Anyone on Low Carb / Keto?

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Hallzeehall
Hallzeehall Posts: 38 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My doctor told me that basically the only way I will lose weight is to cut carbs. I have read multiple articles on low-carb and keto diets and have been eating low carb for 2 weeks now. I feel better, but haven't weighed myself to see if any pounds have come off. Just curious if others are doing this, how many carbs do you feel is a safe number per day, and any general info you would like to share. Thanks!

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  • FlyingMolly
    FlyingMolly Posts: 490 Member
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    I’ve been doing keto for January, although I’m thinking of keeping it going, or at least doing it intermittently. I make carbs account for 5-10% of my daily calories (that’s 15-30 net carbs on a 1200 kcal diet and 25-50 for 2000 kcal).

    Keto isn’t fat-melting magic, but it’s stopped my mindless snacking, emotional eating, and treat-sneaking cold. I have consistent, level energy instead of spikes and dips, and the other day I ate a quarter-cup of beets and they legit tasted like candy, so I see a lot of upside.
  • AbbyY77
    AbbyY77 Posts: 5 Member
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    Me! I am on day 2 of this round of keto, I had done the keto diet last year for 7 weeks, and lost 18 pounds. I felt so amazing, the biggest benefits I see on the keto diet is mental clarity, increased energy, and decreased IBS symptoms. There are SO many variations of the diet, and it's hard to find answers because everyone believes their way is the best way so my biggest advice to you: listen to your body. I know that is super cliché, but that is really the only way it will work for you. I would suggest doing a lot of research, find the game plan that fits you and your lifestyle best and start there. Then depending on how your body reacts you can adjust the plan how you see fit. While some may be able to stay in ketosis while consuming 30 grams of carbs, others will get out of ketosis by consuming 25. While some may be able to eat 150 grams of fat, some may only be able to handle 100 without adverse effects etc.

    For myself (take it or leave it :smile: ) I found it easiest to start off by only tracking your net carbs and making sure that you are under 20 grams of carbs a day. Net carbs are carbs minus fiber, because fiber is awesome! Many people refer to this as "lazy keto" because you aren't tracking calories or the other macros. The only reason I suggest this starting off is because going from high carb to almost no carb is a huge change and can be super overwhelming. Counting net carbs only is a really good stepping stone between tracking all macros. BUT, if you wish to start off tracking everything, I HIGHLY recommend tracking on Myfitnesspal, it really is the best calorie/macro tracker I have found. I would also recommend finding a keto macro calculator. Based on your height, weight, age, body fat % and activity level it will give you a really good range as to what you should be consuming in a day.

    Last piece of advice: and you're not going to like it. Most of your carbs should be from vegetables. It's not fair, because you only have 20 of them, I know. Vegetables provide so many wonderful nutrients, it will make you FEEL amazing, I promise.

    Please let me know if you have any other questions. I love talking about keto and I can surely let you know of my experiences/outlooks on things.

    One more thing! I absolutely love this couple on youtube that does weekly videos about the keto lifestyle. Their page is called KetoConnect, I learned a lot from them and actually based my approach off of what they do.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Hallzeehall wrote: »
    My doctor told me that basically the only way I will lose weight is to cut carbs. I have read multiple articles on low-carb and keto diets and have been eating low carb for 2 weeks now. I feel better, but haven't weighed myself to see if any pounds have come off. Just curious if others are doing this, how many carbs do you feel is a safe number per day, and any general info you would like to share. Thanks!

    It depends on if you're just wanting to do low carb or you want to do keto...keto is ultra low carb and for whatever reason, it seems to be some kind of race to go as low as you can go every year...it used to be 50 grams or less and now everyone is doing 20 grams or less...pretty soon people will be eating nothing but fat and protein if the trend continues.

    I consider low carb to be anything below about 130 grams of carbohydrate.

    In regards to how many carbs are safe per day? There's nothing unsafe about carbohydrates and there are a lot of nutritionally awesome sources of carbohydrates.
  • dre3314
    dre3314 Posts: 2 Member
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    Keto "diet" can be very useful with some medical conditions, such as seizure disorder or for folks who need to lose a large amount of weight. It's not something that one should do long term as you're eating a high fat/high protein diet which can cause its own set of issues for a normal person. Carbs are not bad, folks. It's a matter of finding the right nutrition balance that works for your body and activity level. Eat clean, eat fruits and vegetables, eat quality proteins, eat some carbs! Carbohydrates are necessary for energy, brain function, digestion, fueling muscles, heart, and your central nervous system. There is no "quick fix"...too much of anything is not good, so again, find your balance.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
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    I'd get a new doctor.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    Quite frankly, your doctor is an idiot.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    I've been doing keto for over a year and a half now but lost a bunch of weight using MFP and doing more IIFYM kind of eating... I love keto for the mood benefits and how I feel - no GI distress, lots of energy, never hungry etc. It's definitely not the only way to lose weight and if you aren't committed 100% and go back and forth you can probably make matters worse. It's not low carb, though... it's high fat low carb. It's moderate protein, which is important. It's not Atkins... it's not all steak and bacon.
  • kjongeward
    kjongeward Posts: 3 Member
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    I don't think that your doctor is correct, although I don't know anything about your health or weight or history or anything. Cutting carbs isn't the "only" way to lose weight, but it's a great jumping off point. Keto is more about a lifestyle change though, because if you lose the weight and then go back to eating non-keto, you will probably gain it all back. You can lose weight with a calorie defecit, period. I've seen many people have great success on Keto, and I'm also doing it, but I'm trying to do more than just lose weight; I want to stop the snacking and the sugar and the carbo LOADING (because, dear LORD I love bread). I've been doing it since the beginning of the month and I feel really good! But it's definitely a learning process. You can start slowly reducing carbs if your diet is heavily carbs now (20-50), I usually stick with ~20g/day. You want your carbs to come from vegetables mostly. I highly recommend this site for info: https://www.ruled.me/

    But like I said, this needs to be a lifestyle change, not just a "fast fix".

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