Keto?

Erinloveable wrote: »

I am doing keto but I am wondering if it is worth it. Sure I am less hungry but there is a catch.
Week 1, lost 6 lb
Week 2, lost 3 lbs
Week 3, lost 4 lbs
Week 4, lost 3 lbs

Looks good right? 16 lbs in a month. Then I got my hormonal hunger and kept snacking on pickles, pepperonis and cheese strings for a few days. All I knew is my appetite came back and all I could think of was food. I stayed keto though. No weird packaged foods. Just lots of small snacks.

Week 5, gained 6 lbs :0 Howwww? Mathematically there is no way.

I buckled right down for week 6. Only 2 meals a day, never exceeding 1200 cals or 15 net carbs.

Week 6, 0 lost lbs .. But how? So I ate much less. Around 800 calories a day.
Week 7, lost 6 lbs

I am back to where I was week 4! I don't look any different. My clothes fit the same (204-188, there should be a difference). I feel like I am in one of those movies where my wish got granted but it comes with a bunch of weird consequences. I lost 56 lbs before eating mostly produce, 1200 calories and I NEVER gained in a week and I actually got smaller. I want to go off but I am afraid all 16 lbs is water and I will be devastated. I am terrible at sticking to things that disappoint me. It seems men and women with PCOS have great results whereas lots of women (not all) have a struggle.

You can always introduce carbs back slowly rather than in one hit. Doing this you may find that low carb rather than keto works best for you on top of not having that huge amount of water retention in one hit. There is no point sticking with a diet that you can not stick to just because you fear the initial weight gain. It just delays the inevitable.

wahmx3 wrote: »

If you were snacking on pickles, pepperonis and cheese strings, that sounds like a ton of sodium in a few days which for many people would be a weight gain, at least water weight. I'm just researching keto but I think sodium would be something to watch out for.

With your current research, you will most likely come across indication of need for increased sodium (generally a need of around 3000-5000 mg/day) and a need to supplement with sodium when eating a ketogenic diet. It comes down to depleted glycogen stores from lack of carbohydrates in the diet. I trialed a ketogenic diet for 52 weeks for reason other than weight management and like others eating ketogenic, had a biological need to increase sodium in order to keep electrolytes balanced. As an older person who was previously on a low sodium diet due to having high blood pressure and being on HBP meds (when overweight), increasing sodium was something I struggled with "wrapping my head around" but it was necessary.

Sodium is something to "watch out for" on ketogenic diets in regards to "getting enough" or not letting sodium intake get "too low". If the OP is keeping ketogenic, she is correct in eating high sodium pickles, pepperoni and cheese for the low carbohydrate/high sodium content...so long as she does not have medical reason to keep sodium low.

There are so many opinions out there! Others see health benefits, but to be honest, I do it simply because I want to lose weight and I don't want to be hungry doing it. I've been on keto since April 30th and I've lost 33 lbs and I have 36 to go. Everybody is right. Calories in just need to be less than calories going out to lose weight. I just eat low carb because I'm simply not hungry when I do it so it is easy for me to be under my calories. I haven't really been counting my calories much (I know, I know) because I just don't feel the urge to eat so much that I go over. I'm not crazy restrictive though and have chips once in a while and last Saturday I actually had a small Dairy Queen Blizzard for my lunch (road trip with the family) but that day I just made sure I counted calories and stayed under. So despite "cheats" I'm still losing at ~2lbs/week. Be warned if you go this route though because the Keto Flu really sucks so read up on it.

My mom hit menopause and was gaining weight. She is pretty active both at work and on her off time (likes to snow ski), maintained pretty much same diet habits she's had for last 10 years or so, yet was putting on a couple of pounds or more every month. She switched to keto and has lost 15+ lbs in last few months, feels a lot more alert/energized, and joints aren't as achy.

I on the other hand tried it for about 2 days and figured out it wasn't for me. I have a problem with FODMAPs, so my diet is restricted anyways. I keep away from onions, garlic, nuts, and gluten as best I can, and supplement in with potatoes and rice products. While I did feel much fuller, eating mostly green salad veggies and meats was not something I could handle. Much of the veggies suggested were not FODMAP friendly, plus 75% calories from fat sources seemed to be a really hard goal to meet.

I can see it benefiting some, but I look at most Asian people, who's diet typically consists of rice, veg, and some fish/chicken mixed in, yet they are a healthy weight, good heart health, and little joint problems. For me, with my other issues, I am sticking to my current diet till I at least hit my target weight. It's been working well so far, so why rock the boat when I only have 5-10 lbs left to go. Once I hit my target weight, I plan on switching to maintenance mode and do more strength training - so might revisit Keto again, but keep it moderate (maybe only 30-35% calories from carbs vice my current 50%).

I just have problems finding 75% calories from fats and cut carbs down to <10-20 grams per day. Again, maybe I just need to do a little more research on the foods available. Avocado gets old day after day after day for each and every meal.

I lost 60 pounds doing Keto, but got tired of doing it after 6 months. Now, doing a normal caloric deficit is like a treat with all of the "normal" foods that I was missing on Keto. Good luck in whatever route you take!

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30135-X/fulltext#.W3X8qw1i-II.twitter