Keto Diet - Should I try it?
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kendramnolan
Posts: 14 Member
HI, I'm 5'1" just looking to lose 18lbs. I just started counting my calories and am toying with the idea of keto. I would be in dire need of support and recipes as pasta and potatoes are staples in my house. I'm curious about how quickly the weight comes off and how healthy that would be. If anyone has any info or just wants to chat and motivate eachother let me know!
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no19
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firecat1987 wrote: »no
Would you mind telling my why? I'm genuinely looking for information and would like to hear the reasons from both sides. Thanks!0 -
Keto diets do work but the problem with keto diets is if you suddenly go from a high amount of carbs to a very low amount of carbs, you will plateau. Protein and fat are very important and should not be skimped on so if you suddenly drastically cut carbs the only calories you can cut when you do plateau are from protein and fat. It is recommended to gradually decrease calories from carbs until you get to keto level so you don’t risk having to cut calories from protein and fat as well as preventing a plateau.32
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I have been eating low carb/keto for over a year, the best thing I have done. Before you start, make sure you do your research. It will be a struggle, as going from sugar burning body to fat burning it will be a major change. However, once your body adjusts, you will love it, I think. Even though I love keto (which for me is under 24g of carbs per day) it does not mean it will work for you, when it comes to nutrition, it is not a "size-fits-all" type of deal. I would strongly recommend trying Robb Wolf's Ketomasterclass, it is great. You can try with ketogains.com to see your maco goals... a food scale and MFP will become your best pals.11
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kendramnolan wrote: »HI, I'm 5'1" just looking to lose 18lbs. I just started counting my calories and am toying with the idea of keto. I would be in dire need of support and recipes as pasta and potatoes are staples in my house. I'm curious about how quickly the weight comes off and how healthy that would be. If anyone has any info or just wants to chat and motivate eachother let me know!
Are you prepared to give up those staples indefinitely? No? Then don't bother, honestly. I'm a carb-lover and no amount of keto substitutions would scratch that itch. I lose 20lbs with keto, then regained it when I returned to carbs. Now I've lost the same 20lbs again with plain old calorie counting, enjoying as many carbs as my heart desires!
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The best way to lose weight is whatever way you think you can stick with that puts you in a calorie deficit, and the best way to keep the weight off is to continue to eat less than you do now. You'll lose weight on keto at exactly the same rate you lose weight with any other diet - it all depends on calories. If you think you can stick to keto then go ahead and give it a try, but seeing as you say that pasta and potatoes are staples in your house, do you really think you want to try cutting most or all of them out for the rest of your life? It's perfectly possible to lose weight while eating pasta and potatoes - just eat less of them.20
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Keto can only work for the same reason as any other diet works: by creating a calorie deficit (you consume fewer calories than you burn). For some people, keto helps do this by managing hunger. No magic involved, a calorie deficit is the only way anyone loses weight.
Cutting carbs isn't necessary for weight kiss because carbs don't cause weight gain. Too many calories, from any source, over time cause weight gain.
When you cut carbs, you may see a drop of a few pounds in water weight in the beginning. This is not fat, and you will gain most/all of it back when you reintroduce more carbs to your diet.
If you enjoy carbs and they are a large component of your diet, keto may not be for you. The good news is you can lose weight by using this app as intended, setting up a realistic goal, weighing your food, eating all types of food while sticking to the calorie target set for you. Good luck!10 -
To lose weight, you have to cut calories. Calories come from fat, protein and carbs. Keto is extremely low carb and high fat, so it's a way to cut calories, just like calorie counting is a way to cut calories. Weight, as in fat, does not come off faster on keto. You lose more water weight, initially.
Whatever method you choose, you have to do it consistently, for real, and for a long time. Caving, cheating and giving up is something you should aim to avoid. If you live on pasta and potatoes, it sounds like keto is a bad match for you.5 -
Would be interested to know what appeals to you about it as it seems a very odd choice of diet based on your stated food preferences?
As for speed to weight loss, you might get an initial water weight loss out of proportion to your calorie intake but fat loss would be in line with your calorie deficit long term - just like any other diet.
Like other diets it can be healthy or unhealthy, that depends on you rather the the diet umbrella you choose to operate under.
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I love it. It’s a lot more cooking, a lot more math, and kind of a pain in the neck at times, but I’ve never been able to control my eating before, and with keto I can. So I guess it kind of depends why you want to do it?
If you just want faster weight loss, be warned that most of the “extra” weight people lose from keto is just water weight. If you ever intend to eat carbs again, you’ll regain that as soon as you do.
If it’s because it’s trendy, I mean...sure, why not try? You can always change your mind if you hate it. I certainly expected to hate it, but it just kept growing on me.
If you want the magical, mythical, superpower-like benefits of ketosis, be advised those are often overstated. I’ve gone into ketosis four times since starting the diet, and the difference in experience between in and out is subtle at best.
If you’re a binge-eater who doesn’t feel like you are able to make healthy choices with food, I’d definitely recommend giving it a shot. That’s the hook that’s keeping me in this thing: I’m 37 and I don’t remember a time when I’ve been able to just leave treats uneaten. Now I’m the only one in my house on keto and I see all the snacks and junk and carb-heavy staple foods I know I love, but I just don’t feel like I have to eat them. Keto involves some sacrifices, but that alone makes them worth it to me.
And if you go to the Groups section, there’s a Low-Carbers Daily group where people aren’t so knee-jerk hostile about keto as they can be on the main forums.
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kendramnolan wrote: »HI, I'm 5'1" just looking to lose 18lbs. I just started counting my calories and am toying with the idea of keto. I would be in dire need of support and recipes as pasta and potatoes are staples in my house. I'm curious about how quickly the weight comes off and how healthy that would be. If anyone has any info or just wants to chat and motivate eachother let me know!
I found simply reducing carbs useful for weight loss. Practically eliminating them would be too stressful for me.14 -
Keto won't make you lose fat any faster. You'll lose more in the initial weeks, but that would be water weight due to the depletion of glycogen stores that hold on to water.
Ultimately it's your decision as to whether or not you should do keto if you aren't doing it for medical reasons. I didn't, I've ate pasta and potatoes within my calories goals while I lost, and had no issues.10 -
kendramnolan wrote: »HI, I'm 5'1" just looking to lose 18lbs. I just started counting my calories and am toying with the idea of keto. I would be in dire need of support and recipes as pasta and potatoes are staples in my house. I'm curious about how quickly the weight comes off and how healthy that would be. If anyone has any info or just wants to chat and motivate eachother let me know!
The weight comes off on a keto diet just like it does on any other diet of an equivalent number of calories, with the exception of a fast few pounds of water weight loss in the beginning as you deplete your body of carbs/glycogen. And it's no different than any other diet in that you have to be in a caloric deficit (eating less calories than you burn) to lose weight.
Keto helps some people because they find fat satiating - and keto is a high-fat diet, so it helps them adhere to their calorie goals. Some people with a high affinity for carbs also report that it helps prevent binging for them, because it removes virtually all carbs from their diet.
If pasta and potatoes are staples of your diet, you enjoy them and don't have any problems with them being triggers for overeating, I can't see any rational reason why you would try keto, or how it would offer any kind of advantage to you. I did a keto diet for nearly a year, about 20 years ago - I successfully lost weight on it, but I gave it up because tortillas (for various Mexican meals) and rice (for sushi) are two of my favorite foods and I couldn't see giving either of those up for life - or even for any long-term period, when there was no good reason to do so.11 -
it seems like a very extreme form of dieting for just starting. but if you like fat it could work, though i personally love carbs more4
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i have eaten low carb (<40 grams) since 2009 and switched from low carb to keto about 1 and a half years ago. it is a very easy way of eating to maintain. Physically i feel fantastic. your brain function will also change. Not that i never eat a piece of cake or a plate of pasta...but is rare and i will tell you, it makes me feel terrible for about 3 days afterwards. please note that low carb and ketogenic are 2 very different ways of eating so do some research. ketogenic is a lot of counting of fat percentages.15
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kendramnolan wrote: »HI, I'm 5'1" just looking to lose 18lbs. I just started counting my calories and am toying with the idea of keto. I would be in dire need of support and recipes as pasta and potatoes are staples in my house. I'm curious about how quickly the weight comes off and how healthy that would be. If anyone has any info or just wants to chat and motivate eachother let me know!
The best diet is the one that allows you to cut calories while still enjoying food. For me, I lower fats because carbs fill me up the most.8 -
Keto can help some with weight loss if low carb reduces appetite for you. Otherwise a ketogenic diet is more about health - improved blood glucose, reversed T2D or CVD, or brain health treatment.
I lost weight with a ketogenic diet very easily, but I am staying with it for health... If you don't need it for health, and can moderate calories okay, it isn't necessary for weight loss. It would be like going vegetarian or low sodium or gluten free for weight loss - those dietary changes are more for health issues than anything.
But I like it. If you want to try it, go for it.9 -
kendramnolan wrote: »HI, I'm 5'1" just looking to lose 18lbs. I just started counting my calories and am toying with the idea of keto. I would be in dire need of support and recipes as pasta and potatoes are staples in my house. I'm curious about how quickly the weight comes off and how healthy that would be. If anyone has any info or just wants to chat and motivate eachother let me know!
You seem like you want to do keto because I suspect you got bad information. You won't lose fat faster than any other diet. If you do keto it's because you simply prefer eating high fat with almost little to no carbs. If that helps you stick with a caloric deficit, then by all means do keto. Is it necessary? Hell no, I lost weight with high carbs (over 200g per day). The only noticeable difference is that you will initially lose weight fast, but the weight loss isn't on fat, it's more on losing water weight and glycogen (As a lifter, this is why I never do keto). Many studies show in the long run, you lose fat at the same rate as any other diets out there. The only reason for you to do keto would be simply because you enjoy that diet or for health reasons given to you by a doctor.5 -
Keto isn’t hard to follow at all. You no longer crave the foods you restrict. You’re just much less hungry in general so eating less is no biggie. I had 10 lbs to lose and am happily sticking to it 2 months later...have lost weight on a week long vacation!12
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As someone who tried a lower carb lifestyle, 30% macros, why not try cutting carbs back and see how you feel about it? Keto is an extreme. I look at macros from a goal stand point as well as lifestyle. If you are doing endurance sports, keto is good. If you are doing explosive sports, IE weights, sprinting, carbs are the way IMHO. I see the body as a flex fuel car. It will run on any of the three major macros. Carbs are like Gasoline, they burn hot and give instant power, fat like diesel, more expensive, but gives more fuel efficiency, protein like ethanol, not as efficient, but will run the car. I have a buddy who swears he can only lose weight in ketosis. I have seen how he eats, I doubt he ever truly goes into ketosis. Far too much protein and he likes his beer. IMHO, more like a lower carb highe fat high protein diet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfdS_MwKhMA
https://youtu.be/Vid7oXjei3U Might be interesting to you. 1
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