6 week check-in

keto
newbies
#1

I’m new to keto - been in ketosis for 6 weeks now. I want to understand if I’m on the right track or if I should adjust? (Fat loss is the goal).

Daily Macros: fat: 125g-135g/ Protein 75g-85g/ Carbs 15g-20g (I track everything I eat and the breakdowns using a spreadsheet - I ensure I get at least 7 serves of veges in within my carb limit, raw oils as much as possible for the fats, and weigh all my portions, 2L water per day)
Calories: 1650-1750
Urine Ketones: 4-6
Bloody Ketones am (pre brekky): 0.6
Evening Ketones am (post dinner): 1.5
Starting weight: 94.5kg
Current weight: 89kg
Starting waist size: 91cm
Current waist size: 88cm
Current BMI: 35
Excerise: 45m walks daily + 2 x pump classes weekly

First week is when I lost most my weight (water weight obviously). I have only lost 1kg in the 5 weeks since - I had hoped to lose 1kg per week so it’s a slight bummer that I haven’t seen this. My energy has been so great since I recovered from my keto flu though (happened 3 days in) that it’s been motivation enough to stick to this even without the fat loss. I have been feeling the fullness since the first week - but I do find in times of stress I crave food more, but never enough so that I have cheated.

-Is this normal though, and will my fat loss pick-up if I keep carrying on as I currently am?

  • Does it matter that I don’t Iike the taste of coconut oil and take a MCT supplement instead?
  • How much does it matter that I prefer weights based exercise to cardio? I know your muscles need more carbs and protein for this - but I’m worried if I ate more around excerise it would throw me out of Ketosis.
  • Is counting net carbs instead of total carbs good enough? There are some keto alternatives (like keto bread) that i currently am able to eat because the fibre cancels out the carbs - but they would be about 10g per serve if I didn’t count the fibre so I’m not sure how okay it is to eat?
  • Are there any other areas I can adjust to optimise results?
(Polly) #2

Weight loss is not linear and keto is not a weight loss diet as such, it is a weight and health normalisation diet.

Best advice I can offer is: Keep your carbs below 20g per day and don’t sweat the rest of the stuff unless it brings you joy to track things. Stick with the plan, Eat real food rather than heavily processed “keto products”, avoid industrial seed oils, avoid sweeteners.

PS, I find I am better without most things sourced from plants. I know this is not necessarily true for all of us but don’t worry about getting your plant based foods in, they may not bring much to the table.

(UsedToBeT2D) #3

You are doing great. 5 kg in six weeks is great. Personally, I don’t take the oil supplements, I like to get my fat from food. I find the rate of weight loss slows as we get closer to ideal weight, even if we are still fat. Do not let the slower weight loss discourage you. The health improvements are as important as the weight loss. You are moving in the right direction, even 0.25 kg down in a week is significant.

(Susan) #4

Welcome to the forum, Patty =).

I think that you are doing great so far, and I agree with @Polly1 and @KetoType2 's comments above.

Slow and steady is the key to success for Keto and we are all here to encourage you onwards.

For me; personally, keeping my carbs as low as possible is always the key, and you seem to be doing that so just enjoy your new Keto lifestyle and you will be reaping all the health benefits including the weight loss over time.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

The healthiest fats are not those recommended by the government, but rather saturated and monounsaturated fats. Use butter/ghee, bacon grease, lard, or tallow to cook with; don’t use seed oils; stick to avocado, coconut, or olive oil for your mayonnaise and salad dressings. Oil is likely to make you feel ill if you eat too much. Seed oils contain far too much polyunsaturated fat, which causes systemic inflammation and metabolic damage.

I don’t think it matters, but many people on these forums will tell you that weights are better than cardio. Do what you enjoy.

The theory behind net carbs is that the fibre is indigestible and therefore need not be counted. Dr. Eric Westman said at Ketofest one year that there is beginning to be evidence that fibre may not be as indigestible as was previously believed, but I don’t recall that he cited a study to show that. Dr. Westman tells his patients to eat 20 g/day total; Dr. Stephen Phinney’s company tells their patients to eat 50 g/day total, in the hopes that, as Dr. Phinney says, they will end up under 20 g net.

The important thing, especially for weight loss, is to keep your insulin low (insulin is the primary hormone involved in storing fat). This means keeping your carbohydrate low, because it’s what stimulates insulin secretion the most. Fat is an excellent source of energy, because it hardly stimulates insulin at all, just enough for survival (insulin is essential to life; it is bad only when it is too high). We can’t live without protein, and in the context of a low-carbohydrate diet, its effect on insulin is nothing to worry about. But fat loss depends not only on low insulin, but also on getting enough calories so that the body doesn’t feel that there is a famine going on, as it will hang on to its fat stores until quite late in the starvation process. So, counterintuitive as it sounds, we need to eat enough in order to lose fat. This is why we advise not counting calories, but eating to satisfy our hunger. If you eat enough at mealtime, you will be able to go for hours until the next meal, and as your hunger and satiety hormones reassert themselves, you will find yourself actually cutting back on how many times a day you eat. This is good, because it helps your insulin stay low for more of the day.

(Tracy) #6

Great job! Here is the advice I give to people when I’m asked similar questions and this is what I have done with great success:

I try to stay under 20 net carbs per day. I only eat when I’m hungry. I don’t eat past 7pm and try not to eat until at least 11am the next day. I don’t purposely try to add fat to my diet because all the food I eat like bacon, eggs, avocado, nuts, meat, and fish already has enough fat. I have never taken a supplement. I only tracked my food for the first 3 months. You will know what you are doing after that. That is what has worked for me. You’ll find what works for you. Enjoy Keto!

#7

I think you do it right :slight_smile:
You don’t need coconut oil or MCT oil, I consume either except when I eat food cooked for both my SO and me as he prefers coconut oil. I prefer lard but I consume very minimal added fat, my protein sources have enough.
I wouldn’t worry about carbs unless you do something very strenuous activity or do weightlifting at a higher level, I am just a beginner and a woman in her 40s, I can get away without carbs especially that I prefer feeling well over gaining muscles as quick as possible (well I would need at a surplus for that and it rarely happens on keto)… I think focus on feeling well, eating little carbs, slowly losing fat… You can add some carbs later if you think it will help… Maybe slowly read about these things. It’s a thing eating a bit more carbs before a training session so you use up the carbs and go back to ketosis very quickly - I never will do that as I only can train well when very well-fasted… And I don’t believe I will need carbs for my moderate goals either. But anyway, my goal is losing fat first so it’s not important now.

Some people use total carbs. I always used net as I experienced it’s what matter to me. Now it’s a moot point as I normally barely touch plants… If it’s not too hard for you, you may be being low with total but if you get what you want without it, I don’t see any problem.

Slow fat-loss is nice. I had zero fat-loss on keto for so long :smiley: But I ate much, it was my slight problem all my life. Your calories are very modest but maybe your metabolism is slower, maybe there are some healing, there are many possibilities, really, 5 weeks are so short, be patient. Or try eating more sometimes or for a while to quicken your metabolism but I can’t guarantee it will work. It may. But for now, it’s not a bad speed. Yes, many lose fat way quicker but they are usually male and bigger or more active - or just have a quicker than average metabolism. But maybe positive things happen with your lean body weight… Impossible to tell. So, be patient, be happy with your benefits and keep doing what you are doing, it seems to be the right direction.

Or change things if you think it would improve something. But you already eat little carbs (some people like going lower though) and little calories this way. I need seriously avoiding plants and added fat to go as low as you do with embracing them! :smiley: We need different approaches. If yours work for you, do it.

#8

Wow - thank you everyone so much for taking the time to respond. This is all great information - especially on the kinds of animal fat you’re all recommending, I get some of my fat count from this already and it’s relief to hear that it’s sufficient - without all that coconut oil!

I agree that 5kg overall is great - it’s just the 1kg in the last 5 weeks is where I was concerned - but I’m going to keep pushing further with my weight classes and maybe just stop looking at the scale for a few of weeks :sweat_smile:.

(Roberta Worley) #9

I prefer the coconut oil to MCT only because I can’t find a way to taste test it. Yeah, someone might say it doesn’t have any taste but I say, don’t put your taste buds in my mouth!

IMHO, counting net carbs is the o n l y way to go.

Everyone’s body is unique. There aren’t any two alike not even with twins, triplets, etc. So you do what’s right for you. I only hope I do as well as you’re doing.