Advice from experienced Keto-ers??

Lalasouli
Lalasouli Posts: 34 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
So I decided about a week ago that enough was enough and to go on a serious diet. I am about 163.5lbs and I want to lose 30lbs, give or take. I had two children within two years and it has been hard losing the baby weight (not to mention I gained 70+ with each pregnancy). This first time it was easy to lose and i lost all but about 10lb within a year. It's been coming off really slow this time which is why I decided to do this. I had been watching what I ate but not really making any serious progress.

I've been following what I think is a ketogenic diet for almost a week now. I feel great. I'm not completely sure if I'm eating all the right stuff, though.

I guess the main confusions that I have are:

a. How many grams of fat should I be eating total?
b. How many calories overall?
c. I know you are supposed to eat anywhere from 20-50 net carbs. If I added a fiber supplement once a day (4g carbs) how would I factor that into my carbs vs. net carbs?
d. How much cheese and dairy is ok? I generally have anywhere from 2-4 oz of (full fat) cheese a day. I have two cups of coffee in the morning with 1/2 tsp of coconut oil and about 1-2 tbs half and half. Should I switch to heavy cream??
e. What is the difference between refined and unrefined coconut oil?

I've been eating anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 calories a day at about 65% fat, 30% protein and %5 carbs...is this a correct ratio? I tend to eat just when I'm hungry which I haven't been as much on this diet. I have been working out about 3 days a week or as much as I can. I also just am extremely active with two small children.

I don't expect all my questions answered by any one person (...lol...sorry for being so long winded!) but any insight at all would be helpful,
Thank you!!

Replies

  • cindytoronto
    cindytoronto Posts: 13 Member
    You might have more luck in the low carb group. There is lots of great info there.
  • Lalasouli
    Lalasouli Posts: 34 Member
    Oh ok...I've never really used this thing so thanks
  • cindytoronto
    cindytoronto Posts: 13 Member
    I am new to the community section as well. I can't even tell you how to find the low carb group, but I did. You have to ask permission to join but don't let that stop you. Good luck
  • Sloth2016
    Sloth2016 Posts: 838 Member
    cindytoronto wrote: »
    You might have more luck in the low carb group. There is lots of great info there.

    Agreed. Here is a link: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group

    Best of luck :smile:
  • sweatequityAZ
    sweatequityAZ Posts: 12 Member
    so I've been doing keto for 5.5 months now and have dropped 55 lbs. Low fat and low cal worked for me in my 20's but not in my forties! I highly suggest ruled.me website for great starter info as that's how i got up to speed after my dr suggested keto in march. There are keto calculators that will help you determine your appropriate macros and as far as the fiber supplement goes generally speaking you subtract out fiber carbs rom total carbs so that may not have any impact on your daily totals.
    I myself in th first month was around 1600-1800 calories a day until my body settled in and i found stuff I liked to eat. I would keep my net carbs to between 20 and 30 grams a day. As time went by I found that I was eating more like 1200-1300 calories a day because the high fat content of my meals kept me feeling full.
    I hit a plateau for a month but otherwise lose around 3 lbs a week on average. I have a very active job where I'm always walking around so I don't really "work out" per se.
    Hope this help. Check out the amazing recipes on ruled.me! The dude is a keto magician!
  • jordancoffer1994
    jordancoffer1994 Posts: 1 Member
    Hi,

    Did keto a year ago and loved it, just found it hard to sustain working in hospitality. Finally out and getting back to it....

    a. Your fat intake should be approximately 70-75% of your total caloric intake.
    b. This is dependent on your TDEE and varies depending on a number of factors. A good way to work this out is here: https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/
    c. Your net carbs is your total carbs minus your fiber intake, so by taking a fiber supplement you'd be offsetting the net carbs by the ingested fiber
    d. I'ms not too sure about the cheese hopefully someone else has some insight. For the coffee i'd recommend bullet proof coffee if you can make it, it's a good way to increase fat intake and the energy levels are phenomenal.
  • Lalasouli
    Lalasouli Posts: 34 Member
    Thank you for the help everyone :):)
  • fjmartini
    fjmartini Posts: 1,149 Member
    [quote="jordancoffer1994;c-40340255"
    c. Your net carbs is your total carbs minus your fiber intake, so by taking a fiber supplement you'd be offsetting the net carbs by the ingested fiber
    [/quote]

    This is wrong. Taking a fiber supplement will not offset your net carbs for the day. For example if your net carbs for the day is 20g and you take a fiber supplement with 4g of fiber, your carbs don't reduce to 16 grams of net carbs.
  • Lalasouli
    Lalasouli Posts: 34 Member
    fjmartini wrote: »
    [quote="jordancoffer1994;c-40340255"
    c. Your net carbs is your total carbs minus your fiber intake, so by taking a fiber supplement you'd be offsetting the net carbs by the ingested fiber

    This is wrong. Taking a fiber supplement will not offset your net carbs for the day. For example if your net carbs for the day is 20g and you take a fiber supplement with 4g of fiber, your carbs don't reduce to 16 grams of net carbs.[/quote]

    See that's what confused me! Should I count it as nothing or as 4g (which is how much mine has)? Or should I just not enter it in my diary at all?
  • fjmartini
    fjmartini Posts: 1,149 Member
    laurascameronsouli wrote: »
    fjmartini wrote: »
    [quote="jordancoffer1994;c-40340255"
    c. Your net carbs is your total carbs minus your fiber intake, so by taking a fiber supplement you'd be offsetting the net carbs by the ingested fiber

    This is wrong. Taking a fiber supplement will not offset your net carbs for the day. For example if your net carbs for the day is 20g and you take a fiber supplement with 4g of fiber, your carbs don't reduce to 16 grams of net carbs.

    See that's what confused me! Should I count it as nothing or as 4g (which is how much mine has)? Or should I just not enter it in my diary at all?[/quote]

    Essentially count it as nothing. The only time to count fiber is when food has it in it already. Say a sports drink has 8 total carbs and 5 of those carbs are fiber; your net carbs would then be 8-5 to equal 3 net carbs.
  • Legalee
    Legalee Posts: 7 Member

    a.Have you used a macro calculator? KetoDiet has one
    b.That will depend on your specific stats and if you want to lose moderate, etc calculator will give you options
    c. My carbs are changing as I lose so you can't just say between 20-50. I stay under the 20, and as low as possible Fibre supplements don't figure into the calculations

    d. Heavy cream doesn't have the sugar that 1/2 & 1/2 has. I would switch. You can eat cheese just be careful each cheese is different, the food list here is pretty good with the carb counts.

    I've been eating anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 calories a day at about 65% fat, 30% protein and %5 carbs...is this a correct ratio? -This really depends on your macros. Once they are calculated you aim for the protein , stay under the carbs and use fat to satisfy your hunger.
    Hope this helps.
  • Lalasouli
    Lalasouli Posts: 34 Member
    Legalee wrote: »

    I've been eating anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 calories a day at about 65% fat, 30% protein and %5 carbs...is this a correct ratio? -This really depends on your macros. Once they are calculated you aim for the protein , stay under the carbs and use fat to satisfy your hunger.
    Hope this helps.

    Thank you! This makes total sense and I was sorta "winging it" before based on how I had read this works. I'm eating too much protein and not enough fat and I realize that now.
  • Antaste
    Antaste Posts: 20 Member
    Hmm.
    a) and b) Depends. I would suggest using ketogains calculator (https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/) to figure out your macros and calories. Keto diet doesn't have to be crazy high fat - it only needs to be low carb.
    c) Also depends. I feel the best when I'm eating under 20g net carbs, anything over that makes me feel like *kitten*. You need to figure out what amount makes you feel good. But yeah, I would say that 50g is Def a maximum.
    d) And again, it depends. As long as it fits your macros and doesn't make you feel bad, any amount of cheese and/or diary is fine.
    You can have half and half, you can have coconut oil, butter, MCT oil, etc. or nothing - whatever you like best and whatever fits your macros.
    e) Well, I'm my opinion it's just a matter of preference. If you like coconut' taste/smell, chose unrefined. If you don't like it, chose refined.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    If you're serious, log your food intake correctly and hit your calorie goal every day. You can eat any food you like and lose weight. Weight loss is slow, so whatever method you use, you have to do it for a long time. What method sounds least difficult/boring/restrictive to you? What can you do for as long as it takes? Which way of eating will not make you feel deprived so you overeat later?

    Diets are restrictive and designed to make you fail so someone can cash in on you repeatedly. Don't go on a diet.
  • Catawampous
    Catawampous Posts: 447 Member
    Remember your sodium. Fat macro is for satiety only. Don"t drink the fat. It isnt necessary unless YOU like it like that.
  • janethewittatl
    janethewittatl Posts: 6 Member

    I am 6 weeks in and down 14.2 lbs. I am a premium member of MFP and I wish it was populated with more access to Ketogenics information.

    Become a premium member on MFP so you have full access and be sure to go by (%) percentages not calories, it is a necessity to track your progress...AND DRINK, DRINK, DRINK AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF WATER!

    Also, look up dietdoctor.com it has helped me navigate Keto better than anything else. It has amazing recipes, quick reference visuals, and a tremendous amount of expert advise. I am also a premium member of DD.

    Again, I am 6 weeks in and I have lost 14.2 pounds...quite honestly the low carb forum is just for that!!! Low carb and a true Keto diet are similar...but...so different, it could cost you progress.

    I do not know everything by any means, but there are certified and degreed experts who do and rely on that to find out what works best for your body and your lifestyle.

    You have to 1st figure out your true macros and there are calculators; search google chrome and use at least 2-3 to make sure you have an educated average.

    I have a trainer and she adjusted my intake to the following: 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbs. In week 2 after the adjustment the fat just started falling off.

    Seems like you are small and only want to lose 22% of your current body weight, so you will need to be very persistent and intentional in following and tracking!

    Sounds like you are in the sweet spot of following through on this. I am happy for you that you made the decision to go for it! It is not easy, but it is worth it!
  • Lalasouli
    Lalasouli Posts: 34 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    If you're serious, log your food intake correctly and hit your calorie goal every day. You can eat any food you like and lose weight. Weight loss is slow, so whatever method you use, you have to do it for a long time. What method sounds least difficult/boring/restrictive to you? What can you do for as long as it takes? Which way of eating will not make you feel deprived so you overeat later?

    Diets are restrictive and designed to make you fail so someone can cash in on you repeatedly. Don't go on a diet.

    Ummm, yes I am serious. And, no. I won't fail just because I'm on a diet. Obviously you would have no way of knowing this but I used to be more overweight than I am now...about 190lbs. That was my highest weight. I got down to 128 through diet and exercise so believe me, I know it takes a long time but I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on what I can handle. There is no overeating or feeling of restriction. The diet is a good thing for me and it gives me a sense of control over my body.

    I don't know who exactly is "cashing in" off me but I'm doing this for me and only me. I hope I'm not sounding rude. I just don't think you understand exactly how much motivation and dedication I have. When I want to do something, I do it. No excuses.
  • Lalasouli
    Lalasouli Posts: 34 Member
    Catawampous wrote: »
    Remember your sodium. Fat macro is for satiety only. Don"t drink the fat. It isnt necessary unless YOU like it like that.

    Thank you! I was pretty concerned about not getting enough, but I read that getting too much protein and not enough fat can cause gluconeogenesis? You are probably familiar but it keeps your body in glucose burning mode instead of fat burning. I don't have any ketone urine tests but would this be an easy way to decipher whether or not I'm eating too much protein and be able to adjust accordingly?
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    Rule of thumb macros: 15% sugar & carbs; 45% protein; 40% fat.

    Know that over time you may get constipated if your carbs go below 100 grams -

    Check out Paleo Leap and Paleo Tribe for recipe ideas and "hacks".
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