To quit keto or not quit keto?
Options
Replies
-
instead of eating ketogenic, try low carb. you can still maintain ketosis in low carb, but you don't have to get the 75%+ of your calories from fat like you do eating ketogenic. its very easy to eat a lot of and keep it under 10grms carb per meal and still maintain a deficit calorie intake
6 -
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2626/2kshama2001 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Bookmarking this for the next time someone says “everyone doing keto knows calorie deficit is required for weight loss, no one says otherwise”
OP I would speak with your doctor and do some further research (real research, not whatever site told you that calories didn’t matter on keto) about if there is a carb threshold that impacts your seizures, maybe you can maintain the positive health benefits for your condition without being fully in ketosis. Even if you start tracking your calories it doesn’t seem like this is your preferred way of eating so it’s a bit of a conundrum. Good luck.
This. Find out how many carbs you can eat to keep your seizures lower. And then eat them. Your "after" photos include no leafy green vegetables. That doesn't sound fun at all. Perhaps a nutritionist working with your doctor can show you how to eat a nutrient dense, delicious keto level diet.
Here's a visual: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/20-50-how-much
PS: Are you aiming for a weight BETWEEN 117 and 151? 117 is 3 pounds from underweight, of course.
Best of luck.
Great visuals!
Getting to 20 grams of carbs by just eating spinach (bottom right plate) requires an enormous effort. At 1.4 grams of digestible carbs per 100 gram you’d have to eat about three pounds (1.5 kilos) of spinach. Please note that this is even more than is shown above, this is simply all the spinach we could fit onto the plate!
However, by adding some slightly more carb-rich vegetables like peppers and cherry tomatoes, it’s quite easy to get to 20 grams (top left plate). Full low-carb vegetable guide >
This says it has about 1 gram per 30g, which would make it about 600 grams to get to 20. A bit of a difference from 1,5 kilos.
1 -
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »Duck_Puddle wrote: »The good news is that you can lose weight on keto if you eat fewer calories than your body burns. Are you tracking your food? Weighing/measuring your portions?
Yes and no. I'm a volume eater. It's easier for me to stick with a diet if I feel physically full (that "satieted" feeling people swear by on keto never really came to me). Hence, why I adhere to calorie deficits a lot better the more plant based I go.
For the full feeling you seek, try adding more vegetables. Your fat intake levels might also need some adjusting either up or down. Fat increases calories but also increases satiety.0 -
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »Dietary approach before keto (left) and current (right).
Weight/size before keto, 117 (left) and recent,
151 (right). I feel more sluggish.
You look great in the before and also the after photos. At 117 you dont look like you needed a strict diet like keto.
But the keto diet does help with seizures for many folks.
Have you thought of or tried trying CBD oil for your seizures?0 -
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »As everyone has said, calories matter. They control weight. Some people, usually those with insulin resistance, might lose a bit faster with keto than on a higher carb diet, on which they would be slower than healthy people, but for those without metabolic issues, they lose fine at any calorie deficit.
If you want to stay ketogenic, it looks like you are back to counting calories and logging. Weighing is helpful too.
Perhaps look into vegetarian or vegan ketosis to increase your plant, and volume, options. The Low Carber Daily has a list of LC diet resources, including vegetarian and vegan, in their launch pad stickie. It might help you switch over to large salads with a fatty dressing, or broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, or pepper and spinach omelettes, instead of plain avocado or bacon and eggs.
The LCD and Keto groups often have recipe threads going that could help with varying your diet.
Do you have a set carb goal? Can it be increased a bit? If the photos are your food for a day, it looks like your carbs were under 10g. Do you need to keep it that low? Most keto'ers I know tend to eat more veggies than what you are consuming.
Do you use MCT or coconut oil? That will raise ketones even in the presence of carbs, and might help you get in a few more carbs while keeping ketones high. Cooking everything in MCT oil and using it as a salad dressing might work. Go slowly adding it in though, probably no more than 1 teaspoon a week, because it can lead to diahrrea.
Exogenous ketones might also help with less of a caloric impact, although I've heard the taste can be prohibitive. Ketone esters or ketone salts would be something to look into. Ignore garbage products like raspberry ketones.
If you are a volume eater, have you considered IF? If you ate just twice a day, perhaps with one small snack if needed, that would allow you to eat more volume at your meals. Ifor example, if you eat 1500 kcal a day, that would be two 700kcal meals and a 100 kcal snack.
You might want to consider increasing sodium. Fatigue, brain fog, moodiness, headaches, nausea, BM problems,muscle weakness and spasms are all symptoms of low sodium. Most keto'ers need at least 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day in order to replace the sodium they are low on. Two cups of salty broth or boullion, pickle juice, salt tablets, homemade salty Mio ketoade, or just eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with a chaser of water (on top of normal salt usage) may help. 2300 mg sodium = 1 teaspoon salt, so you may need more than 2 teaspoons of salt a day. Try it. If it helps you'll know within a day. If it is too much sodium, you'll just excrete it out.
You may need some magnesium and potassium too. Those tend to get leeched out and used if sodium is unavailable. Be wary with those. Magnesium can cause loose BMs, and too much potassium is a dangerous thing. Most seem to find that if sodium is taken care of, then magnesium and potassium take care of them selves.
Good luck.
I used coconut oil for a while. Not anymore. As for intermittent fasting, I can't do it. I have non-diabetic hypoglycemia (doctor doesn't know why) and the longer I go without eating, the more my blood sugar continues to drop. It hit 24mg/dl the last time I went 20 hours without eating (was following 20:4) which produced a hypoglycemic seizure.
Wow! The sad thing is that you put yourself on a severe caloric restriction like that, when you didn't really need to. Then suffered a serious medical issue.1 -
The other lever you have is exercise. Could you build up to a couple hours of heavy sweating cardio often without eating more? Counting calories without cutting calories will give you a way to predict baseline gain or loss. Then adjust activity to lose a little. Also at 117 you look pretty thin to me. I'm thinking 125-130 with muscle would be a sweet spot. And good job getting control of seizures!0
-
Do you excercise? If not, consider it because if you burn more calories you can eat more calories. You still need to count calories you eat and approximately burn in activity. I haven't seen any mention of excercise in your posts or on the thread for that matter.0
-
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »Long story short, I'm rapidly starting to gain body fat on the keto diet (I was losing weight at first but mostly from water and diarrhea). My body fat has increased 10% according to DEXA scan, weight has gone up 35-40 pounds, and have gone up almost 4 sizes. I actually got down to my lowest size and body fat on a lower fat, mainly plant-based diet. That's what I do best on apparently.
BUT (here's the catch), my seizures have reduced significantly! Something no amount of medication was able to do. So, I feel like I have 2 choices. To be close to overweight yet neurologically healthy for once. Or to be very lean/slim yet have frequent seizures.
I'm 5'6 and 151 pounds. On my former diet (when my seizures were almost daily), I was 117 pounds. I also had more energy and my depression was nonexistent, despite more seizures and meds. Now, I have only one seizure every 2 months, I sleep better, less headaches, etc. But I weigh more, feel sluggish, less energy, etc. Such a tough decision. Please no rude/mean remarks.
PS- my profile pic is not recent. It was during my dietary approach before keto.
Do you like it? Do you find it sustainable for the rest of your life?2 -
travelling_lots wrote: »Running_and_Coffee wrote: »Big fan of keto but can't imagine losing if I didn't also track calories. Many of us just lack that "stop eating!" device. Another vote for staying on keto, upping your veggies and staying under/within your calorie limits.
I have the problem of actually eating. I eat lunch and I’m full for the day. Was just told I may be eating too much fat. Example
This is a good example of a keto meal...why too much fat? Advocado is healthy fats...eggs too..3 -
The other lever you have is exercise. Could you build up to a couple hours of heavy sweating cardio often without eating more? Counting calories without cutting calories will give you a way to predict baseline gain or loss. Then adjust activity to lose a little. Also at 117 you look pretty thin to me. I'm thinking 125-130 with muscle would be a sweet spot. And good job getting control of seizures!
A couple of hours? Per day? Heavy sweating?
Only if you enjoy that sort of thing. Cardio doesn't have to be that grueling to be beneficial. I lost a majority of my fat through intake control and to a lesser extent, simply by walking - for about an hour or so. When I was doing something other than walking, it was perhaps 30-40 minutes. I started to run a little bit after that - because I enjoyed it.
I lift more now and that has given far more bang for the buck in terms of body shape (along with intake control) than anything else and it's not even close. I only do cardio for aerobic capacity, not as a lever to lose more fat, though it can give you a little more of a "buffer" so to speak.4 -
Keep your keto, reduce your calories. No brainer. Maintenance is around 14 cals/lb for mildly active women. Choose your deficit 10%, 20%...your call.8
-
SweatLikeDog wrote: »Keep your keto, reduce your calories. No brainer. Maintenance is around 14 cals/lb for mildly active women. Choose your deficit 10%, 20%...your call.
I have never yet seen one of these quick formulas that is remotely accurate. That’s about 600 calories below my actual maintenance. Why wouldn’t OP just use the recommendations from MFP and you know, actually track her calories to try to stay within a deficit to lose the weight she’s recently gained... the issue isn’t that she needs a quick formula, it’s that she was under the misguided impression that calories don’t matter if you’re eating keto. Simply paying attention to CICO should help her get the situation back in control.
10 -
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »are you counting calories on keto? I don't see why you can't lose weight while doing keto
I was told calories dont matter on keto. Granted, I do still occasionally count despite what people swear by "no need to count." But calorie deficit seems a lot harder on keto as opposed to my former, higher volume lower calorie diet. I'm a volume eater.
I just don't think you get to be a volume eater on a keto diet.5 -
MelanieCN77 wrote: »KrazyKrissyy wrote: »are you counting calories on keto? I don't see why you can't lose weight while doing keto
I was told calories dont matter on keto. Granted, I do still occasionally count despite what people swear by "no need to count." But calorie deficit seems a lot harder on keto as opposed to my former, higher volume lower calorie diet. I'm a volume eater.
I just don't think you get to be a volume eater on a keto diet.
Nope, you don't. It's the opposite. The amount of "noatmeal" I can eat for the calories in real oatmeal fits into a shot glass. But that's sort of the point. People who do well on keto are people who needed to learn how to put the fork down. I say this from personal experience. I needed to learn what it meant to stop eating when satisfied.2 -
Running_and_Coffee wrote: »MelanieCN77 wrote: »KrazyKrissyy wrote: »are you counting calories on keto? I don't see why you can't lose weight while doing keto
I was told calories dont matter on keto. Granted, I do still occasionally count despite what people swear by "no need to count." But calorie deficit seems a lot harder on keto as opposed to my former, higher volume lower calorie diet. I'm a volume eater.
I just don't think you get to be a volume eater on a keto diet.
Nope, you don't. It's the opposite. The amount of "noatmeal" I can eat for the calories in real oatmeal fits into a shot glass. But that's sort of the point. People who do well on keto are people who needed to learn how to put the fork down. I say this from personal experience. I needed to learn what it meant to stop eating when satisfied.
You're satisfied by fat, but the OP isn't. So small portions of high fat foods won't satisfy her.
Different people have different satiety triggers.
Also, to all the people suggesting that she just low carb, IIRC, the keto protocol for controlling epileptic seizures is to have very high fat and very low carb. It's that particular macro mix, so perhaps the level of ketosis, that controls the seizures.
OP, I highly suggest you talk to your neurologist.9 -
Just can't ignore calories, because they do count. Try shifting your carbs to leafy greens, string beans, avoid starchy (you already know that). Really read your labels, and notice the portion size in relation to the calories, carbs, fats. Also try eating 3-4 fish meals a week, for your protein.1
-
One other thing - while avocados are healthy fats, they are also very high in calories. I think an avocado has 234 calories. I love them, but I eat them sparingly.1
-
KrazyKrissyy wrote: »As everyone has said, calories matter. They control weight. Some people, usually those with insulin resistance, might lose a bit faster with keto than on a higher carb diet, on which they would be slower than healthy people, but for those without metabolic issues, they lose fine at any calorie deficit.
If you want to stay ketogenic, it looks like you are back to counting calories and logging. Weighing is helpful too.
Perhaps look into vegetarian or vegan ketosis to increase your plant, and volume, options. The Low Carber Daily has a list of LC diet resources, including vegetarian and vegan, in their launch pad stickie. It might help you switch over to large salads with a fatty dressing, or broccoli and cauliflower with cheese, or pepper and spinach omelettes, instead of plain avocado or bacon and eggs.
The LCD and Keto groups often have recipe threads going that could help with varying your diet.
Do you have a set carb goal? Can it be increased a bit? If the photos are your food for a day, it looks like your carbs were under 10g. Do you need to keep it that low? Most keto'ers I know tend to eat more veggies than what you are consuming.
Do you use MCT or coconut oil? That will raise ketones even in the presence of carbs, and might help you get in a few more carbs while keeping ketones high. Cooking everything in MCT oil and using it as a salad dressing might work. Go slowly adding it in though, probably no more than 1 teaspoon a week, because it can lead to diahrrea.
Exogenous ketones might also help with less of a caloric impact, although I've heard the taste can be prohibitive. Ketone esters or ketone salts would be something to look into. Ignore garbage products like raspberry ketones.
If you are a volume eater, have you considered IF? If you ate just twice a day, perhaps with one small snack if needed, that would allow you to eat more volume at your meals. Ifor example, if you eat 1500 kcal a day, that would be two 700kcal meals and a 100 kcal snack.
You might want to consider increasing sodium. Fatigue, brain fog, moodiness, headaches, nausea, BM problems,muscle weakness and spasms are all symptoms of low sodium. Most keto'ers need at least 3000-5000+ mg of sodium a day in order to replace the sodium they are low on. Two cups of salty broth or boullion, pickle juice, salt tablets, homemade salty Mio ketoade, or just eating half a teaspoon of salt twice a day with a chaser of water (on top of normal salt usage) may help. 2300 mg sodium = 1 teaspoon salt, so you may need more than 2 teaspoons of salt a day. Try it. If it helps you'll know within a day. If it is too much sodium, you'll just excrete it out.
You may need some magnesium and potassium too. Those tend to get leeched out and used if sodium is unavailable. Be wary with those. Magnesium can cause loose BMs, and too much potassium is a dangerous thing. Most seem to find that if sodium is taken care of, then magnesium and potassium take care of them selves.
Good luck.
I used coconut oil for a while. Not anymore. As for intermittent fasting, I can't do it. I have non-diabetic hypoglycemia (doctor doesn't know why) and the longer I go without eating, the more my blood sugar continues to drop. It hit 24mg/dl the last time I went 20 hours without eating (was following 20:4) which produced a hypoglycemic seizure.
Wow! The sad thing is that you put yourself on a severe caloric restriction like that, when you didn't really need to. Then suffered a serious medical issue.
I've had epilepsy since age 7.1 -
Running_and_Coffee wrote: »MelanieCN77 wrote: »KrazyKrissyy wrote: »are you counting calories on keto? I don't see why you can't lose weight while doing keto
I was told calories dont matter on keto. Granted, I do still occasionally count despite what people swear by "no need to count." But calorie deficit seems a lot harder on keto as opposed to my former, higher volume lower calorie diet. I'm a volume eater.
I just don't think you get to be a volume eater on a keto diet.
Nope, you don't. It's the opposite. The amount of "noatmeal" I can eat for the calories in real oatmeal fits into a shot glass. But that's sort of the point. People who do well on keto are people who needed to learn how to put the fork down. I say this from personal experience. I needed to learn what it meant to stop eating when satisfied.
If I didn't have epilepsy, I would stop keto and do WFPB in a heartbeat (which is high volume, low fat). Everyone gets full differently.0 -
elsie6hickman wrote: »One other thing - while avocados are healthy fats, they are also very high in calories. I think an avocado has 234 calories. I love them, but I eat them sparingly.
Actually, no one avocado will have the same calories as the next. That’s why you weigh your portions. My 52 grams this morning was 83 calories - very manageable and still a good size portion.7
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 390 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 922 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions