Starting Keto!

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!