8 days into keto, 3 days on MFP
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xMikeh
Posts: 12 Member
And I feel like I'm over thinking a lot of it. So I assume entirely I was messing up for a bit, not counting things well enough and what not, but now that I'm taking it more serious I'm nitpicking over what I need and I'm now not even sure if I'm following it right.
I eat some truly basic meals so don't judge there xD I'm kinda just getting the hang of the switch of foods. I feel like I'm not really getting enough calories, I was reading that protein is more important to hit than fat but that's hard to hit for me so far.
I am a hecka picky eater so most veggies aren't on the menu for me at least for now, I'm willing to give them a shot again just wanna give it some more time that way I don't make myself hate the diet too early. So far I love this diet, but I'm sweating these macros.
Also, I am not willing to spend the money on the keto test strips and have been reading up on "How to tell if you're in ketosis." and it's just confusing. But! I found one of the sites said a side effect is a metallic or sweet taste in your mouth, and I've had that for some time now so I'm just hoping that I'm doing something right.
I eat some truly basic meals so don't judge there xD I'm kinda just getting the hang of the switch of foods. I feel like I'm not really getting enough calories, I was reading that protein is more important to hit than fat but that's hard to hit for me so far.
I am a hecka picky eater so most veggies aren't on the menu for me at least for now, I'm willing to give them a shot again just wanna give it some more time that way I don't make myself hate the diet too early. So far I love this diet, but I'm sweating these macros.
Also, I am not willing to spend the money on the keto test strips and have been reading up on "How to tell if you're in ketosis." and it's just confusing. But! I found one of the sites said a side effect is a metallic or sweet taste in your mouth, and I've had that for some time now so I'm just hoping that I'm doing something right.
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Well I finally took the leap and used my scale, I'm 19.4 pounds down from my starting weight. I assume majority of that was water weight but that means I must be doing SOMETHING right.14
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Welcome.
It does sound like you are doing something right. 
Protein is the best macro to hit. I would at least try to get it to 90 or 100g. That protein will help minimize lean mass loss. Slightly leaner cuts of meat can help. I tend to "cheat" with a serving of sugar free protein powder in my coffees because I struggle to hit my protein goal too.
IMO, veggies are less needed when you are not eating carbs. Antioxidants and fibre are not really needed for a meaty diet. But if you are going to eat carbs, veggies and berries are the way to go (or higher carb fruits if carb totals are not important to your goals).
Speaking of meaty diet, you might want to join the Meaty May challenge. You are basically already there.
ETA here is the challenge:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10659049/meaty-may/p1
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Thank you!
Oh okay, then that means I'm doing decent with protein for today and won't have to go make another shake or something. When it comes to the fat, I know that's mostly my energy, do I want that less than protein?
I've just been completely avoiding carbs to the best of my ability. I didn't realize how many were in unsweetened coconut shavings, but other than that I've been strict.
And I was JUST reading about that meaty may challenge hah, I might give it a shot.
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Some have fat less than protein - especially while losing. Once you get to maintenance, you would be increasing fat (and maybe some protein and carbs) so fat will probably be the larger macro then.
As long as you are getting more than your minimum protein you are fine. A common recommendation (among lifters and athletes) is to get about 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. The bare minimum (but you want to be well above that) is 0.8g per kg, or 0.36g per pound.
There really is no rule for a ratio of protein to fat. Just do what works best for you.
I'm planning on doing the Meaty May challenge too. I've done similar in the past, and it worked well for me. The only reason I don't do it all of the time is nuts, snap peas, and coconut. Yummm.1 -
If your carbs are under 50g total for long enough, you are in ketosis. No need to pee on anything.
- Carbs under your ceiling in grams.
- Meet your protein range in grams. (Depends on how active you are. If you exercise 3 or more times a week, pick the upper part of the range and stay there.)
- Fill the rest with fat.
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Hm, alright. More than minimum, I can do that! Thank you for the formula there.=d
Oh yeah, I've kept my carbs well under 50, under 20 now for 9 days whoo! However I'm not that active, I'm a stay at home dad so atm it's just chores and baby duty. Sure I COULD do more, just haven't squeezed it in yet. I wanna pick up swimming over the summer.baconslave wrote: »
Okay so.. Protein wise, there's one day I know I went way over on fat but only had like half my protein. Yesterday I did good, less fat than protein, protein at 106g. Should I be eating more fat? I'm still confused on that.
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I try to eat more fat than protein. I got back to low carb and today is day 3 for me.1
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I always try to hit my protein goal, go under or hit carbs, but I'm really cautious about fat. I use it to make myself full, but rarely even hit my target.
I think the main thing is NOT to go over in carbs, and some of us go higher fat and some of us go higher protein. :-)4 -
Hm, alright. More than minimum, I can do that! Thank you for the formula there.=d
Oh yeah, I've kept my carbs well under 50, under 20 now for 9 days whoo! However I'm not that active, I'm a stay at home dad so atm it's just chores and baby duty. Sure I COULD do more, just haven't squeezed it in yet. I wanna pick up swimming over the summer.baconslave wrote: »
Okay so.. Protein wise, there's one day I know I went way over on fat but only had like half my protein. Yesterday I did good, less fat than protein, protein at 106g. Should I be eating more fat? I'm still confused on that.
This is a good calculator. There is a lot of good info on this site. You are doing great. Make sure you supplement electrolytes especially sodium. Welcome! I’m doing meaty may too
https://ketogains.com/ketogains-calculator/2 -
I had a hard time getting in enough calories when my focus was on minimizing my carbs. It got easier when I switched to trying to maximize them; to get as close as I could to 10% net carbs without going over. Suddenly every time I ate cheese I could also eat berries; a good steak could “buy” me a side salad and a serving of Halo Top. The calories pretty much took care of themselves from that point on.
Oh, and while I do have testers, I can always tell when I’m in ketosis by how often I need to pee.
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Hm, alright. More than minimum, I can do that! Thank you for the formula there.=d
Oh yeah, I've kept my carbs well under 50, under 20 now for 9 days whoo! However I'm not that active, I'm a stay at home dad so atm it's just chores and baby duty. Sure I COULD do more, just haven't squeezed it in yet. I wanna pick up swimming over the summer.baconslave wrote: »
Okay so.. Protein wise, there's one day I know I went way over on fat but only had like half my protein. Yesterday I did good, less fat than protein, protein at 106g. Should I be eating more fat? I'm still confused on that.
Do you have calories leftover after you hit your carb and protein goals? If yes and are hungry, add a little fat. If you don't have calories uneaten, then do not.
Ketosis is the absence of carbohydrates, not the presence of fat. Fat is necessary for optimal body function, hormone levels, and satiety. But more is not always better. Meeting the C/P goals should take care of most of that for you. You don't need to add extra fat unless you've got extra calories to fill. You want your body to burn body fat. It will burn your dietary fat first.
Now if we were talking medically theraputic keto, my answer would be different. To achieve the ketone concentration necessary for neurological therapy, then a super high-fat intake is required. For keto for weightloss...it doesn't have strict restrictions because they aren't needed. You need to get enough protein to preserve muscle mass. You need to eat little enough to lose weight. The body loses weight by burning more than it takes in. Eating little enough is the mechanism that causes weightloss. Not ketosis.
So simply, if your deficit is steep, and you have your protein locked in, and are still hungry, eat more fat. If you have a reasonable deficit going, then it isn't going to help you add more fat. Fat is a lever to achieve a particular balance: losing vs. maintaining.
Does that make sense?
It might not. I've only had one cup of coffee. 6 -
Seems you've started just ahead of me @xMikeh - so it's encouraging to hear you are loosing already. Well done!
I'm following the recipes on the Diet Doctor two week challenge. I've been cooking up double portions so there is enough for lunch the next day too, although it seems there is actually more than he and I can eat, so there are now lots of extra meals in boxes in the freezer!!
The Diet Doctor has quite a high fat level. Protein is normal and net carbs low. It definitely fills you up! I'm also tracking the foods on MFP (which I did before several years ago loosing weight) and it surprises me now that I'm not at all hungry on this way of eating, even in a calorie deficit. This can only be good news.
Anyway good to hear you are succeeding. And "Go You!" being the Dad at home. I know just what hard work that can be. Mine are all now 21 plus, but those years were fairly relentless - in a good way but relentless nonetheless!
Onwards....
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FlyingMolly wrote: »
Oh, and while I do have testers, I can always tell when I’m in ketosis by how often I need to pee.
So do you pee more or less often?
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baconslave wrote: »Now if we were talking medically theraputic keto,
Where can I find more info on this please?
I have ME (or CFS in USA - what a rubbish name), anyway my stamina improved when I took up fasting. This was quite a surprise, cos I started fasting to control my blood sugars better after doing some self tests and finding them rather elevated.
And, I was told that fasting can put you into ketosis, so I thought perhaps that was what was helping my health, so that notion has brought me to the point of trying a keto diet.
I put it off for so long thinking it would be really tough, but now I've started I'm pleasantly surprised.
Anyway if you have any links, I would appreciate them. I've been binge watching Diet Doctor videos lately. LOL
@xMikeh Sorry - don't mean to take over your thread. All interesting stuff.
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@Salkeela a couple good places to start for medically therapeutic ketogenic is The Epilepsy Foundation, The Charlie Foundation, The UK Epilepsy Society. Or just google medically therapeutic ketogenic diet. Generally speaking it is both low carb and low protein with combined carbs and protein being 25% or less of your total consumption. There are several different versions of it these days with varying ratios of fat:c+p.
Domenic D'Agostino has some interesting youtube videos. I trialed MTKD for 52 weeks for my neurological movement disorder. I experienced improvement initially but it waned so I continued through the last 4-5 months supplementing with MCT Oil but to no avail.2 -
@kpk54 Thank you. That gives me loads to start off with. I found a similar thing with fasting. Great gains when I started, but waning as time went on. Still if I can get a little lift coming into the summer it would be appreciated, and a few lbs down would be another bonus. Hope you too find another little something you can tweak for physical improvement. xx
Edit to add - just found this great page... which will keep me going for a while! https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/seizure-and-epilepsy-news/keto-news1 -
Just remember there is no need to push fat if you are trying to get rid of your 'on-board' fat deposits.... You want your body to take it OUT of storage, not get your energy from added fat via mouth 8
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baconslave wrote: »Now if we were talking medically theraputic keto,
Where can I find more info on this please?
I have ME (or CFS in USA - what a rubbish name), anyway my stamina improved when I took up fasting. This was quite a surprise, cos I started fasting to control my blood sugars better after doing some self tests and finding them rather elevated.
And, I was told that fasting can put you into ketosis, so I thought perhaps that was what was helping my health, so that notion has brought me to the point of trying a keto diet.
I put it off for so long thinking it would be really tough, but now I've started I'm pleasantly surprised.
Anyway if you have any links, I would appreciate them. I've been binge watching Diet Doctor videos lately. LOL
@xMikeh Sorry - don't mean to take over your thread. All interesting stuff.
@kpk54 was the person I was going to tag regarding your question.
Do let us know how that works out if you do give it a go.2 -
FlyingMolly wrote: »
Oh, and while I do have testers, I can always tell when I’m in ketosis by how often I need to pee.
So do you pee more or less often?
More. It’s not a huge change, but I do notice when it affects my routine—like waking up half an hour earlier because of it, or needing to stop in the house between bringing my son to school and taking my dogs out for a walk. Ketosis doesn’t really feel different to me otherwise, but because of that I can always tell when I’m back in.
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1st thing I think you are doing great , I really really tried the Keto , just can't do it .....but I am doing low carb and I do not eat over 20 carbs a day (sometimes less) I do eat protein and veggies , and I have added in extra good fats like coconut oil and real grain fed butters , olive oil .right now I am eating the fathead pizza made of coconut flour and flaxseed flour and Mozzarella cheese and an egg , then top it with cheese ,pepperoni .....only 8 carbs for the whole pizza (the size of a 8 inch plate) salad too only 10 carbs whole meal .... the Keto I watched all these videos DR.Berg and he is smart and I did get what he was saying , but really I just couldn't do it , PLUS my blood sugars went up (diabetic) I am back to doing just low carb and only 2200 calories a day and I am back to normal BS , I need to lose 200 pounds and I need to do a life style I can maintain .
IN no way am I saying to stop Keto , cause 19 pounds is not just water weight , you are doing it !!! Good Luck and add me if ya want !! I have fat bomb recipes and fathead pizza recipes . 2
