New to keto diet

Options
JanSJ1
JanSJ1 Posts: 6 Member
Hi! I started my keto diet one week ago. I have not lost weight yet. After perusing some of the posts RE keto on myfitnesspal.com, I ordered a ketone blood test kit which will arrive next week. How are you all doing? Have you lost weight? Also, anyone else have low kidney function and staying on the diet?

Replies

  • CrystalConsults
    CrystalConsults Posts: 67 Member
    Options
    Not sure what you mean by low kidney function. (Sorry to be thick.) Do you mean not much pee? I don't have any kind of problem with that at all. Just the opposite! I do need to eat plenty of salt. (Always have, though, as I have low blood pressure and I regulate it with plenty of salt.) I am *Loving* keto! Yes, I have definitely lost fat. Here's why that's especially cool -- I get to turn 57 in about 10 days, and everywhere there's so much talk about how hard it is for "older" women to lose fat. I am sticking with it, logging calories and micros, accepting that this is my way of eating and loving that I'm eating bacon, full fat cheese, steak, and still losing weight. Stay with it, and as you'll often read here on MFP, LOG EVERY CALORIE. Pardon the caps, it's for emphasis, not yelling. :wink:
  • JanSJ1
    JanSJ1 Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    Thanks Crystal! Low kidney means I have about 40% filtering through the kidneys, compared to about 85% that would be normal for someone my age.

    How long did it take you to start losing weight and not just water weight? Although I worry that I might not be in ketosis so that all the fat I'm eating is not going to burn, I probably am, and I plan to stick with it. I'll be testing for ketones to be sure and will adjust my diet as needed to be in ketosis.

    Also, how do you get enough fat calories? I made myself some power bites with seeds, chocolate, and coconut oil, and that's a lot of fat there. They were pretty good too.

    I find it kind of funny how, as I read what others are thinking about keto diet, so many people still don't believe the science of it and make statements like - it's calories you eat, not the content. If we believed everything people said on the internet, our heads would spin for sure!
  • Bxqtie116
    Bxqtie116 Posts: 552 Member
    Options
    Make sure you take your body measurements. Sometimes you may not see a reduction on the scale but you’re losing inches. It also helps if you have a scale that can determine your body fat % as well.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    Options
    JanSJ1 wrote: »
    Hi! I started my keto diet one week ago. I have not lost weight yet. After perusing some of the posts RE keto on myfitnesspal.com, I ordered a ketone blood test kit which will arrive next week. How are you all doing? Have you lost weight? Also, anyone else have low kidney function and staying on the diet?

    If you are eating low carb/very low carb and eating at a deficit, it is surprising that you have not lost weight the 1st week. That said, I have read the n=1 of a few LC, LCHF, keto people who indicate they did not lose in the 1st 30-45 days.

    That was not my experience eating low carb and at a deficit for weight loss back in May of 2013. I lost 6 pounds my 1st week then it averaged out to 1.25 pounds per week for 52 weeks. It took me 53 weeks to achieve a 60 pound weight loss.

    So far as I know, my kidneys are functioning properly. If I had signs of kidney problems or Chronic Kidney Disease I would engage in discussions with medical professionals who are familiar with my medical history. That said, I DO understand you were simply asking if there are others and read your comment in another thread about have 40% kidney function and monitoring your health in regards to protein consumption. Kudos for that and best of luck. <3
  • PaulaKro
    PaulaKro Posts: 5,686 Member
    edited July 2018
    Options
    Keto won't make you lose weight. It will just cut your cravings. That will make it easier to eat less. And it is eating less that makes you lose weight. So you can probably judge how much weight loss to expect by calculating your calorie deficit (less food) and calorie expenditure (exercise).

    Just an FYI, because some people think keto itself makes the weight loss happen. :drinker:

    p.s. for some more references, you might want to check out the "Hello my keto people" thread in this group. :)
  • jpk3k9
    jpk3k9 Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    YES to @PaulaKro - Keto doesn't do the work for you, at least it doesn't for me. It just makes it WAY easier to eat fewer calories than you burn. Even on days when I feel like I've splurged or overeaten a tad, when I log my calories, I see that I've only eaten in the 1300-1400 range most of the time. I am losing more slowly - about half a pound a week on average - but this is fine with me. It's a sustainable rate of weight loss and I love how I feel. Good luck!!
  • JanSJ1
    JanSJ1 Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    Two weeks in, I have now lost four pounds. I also lost two inches around the waist. Although I agree with those who posted that keto doesn't lead to weight loss/cutting calories does, I think it's important to clarify that keto does change the way that calories are burned in the body, and this is important because keto weight loss means loss of fat and retention of muscle, which is not the case with other diets.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Options
    I have not given any thought to counting calories. I have been eating Keto for about two weeks and lost 13 pounds. So yes the calories count but I am enjoying not counting them.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    rsclause wrote: »
    I have not given any thought to counting calories. I have been eating Keto for about two weeks and lost 13 pounds. So yes the calories count but I am enjoying not counting them.

    Love that! LOL :D
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Options
    I used to say that you know you are logging correctly when you piss off everybody in the kitchen or at the table. It was a pain and I stopped logging. The only way logging worked for me was to run 30 miles a week. When I slacked off the weight came back.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    Options
    rsclause wrote: »
    I have not given any thought to counting calories. I have been eating Keto for about two weeks and lost 13 pounds. So yes the calories count but I am enjoying not counting them.

    You should join the ad libitum challenge. You have the right attitude. It isn't too late.
  • PaulChasinDreams
    PaulChasinDreams Posts: 439 Member
    Options
    88 lbs lost in 6 months so far. I do low carb combined with intermittent fasting. OMAD on my 23rd hour every day.
    Make sure you are weighing every morsal of food you eat every day so you know exactly what you are consuming and get a blood ketone tester to know if you are for surely in ketosis or not.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10673292/low-carb-keto-and-intermittent-fasting-down-70-lbs-in-18-weeks#latest
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Options
    FIT_Goat wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    I have not given any thought to counting calories. I have been eating Keto for about two weeks and lost 13 pounds. So yes the calories count but I am enjoying not counting them.

    You should join the ad libitum challenge. You have the right attitude. It isn't too late.

    I confess I had to lookup Ad Libitum and it is a formal way of saying AD Lib....who knew?

    What do I have to do when I join? I haven't looked into it because it sounded like I would need to log and I am avoiding logging out of convenience and current success streak right now.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    rsclause wrote: »
    FIT_Goat wrote: »
    rsclause wrote: »
    I have not given any thought to counting calories. I have been eating Keto for about two weeks and lost 13 pounds. So yes the calories count but I am enjoying not counting them.

    You should join the ad libitum challenge. You have the right attitude. It isn't too late.

    I confess I had to lookup Ad Libitum and it is a formal way of saying AD Lib....who knew?

    What do I have to do when I join? I haven't looked into it because it sounded like I would need to log and I am avoiding logging out of convenience and current success streak right now.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10684829/ad-libitum-august#latest

    Some are logging carbs but that's about it. The goal is to just eat what you feel is good for you. Sounds like it is already what you are doing.

    My "logging" for yesterday consisted of listing pepperoni, smokies and chicken on a thread about the day's food. ;) Maybe half of the group even bothered to do that. :)
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Options
    I "accepted" the invite.... I think.
  • 2t9nty
    2t9nty Posts: 1,576 Member
    Options
    FWIW, I have been eating keto since October, 2016, and I have never checked ketones. I figure I am eating <20 carbs a day, so why bother? I know I am, and the number is not one I am concerned about. I do track calories for now. I have just started maintenance (still keto), and I continue to log and weigh every day. Depending on how I adjust to maintenance and stay at goal weight, I may relax some of that. It is just that some effort went into getting where I am, and I don't want to mess it up.
  • sljohnson1207
    sljohnson1207 Posts: 818 Member
    Options
    I have low kidney function CKD 3A. My last eGFR was 52 and I am 43 yrs old. I am in maintenance now since March. I weighed 182 lbs last July and today I was 141.4. I am 5'7" tall.

    There is a fair amount of research that states keto is fine for CKD because you do watch your protein intake, as it is not a high protein diet like many folks (including some doctors) think it is. Mine is set below 100g daily. Some days I may go over, but other days I'm way under. I have nerdy excel spreadsheets and charts so I can see weekly averages. You should talk to your nephrologist at length about what is best for you.

    A couple of thoughts:
    It depends on how much weight you have to lose. Less to lose, and you'll probably lose more slowly. More to lose, and you'll probably lose more rapidly.

    Are you on diuretics? I didn't lose much the first week, as I already take Lasix and that means I don't carry around as much extra fluid as others.

    Exercise. If you are exercising a lot, esp. weight training, you may not see the large drop like others because sore muscles retain lots of fluid.

    Don't compare your weight loss to men (you didn't say you did, but it's a common mistake us ladies make). They tend (not always, but most of the time) lose faster than women, esp. at first.

    If your net carbs are under 25 per day, you are most definitely in ketosis.

    Artificial sweeteners can really hinder some folks.