Anyone else not officially doing Keto, but find their macro "sweet spot" has a keto-ish profile.

So I'm not "TRYING" to do keto. I'm just generally trying to eat healthier and make healthier choices. I'm not obsessing (too much) either. I'm just making sure I have good healthy options available. But the end result has been a macro ratio that kind of looks ketoish. I've tried the Carb/Protien/Fat diet when I was younger that was 50-60%C, 20-30%P, and 10-20%F and frankly it left me crazy hungry.

I'm also trying to break my sweet tooth. I've currently cut out All starches and all sugars and all added sweeteners. I'll add back natural sugar in the form of low glycemic load fruits in a few weeks and then add back some low hypoglycemic load starches like legumes after that.

But I'm noticing that I am satisfied most when I have a lean meat, a veggie that has been lightly coated in olive oil and roasted (veggies like Brussels sprouts, asparagus, carrots etc) Breakfast is usually a boiled eggs and V-8.

For now I have eliminated all starches, sweets, and artificial sweeteners. Mostly to re calibrate my taste buds.

I snack on almonds and pistachios.

It's not keto because I'm getting more than 50 carbs a day. But still I'm satisfied. It's also easy because I can go into a restaurant and order lean meat and non-starchy veggies for a meal (usually).

I'm hitting my calories so far +/- 100. I'm actually tracking my under/over on a spreadsheet so that I know my net under over for the week. It's not a perfect science.

I'm watching my satiation level though once I go back to adding carbs. I think once I get to the point where I start feeling famished even at the same caloric intake I'll dial back the carbs/sugars. For me I've come to the point where not feeling ravenous while I'm at a deficit makes this journey less tiresome.

So currently my sweet spot is a Caloric intake of 1500kCal that is 70-75% fat 15-20% protien and 15-20% Non-Starch/Low sugar carbs.

I can say that eliminating/reducing sweetners has helped. I have cut my splenda usage down to 1 packet per cup of coffee (down from 4) and stevia is about 2packets per cup of coffee. The rest of the time I'm drinking water.

My sweet cravings are almost non existent after a month of this. Which is really awesome. My sweet tooth is my biggest problem to my weight management.

I tried keto before and it just wasn't for me. BUT I've always gravitated towards lower carb eating in the past and my medical test results always came back good because my fats were in the form of olive oil, nuts, fish, and within the meat I ate. I couldn't handle the keto bombs and constant stressing about how many carbs I had eaten in that moment. so I'm focusing on sustained satiation and ease of life adaptation.

For those of you wondering why I'm back trying to lose, HUGE live events including injuries, job stress, high risk pregnancy, and 3 mini-strokes put my focus less on healthful eating and more on the craziness of life. I'm hoping to get back to the way I ate before all of the mess and this time I'm thinking more of "What if SH!% hits the fan again, how will I keep on track with this?"


Anyway... is anyone else finding this to be true?

Replies

  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    Sounds like you have found the "sweet spot" (lol) for you! I also found lowering carbs killed the cravings. My best days for sticking to my plan are those where the total carbs are at or under 100 g and my protein consumption is 100 g/day or more.
  • leiflung
    leiflung Posts: 83 Member
    edited January 2019
    I can eat around 60g of carbs a day and stay in ketosis. I do about 6 hours of advanced yoga a week. That eats up a lot of carbs. IF you're active, you might be doing keto.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    You *may* be in ketosis.

    I don't know what number my sweet spot is, but I'd bet, given how I eat, that it's around 50-75 grams. Keeps my blood sugar calm and even. Keeps the cravings at bay. Win, win.
  • tmoneyag99
    tmoneyag99 Posts: 480 Member
    leiflung wrote: »
    I can eat around 60g of carbs a day and stay in ketosis. I do about 6 hours of advanced yoga a week. That eats up a lot of carbs. IF you're active, you might be doing keto.

    Nope not even close to active. But that's okay. I'm getting to the gym daily. I'm taking this slow and focusing on progress.

  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    I'm at a similar breakdown. I did keto faithfully for 9 months, then began racing season and needed to carb up somewhat for long runs. (I know I could have tried carb cycling, but I preferred to just modify my macros a bit.) I finished my half marathon (done with long runs for now) and have found that I'm not quite as "into" fat as I was before and really crave more protein lately. I decided upon a breakdown that's higher in protein/lower in fat than what I followed before. I'm at about 40 net carbs a day now and happy on this for long-term maintenance with an active lifestyle. I see keto as just another strategy for controlling hunger and staying energized. Whatever works!