Keto diet

Has anyone used the keto diet?? Have you had a successful experience?? Does it make weight loss easier or make you feel alot better with alot more energy??
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Replies

  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    I wouldn't say I have more energy, less lethargic maybe. I don't have the 3-4 o'clock slump like I do with higher carbs.
  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    I found I freaked out and binged after aggressively cutting carbs. I do better just sticking to a calorie deficit and eating what I like.

    Are you following me Tami ;)
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Lois_1989 wrote: »
    I found I freaked out and binged after aggressively cutting carbs. I do better just sticking to a calorie deficit and eating what I like.

    Are you following me Tami ;)

    Yes, and checking out your butt while I do, @Lois_1989. ;)
  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    edited May 2018
    Lois_1989 wrote: »
    I found I freaked out and binged after aggressively cutting carbs. I do better just sticking to a calorie deficit and eating what I like.

    Are you following me Tami ;)

    Yes, and checking out your butt while I do, @Lois_1989. ;)

    Hahaha I haven’t been lifting recently, so it’s not as good as yours @quiksylver296
  • FlyingMolly
    FlyingMolly Posts: 490 Member
    Angall08 wrote: »
    Has anyone used the keto diet?? Have you had a successful experience?? Does it make weight loss easier or make you feel alot better with alot more energy??

    I've been on it for 3 months. Went on it to lose 10 lbs, which I achieved around month 2, and am still on it because I don't mind getting a bit smaller and I don't particularly have a desire to eat more than I am right now. I think the foods themselves help you feel more full and they completely erased my cravings. It's like the part of my brain that associates food with comfort has been disconnected--I don't know how else to describe it.

    I have great energy levels NOW but the "keto flu" was a real thing for me and lasted at least 2 weeks, during which I alternated between insomnia and weakness, got my period two weeks early and much more heavily and had bad headaches. Also, as a runner, I didn't return to my normal stamina and speed for a few months, though I continued to run, just more slowly and for less than 8 miles. (Only probably matters to people if they are also endurance runners.)

    I think it was worth it and a great experience, and now that I've got 3 months under my belt, I'd say those rough 3 weeks were worth it. Those issues did not return.

    Same! I just told someone the other day that I feel like it changed my brain. My husband went on it with me at the same time and hasn’t gotten nearly as much out of it...but he’s always had a healthy relationship with food to begin with. He doesn’t “need” keto, so it’s not as appealing to him.

    So I think it really depends on how a given person eats, and what they want. Personally I don’t see the point of doing keto temporarily; any reduced-calorie diet will give you the same results, and there are simpler ones out there. If keto is right for you, you’re probably going to need to stick with it to keep benefiting—I know I will.
  • Jrodasff
    Jrodasff Posts: 334 Member
    I absolutely love it. I too find myself not nearly as hungry as I normally am. I have my Bulletproof coffee in the morning and it starts my day off right. That coffee alone carries me through my morning from 0530 until lunch at 1145. It seems a lot easier to be on a deficit when your on keto vs not. Give it a try and friend people on keto to see their food diaries and get ideas.
  • skinnyjingbb
    skinnyjingbb Posts: 127 Member
    What are your favorite food, if you feel really deprived without bread, pasta, fruit ect, then do not do keto, making yourself miserable is not gonna help you lose weight. If you don't feel too strongly about carb rich food, then why not give it a try, it is easier to cut calorie when you cut-out a food group and protein & fat help to lower your appetite. It didn't not give me more energy but keep a constant energy level which make me feel good throughout the day.
    I don't follow straight keto, just a relative low carb diet, so I ate as much vegetable as I like. I don't eat any starchy food, very little fruit, don't worry too much if the sauce has some sugar if I eat out, occasionally enjoy fried food with bit breading. This is relatively easy to follow, not very restrictive, so for me I felt like this can be a long-term solution.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    0426Jamie wrote: »
    I have lost over 50 lbs since January doing Keto. It has been hard, but I find it to be so much easier than calorie counting. 3 years ago when I tried losing weight and just did calorie counting, I was down only 30 lbs by August of that year, also starting in January. The first 2-3 weeks are TOUGH, the cravings are downright awful. But if you can get through it, I think it's worth it.

    Choose the WOE that you can keep up with, that's what is most important :).

    even if you didnt count calories your body did. you still have to be in a deficit to lose even with keto.sad but true
  • ljashley1952
    ljashley1952 Posts: 275 Member
    Well, I am leaning toward going keto. I have tried the other way and I just end up battling food cravings and yoyoing. It wasn't satisfying because I wasn't getting enough protein. My good friend was doing a modified vegetarian diet with low protein and low fat. She had to go off because she started losing her hair by the handfuls. I am willing to try keto and see if it works better for me.
  • stacybaker707
    stacybaker707 Posts: 126 Member
    I've been doing keto for about a month and a half with a regular low cal diet for a week or two before that. I am down almost 27 pounds and feel great. I eat a lot of greens, meat, cheese, nuts and berries. I have a stash of sugar free goodies if I have the urge, and I use zucchini noodles or squash noodles with my spaghetti. I usually stick to 30 carbs or less, today I was about 15.
  • Lois_1989
    Lois_1989 Posts: 6,410 Member
    Well, I am leaning toward going keto. I have tried the other way and I just end up battling food cravings and yoyoing. It wasn't satisfying because I wasn't getting enough protein. My good friend was doing a modified vegetarian diet with low protein and low fat. She had to go off because she started losing her hair by the handfuls. I am willing to try keto and see if it works better for me.

    Yikes! Yeah you definitely need protein and contrary to what you have been told, your body needs healthy fats as well! But protein is the very absolute last thing you should cut out! You need to slap whoever told her to do that.
  • LisaMelton1
    LisaMelton1 Posts: 24 Member
    Angall08 wrote: »
    Has anyone used the keto diet?? Have you had a successful experience?? Does it make weight loss easier or make you feel alot better with alot more energy??
    Angall08 wrote: »
    Has anyone used the keto diet?? Have you had a successful experience?? Does it make weight loss easier or make you feel alot better with alot more energy??

  • LisaMelton1
    LisaMelton1 Posts: 24 Member
    edited May 2018
    I tried for 3 weeks after hitting a plateau on traditional low fat and didn’t lose any faster. I also had digestion problems with all the fat. Dr advice go back to low fat and walk more.
  • VBolt95
    VBolt95 Posts: 3 Member
    I started Keto on 4/9/18 and have lost 24 lbs (in 36 days). Still have a long way to go, but I feel great!! I breezed through the keto flu with lots of water. My sugar/carb cravings are gone. I find keto easier to follow now that the cravings are gone. There is lots of information and food ideas online. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos of other people that are on Keto and it's nice to see how others are following this WOE.
  • Meggie43
    Meggie43 Posts: 25 Member
    If you can go the rest of your life without bread..pasta..fruit then Im sure it xan work. For me its not realistic and I know I couldn't sustain it.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    KETO IS MAGIC!!!

    No. No it's not. in fact it's quite hard to do it properly, and not sustainable for the majority of people. You have no meal prep, starving out at a restaurant with your friends, you feel like you have to order, so you do, what do you get? how are you absolutely sure about the nutritional facts if they aren't labeled? It can be done, its not easy. You have to measure ketones, too much is bad. This isn't a diet where cheating on it can be done regularly, unless your cyclic. You are changing systems, constantly measuring and being aware. If you have all these habits and can do it, then it's great. If you can go without carbs in your life, if you can meal prep, if you do everything right, eventually it will become natural and a second language. Just because someone claims they lost 10 lbs in a week doesnt mean its magic. I take 6 pound poops, which to me, is more magical. To me, keto works great i've lost 40 some pounds, and my overall life is much better. Its more hectic so I consume lots of caffeine but thats another point. But just because I can doesnt mean you can. I only can because it works for me. If it doesnt work for you that okay. Keto isnt a last line of defense or the first. Its just a way of eating thats works well with me. Now if you want to try, go ahead. But if you fail and you fail pretty easily, than itll be tough. Keto was actually made for cognitive function and treatment, not fat loss. I dont do it for the fat loss. I'm with Mark Bell in the war on carbs. But that's me. Doesn't mean its for everyone.

    Find what works for you, don't fall into the short cut trap. Work hard, be disciplined, you'll succeed.

    Someone on a ketogenic diet does not actually have to measure ketones unless on a medically required ketogenic diet - like for epilepsy as you mentioned. Most people can know they are ketogenic is they eat fewer than 50g of carbs. Those inactive individuals with insulin resistance may need to go a bit lower, and active healthy people can often go higher.

    If ketones in urine is measured using ketostix, it can be very unreliable because it is just the excess ketones - those tend to decline as time goes on. After 3 years, I barely test in ketosis even when I eat almost no carbs.

    It is almost impossible to get ketone levels that are too high unless you are a T2D (or a few extreme situations like a binging, chronic alcoholic).
  • NGentRD
    NGentRD Posts: 181 Member
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    KETO IS MAGIC!!!

    No. No it's not. in fact it's quite hard to do it properly, and not sustainable for the majority of people. You have no meal prep, starving out at a restaurant with your friends, you feel like you have to order, so you do, what do you get? how are you absolutely sure about the nutritional facts if they aren't labeled? It can be done, its not easy. You have to measure ketones, too much is bad. This isn't a diet where cheating on it can be done regularly, unless your cyclic. You are changing systems, constantly measuring and being aware. If you have all these habits and can do it, then it's great. If you can go without carbs in your life, if you can meal prep, if you do everything right, eventually it will become natural and a second language. Just because someone claims they lost 10 lbs in a week doesnt mean its magic. I take 6 pound poops, which to me, is more magical. To me, keto works great i've lost 40 some pounds, and my overall life is much better. Its more hectic so I consume lots of caffeine but thats another point. But just because I can doesnt mean you can. I only can because it works for me. If it doesnt work for you that okay. Keto isnt a last line of defense or the first. Its just a way of eating thats works well with me. Now if you want to try, go ahead. But if you fail and you fail pretty easily, than itll be tough. Keto was actually made for cognitive function and treatment, not fat loss. I dont do it for the fat loss. I'm with Mark Bell in the war on carbs. But that's me. Doesn't mean its for everyone.

    Find what works for you, don't fall into the short cut trap. Work hard, be disciplined, you'll succeed.

    Someone on a ketogenic diet does not actually have to measure ketones unless on a medically required ketogenic diet - like for epilepsy as you mentioned. Most people can know they are ketogenic is they eat fewer than 50g of carbs. Those inactive individuals with insulin resistance may need to go a bit lower, and active healthy people can often go higher.

    If ketones in urine is measured using ketostix, it can be very unreliable because it is just the excess ketones - those tend to decline as time goes on. After 3 years, I barely test in ketosis even when I eat almost no carbs.

    It is almost impossible to get ketone levels that are too high unless you are a T2D (or a few extreme situations like a binging, chronic alcoholic).

    ketostix also only measure 1 type of ketone and that particular ketone decreases in concentration as you become keto adapted "fatdapted" like it? But it doesnt hurt to check because with ketostic because certain random things can kick you out of ketosis. Ususally you'd feel it but to be safe as long as you have a trace you'll be good. On the high note. I don't have any conditions you mentioned and my liver just started over working and produced a concentration of 9mmol/L in my blood, was feeling nauseous so i went to the clinic to be safe. Very rare as I was experimenting with different ratios. Checking isnt required its just cool to physically see and helpful. I test with blood once a week or if i fell like ive been kicked out.
  • NGentRD
    NGentRD Posts: 181 Member
    toxikon wrote: »
    I did keto for a year before returning to a more balanced way of eating. I'll sum up my experience:

    Pros:
    - Quick whoosh of water weight loss in the first 1-2 weeks
    - Flatter stomach due to less bloating
    - Less gas
    - Stable and gradual hunger levels (no sugar crashes)
    - More long-lasting satiety from protein and fat

    Cons:
    - Missing carbs (#1 con for me)
    - Planning restaurant meals and eating with loved ones was difficult and frustrating
    - Workouts and running suffered
    - Keto flu (first week or two, unpleasant side effects)
    - Developed bad relationship with food (eating carbs caused guilt, demonizing a food group)

    Ultimately, when I quit keto, I overdid it with all the carbs I desperately missed and ended up regaining all the weight I lost. Since then, I've re-lost the weight with calorie counting and enjoying all foods in moderation. I still follow a general low-carb approach to eating, as I find fat and protein more filling than simple carbs, but this approach has been much healthier and more sustainable for me.

    Such an honest and realistic answer. legit love it. I've never had keto flu but it doesnt sound fun, even if it only lasts a few days
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    toxikon wrote: »
    I did keto for a year before returning to a more balanced way of eating. I'll sum up my experience:

    Pros:
    - Quick whoosh of water weight loss in the first 1-2 weeks
    - Flatter stomach due to less bloating
    - Less gas
    - Stable and gradual hunger levels (no sugar crashes)
    - More long-lasting satiety from protein and fat

    Cons:
    - Missing carbs (#1 con for me)
    - Planning restaurant meals and eating with loved ones was difficult and frustrating
    - Workouts and running suffered
    - Keto flu (first week or two, unpleasant side effects)
    - Developed bad relationship with food (eating carbs caused guilt, demonizing a food group)

    Ultimately, when I quit keto, I overdid it with all the carbs I desperately missed and ended up regaining all the weight I lost. Since then, I've re-lost the weight with calorie counting and enjoying all foods in moderation. I still follow a general low-carb approach to eating, as I find fat and protein more filling than simple carbs, but this approach has been much healthier and more sustainable for me.

    Such an honest and realistic answer. legit love it. I've never had keto flu but it doesnt sound fun, even if it only lasts a few days

    Thanks! I think keto can work if you've never really cared much for carbs. But I've always enjoyed eating plenty of fruit, legumes, beans, breads, pastas, rice, etc. So now I aim for around 150g carbs per day so I can enjoy all those things in small portions!