Keto Failure

newjeans150 wrote: »

bbell1985 wrote: »

Are you in ketosis? Are you in a calorie deficit? I mean, the deficit is what is important if you want to lose weight. I could get into ketosis and be in maintenance easily.

bbell, the dietdoctor site said do not worry about calories, so I followed their menus exactly eating the portion I was supposed to. I did not log at all. I think I will try logging. I just joined mfp last night out of sheer frustration. Maybe this will help. Thanks.

Dietdoctor.com is a good way to describe to a person who has never eaten low-carb before the kinds of food you can eat. It has good recipes. LCHF might be overwhelming because it is so different. So I advise for some people to spend the 1st week or so just counting carbs. In fact, some people can go many weeks doing "lazy keto," a.k.a. just counting carbs. This is because it can naturally create a calorie deficit due to the types of food restricted. The problem with the site is this: they are banking on EVERYONE who eats low-carb getting some super-satiety that will carry them through the whole time. While many do develop this satiety, few keep it for the duration. I didn't. That's why I'm here on MFP and have been since August of 2015.

After 3 months of lazy counting, I hit a plateau. As you lose weight, your energy needs decrease, since you're sustaining life for a smaller weight/LBM, so the amount necessary to intake decreases. I needed to eat less. I had to start logging all my food and counting calories. This happens to most. It is rare even for those who get the super-satiety to keep it forever. It happens. But far less often than the Keto Cults posit. Also, hunger comes back in most cases. For myriad reasons, many people just can't count on their hunger cues. In these instances, you have to rely on calorie counting tools to keep you losing weight. You eat more food than your body burns, you gain. That's biology. Every body is different; so their energy balance is different. That's why just eating whatever their recipe says is a serving can cause trouble. Are you 5'0" or are you 6'0"? Are you mid-20s or mid-50s? Are you sedentary or are you active? This is going to affect how much you are able to eat to lose, maintain, or gain weight.

This is why if I recommend Dietdoctor at all, it's with the calorie deficit caveat attached. I also do not like the "personalities" that they have associated themselves with. And don't get me started on the paywall! Plainly put, they Funged it up.

So make the recipes. They're good by all the accounts I have heard. I don't bother with recipes. I basically just cook a meat and a veggie with spices and chow down. But I ain't got time for Foodie-foolin', but if you have the time and enjoyment of cooking to do that, that's great. Just enter them into MFPs recipe-gadget and count them. Follow their food recommendations. They are a good illustrations of your available options. But since you aren't losing, then you need to resolve to eat less on your own (reduce your portion), or to input what you eat into MFP's diary and count your calories.

If you like the food and how it makes you feel, continue to do LCHF. If you don't and find it hard to sustain, then just use MFP and eat the foods you enjoy in moderation (portion control).

I stuck with LCHF because I have diabetes on both sides of the family, including high BP and cholesterol issues. I developed gestational diabetes that did not leave after the birth of my youngest. I had to go LCHF for awhile to get my a1c to come down. (Of course the doc said, "you're cured," and I went back to eating myself to death.) Later when I came back to LCHF/keto: I liked the food, it gave me great energy, and I found the limits placed upon me sustainable, since my problem was with overeating sweets and starchy foods. That's the key to this thing: Consistency (of deficit) + Persistence (regardless of obstacle-because life is a jerk) + Time.

Hope that clears it up for you.
If you decide to stick with it, and you'd like a place to talk shop and get support for your eating plan and find other advice and information, we have a good group going here:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum-the-lcd-group