I’m about 100 pounds over weight and need to get rid of the flab for obvious reasons (fat not good!)
I met a guy today while out doing errands and he said he had lost over 200 pounds doing keto (I forgot to ask him how long it took), but within a few minutes of talking to this guy it kinda clicked in me that I need to look in to this.
The thing I like that he mentioned was it was an organized approach to changing what I would be eating along with some exercise thrown in too.
So, if anybody knows of any good “Get Started” articles so I can start planning on changing what I eat to begin following the keto diet, I’d greatly appreciate it!
To add to Janie
Start being a student to this Way Of Eating. Go through your “food closet” and wherever else you have food and get rid of all junk (high in carbs) food. And don’t do too much to soon, ease into this WOE slowly. Everyone is different. Your body will be going through a lot of changes so be prepared.
The organisation required is to lower your carb intake. Eliminate sugar, starches, and grains completely from your diet, and eat only things that grow above ground. Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables work well. Be careful with nuts, seeds, and fruits. Some are keto-safe, while others (such as bananas) are far too sugary to work on a ketogenic diet. Get a good amount of protein and the fat it comes with. Perhaps even a bit of extra fat, to provide the energy you’re no longer getting from carbs. Eat to satisfy your hunger. That’s it.
The point of the diet is to lower our insulin to the point where we can get out of fat-storing mode and into fat-burning mode. The presence of ketones in blood, breath, and urine is an indication that we are in fat-burning mode, since the liver produces ketones only when our insulin is low enough (ketones are partially-metabolised fatty acids, the way charcoal is partially-burnt wood).
There are a lot of good threads in the Newbies Forum. Check them out. One is called “Keto is this easy,” and another one is “Advice from the oldtimers” (may not be exact, but that’s the gist). There are a couple of others that you are likely to find helpful, as well.
One last thing: we’re glad to welcome you to the forums, and if you are coming from the world of social media, our search function, unlike theirs, actually works. Don’t be afraid to use it. Also, the way the forum software works, you get more access to things, the more you hang around and participate. You might find the basic tutorial from Discobot helpful, as well; just follow the prompts.
The bottom line of keto is that it’s short for “ketosis”, a state of energy metabolism the body shifts to when it runs out of carbohydrate in your diet and stored in your muscles. If you don’t put in carbs (sugars and starches), you’ll run low and start burning fat for energy within a few days. You’ll probably also lose water weight, because of the different chemical make-up of fat vs. sugar.
How fast you’ll lose weight is subject to your own body. Men do tend to lose faster than women. Many people here have discovered that they are healthier on a low carb or ketogenic diet (very low carb), and eventually the weight loss becomes more of a side benefit. It’s surprising how your basic eating pattern can change - it’s not uncommon here have gone from “SAD” (Standard American Diet), to a form of keto eating with a lot of substitutions (how can I make a pizza or muffin with almost no carbs in it), to very simple whole foods, and in some cases all the way to zero carb carnivore.
It’s an interesting journey down a road to health, and I wish you good things!
When I started, I really didn’t know hardly anything about how to do this. I read and watched videos on dietdoctor.com and posted questions here. I also picked up The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung. The science of it is fascinating and made total sense. That answered so many questions for me. It’s really pretty simple, just believe that.
My tips: eat clean, one ingredient foods (meat [beef, pork, chicken, etc.], fish [if you like it - I don’t], eggs, butter, some cheese, bacon, sausage, organ meat (not for me), mayo, heavy cream, and low carb veggies). Obviously, it’s okay to combine these to make a meal, but the point is to keep your food clean - no junk. I’d suggest getting your macros and meeting or exceeding those every day. Helpful to chart them for the first month or so. Don’t count calories, and try not to weigh yourself more than once a week (I don’t weigh at all except when I go to the doctor). Exercise if you want (I never did), but don’t use it as just another way to purge calories or weight. Most importantly, keep the carbs under 20g/day. To help in that regard, I usually confined my vegetable intake to dinner. Being a man, chances are you will start seeing results quickly. Make sure you eat enough to be satisfied and quell the cravings. That’s really it in a nutshell, for me anyway. It’s never steered me wrong.
If it were me, I would first get blood work done and a DEXA scan done before beginning. Then test again in 3 months. Measure your blood ketones every day for at least 2 weeks in the beginning. Eliminate all food that is white or could be white; eggs are the exception— nothing from a box. Drink lots of water. Start walking. After the first month, I would also start intermittent fasting (16:8), 2x3 per week. A recent study pointed out that eating your first meal in the morning has better results when fasting.
Dr. Jason Fung’s book “The Obesity Code”, would be a great starting point.
Welcome to the forums. I see many others have given some great tips.
The progress topic on here has lots of before and after stories and pictures of others’ journeys to give you an idea of what to expect check it out: https://www.ketogenicforums.com/c/progress
I am an older female so it took me longer to lose than most of the men on here, but this time the weight is staying off and I feel healthier and better at 74 than I did in my 40s. I love the foods I can eat, and even the occasional splurge doesn’t break me now. I have also been able to add back in some more carbs so that even up to 75 g does not throw me off. So I consider that a big win in my life.
Welcome! I am 7 weeks in or so. 54y.o. and I’ve lost about 25 lbs and seem to have bottomed out there. I am ALL for this diet, just know…it sucked for about 3.5 weeks. I just felt BAD which is why I found this forum. It helps going in to know that there are some hard moments.
If I had to start over and experience all that discomfort…I would do it again in a heartbeat. MY GOODNESS my energy has NEVER been better. It’s AWESOME!
May God bless your journey
P.S. I started a thread about My Journey So Far, in case you want detaiil
That’s definitely something I’d like to learn more about!
Thanks! I’m going to need it!
Sounds simple enough!
I read something about being able to do this yourself at home… I’d be interested in being able to do that as this is all kinda on a budget and going in for medical testing at a doctor would definitely blow the budget!
At over 100 pounds over weight I don’t “feel” all that good now anyway so a few more weeks of that should’t be a problem
Keto sticks (i.e. urine test strips) are the least expensive way to check for ketones, especially in the beginning of your journey. They’re not the most accurate, and there’s disagreement for whether they go on being useful after a while, but my own experience has been that they will tell me whether I’m in ketosis or not, and the cost is about $10 for 100 test strips, give or take.
From many years of fasting and from having tried Keto once before a few years ago, the only helpful thing that I can add is that the “Keto flu” at the beginning (feeling terrible because of carb withdrawal and the changes that causes in your body) is avoidable, in my opinion.
You may feel some discomfort and may not feel “great” during the transition, but you shouldn’t feel awful… Drink plenty, make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes (because you’ll be peeing out so many electrolytes in the early phase you need to replace them) and follow the basic Keto rules (eat plenty of fat and protein whenever you’re hungry and eat more salt because the body needs more salt on a carb-free diet than it does on a carb diet).
Personally, I also find it helpful to have tiny amounts of carbs in the first few days, if carb withdrawal symptoms set in strongly. I make sure it’s not a delicious form of carbs tho, like chocolate or whatever else I might “accidentally” over-eat. Instead, I mix some apple juice with water so it’s really diluted and sip just a very small amount of that, if I’m getting dizzy, getting a headache, feeling nauseous or other carb withdrawal symptoms in the first few days. Basically like having a nicotine plaster when you’re stopping smoking. I find that these tiny amounts help my body adjust and stop the withdrawal symptoms from getting really bad. I’ve done this in the first few days whenever I do an extended fast and both times I’ve started Keto and I find my body responds to it really well - I think it’s grateful to be given a gentler adjustment than just going “cold turkey”.
Generally, the monitor to measure is free, or it was years ago. (Freestyle Precision) and included 10 strips in the box. Otherwise, I think they are about $2 per strip. Yes, this is expensive. However, you want to know if what you are doing is putting you into ketosis, at least in the beginning. You may get a sense of it when you are in it. If so, then you can suspend using the strips.
Lastly, remember that it’s about the systems and processes you put in place on a daily basis that, when done consistently, will get you to your goal. Without it, nothing happens.
I’m in Europe, so what I buy probably won’t help you but I’m sure there’s people here from the US that can advise.
Anything with sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, and bicarbonate is a good start, tho you can get the sodium from regular table salt.
I don’t know how good the following are, but it’s definitely better to have electrolytes than none.
Your pharmacy should be able to advise you too re an electrolyte mix that doesn’t contain sugar or sweeteners.
I make a mix (3:1) of Salt (NaCl) to NoSalt (KCl) and keep it in a jar. Then I toss in 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of the mix into my water bottle each time I fill it up. You don’t need to buy anything fancy. Some people will add a little magnesium citrate powder to the mix, but I take it in capsule form so don’t add it to my electrolyte mix. Sometimes if I’m particularly lazy, I just put some salt mix in my hand and toss it down with some swigs of water.
Again, it doesn’t need to be fancy and using salt and No Salt is waaaayyyyy cheaper.
The way I organize is to track the food I eat. I use the Carb Manager app but I’m sure there are plenty others. I try to plan ahead on what I will be eating in the next few days and when I fail to do that there is always prepared food in the fridge that can easily be microwaved. Forget what a traditional plate of food looks like. I just had a bowl of taco meat with melted cheese and a dollop of sour cream for breakfast.
As far as measuring ketones, I did that when I first started this way of eating. It was really cool and extremely interesting, but that was about all it did for me since I’m really doing this to lose weight. Now I wouldn’t recommend the purchase because I know what ketosis feels like. When you start sleeping better and brain fog seems to subside, you are probably in ketosis.
What perhaps has not been stressed up to now is that you should not obsess about how much weight you are losing in how much time, and also not be worried if you see plateaus in your process or even temporary increases in weight. It will not be a linear process. Your body is a complex machine and works in its own way, and possibly in ways that might be only particular to you and a few others.
Your attention should be focused on following the keto diet properly and on taking it as a change in lifestyle rather than a diet.
When you do that, the results will come like the day follows the night. Just give it time and enjoy the ride!
