Keto recipes?

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I'm not sure how much fat, protein and carbs I'm supposed to be eating...Any easy go to meals or snacks? Advice?

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  • amymcaleavey1965
    amymcaleavey1965 Posts: 5 Member
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    I found lots of recipes on the internet- the diet doctor has a few and does peace, love and low carb... search for Keto setting for My Fitness Pal and adjust your nutritional needs so you can better keep track of what you need
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    A keto TDEE calculator can help.
    https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
    https://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/

    Most people keep carbs under 20-50g. That is often 5-10% of the macros.

    Protein is usually moderate at 20-30%.

    Fat fills in the rest.

    My advice is to increase sodium to at least 3000-5000 mg a day. There is 2300 mg of sodium in a teaspoon of salt so that's roughly 2 teaspoons a day or more. Most people get their sodium by liberally salting food and drinking salty broth, eating a tsp of salt with water, using salt tablets, or making a "keto-ade" from mio drinks.

    Try the Low Carber Daily and Keto MFP groups for more support. Really good groups.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1143-keto
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group
  • LoGetsFit120
    LoGetsFit120 Posts: 8 Member
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    I’ve been using a lot of recipes from ketokarma.com everything I’ve cooked has been so delicious!! @nvmomketo I hope this isn’t a dumb question but how come you’re saying to increase sodium? For me at least if I have too much sodium I retain so much water, but I am fairly new to Keto so I’m curious.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    I’ve been using a lot of recipes from ketokarma.com everything I’ve cooked has been so delicious!! @nvmomketo I hope this isn’t a dumb question but how come you’re saying to increase sodium? For me at least if I have too much sodium I retain so much water, but I am fairly new to Keto so I’m curious.

    @LoGetsFit120 As a general rule, when you lower carbs your insulin will then fall. Insulin is responsible for water retention. As you lose water due to lower insulin levels you will lose electrolytes along with it - mainly sodium. The 3000-5000 mg is recommended for the average person so getting at least that amount is important to keep you healthy.

    If electrolytes get low, the symptoms are headaches, fatigue, brain fog, nausea, BM issues, moodiness and muscle aches. If electrolytes (sodium) is not replaced then potassium and magnesium will be leeched out and become low too. If you start getting muscle cramps, you know potassium is now low and you've let it go too long.

    TBH, I could not believe that I needed that much sodium either. I eased into low carb and keto over a few weeks, and I still remember the big headaches and moodiness that went along with it. After 3 nights of muscle cramps, I finally added sodium to my diet (teaspoon of salt) and my symptoms started to resolve within a day.

    Keto will probably be good for helping you lose water weight, but do increase your sodium, especially if you get symptoms of an electrolyte imbalance.
  • LoGetsFit120
    LoGetsFit120 Posts: 8 Member
    edited January 2018
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    @nvmomketo that makes total sense! I’m actually experiencing all of those symptoms right now. I’ll have to make sure I start adding more sodium tomorrow. Have you noticed any differences in weight loss since adding more?
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    @LoGetsFit120 I did not notice any real change in weight loss with salt. Perhaps I lost a bit faster when I was low in electrolytes and retaining less water, but adding sodium did not slow my losses down... I was fortunate to have fairly fast losses with losing 1-4 lbs a week (usually 2).

    Even if my losses had slowed a lot, it would have just been the difference of water weight, and not fat. I wanted to lose fat and not water. ;) KWIM?

    I hope your symptoms resolve soon!