Starting Keto!

brendabryden wrote: »

I have been researching the Ketos diet and thinking about giving it a try, but don't know where to begin as far as what to eat. I normally eat a lot of fruit during the day and I understand I should stop that. So now I am trying to figure out what to replace it with. My normal routine is to start with a fruit smoothie every morning, mid morning fruit snack, big lettuce/tuna salad for lunch and apple and cheese stick for afternoon snack. Then meat, fruit and veggies for my evening meal.

I do not have a lot of time to cook special meals and have gotten very confused reading all the info.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

You might want to start with low carb (less than 100-150 g of carbs a day). Start with cutting sugars and added sugars, and refined carbs like baked goods and noodles. Grains are all carb heavy so limit oats, corn and rice too. See how that goes. If you want to go lower carb, limit starchy root vegetables and then start with sugary fruit like dried fruit or tropical fruit (raisins, bananas, mangos, grapes).

It is true that ketogenic diets do not include much fruit, perhaps some berries, a small orange or half an apple, but fruits are not bad for you unless you have health issues where limiting sugars and carbs is beneficial (like insulin resistance or other health issues).

newmommyk wrote: »

Hey! Sooo I’m starting keto. Day 1, today. I’ve literally stalked Pinterest for ideas and it’s definitely something I want to adhere to. My goal is to stick to it until Christmas and re-evaluate at that time. Is it for me? Is it sustainable? Anyone else doing keto? Anyone starting? Jut wanted to start the conversation and meet fellow keto-people!

@newmommyk best of success. It has been awesome for my general health since Oct 2014 in my case when I was 63 and very sick. Consider giving it at least 90 days because my first 3-12 months was kind of strange but I was old and very poor health.

Three years later I no longer treat it like a religion but eat Keto 99% of the time but do not sweat if I do go over 50 grams of carbs a day time to time. I find the blood keto levels are not really something to be concerned about for health improvements. I did it for pain management that kicked in after the first 30 days of getting off of sugar and all grains and still manages my pain well. While I did not do it to lose weight I am down 40 pounds over the past three years. The big surprise was my sweets cravings started to fade after a few weeks and were mostly gone by day 90 so eating until I hurt several times a week ended. For some reason on LCHF I get filled up and would gag to take another bite but not so with sweets when I was still eating them.

Yes the first two weeks of no sugar and no grains in any form was hellish in my case. Again my objective was pain manage for my long term Ankylosing Spondylitis but the other positive side effects continue to stack up in my favor. It took me 40 years to get so messed up health wise so I know keto is going to take a while in my case to do what it can to help stop and/or reverse past damage.

Keto is not magic but if your body reacts poorly to a high carb life style as mine did then it can be worth a shot. If one is on Rx meds for any reason I strongly suggest involving one's healthcare professionals. One simple example would be a type 2 diabetic. Slashing carbs may naturally lead to better blood sugar control so diabetic meds WILL need to be monitored to keep from driving glucose levels dangerously low as one example.

Keep in mind for some of us any reduction in carbs can be helpful. The fact I started thinking about longevity helped me look at the big health picture which involves how I think, eat and move and in that order.

PS. It was day 45 before I lost the first pound on the scales but had already lost some of my fat face and one inch at the waist. I do not concern myself with calories but try to keep my daily carbs at around 50 most days but never really lower because I eat a lot of whole foods like nuts, etc that contain carbs. In hindsight cutting out sugar and all forms of all grains cut out most of the processed foods that I was living on which may be key to my continued lab and other health markers improvements.

Also remember there is more than one way to do KETO. The best way is a way that works for YOU, not me or someone else.

rutlanda wrote: »

Today is day one for me. I'm a newbie and a little overwhelmed. But gonna stick with it.

Don't for overwhelmed! Start basic because KETO and everything that can go along with it might seem overwhelming at first. Feel free to add me if you'd like!

FireflyKae wrote: »

I'm very curious in trying it! Any one have some good tips for someone who is just starting out and has never done it?! Or good websites that might help? I'll have to make some adjustments since I can't eat nuts or avocado so my fats might take a bit of work...

Having a concrete reason to try keto I think was key in my case. Three years in it is still managing my pain well and so much more. Now at age 66 I do not see myself eating any other way but I no longer worship it like a religion. I just do it because it is the best WOE I have found in my 66 years to manage my junk food cravings and resolve so many health issues.

Ok Peeps... This Keto thing has sparked my interest. Just had my yearly physical, and besides knowing I'm overweight, I need to cut back on the carbs. I'm a carb guy. I love my meat and potatoes. So I want to learn. Any good places to check this Keto thing out?

It looks like there are many people interested in trying the Keto thing. Could some of you that are already on it give us some pointers on things you ate when you first got started to help replace things like fruit and bad carbs?

I'm starting Keto on Monday. I'm on a limited budget and I'm trying to eat all the rest of the bad food in my house before I go shopping for groceries next week. I'm open to all tips and tricks.

DarnFam4 wrote: »

Ok Peeps... This Keto thing has sparked my interest. Just had my yearly physical, and besides knowing I'm overweight, I need to cut back on the carbs. I'm a carb guy. I love my meat and potatoes. So I want to learn. Any good places to check this Keto thing out?

Eat the meat, just not breaded meat. Skip the potatoes, though. Some make a mashed potato type recipe from cauliflower.

Day 5 almost done, today and yesterday I'm getting mild headaches but nothing too bad. I feel great other than that I weigh in tomorrow, I'll be excited to see if I'm down!

Checking in with everyone, how has it been going? I personally have had a few cheat days around christmas, new years, but I have stayed strong! Keto has helped me drop 20 pounds in about 3 months. It is an eating plan that really works for me and I'm glad I found it. I did get a routine checkup at the Dr. and my cholesterol is elevated, but I'm not worried because I read that being in ketosis can cause that to happen but that it isn't anything to worry about. Anyone else have updates? Progress?

I have been doing keto for six weeks and I am down 20lbs. After only a few days of keto I had far greater energy. Everything seemed to be a struggle before, and now I look for things to do. After 3 days, I dropped my candy fetish entirely (yea it's hard to believe for me too). I am now in much less pain in my joints, which had killed my last few attempts at getting on a consistent workout schedule. I had headaches every single day. I bought Advil in 2 packs of 500 at Costco. I usually had to start the day with them. Now six weeks in, I can't recall the last time I had a headache. I took Tums and Ranitidine every day, but I have not had either of them in at least a couple of weeks. Another benefit for me is that I have a much improved mood. I handle stress better, and things just don't get to me like they used to. I believe I had mild depression, and I don't even think about it now unless I am talking about this diet. Even though I loved bread and candy, I love the keto food too. They have keto recipes for both bread and candy, but I don't want to risk stirring up cravings that no longer exist for me. If they made keto beer, I would probably think about it... I have also read several comments from folks who get too enthusiastic about keto treats and end up gaining weight so I would avoid them except for special occasions if you are able.

That is all the good, what about the bad? Yea, it hasn't been super easy. It takes a bit to wrap your head around it all. My stomach wasn't convinced for maybe three weeks plus. I still occasionally get a disgruntled stomach. I am eating stuff like kale shakes (yea nasty) which I never did before so I am not surprised my stomach is wondering what the heck happened. I had keto flu on and off for those 3 weeks. Nothing severe, nothing bad enough to miss work or keep me from doing stuff. My stomach was just unsettled and I might have had a bit of sweats. I did have some headaches and felt tired at times too. I believe all these things can be mitigated with bone broth, electrolytes and probably potassium/magnesium. Honestly I never really cared. Not having to make daily "candy runs" had me sold right from the start. When the pain started going away after only a week or so, there was no going back for me. The diet is easy, but pretty sensitive. Little mess ups can set you back quite a bit. Cheating is unfortunately quite counterproductive which is a bit daunting.

I jumped right in with intermittent fasting 2 and sometimes 1 meal. How would I start if I were to do it over again? I would have bullet proof coffee first thing and skip any other food entirely until noon. Have meal one around noon and then have dinner before 8. Absolutely no snacking, and no alcohol. They both make food cravings worse. You just have to grind through it for a few days to a week and the cravings will go away. You will be amazed if you do it strictly. If you cheat, by eating carbs, or alcohol, you get to "enjoy" the cravings again. I would stick to that for 2 months and then reassess.

The food is simple really. Nothing in a box or a can. Fresh veggies (green leafy preferably, and/or grown above ground). Have all you want. They say have a "moderate" amount of protein, but if you like to eat, then moderate=small. Three to six ounces is plenty. So it ends up being less than 5-10% carbs, 60-70% fat and 25-30% protein. Just look up keto macro calculators when you want to figure how much of what exactly to eat. It is not necessary to get started, you can do that later. Use good fats like olive oil, avacado oil, or grass fed butter because they make up the majority of your calories. Meat should be fatty. Eat the skin, eat the yoke and enjoy (seriously). BTW, my blood pressure on average is down about 12 points while eating bacon, butter and cheese, lol.

If you like to read great then lots of good books have been mentioned above in prior posts. If you like videos then have a look at dietdoctor.com which was also mentioned. That is a really great site. If you like to lift weights and do keto, go to ketogains.com. Read/watch everything you can by Dr Jason Fung. Dr Berg has about a million youtube videos on nearly every keto/health related topic you can imagine. Understanding the role of insulin and insulin resistance is critical.

The sudden random decision to try out keto is about the best thing that has happened to me in 10 years. If you think I can help you, just ask! Best of luck to you all.

javarob66 wrote: »

I have been doing keto for six weeks and I am down 20lbs. After only a few days of keto I had far greater energy. Everything seemed to be a struggle before, and now I look for things to do. After 3 days, I dropped my candy fetish entirely (yea it's hard to believe for me too). I am now in much less pain in my joints, which had killed my last few attempts at getting on a consistent workout schedule. I had headaches every single day. I bought Advil in 2 packs of 500 at Costco. I usually had to start the day with them. Now six weeks in, I can't recall the last time I had a headache. I took Tums and Ranitidine every day, but I have not had either of them in at least a couple of weeks. Another benefit for me is that I have a much improved mood. I handle stress better, and things just don't get to me like they used to. I believe I had mild depression, and I don't even think about it now unless I am talking about this diet. Even though I loved bread and candy, I love the keto food too. They have keto recipes for both bread and candy, but I don't want to risk stirring up cravings that no longer exist for me. If they made keto beer, I would probably think about it... I have also read several comments from folks who get too enthusiastic about keto treats and end up gaining weight so I would avoid them except for special occasions if you are able.

That is all the good, what about the bad? Yea, it hasn't been super easy. It takes a bit to wrap your head around it all. My stomach wasn't convinced for maybe three weeks plus. I still occasionally get a disgruntled stomach. I am eating stuff like kale shakes (yea nasty) which I never did before so I am not surprised my stomach is wondering what the heck happened. I had keto flu on and off for those 3 weeks. Nothing severe, nothing bad enough to miss work or keep me from doing stuff. My stomach was just unsettled and I might have had a bit of sweats. I did have some headaches and felt tired at times too. I believe all these things can be mitigated with bone broth, electrolytes and probably potassium/magnesium. Honestly I never really cared. Not having to make daily "candy runs" had me sold right from the start. When the pain started going away after only a week or so, there was no going back for me. The diet is easy, but pretty sensitive. Little mess ups can set you back quite a bit. Cheating is unfortunately quite counterproductive which is a bit daunting.

I jumped right in with intermittent fasting 2 and sometimes 1 meal. How would I start if I were to do it over again? I would have bullet proof coffee first thing and skip any other food entirely until noon. Have meal one around noon and then have dinner before 8. Absolutely no snacking, and no alcohol. They both make food cravings worse. You just have to grind through it for a few days to a week and the cravings will go away. You will be amazed if you do it strictly. If you cheat, by eating carbs, or alcohol, you get to "enjoy" the cravings again. I would stick to that for 2 months and then reassess.

The food is simple really. Nothing in a box or a can. Fresh veggies (green leafy preferably, and/or grown above ground). Have all you want. They say have a "moderate" amount of protein, but if you like to eat, then moderate=small. Three to six ounces is plenty. So it ends up being less than 5-10% carbs, 60-70% fat and 25-30% protein. Just look up keto macro calculators when you want to figure how much of what exactly to eat. It is not necessary to get started, you can do that later. Use good fats like olive oil, avacado oil, or grass fed butter because they make up the majority of your calories. Meat should be fatty. Eat the skin, eat the yoke and enjoy (seriously). BTW, my blood pressure on average is down about 12 points while eating bacon, butter and cheese, lol.

If you like to read great then lots of good books have been mentioned above in prior posts. If you like videos then have a look at dietdoctor.com which was also mentioned. That is a really great site. If you like to lift weights and do keto, go to ketogains.com. Read/watch everything you can by Dr Jason Fung. Dr Berg has about a million youtube videos on nearly every keto/health related topic you can imagine. Understanding the role of insulin and insulin resistance is critical.

The sudden random decision to try out keto is about the best thing that has happened to me in 10 years. If you think I can help you, just ask! Best of luck to you all.

I also do intermittent fasting! It just seems to make sense for me, I have never been able to snack through the day, it just makes me even more hungry and its really hard to keep track of when trying to log your foods. Thanks for writing all of this out, you got a lot of great info in there! My keto decision was also sudden and random, and the best thing I have found. Even my sister is on her first month of it and she had been battling a severe sugar addiction. She still has cravings for it though, but she has stuck true to the diet and has lost almost 20lbs. Keto is amazing!