Struggling on Keto

Welcome to all of our newest members!
This group was created to provide a supportive environment to those embarking on the ketogenic lifestyle among others who share similar goals and ideals.
While we do have members in maintenance as well as those who use keto for medical purposes, the goal for the majority of our members is fat loss. Below are a few key points we tend to stress in this group pertaining to fat loss.
MACROS: Macros stands for macronutrients which are the nutrients that make up the majority of our daily nutritional diet. Macros are Fat, Protein and Carbs. 1g of Carbs = 4 calories of energy, 1g of Protein = 4 calories of energy, 1g of Fat = 9 calories of energy.
KETO MACRO RATIOS: Weight loss ratios are 60-65% Fat / 30-35% Protein / 5% Carbs. Maintenance ratios are 70-75% Fat / 20-25% Protein / 5% Carbs.
For those who question the 60% fat ratio, please watch this video of Dr Berg who explains the correct weight loss macro ratio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M23vP6GAovg
or this video by dr phinney https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk0U006YZ2w&sns=em
@3:55 "whats on your plate is more like 40% protein" (1400 calories @ 40% protein = 140 grams of protein )
@8:10 "this is a typical maintenance intake" (note the ratios are 75% fat / 20% protein)
or search #macromath in the group.
KETOSIS: Is a metabolic process in which the primary source of energy for the body comes from ketones. Instead of the body using glucose as fuel, eating a ketogenic diet allows the body to use ketones as fuel. Ketosis does not mean weight loss. Ketosis is achieved through the restriction of carbs, not the increase of digested fat.
CARBS: The restriction of carbs enables ketosis and for the body to produce ketones, the fuel your body runs on. To achieve ketosis, the body needs to be starved of carbohydrates. A recommendation of 25 net carbs or less per day to achieve and stay in ketosis. Eating less than 25 grams of carbs doesn't increase ketosis or speed up weight loss. By restricting carbs, we restrict our body's production of glucose and therefore insulin. Total carbs minus carbs from fiber are net carbs as fiber does not become glucose.
PROTEIN: Controls muscle gains and losses. It is a mandatory daily goal. Its a minimum that must be reached daily. Not reaching your protein daily will result in muscle losses. You should be consuming protein in proportion to your lean body mass, that is the weight of muscle on your body. The less muscle on your body the slower your metabolism will get and the harder it becomes to lose weight. Adults can eat up to 150g of protein per day without worry of kidney or liver problems, or worry about Gluconeogenesis (GNG).
FAT: Stored and consumed fat is the primary source of energy when in ketosis. Amounts of consumed fat controls weight loss. The less fat you consume, the more bodyfat is burned daily. If you eat too much fat, you will stall or gain weight on this diet. Its the #1 contributing factor to not losing weight. Only eat as much fat as needed to remain full and when possible, eat less fat to speed up weight loss results.
GLUCONEOGENESIS: Is a process in which your body creates glucose from stored fat and protein to feed critical body functions that cannot run on ketones. GNG is a demand driven process, not a supply driven process. Meaning, eating extra protein, for example, will not result in protein being turned into glucose. There is a big internet scare created by Jimmy Moore, author of Keto Clarity, scaring people of over eating protein and being kicked out of ketosis. This is completely false information and GNG only creates glucose as the body needs it. Once the body achieves the glucose levels required, Gluconeogenesis stops and all extra protein is converted to UREA and eliminated from the body.
EXERCISE: It is absolutely fine to exercise when on a ketogenic way of eating. At the beginning of ketosis your body is learning to use a completely new energy source, so energy may be low and workouts tiring. As your body gets better at creating and using ketones for energy you will see your energy return to normal if not improve greater than before keto. We recommend a light first two weeks before reincorporating your regular workout routine.
EXOGENOUS KETONES: We do not advocate in any way the use or sale of exogenous ketones. These supplements do NOT induce nutritional ketosis and they are not supported by this group. We will remove any post regarding their use or sale.
MACRO APPS: Many mobile and online applications help for tracking macros and food consumption. StupidSimpleKeto, SparkPeople and MyFitnessPal are just a few.
CHEAT POSTS: While we understand that sometimes we struggle and cheat with learning a new way of eating, we will remove pictures and posts reminiscing our old habits. Staring at a picture of cinnamon rolls can be a trigger to some and we find posting keto friendly meals to be a great alternative.
ELECTROLYTES: Are Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium and Sodium. Electrolytes are not optional and are vital to the human body. Gatorade and powerade are not a source of electrolytes. Proper electrolyte balance will combat keto flu symptoms.
Potassium: primary sources are Avocado, Spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms.
Magnesium: Primary sources are nuts and vegetables.
Sodium: Primary sources are salt
Calcium: Primary sources are cheese
Example Weight Loss Macros:
Carbs 25 grams = 100 calories
Protein 105 grams = 420 calories
Fat 80 grams = 720 calories
1240 Total Calories
Ratio 60%Fat/35%Protein/5%Carbs
Ketostix: Ketosis strips measure unused, excess acetoacetate (one of the ketones) in your urine. These strips are accurate at reading acetoacetate because that is what they are meant to do. Ketostix are not accurate at measuring your usable ketones because they were never intended to do so. The most accurate reading of ketosis and ketones is using a blood ketone meter. Any color indication on ketostix is a simple way to tell newcomers to keto that they have entered ketosis as you cant have excess ketones without ketosis.
Macro Calculator: Please use the keto gain macro calculator to get your specific macros.
https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/
Here's a great step-by-step video tutorial put together by one of our admins on how to use the keto calculator to figure out your macros
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ketoforbeginners/permalink/1706430379380554/
Use this link to estimate your body fat percentage
https://www.ruled.me/visually-estimate-body-fat-percentage/
Below are informative links that expand upon the bullet points above. We highly recommend checking them out.
( Please make sure you read through the Google docs link. Robert has put together everything you need here)
Keto Diet Resource Collection:
https://docs.google.com/…/17DBidCox_5gacZvJOR3j1PQuip…/edit…
Get in shape! ( New members are approved at the end of each month)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ketofitchallenge/
Getting started, keep it simple:
https://youtu.be/LGQVtd0FARc
Water retention in muscles:
http://www.livestrong.com/…/406332-do-muscles-retain-water…/
Understanding the difference between ketosis and fat adapted:
https://www.reddit.com/…/…/1jqgav/in_ketosis_vs_ketoadapted/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-fat…/
https://www.healthfulpursuit.com/…/11/signs-youre-fat-adap…/
About the whoosh:
https://www.carbsmart.com/outout.html
Importance of Protein:
https://youtu.be/TRcR0KvXWpA
If you prefer to read vs watch, here's the original article he refers to in the video
http://www.primaledgehealth.com/finding-your-optimal-prote…/
We don't advocate or allow the sales of any type of products. If someone from this group sends you a message and attempts to sell you something, please contact an admin and we will remove them from the group. If you maintain a blog or know of a group that you'd like to promote, please ask an administrator first. Anything resembling an attempt to gain followers or members without asking permission will be removed.
Last but not least we do not tolerate ANY rude or insulting behavior toward other members. Members who post or reply with disrespectful comments will be removed from the group without warning. In a group of over 33K, please be mindful of how you communicate online as tone can be difficult to discern. If you find something is getting out of hand, please tag or message an admin.
Please do not ask members to post their before and after pics for inspiration. Many produce pushers will steal your photos for their own promotions. To that point, if you'd like to share your progress consider watermarking or editing your photo so that others can't reuse them for their own gain.
If there are any specific questions you have that you would not like to share with the group, feel free to message one of our admins and moderators and we will see how we can help.

kommodevaran wrote: »

It sounds to me like you're doing great, but if you want to lose weight, or lose fat faster, you need to eat fewer calories - get into and stay in a calorie deficit. Diet composition (for instance, keto) just helps with satiety (possibly; this is individual) and thus adherence to calorie deficit. Set your calorie goal to weightloss, and log your food intake correctly, and you'll lose weight.

kommodevaran wrote: »

It sounds to me like you're doing great, but if you want to lose weight, or lose fat faster, you need to eat fewer calories - get into and stay in a calorie deficit. Diet composition (for instance, keto) just helps with satiety (possibly; this is individual) and thus adherence to calorie deficit. Set your calorie goal to weightloss, and log your food intake correctly, and you'll lose weight.

mearsrw01 wrote: »

So I'm a keto novice and I have been attempting to do a keto diet for almost 5ish months now and I dropped from 270lbs to 259lbs but I have stayed in the 265-270lb range since then and have remained patient.

I am using myfitnesspal to track my meals with macros of 5% carbs 75% fats and 20% protein. I usually go just over on carbs and protein but I fall short about 90g of fats on a daily basis which is where I think is one of my problems. I also still have a calorie goal of 2,149 which I got from a macro calculator. I have recalculated macros several times after reading far too much into keto diets and how to train properly.

I am 6'3" and 25% body fat with an active job in a tile warehouse lifting tile all day and still going to the gym and lifting heavy and doing cardio 3-5 times a week. I am noticing changes in the mirror like my stomach is smaller and I look leaner and I am seeing a little bit more muscle compared to when I started. I feel like I should be in the mid 240s by now but I still can't stay under the 260 mark. It seems like I am building muscle while burning fat when I would like to primarily focus on the fat burning.

Help?

Psychgrrl wrote: »

tammyd_white wrote: »

I don't agree that calories need to be reduced or even kept track of. If you are eating enough fat, you will be satiated without eating too many calories.

This is not true for all folks. Some, yes, but not all. People can overindulge and wipe out a deficit on things like cheese or peanut butter.

tammyd_white wrote: »

I don't agree that calories need to be reduced or even kept track of. If you are eating enough fat, you will be satiated without eating too many calories.

What I read from you was that you go over on carbs and protein pretty often - which means you are probably getting kicked out of ketosis. Through a process called gluconeogenesis, you body will convert excess protein to glucose (carbs) and so if you have excess of both carbs and protein, you are probably burning glucose instead of keytones. You need to focus on reducing the carbs and protein. I personally like this calculator: http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/keto-calculator/ Also, House of Keto has their breath keytone monitors on sale for just $27. Breath monitors are nice because you never have to purchase more strips, etc. You have to do your research on the conversion of the values, but I have one and pretty much if I'm blowing at least a .2, I'm in ketosis. If I've done a really good job of eating tons of fat, I am sometimes a .6 in the evening, but everyone is different. I've even been a .8 before...But higher does not necessarily mean better. Just having keytones is good enough. My husband gets his highest numbers in the AM, mine are highest at night..You have to play with it a bit, but unlike the urine strips, you will continue to make the breath keytones. https://www.houseofketo.com/collections/all-products

If you focus on the fat in each meal and snack, you should get enough. For example, don't have more grams of protein than fat in any snack or meal. If you have at least equal, that will mean you have more calories from fat than protein already. Avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, heavy cream, animal fats - one or more of those should be a big part of every meal. That means non-starchy veggies and meats cooked in liberal amounts of those fats and/or swimming in hollandaise/bearnaise type sauces. Diced avocados topping anything you can. Heavy cream/coconut cream sauces like curries should be a common meal. Bullet proof coffees if you like coffee, bullet proof hot tea also works, heck even bullet proof hot chocolate could work with some stevia. (Though sweet things are a bit of a trigger for me, so I try to leave those for only special occasions). Some snack/meal ideas that are fat heavy: guacamole with celery and pork skins as the 'chips', chorizo and eggs topped with avocado, poached eggs with spinach and hollandaise sauce, butter boiled scallops with bearnaise covered broccoli, coconut cream curried chicken over riced cauliflower cooked with tons of butter and coconut manna, bacon wrapped jalapeno and shrimp with garlic butter and guacamole dipping sauces, pork ribs with low carb sauce (there are tons of recipes out there) and bacon butter brussels sprouts, garlic butter baked salmon with hollandaise covered asparagus and a side salad with caesar dressing.

Be careful to not eat too many nuts, those can knock you out of ketosis, despite their fat content. If you want to eat nuts, macadamia and pecans are best for fat content, but still don't go over board. Also artificial sweeteners can kick you out of ketosis. So if you are having a lot of diet sodas, or other artificially sweetened drinks/treats, they can cause plateaus. Too much fruit can also cause trouble. Really, the only fruit I eat is pretty much blackberries, and really only a few berries per day. Also, if you eat low carb pastas/breads, while they are lower in carbs, they are still often high enough to cause problems for trying to stay in ketosis.

In general I eat a Paleo Keto diet. I used to eat cheeses, but I found they were causing issues for me. So the only dairy I have now is butter and a little bit of heavy cream (because it's pretty much all fat like butter) in my coffee and in some sauces.

To eyeball it, if you make your plates (by volume, I mean looking at the plate) at least half non starchy veggies like broccoli, brussels sprouts, green beans, asparagus, salad greens, etc. Then about a quarter of it is a fatty protein source like pork, fatty cuts of beef, dark meat fowl with the skin, fatty fish, etc. Then have a fat source covering/cooked into/topping it all (like the sauces, diced avocado, etc). You will probably be pretty close to your macros.

And I have recipes ideas for my suggestions, and I can (attempt!) to convert something you really like to a keto friendly version. If you (or anyone on this thread) want help with that, just reply here. I've gotten fairly good at converting, but you have to be flexible with what you are wanting. I'm starting over with baked goods though. All my recipes were based on the fathead dough which is made with cheese....which I've given up now...