Help choosing

Does keto make you happy?

Are you eating fewer calories than you expend? Keto or no keto, that's what has to happen. I know you have probably read all the stories about people who ate massive calories but still lost "because keto" but go on any LC board and you will see people as mystified as you that after the initial water whoosh, keto wound up being no different than anything else...they still had to ultimately eat less than they were expending.

So if you are not absolutely in love with keto all by itself, there is no reason to stick with it in the hopes of escaping CICO.

But if you do love it, stick with it...and start counting your calories.

Bkind2meAli wrote: »

I don't really love it or hate it. I just want it to work. I am serious about changing my lifestyle. I just feel like eating full fat products is not helping. I'm wondering is I can just do low fat and low carb. Not no fat and no carb...

Low fat and low carb is not a very good combination - it generally just ends up eating a ton of meat and constipation.

Keto is not necessary for weightloss. I choose to eat keto simply because I like how it makes me feel and I find the food very filling/satisfying. Fat is important under keto as it becomes the main 'fuel' for your body to burn.

However, it is just as successful as when I was eating 'in moderation' - all the food groups but fitting to my calories.

It really is a personal thing - I found 'in moderation' helpful for learning to log whilst staying under calorie limits and i've found keto helpful for my new goals. At the end of the day, regardless of what you are eating, your calorie intake will determine weightloss.

Try eating to your MFP calorie goal while meeting the nutritional macro goals that MFP has set.

If you over time find you like more protein, eat more, same with fat. Treat the fats and protein as minimums and top up your cals with carbs.

Don't make it difficult. It is the deficit that is important, not the style of eating.

Cheers, h.

Over the years I tried a couple different low carb diets including LCHP and LCHF and neither worked for me. First I found it too hard to reduce my carbs to the low levels requested, and second I just didn't lose weight. Neither of those diets I was on counted calories, only carbs and protein. I ended up eating huge amounts of high calorie fat trying to eat enough protein which raised my blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels even higher. Currently I have my macros set at 40% carbs/35% fat/ 25% protein and it works well for me. I eat 3 balanced meals per day including some carbs like bread, cereal, potatoes, grains, pasta, fruit and vegetables, plus several snacks in the afternoon and evening including sugar free desserts. Right now I'm enjoying a low cal. Margarita which never would have been possible with the low carb diets I tried. I rarely feel hungry, I enjoy what I'm eating, and I'm losing weight as predicted. I started with 2 lbs. per week and now that I've lost 15 lbs. I'm down to losing 1 lb. per week. As others have said, the only "trick" is to stay under your calorie budget on a daily basis or at least weekly average. I exercise or add extra activities to most days to add a few hundred extra calories and eat back about 100 of those. Mostly I use them as a buffer. Just find what works for you, but for CICO works.