so am now.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    I'm in the camp of "can't throw things out". I currently don't strive for ketosis but rather I still eat what the general public would consider (possibly ) very low carb. I ate a banana the other day (happened to be 4 ounces, weighed it). Not the best choice for low carb (I'm not diabetic etc) but nevertheless my total carbs for the day 52 (22 from the banana) and net was 45 (if that matters). The banana was more ripe than my husband would eat and I couldn't bring myself to pitch it, so I ate it. I have been known to run an 85% cocoa bar down the garbage disposal.I tried them. I noted how I reacted to them behaviorally Over ate). I got rid of them and never bought one again.

    This would be my guideline: if it is not something I am going to over eat and can therefore stay within my allotted calories and general macro amounts, I'll eat it. I ate strict keto for a year which limited both carbs and protein in that it was a medically therapeutic version of keto. Back then, I would not have eaten the banana.

    Many people (dare I say most) do not need to be in ketosis to lose weight. Why are you striving for ketosis? The best keto will do for the masses of people who became overweight because they over ate, will help minimize hunger and reduce cravings-my opinion that some will concur with. In that (reduction of hunger/cravings) occurring with me on keto, I was given the ability/freedom to then focus on my eating behavior/s. Behaviors (over eating, choosing the wrong foods/right foods to cause satiation, eating when not hungry, eating too fast).

    To answer your question: high carb/moderate fat is can be ok for weight loss if what you are eating does not cause you to overeat your calorie need for weight loss. If you're going to "pig out" on whatever is in the pantry, you might want to toss it down the disposal but that is up to you. I lost my weight just fine eating starchy/carby legumes but not eating potato chips and ice cream. That fat/sugar/carb combo is detrimental to me because I'll over eat it nearly every time.

    Ask yourself the real reason for not throwing something away and be honest. It well could be because you are frugal.
  • auntstephie321
    auntstephie321 Posts: 3,586 Member
    Can you give us an idea of what kinds of things your talking about? I had a pantry full of rice, potatoes, oats etc. I am not keto but am low carb, though today is a bad example lol. But I like to stay around 100 g of carbs a day and if you are measuring you can easily fit in a serving of rice, pasta, etc, maybe not all the same day but enough so that you can use of what you have. If you want to be keto though I think you might have to bite the bullet and toss some stuff, what I would fear happening when trying to lower like that is you may not get the mental mindset change like sunny mentioned and when shopping you'll continue to gravitate towards what you know since its easier. when I first went keto I stored all the carby stuff away and loaded up on meat, cheese, hwc, bacon, eggs etc and ate along that path till it became easy and my go-tos changed from crackers to pickles or similar low carb things, I know longer panicked if I didn't prep a lunch because I knew I could grab some almonds and cheese sticks and be fine.

    so in short if you want keto you will likely need to jump in full force, if you are good with low carb work in the carby stuff you have and plan on lowering your carb level in the future if you chose to.

    now if the carby stuff your using up is cookies and candy and such you might just want to toss it and start fresh with foods that will sustain you longer and help you reach your goals. not saying snacks are bad but when starting out it can make it difficult to stay focused and reach your goals.
  • anglyn1
    anglyn1 Posts: 1,802 Member
    edited June 2017
    I would probably work with a moderate carb lower fat diet until you clear the pantry. I think it generally messes with electrolyte levels to jump in and out of ketosis every day or two and will probably leave you feeling not so great.
  • Just_Eric
    Just_Eric Posts: 233 Member
    Begins tomorrow.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    I eased into ketosis by first going low carb. Part of that was because I was getting rid of my opened food, and part of it was just getting the new foods I needed on hand. I still have high carb food in my house because I am the only one who is in ketosis. Two kids and the hubby are moderate carb, and my middle son is probably high carb.

    I agree with others that giving away food may be a nice option if you can afford it. If not, easing into low carb might work the best. Use half servings or quarter servings of higher carb foods until they are gone (meaning potatoes and bananas). Stuff like rice you can keep in the pantry for company or something.

    I'm another who thinks a day of keto and then a higher carb day may be hard on the system, and on your hunger and mental state, but if you think it will work you could try it. If not, gradually cutting back may be your best bet.
  • AlexandraCarlyle
    AlexandraCarlyle Posts: 1,603 Member
    I gave a lot of food away to a 'soup kitchen' run for the homeless. It was mostly dried food, still in their original packaging, and maybe a couple had gone beyond the 'best before' date, by perhaps only a month, two at the very most....
    To my irritation, the at the kitchen cook threw those away, but as a Cook myself, and trained in UK Food Hygiene Standards, via a Government Agency, I know, for an absolute, undeniable fact that there was absolutely nothing wrong with those foods and using them would have posed no problem at all, to anyone.

    Still.
    It was their decision, not mine. All I know, is that the food wasn't wasted by me. And to be fair, they used everything else...

    I did, however, fill a small pedal-bin-liner with white flour (self-raising AND plain) wholemeal flour, pasta, old breadcrumbs and old rice. Most of these products were opened, and had honestly been in the containers for more than 6 months. One container I know for a fact, had flour in it that must easily have been 2 years old. At least.
    So disposing of that lot had no effect on my pocket, directly.
    It cleared out an awful lot of kitchen space though!

    So yes - while I totally get your angle on not wasting food, @feathernaut , there are other things you can do with it, that will benefit others, or will (more importantly) safeguard your health.
    Don't look at it as being wasteful. I know you have regrets (I did, chucking all that opened stuff in the bin!)

    But - that's the whole point of LCHF. You NEED to get rid of it.

    What you're doing essentially, is saying "I know the ship is sinking, but while I use a kid's bucket to bail the water out, I'll just open all the portholes to let more water in...."
    It hurts. I know it hurts. I get it.
    But - get rid of it. Give the kitchen a good clean, rejoice in the extra space you gain, give to others (I gave all my frozen bread, frozen ready-rolled dough, frozen wraps and frozen baguettes to my neighbours - they were thrilled!) and you'll be on the straight and narrow to 'proper' LCHF!
  • PaulaJSchiller
    PaulaJSchiller Posts: 100 Member
    I had this same concern when I started LCHF /Keto, but my concern was for my hubby. I was all in, but he just can't take that leap. He has cut back on his carbs a great deal but, he has cereal each weekday morning, will eat sub sandwiches while on the road for work, he still eats fruit and has potatoes and other HC veggies with his dinner. He has cut out all the more junky stuff(chips, candy, cookies). He even drinks beer and an occasional cocktail a couple of times a week. I was concerned this was still very unhealthy for him to be eating the higher fat foods and meals while still having those HC foods, but he is losing weight, slowly, but he is losing. He recently had a full physical with blood work and all tests came back with good results, other than his blood pressure, which he has been taking medicine to control.

    We didn't have a lot of high carb items because I have been eating mostly LC for several years, so there wasn't a lot of food to deal with. We gave much of it to our daughter, there are still some things that she doesn't use sitting in the pantry. Some I can use up for parties or when we have guests. I really should donate the few cans of soup and a bag of white flour before it goes out of date.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    I changed my diet not my husband's diet. He's thin, healthy and active. He likes gravy on his mashed potatoes so I have flour in the fridge. He likes his tacos in a shell so I have a bag of Maseca in the fridge. He occasionally enjoys a piece of deep fried fish so I have cornmeal in the fridge. There's even a bag of sugar in the pantry that gets used every now and then such as a tablespoon in a huge bowl of coleslaw that I might make to take to a bbq or even make a small batch for home.

    Speaking of sugar, I'll occasionally bake something for a party or holiday. I don't bake keto or low carb stuff because I am the only person I know that eats "this way" exclusively. Point: confectioners sugar. I try to buy only what I need for my baking event and if there is any leftover it will go in the trash. I might be "ok" with it around these days but I'm not willing to test my willpower of not making a bowl of butter cream frosting to eat by the spoonful.

    So I guess what I said in the 1st post applies. If I'm not going to overeat it, I don't worry about it being around. To tie all this into high carb/medium fat, there is a whole world out there that eats this way (hc/mf) and all of them will not become sick or diseased. Who am I to say they and all the literature/research that supports that way of eating...is wrong. It's not right for me.