Question about keto recipes/eating? Am I doing this wrong?

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Rannoch3908
Rannoch3908 Posts: 177 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been following a keto / LCHF eating plan after being suggested by my doctor.

But I feel bad about eating this way honestly. All the recipes call for putting butter in coffee, eating dressings like ranch and mayonaise based, making veggie casseroles with a pound of shredded cheese on top, plowing through tons of meat (steaks, chops, sausage, etc).

It just seems like I am eating worse than I was before. Am I doing or understanding something wrong here?

Here are some examples from the past week:

Eggplant Pizza
- Two eggplants sliced,
- 1lb ground bee
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 onion
- 1 garclic clove
- 1 lb shredded mozarella
- salt, pepper, oregano

Cheesy Cauliflower
- 1 lb cauliflower
- 1 lb brocoli
- 1/2 lb shredded cheddar
- seasonings

Meatza
-20 oz Ground Beef
-2 Large Eggs
-½ cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
-28 Pepperoni Slices
-½ cup pizza sauce
-4 oz Mozarella Cheese
-To Taste Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Keto Cheesy Taco Caserole
-8 tsp Taco Tuesday
-3 lbs 80/20 Ground Beef
-2 Cups Pepper Jack Cheese (Shredded)
-4 Cups Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese (Shredded)
-2 Cups Frozen Pepper Strips (Green, Red, and Yellow) thawed
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Replies

  • Blitzia
    Blitzia Posts: 205 Member
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    If your doctor recommended it, I'd double check with your doctor.

    That being said, if your only goal is weight loss, then being in a calorie deficit is all that matters. Eating keto is just a tool to help you stay in a calorie deficit. Things like adding butter to your coffee or mayo on your food are supposed to help keep you full so you can eat less. But it's really personal preference - butter and mayo aren't calorie free. So you can use those calories on butter and mayo or you can use them on more food. Whatever works for you.
  • erika_307
    erika_307 Posts: 82 Member
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    Seems fine to me. I have been doing keto for 2 weeks now, and I feel the same way. It's so different to eat so many fats, and hard to grasp the concept that it's ok. But, I've lost 10 pounds so far, and feel a lot better already, so it can't be all bad. You could also try to focus more on healthy fats- avocados, nuts, salmon, healthy oils, etc.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Rannoch3908 wrote: »
    - 1/2 lb shredded cheddar

    Holy crap. That's about a 1000 calories right there, all on its own.

    - 1lb ground bee

    There's about another 1000 calories.

    3 lbs 80/20 Ground Beef

    3600 right there.

    How much of this was eaten in one day?

  • Rannoch3908
    Rannoch3908 Posts: 177 Member
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    I am obviously not eating the whole 3lbs of ground beef - it's a caserole so you eat a service and save the rest. But it's just cheese, cheese, cheese, meat, meat, meat, oils, dressings, fats, fats, fats.....my wife doesn't believe there is any way this could be healthy.

    It's not just about weight loss - it's about reversing pre-diabetes, lowering changes of heart diseasse and high cholesterol. Etc.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Well, without knowing how much of this you're actually eating, there's no way to give a meaningful answer to "am I doing this right"?

    That diet, in a caloric surplus, is seriously bad news. And with those ingredients, it's going to be extremely easy to overeat. So it comes back to the same question...

    ...how much of this are you actually eating in a day?
  • LINIA
    LINIA Posts: 1,050 Member
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    For KETO, you can include veggies & salads. Only those who are ZC....zero carb eat none or eat very few vegetables. If you are monitoring your portion size, those foods and low carb veggies will satisfy some of the concerns your wife might have.
  • ninjacakegirl
    ninjacakegirl Posts: 26 Member
    edited July 2017
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    I have to recommend Reddit to help you. I started Keto Tuesday and thoroughly researched r/keto and all of its resources before jumping in. There are plenty of things other than meats, cheeses, and cauliflower that you can eat - they have a public Google Sheet with a good list that you can use to tailor Keto to things you like to eat and you can create your own recipes with it. I've based my grocery shopping on their tips, and both my husband and I will be able to benefit from Keto (he's getting suckered in because I do the cooking more than he does! lol). I've already lost 4lbs since starting on Tuesday. Please check it out before you decide it's not for you; they can help if you're uneasy. reddit.com/r/keto

    Also, here's the link to the Google Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kg5tJVTEqlHJTFiQ64ORQ0P6s3qEnjALPVFI_rIuW7I/pubhtml
  • 2DUNNY
    2DUNNY Posts: 101 Member
    edited July 2017
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    i eat LCHF diet and i do eat broccoli, berries and salad. i feel like my eating habits are MUCH BETTER than when i was just eating whatever i wanted. (my arthritis is more in control, not nearly as much pain as before, my cholesterol is improving, i have very low BP and overall my health is improving as per my dr who prescribed this diet for me.)

    yes you will increase your fat, and it's difficult at first, i CRAVED watermelon for my first week. LOL i think it's all about balance. look at fiber content and subtract it from carbs to get "net carbs."
    so for example, i used coconut flour to make our waffles last night, and it looks like alot of carbs, but it's mostly fiber. a 1/2 cup of broccoli only has 2 carbs.

    ***ETA: i had an avocado tonight, 12 carbs, but 10 of those are fiber, so only 2 net carbs + 21g fat--- that is a healthy fat.
    HTH :flowerforyou:
  • 2DUNNY
    2DUNNY Posts: 101 Member
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    Blitzia wrote: »

    That being said, if your only goal is weight loss, then being in a calorie deficit is all that matters. Eating keto is just a tool to help you stay in a calorie deficit. Things like adding butter to your coffee or mayo on your food are supposed to help keep you full so you can eat less. But it's really personal preference - butter and mayo aren't calorie free. So you can use those calories on butter and mayo or you can use them on more food. Whatever works for you.

    i use mayo, butter & coconut/olive oil in my cooking alot on LCHF & it does increase calories quite a bit, so i agree you really have to watch. my avocado tonight was over 200 calories just for that, and i could have easily eaten 2 servings of my dinner if i weren't paying attention and logging.
  • xxprisinhaxx3232
    xxprisinhaxx3232 Posts: 15 Member
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    I've been doing Keto for almost 6 months and have lost 63lbs in the process. Best decision I've made in a long time.
    I used to be "freaked out" by all the fat and whatnot but i grew out of it when I started to reap all the benefits of the diet.
    Did your doctor give you an amount of protein, fat and carbs to eat per day?
    Just remember that Protein is a goal, fat until full and carb is a limit.
    Fat is your friend.
    KCKO!
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Yuck. You didn't say what your goal is or if you have a specific health issue and if so, listen to your doc. Otherwise, fruits and vegetables are your friends, ........less ground beef may serve you well just sayin' is all
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    My advice is to stop googling keto recipes (since they don't appeal to you) and look for "normal" recipes instead - just substitute any starches or grains in the recipes with vegetables (and fat for flavor and calories). Here's pics of 365 keto friendly meals I think most people would consider healthy to give you some ideas (from Burn Fat Not Sugar). Best wishes.
  • jenna_nicolo
    jenna_nicolo Posts: 62 Member
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    For me, the point of Keto is staying satiated so I eat less overall. I find myself struggling to eat more than 1000 calories a day because I don't find myself hungry between meals. As long as you're getting your macros and vitamins in, I would say keep doing what you're doing but see if you can reign in the portion sizes if you feel like you're eating too much. Also, try to limit the saturated fat (meat/cheese) in favor of healthier fats (nuts, oils, fish) when possible. But I understand how strange it is to eat like 100g of a fat a day after being told you're whole life that fat is bad for you. I hope I helped! Good luck.
  • Bob314159
    Bob314159 Posts: 1,178 Member
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    Simple answer re keto - having spent 20 years tying to avoid fats - I now eat coconut oil by the spoonfull and eat tons of cheese. I've lost so much weight on the last 2 years - I'm the lowest weight I've been in 30 years and my blood tests are all normal. I don't bother with keto recipes.
  • Rannoch3908
    Rannoch3908 Posts: 177 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Mr Knight - 2000 calories per day. What MFP recommends for 2lbs a week weight loss.

    Lost 18lbs so far.

    But losing weight is not the number one goal - I don't want to lose weight but die of a heart attack from only eating cheese, fats, and meat!

    And these meals appeal to me like crazy - love love love them and they are delicious and make great meal planning (caseroles save all week) BUT I am worried that it's just a bunch of meat, fat, cheeses, veggies. Wanted to make sure I am not doing this the wrong way.

    I get all my meals from DIET DOCTOR online if you want to check it out. I am "moderately low carb plan"

    I do NOT eat breakfast in morning - I intermittent fast 16:8.

    For lunch is usually something like:
    -- a salad with creamy dressing, avacado, chicken
    -- vegetable based cup of soup (no beans or rice or potato)
    -- pulled pork and sausage (no sides) from local bbq place.
    -- chicken or egg salad wrap on low carb tortilla
    -- leftover caserole from night before
    -- hard boiled eggs and 1/2 avacado and cheese
    -- lunch meat and cheese sandwich minus bread
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    I've researched keto and I didn't like the fact you eat so much high fat foods. I know it's taking the focus off of carbs but I'd rather just eat what I want and keep it within my allowed calories each day than to follow something strict like that.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Rannoch3908 wrote: »
    I am obviously not eating the whole 3lbs of ground beef - it's a caserole so you eat a service and save the rest. But it's just cheese, cheese, cheese, meat, meat, meat, oils, dressings, fats, fats, fats.....my wife doesn't believe there is any way this could be healthy.

    It's not just about weight loss - it's about reversing pre-diabetes, lowering changes of heart diseasse and high cholesterol. Etc.

    I've been eating keto, and lots of meat, cheese and eggs, for over 2 years. I started to address prediabetes (because I did not have much extra weight) and to improve my autoimmune problems. I also lost over 30 lbs. My blood glucose is great. My AI issues are much better. I am SURE my cardiovascular health is great too. Saturated fats do not cause CAD. That's an old myth. It's just a bit slower to die than "eating cholesterol causes high cholesterol."

    It really does feel weird to eat fats after years of eating lean and lots of "healthy grains", but I feel so much better eating this way. How can meat, eggs, dairy and vegetables be bad?

    Read the Low Carber Daily MFP group's launch pad for a list of resources. Good books include The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living and Keto Clarity. Peter Attia has some GREAT blogs on LCHF, keto, and cardiovascular health - if you like technical reads.

    Good luck.
  • DharmainHeels
    DharmainHeels Posts: 94 Member
    edited July 2017
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    I am doing keto but I am a "vegetarian" (I eat fish now but I only eat salmon or tuna). I am not going overboard with the processed food, but I do like cheese. I will eat mostly fresh cheese from farmers markets and not all the processed cheese unless I really am hungry and its the only thing around. Most days I make a smoothie with pea protein powder, cacao, and coconut or almond milk for breakfast, have a big greek salad for lunch, and a piece of fish or veggie burger (made from pea protein not soy) for dinner with some salad and/or veggies and some cheese for a snack. I may also have a cheese omelette with spinach for lunch or dinner to mix it up. I also found a low carb yogurt that I love and I will have a cup of it that is 5 grams of carbs and have that with 2 tbsp. of nut butter as a snack.

    I will have cream in my coffee. I am not making fat bombs or those crazy keto treats. I occasionally will do a bulletproof coffee.
  • DharmainHeels
    DharmainHeels Posts: 94 Member
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    erika_307 wrote: »
    Seems fine to me. I have been doing keto for 2 weeks now, and I feel the same way. It's so different to eat so many fats, and hard to grasp the concept that it's ok. But, I've lost 10 pounds so far, and feel a lot better already, so it can't be all bad. You could also try to focus more on healthy fats- avocados, nuts, salmon, healthy oils, etc.

    This is how I do my fat.

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