Keto?

I've been seeing a lot of the keto diet lately and just curious if anyone's actually doing it or has tried it, looking for thoughts on it. Some of the food looks really good and honestly if it's going to help me lose weight I'd like to know.
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Replies

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    It can help some people lose weight if the foods are satiating for you. Those with IR may lose faster when carbs are lower too.

    Try the Low Carber Daily or keto MFP groups for more people who are trying it.

    I've done it for most of the past 3 years. It agrees with me and I find it makes weight management easier than any thing else ever has. It's also improved my health. Win win for me. :)
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    keto is amazing and more than just reducing appetite. Even if you eat a little bit more (in my personal experience) you still lose weight because your body doesn't need time to transition into fat burning. If anything, it's been hard for me to keep weight on (which I'm trying to do now)-- and I used to binge all the time. More importantly, to a lot of people it offers greater mental clarity (yes, beyond that provided with typical weight loss)

    Eat a little bit more than what? More calories than your TDEE, and still lose weight on keto? Congratulations, you defy the laws of physics. More food than you were eating before because it is different types of foods and feels like you're eating more because it's satiating, therefore enabling you to adhere to your calorie deficit and lose weight? Sure, that's possible, quite a few people report that they have better adherence to a keto diet because they find the food satiating and are better able to stick to the calorie deficit and see results, or avoid foods which can trigger binges, thus undoing a calorie deficit, etc.

    I'm always curious about people who claim better mental clarity on keto, or any way of eating. What does that mean? How do you know? What specifically are these improvements?

    Keto is a perfectly fine individual choice for some people, and there can be some health benefits for those who have reasons to restrict carbs. For the vast majority of people though, it is just personal preference and offers no advantage for weight loss than any other way of eating which creates a calorie deficit.

  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    keto is amazing and more than just reducing appetite. Even if you eat a little bit more (in my personal experience) you still lose weight because your body doesn't need time to transition into fat burning. If anything, it's been hard for me to keep weight on (which I'm trying to do now)-- and I used to binge all the time. More importantly, to a lot of people it offers greater mental clarity (yes, beyond that provided with typical weight loss)

    People who are satiated by fat may very well feel like they are eating more on keto, but they are still eating at a deficit to lose weight. It's true also that people who are highly satiated by fat may struggle to eat enough, that doesn't mean they aren't eating at a deficit like everyone else.

    Mental clarity is subjective, and confirmation bias is a powerful thing. I found meditation gave me mental clarity, so there's that.

    If keto is a way of eating that you enjoy and is practical for you, and it reduces your appetite so it's easier to stick to your calorie goal, that's awesome. If someone wants to try it, go for it, why not? But there is no long term evidence that it has health benefits over other ways of eating, and it is so weird how so many people feel the need to insist it's some kind of magical unicorn diet that we just now figured out as a species after not eating that way for thousands of years.

    Bingo. You type faster than me. Maybe it's all that meditation providing you better mental clarity.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    keto is amazing and more than just reducing appetite. Even if you eat a little bit more (in my personal experience) you still lose weight because your body doesn't need time to transition into fat burning. If anything, it's been hard for me to keep weight on (which I'm trying to do now)-- and I used to binge all the time. More importantly, to a lot of people it offers greater mental clarity (yes, beyond that provided with typical weight loss)

    People who are satiated by fat may very well feel like they are eating more on keto, but they are still eating at a deficit to lose weight. It's true also that people who are highly satiated by fat may struggle to eat enough, that doesn't mean they aren't eating at a deficit like everyone else.

    Mental clarity is subjective, and confirmation bias is a powerful thing. I found meditation gave me mental clarity, so there's that.

    If keto is a way of eating that you enjoy and is practical for you, and it reduces your appetite so it's easier to stick to your calorie goal, that's awesome. If someone wants to try it, go for it, why not? But there is no long term evidence that it has health benefits over other ways of eating, and it is so weird how so many people feel the need to insist it's some kind of magical unicorn diet that we just now figured out as a species after not eating that way for thousands of years.

    Bingo. You type faster than me. Maybe it's all that meditation providing you better mental clarity.

    :lol:

    Eat lots of potatoes, rice, and pasta and meditate, I'm living proof it works!
  • LW3380
    LW3380 Posts: 118 Member
    @kimmy72 and @WinoGelato...I love reading your replies, I want to shout yes, exactly what I was thinking! :D
  • SteveP999Tx
    SteveP999Tx Posts: 21 Member
    My short personal experience.
    On New Years Day, I did the polar bear plunge in the local pool. 17 degrees. Wind chill 3. Survived. My profile photo made the front page of the local paper. Not embarrassed by my weight - but it was a wakeup call. I had just recently been diagnosed with pre-diabetes the month before. I used this day to give up sodas. I started eating "better". Still....if I wanted a Chicken Fried Steak, I ordered a Chicken Fried Steak. No motivation to do the traditional diets. Working out more. Wheat bread. Eating out less.

    I dropped some weight, but was still searching. Two of my friends that I hadn't seen in awhile showed up at an event. Both female. Both not really overweight. But they both looked amazing. That's when I learned of Keto. It was explained to me, "I can eat cheese, eggs, sour cream, butter, bacon, sausage......but if I eat an apple I'll gain five pounds."

    So, I bought a book (which wasn't really necessary once I found online resources) and jumped right in. Didn't experience any KetoFlu. Bought eggs, cheese, sausage, bacon, sour cream, cream cheese, almond flour, coconut flour, butter, avocados, walnuts, cauliflower, broccoli, and salad. Started counting calories.

    Down 14 pounds in 20 days. Energy level was the most sudden and immediate change. Before, I could fall asleep at a stoplight if I wasn't careful. I noticed immediately that I was more awake right out of bed and didn't have the "nap" feeling after meals.

    Favorite thing so far - the 90 second "bread" in a mug. I make one, slice and toast it in a pan, put cheese and bacon (or sausage) on it and it's better than most breakfast. I'm still finding my way with what foods I like, but when it doubt, put bacon and cheese on it.

    I struggled at first with getting my fat grams up to the right percentage. Cutting carbs is the easy part for me. Getting fat above protein was a little tricky the first couple of days. It just goes against what you have always been taught.

    Between Keto and just "trying" since the polar bear plunge, I'm down 20 pounds. My goal is 100 overall.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited April 2018
    Genuinely sharing that yesterday I ate 2,000 calories, ~500 above my TDEE, and lost half a pound. More importantly, humans DID used to eat more like this, and pretty much all babies are in ketosis at some point. There's actually plenty of reputable published research on the topic that in my personal experience (though I study astrophysics, not nutrition) has turned out to be true. As for mental clarity, that came most from fasting to me-- but generally I would say it's noticeable and something I experienced while fasting before knowing I was "supposed" to feel that way

    Could you point us in the direction of some reputable published research showing keto has benefits beyond appetite control for some people? Because we've discussed this ad nauseum here and I have yet to see any.

    Your body weight doesn't immediately gain or lose weight today based on what you ate and did yesterday, so the fact that you ate a specific amount of calories yesterday and lost half a lb today doesn't actually show anything. Many people find that if they eat at a deficit through the week and then have a cheat day on the weekend, their weight drops after the cheat day. It's not actually the cheat day of course, just that weight loss isn't linear.

    I also have no idea how accurate your logging is and not for nothing but if your TDEE is really 1500 cals, I would be surprised. I'm 45, short and barely lightly active and I eat @ 1800 cals to maintain.

    I am sincerely glad that you have found a way of eating that works so well for you. That doesn't make it the holy grail of eating. And I'm not going to get into an argument about traditional/anthropological eating patterns.

    ETA: @WinoGelato this time you typed faster. The mentally clear voices in my head are now disappointed.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    would like to say that there were a few weeks I was eating 2-300 calories less than my normal intake and my weight went up. it was water weight I know and then when I went back to eating more of course it went down. again water weight.I can be down 5 lbs one day then up 2 or 3 the next. @oliviascharfman, I can guarantee that if you were to take your weekly calories and add them together and then divide it by 7 it would prove that you were still in a deficit for the week,even eating more that one day. it has happened to me on many many occasions.

    as for keto I have a health issue and it almost literally killed me,the longer I was on it the worse my health became,there were days I could not get out of bed and literally could not function. I couldnt remember simple things. I fast and have for most of my life, and dont experience the things you are saying you do. as for humans eating that way, one there is really no legit proof they only eat meat none of us were there its just a guess at how they ate based on some criteria.

    but then again people died at earlier ages and from starvation too. during the colder months sure they probably ate more meat because plants werent available. But Im sure they ate plants too once they figured out which ones were edible and which ones were poisonous.
  • triskier
    triskier Posts: 1 Member
    My doctor has asked me to get myself into a state of ketosis. It is for significant health issues. Is there a way to change my carbohydrate/fat/protein requirements? I don't want it telling me that I'm low in carbohydrates, etc.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    triskier wrote: »
    My doctor has asked me to get myself into a state of ketosis. It is for significant health issues. Is there a way to change my carbohydrate/fat/protein requirements? I don't want it telling me that I'm low in carbohydrates, etc.

    you can automatically adjust your percentages. as for telling you that you are low in carbs I dont think it will tell you that.and what issues do you have that you need to be in ketosis?
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Genuinely sharing that yesterday I ate 2,000 calories, ~500 above my TDEE, and lost half a pound. More importantly, humans DID used to eat more like this, and pretty much all babies are in ketosis at some point. There's actually plenty of reputable published research on the topic that in my personal experience (though I study astrophysics, not nutrition) has turned out to be true. As for mental clarity, that came most from fasting to me-- but generally I would say it's noticeable and something I experienced while fasting before knowing I was "supposed" to feel that way
    The people who DO actually study nutrition have shown through peer-reviewed research that there is no "metabolic advantage" to a ketogenic diet.

    https://bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/ketogenic-low-carbohydrate-diets-have-no-metabolic-advantage-over-nonketogenic-low-carbohydrate-diets-research-review.html/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16685046/

    https://shreddedbyscience.com/ketogenic-diets-actually-work-study-review/

    https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/low-carb-diet/
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Genuinely sharing that yesterday I ate 2,000 calories, ~500 above my TDEE, and lost half a pound. More importantly, humans DID used to eat more like this, and pretty much all babies are in ketosis at some point. There's actually plenty of reputable published research on the topic that in my personal experience (though I study astrophysics, not nutrition) has turned out to be true. As for mental clarity, that came most from fasting to me-- but generally I would say it's noticeable and something I experienced while fasting before knowing I was "supposed" to feel that way

    A lot of the research has been flawed... When you control.for calories and protein, there is no difference. Often in studies, they only control for calories. And when the adjust for low carb, they often increase protein by as much as 50%. Protein is the thermogenic... Not the fat. Protein increases EE.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    I would never do keto.. anytime over in the past years i have decreased carbs i am exhausted and feel like crap. I also care about my gym performance way too much to go low carb or keto.
  • KrazyKrissyy
    KrazyKrissyy Posts: 322 Member
    Keto is currently helping my epilepsy and digestive issues. My seizures have reduced and my bloating, cramps, chronic constipation, etc are gone. Interestingly, in the process, there was a week where I ate nothing but 24 tablespoons of coconut oil every day. The higher fat keto is originally aimed for neurological conditions so I put it to the test. By the end of the week, I had lost over 10 pounds.
  • Bill_Keto
    Bill_Keto Posts: 108 Member
    Keto is currently helping my epilepsy and digestive issues. My seizures have reduced and my bloating, cramps, chronic constipation, etc are gone. Interestingly, in the process, there was a week where I ate nothing but 24 tablespoons of coconut oil every day. The higher fat keto is originally aimed for neurological conditions so I put it to the test. By the end of the week, I had lost over 10 pounds.

    Glad it helps.

    I personally like Keto
  • KrazyKrissyy
    KrazyKrissyy Posts: 322 Member
    bwoithe wrote: »
    Keto is currently helping my epilepsy and digestive issues. My seizures have reduced and my bloating, cramps, chronic constipation, etc are gone. Interestingly, in the process, there was a week where I ate nothing but 24 tablespoons of coconut oil every day. The higher fat keto is originally aimed for neurological conditions so I put it to the test. By the end of the week, I had lost over 10 pounds.

    Glad it helps.

    I personally like Keto

    That's great! Can I add you?
  • Bill_Keto
    Bill_Keto Posts: 108 Member
    sure
  • LadyElectron
    LadyElectron Posts: 43 Member
    You can change the macro nutrient goals in the settings. Go to setting, then my profile, then my goals, and then scroll down to nutrient goals and play around with it!