Keto Diet! Q&A / General info!!

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rogerleewestcott
rogerleewestcott Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Keto in short is.... a lifestyle in which carbs are resticted permanently to a very low amount and fat becomes the majority of you calories (NOT PROTEIN) Protein is in moderation. This forces your body to produce a hormone from the liver call ketones which tells the body to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose!
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  • rogerleewestcott
    rogerleewestcott Posts: 15 Member
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    Feel free to post questions or answer questions on here freely thank you!
  • DharmainHeels
    DharmainHeels Posts: 94 Member
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    I am starting to research this diet and would love any information that would be helpful. I do not eat meat though - only fish.
  • sabern
    sabern Posts: 18 Member
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    rogerleewestcott wrote: »
    Feel free to post questions or answer questions on here freely thank you!

    I have started the Keto diet and left the Atkins diet.. Can you tell me about how much fat is needed in the diet? 5"2'' and weigh 147. I am diabetic and can not seem to loose much weight due to meds. I work out at gym 3 times a week and have gained muscle but don't seem to loose body fat. need help. thank you.
  • rogerleewestcott
    rogerleewestcott Posts: 15 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Sabers, The easiest way to figure that out is to go to the macro setting on the my fitness pal app and adjust the macros to 75% fat 20% protein and 5% carbohydrates. By looking at The numbers you gave me your fat should be around 140 g and around 100 g of protein and 20 g of carbohydrates. But that is just a guess! Change your macro settings and it will give you an exact amount.
  • rogerleewestcott
    rogerleewestcott Posts: 15 Member
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    DharmainHeels wrote: »
    I am starting to research this diet and would love any information that would be helpful. I do not eat meat though - only fish.

    Only eating fish is still OK on a ketogenic diet! Fish fortunately has a lot of protein/very clean as well. Considering the diet is mostly made up of fats not eating meat doesn't pose a threat to the diet. Goods sources of fat would be butter, Avocados, coconut oil, MCT oil to list a few. Your protein will be a moderate portion of your macros around 20%. Your carbohydrates will be around 5% which equals between 20 g in 40 g per day. Do not forget those are net carbs! That's carbohydrates minus fiber and sugar alcohols.
  • DresdenSinn
    DresdenSinn Posts: 665 Member
    edited June 2017
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    rogerleewestcott wrote: »
    Keto in short is.... a lifestyle in which carbs are resticted permanently...

    I wouldn't say "permanently"...I would say the duration depends upon how much fat you have to lose and how well you can keep it off. I've been doing true Keto for a couple of weeks (to get "shredded") and I'm at 143lbs and just under 8% BF, I only plan on going another week. I had been doing 20/50/30 ratio of carbs/fat/protein for quite some time before switching to 5/75/20.

  • duganlaura
    duganlaura Posts: 1 Member
    edited June 2017
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    I started Keto last Sat. after an immediate switch from the South Beach Diet which is High Protein, low fat, low carb, and no sugar. Because I stalled on the SBD, I went to Keto. I have a lot of weight to lose with an extremely high BMI. On My Fitness Pal, I am tracking 1200 cals...75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs, and no sugar. I don't feel like I've gone into ketosis. Most of my fats have come from, heavy cream, butter, bacon, eggs, and mayo. Your advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
  • DresdenSinn
    DresdenSinn Posts: 665 Member
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    duganlaura wrote: »
    I don't feel like I've gone into ketosis.

    Get some Keto Test Strips, they take the guess work out of it and are made by various manufacturers, I get mine from Amazon.

  • rogerleewestcott
    rogerleewestcott Posts: 15 Member
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    DresdenSinn wrote: »
    rogerleewestcott wrote: »
    Keto in short is.... a lifestyle in which carbs are resticted permanently...

    I wouldn't say "permanently"...I would say the duration depends upon how much fat you have to lose and how well you can keep it off. I've been doing true Keto for a couple of weeks (to get "shredded") and I'm at 143lbs and just under 8% BF, I only plan on going another week. I had been doing 20/50/30 ratio of carbs/fat/protein for quite some time before switching to 5/75/20.

    Yes the stating of "permanently" was an implied statement of "as long as you want to stay in a state of ketosis." It is possible to live in a constant state ketosis. But you can revert back and forth almost whenever you want. Some athletes use it for cutting and others use it for lifestyle. Both ways are very effective!
  • rogerleewestcott
    rogerleewestcott Posts: 15 Member
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    duganlaura wrote: »
    I started Keto last Sat. after an immediate switch from the South Beach Diet which is High Protein, low fat, low carb, and no sugar. Because I stalled on the SBD, I went to Keto. I have a lot of weight to lose with an extremely high BMI. On My Fitness Pal, I am tracking 1200 cals...75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs, and no sugar. I don't feel like I've gone into ketosis. Most of my fats have come from, heavy cream, butter, bacon, eggs, and mayo. Your advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    As long as you stay in those macros you always run the potential and promise of ketosis. But there are other things that can keep you out of ketosis or slow the process such as… High levels of stress, diabetes, wrong kinds or poor choices of sugar substitutes, also certain kinds of medication. But if you feel like you are unsure about being in ketosis you can get some Keytone strips from your local drugstore or even online. Note: Keto can sometimes take up to 4 to 6 weeks for your body to adapt. It can take one maybe two weeks but in some cases it can take longer. I recommend getting the strips!
  • ladipoet
    ladipoet Posts: 4,180 Member
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    Hello and welcome! I suggest you check out the 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
  • nickdelcastillo
    nickdelcastillo Posts: 5 Member
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    I'm considering starting the keto diet - partially for weight loss, and partially because I suffer from epilepsy - and one thing I haven't seen addressed in any of the research I've done is calorie intake. In the past I have always used MyFitnessPal to count calories. This has worked well for me as I went from a high of 255 lbs. to a low of 171 lbs. I'm currently at 197 lbs. and I'd like to get back into the 170s. I am very into exercise (martial arts, strength training, running, bicycling, rowing, etc.) and I lost all the weight so far by exercising, eating better, and restricting my calories to around 1500 per day. Nothing I've read has mentioned anything about calories on the keto diet, though. Are calories not a consideration?
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
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    nickdelcastillo wrote: »
    I'm considering starting the keto diet - partially for weight loss, and partially because I suffer from epilepsy - and one thing I haven't seen addressed in any of the research I've done is calorie intake. In the past I have always used MyFitnessPal to count calories. This has worked well for me as I went from a high of 255 lbs. to a low of 171 lbs. I'm currently at 197 lbs. and I'd like to get back into the 170s. I am very into exercise (martial arts, strength training, running, bicycling, rowing, etc.) and I lost all the weight so far by exercising, eating better, and restricting my calories to around 1500 per day. Nothing I've read has mentioned anything about calories on the keto diet, though. Are calories not a consideration?

    Yes, calories are a consideration. Calories restriction is how you lose weight, on or off keto.

    The thing about losing weight on keto is that it gets a little tricky with the macros. Because, when you lose weight, you are going to be getting some of your daily calories from your own fat stores which counts towards your macros. So, you don't have to hit the fat macro entirely in your diet. I'm not sure if I've been clear, let me know if it's confusing.
  • nickdelcastillo
    nickdelcastillo Posts: 5 Member
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    Yes, I think I saw something about adjusting the fat and protein macros if you are trying to lose weight with the keto diet (a little less fat and a little more protein). What you said about getting some of your calories from your fat stores makes sense, but how do you calculate that? Is there a reference to go by?

    I guess I'm still confused about the calories, though. A lot of the high fat foods tend to be high in calories too, so I'm trying to figure out what my ideal daily calorie intake should be. As I mentioned, I'm only eating 1500 calories a day (or less) right now, but that's going to be hard to maintain after switching to high fat.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    nickdelcastillo wrote: »
    Yes, I think I saw something about adjusting the fat and protein macros if you are trying to lose weight with the keto diet (a little less fat and a little more protein). What you said about getting some of your calories from your fat stores makes sense, but how do you calculate that? Is there a reference to go by?

    I guess I'm still confused about the calories, though. A lot of the high fat foods tend to be high in calories too, so I'm trying to figure out what my ideal daily calorie intake should be. As I mentioned, I'm only eating 1500 calories a day (or less) right now, but that's going to be hard to maintain after switching to high fat.

    Is this the chart?

    fb_img_1454689621190.jpg

    The chart shows total calories used - your TDEE or energy expenditure. It includes body fat. Caloric intake is for protein, fat and carbs. Ideally your protein intake stays about the same as it would be when you are at goal weight. Perhaps it is a tad more because your TDEE will be higher when heavier.

    Low carbers try to hit their protein goal and stay under the carb ceiling. The rest is filled in with fat. If less hungry, eat less fat (or carbs). If hungry, eat more fat (or protein).

    1500 kcals is quite doable on low carb. That's about what I ate when losing my weight. I lost about 2-3 lbs per week until I was within 10lbs of goal and then it slowed down. I when from around 190 to 150 in about 5 months.

    In fact, many find it easier to go lower calorie when LCHF because the diet blunts their appetite and cravings.

    Be aware that meals are often smaller in volume when eating low carb, Many use low calorie carbs like salads to make up the volume. I just go with a smaller salad plate. It's all I need for meat, eggs and a few veggies or nuts.
  • richb178
    richb178 Posts: 47 Member
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    nickdelcastillo wrote: »
    I guess I'm still confused about the calories, though. A lot of the high fat foods tend to be high in calories too, so I'm trying to figure out what my ideal daily calorie intake should be. As I mentioned, I'm only eating 1500 calories a day (or less) right now, but that's going to be hard to maintain after switching to high fat.
    I think you will find that high fat foods are very filling and on the same calories you will not be hungry.

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    richb178 wrote: »
    nickdelcastillo wrote: »
    I guess I'm still confused about the calories, though. A lot of the high fat foods tend to be high in calories too, so I'm trying to figure out what my ideal daily calorie intake should be. As I mentioned, I'm only eating 1500 calories a day (or less) right now, but that's going to be hard to maintain after switching to high fat.
    I think you will find that high fat foods are very filling and on the same calories you will not be hungry.

    People differ as to how much they are volume eaters and how much fat is satiating to them, but I also found 1500 on LCHF was easy to maintain. (It doesn't mean totally giving up volume either if you still eat lots of low cal veg.)
  • nickdelcastillo
    nickdelcastillo Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for the chart, that's very helpful. One question, though, about setting up macro goals in MFP. For the "adapt" section, it has an expenditure of 2800 calories per day, and an intake of 1400 calories per day, so that's where the 50% body fat part of the pie chart is coming from, correct? In other words, the goal is to burn (at least) 2800 calories per day, 1400 of which will come from body fat, and the other 1400 from what you eat? If that's the case, when setting up the macro goals in MFP, there is no way to account for the 1400 body fat calories (that I'm aware of). So do I set my calorie goal for 1400 and then double each of those macro percentages to equal 100% (10% carbs, 40% protein, and 50% fat) of calorie intake?
  • richb178
    richb178 Posts: 47 Member
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    You can try, but it may give you the wrong calorie amount, or the carbs will be too high, and etc. I gave up on using the macros. I set them all low and then just track what I eat, sodium, and calories.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    The best way to do macros (IME) is figure them out in grams and then get as close as possible and just have in your own mind what they are for you (max, min, goal).

    My desired macros when I was doing keto were 50 g (total) carbs (really I was aiming for under 40 net, so I knew that was lower than I needed), 100 g protein, and 100 g fat (total = 1500).

    I set them for 1500 total calories, 25% protein, 15% carbs, and 60% fat, which came to around 94 g protein, 56 g carbs, and 100 g fat. Looking at that, I decided the slightly modified numbers were fine, but I aimed to hit or be above the protein, to be around 35 g net carbs (I wasn't too worried about the total), and to aim for 100 g fat (I was usually under, but not intentionally).

    When you get used to it you just look at grams anyway.

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