Could I get a second set of eyes?

#8

Yes, l would lose that mayonnaise!

I find this ^ really tough myself … I’ve gone through stretches of not eating any dark chocolate and I feel amazing, but other times it feels like it keeps everything else in balance and helps keep me on track. If you can get into the mindset that food is for nourishment and not for entertainment, then you’re probably going to be in a great position not just for weight loss now but also for long-term health and the body you want. But I know that’s easier said than done…

(Pamela) #9

Yes Erevehc, I hear you. I don’t like what you’re saying, but the peanut butter snack has to go. :laughing: If I can replace it with a bit of fruit, it’d be a win. I’d better run some numbers.

(Pamela) #10

Oh Madeleine, why do you have to be right? My peanut butter treat has to go. :worried:It’s like a crutch, 300 calories of tangible evidence daily of the unhealthy eating habits I am trying to distance myself from.

That’s a lot of calories to replace, and I’d like to choose wisely. The snack provides a bit of protein that I don’t particularly need. I’d like to replace it with something nutrient packed, I hate the idea of just adding fat. Hmmmm…

#11

Do you need to replace the calories because you’re hungry? If you want to lose weight, what you’re hoping is that your body will get those extra calories from your belly.
If you’ve tended to restrict calories in the past, it can help to have a few feast days here and there (extra eggs with butter, extra ground beef) to make sure that your RMR doesn’t slow down, but once you’re fat-adapted, you probably don’t need a calorie target until you’re at your goal weight (and then you’ll know - because you’ll be really hungry!).

(Pamela) #12

I think I do. Otherwise I’m under a thousand and I’d like to do this sustainably.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #13

20 total, not net, carbs is recommended because it works for most people, most of the time. Yes, some people do really well at up to 50 total carbs, and a fewer some can go even higher. But if you aren’t getting the results you want, aim for 20 total carbs.

Blueberries get me. They are higher carb, for a low carb fruit… :thinking: Raspberries are better for carbs. And they are my favorite anyway, when I can get 'em.

This is a handy guide. Another thing to look for is Dr Eric Westman’s page 4. It is a list of foods that won’t steer you wrong.

Have fun on your keto journey! I’m glad you are already seeing benefits, even if the scale hasn’t moved as much as you would like.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #14

Another thing to remember is that exercise, while great for a host of things, isn’t great for weight loss. Crazy right? If you were doing a lot of exercise before, it probably won’t hurt to keep at your routine. But if you started exercising at the same time as keto, you may be raising cortisol which will make you hold on to weight. You may want to hold off on exercise until your body is telling you to get on it. Moving is a good thing. Stress is not.

(Pamela) #15

Thanks Ruina! No, 20 carbs wouldn’t be sustainable for me, that wouldn’t work. Love the raspberry idea though, they would be nice a couple times a week for sure.

Gosh, I think the exercise is a huge part of the reason I’m feeling better, and the positive change has been huge, just not so much on the scale. I think there is a mental health benefit I get from it too. I guess there is a bit of a trade off. If my cortisol is up, I’d better get used to it. I’m off the couch! :rofl:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #16

It sounds as though you are doing fine as you are, but I would suggest cutting out the soy altogether. Not only does soybean oil contain a lot of inflammatory polyunsaturated fats, but the beans also contain phytoestrogens that can interfere with fat loss and possibly pose a cancer risk (though opinion is divided on that issue).

The Lite Salt is a good way to get a bit of potassium and magnesium in your diet; eating dark greens will also be of help there. Be sure to get enough table salt (sodium chloride), since getting the right amount will help your body hang on to potassium, magnesium, and calcium better. The healthiest amount of salt is 10-15 grams a day (2-3 U.S. teaspoons), including the salt already present in our food. Getting minerals in food usually makes them more available to the body, as compared with taking supplements. I’m not saying not to take supplements, because you may need them, just that it’s better, when possible, to get what we need from our food. Also, a well-formulated ketogenic diet changes our body’s requirements and generally makes it possible to do more with less intake.

If you make your own mayonnaise and salad dressing, you can control the quality of fats better, as opposed to buying commercial (you have to weigh the benefits against the extra work, though).

Natural peanut butter contains no added sugar, which is helpful. The health food market near me even has machines for grinding your own peanuts, which is perfect.

As long as you are eating as little carbohydrate as possible, you don’t really need to calculate macros. Just eat to satisfy your hunger, and your body will sort itself out (though this may take a while). Our ancestors generally feasted or fasted, and they certainly didn’t suffer from the chronic diseases that plague us.

(Katie) #17

IQ am willing to bet your are probably insulin resistant. You need to get the insulin down and keep it down. If you want to “pull out all the stops”. Drop your carb intact to ZERO. I know that is really impossible unless you only eat meat…but make zero your target number.

Next…only eat between 1pm and 4pm. No snack of any kind outside that window. Shorten the period of time your insulin is high in reaction to eating.

Make sure you are eating a lot of calories inside that window…add extra fat if you need to boost your calories.

#18

I would focus really hard on eating only meat, veggies, and fat. Switch to heavy cream (HWC) in your coffee. When you get an itch for something sweet, a treat, have a coffee with HWC, some bacon or cheese, or some salt.

I would look intently at why you have set up some extra rules for yourself that you are unwilling to waver on. Things you are unwilling to give up, or things you think you need if you can’t have ____. Even thinking about low-fat yogurt as a healthy option… you are still in diet mentality rather than keto freedom.

I am also concerned about the exercise. It sounds like a lot. Be kind to your body and consider switching that up to something less intense but still active. Yoga, hiking?

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #19

But maybe after 20 g for a while, your body will repair enough to increase a bit for maintenance. Or you can make peace with a slower path. I agree with Paul that you are doing fine as you are.

(Pamela) #20

Ok, I’m getting it. I do have this unhealthy dependence on the damn peanut butter. Sigh. I am now willing to let it go.

Yes, I’m barking up the wrong tree on the triple zero, half and half, and mayo lite (an impulse purchase, I’ll replace it). Thanks for pointing that out.

(Pamela) #21

Great ideas Katie. I actually could do all those things and really mix it up. Thanks for the ideas.

(Pamela) #22

Thanks Paul. I am doing pretty darn good! I just need to have a bit more patience and give the recent changes a chance.

Really glad I posted this morning. Here’s what I plan on doing:

  1. Move back to full fat options on the coffee creamer, mayonnaise, and any yogurt or other foods I eat in the future
  2. It’s been painful even to contemplate, but I’m going to give up my daily peanut butter/almond flour/fake sugar snack in favor of fruit, yogurt, nuts, something natural. Edit: and that chocolate shake sounding concoction described below — wow!
  3. Ease up a bit on the protein.
  4. And be patient!

Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. Stoked again!

(KCKO, KCFO) #23

Actually Megan has been speaking about using alternate day fasting for weight loss. Feast, fast, feast and repeat.

I would stop the half and half, if adding anything use heavy whipping cream, no reddiwhip, the kind you pour out of a carton.

Cut the carbs down lower, up the healthy fats, that can be more olive oil on your greens etc. If you don’t already know about the infograms on dietdoctor.com, go to that site and view the carb count of all the veggies, you will find more variety easier to live with, you mentioned a lot of kale, there are other greens lower in carbs.

Switch to fat bombs instead of that cookie dough thingo you posted. Tons of those recipes out there, sweet and savory styles. A good basic one is mix 125 grams of coconut oil with 25 grams of 100% raw cacao powder, add a few drops of liquid stevia, try the flavored ones for variety, but plain is fine, go easy, sample to your taste, a dash of vanilla. Mix well then pour into silicon trays or even old ice cube trays will work, or you could use mini cup cake pans as well. If no molds of any kind roll them in 2" balls, and place in the freezer. Have one of these when you really feel you need something or enjoy them after a meal as dessert.

Recipes forum has some good recipes including every thing from salad dressings to desserts, check those out.

I also 2nd the suggestion to get some autophagy going on and everything PaulL said above as well.

All the best to you.

#24

@davisgirl, Collaroygal’s post above is for you.

I know you want to find a way to eat that you can sustain, but the fat loss phase is going to be different from maintenance. If you keep insulin low (see all the posts above) and you have fat to lose, your intake might look something like
900 cal from outside food + 600 cal from your fat stores

Once you’ve burned through most of your fat stores, it would be 1500 calories from outside food.

[It’s not anywhere near this neat, of course, and CICO has a ton of issues if you use it too literally as a strategy - but basically you’re not really restricting calories if you’re accessing your body fat. That fat is food.]

#25

Actually if you’re fat adapted, exercise can be great for fat loss though it’s best to view it through the lens of hormones (looking at insulin and - as you mentioned - cortisol in particular) instead of the lens of calories. Phinney and Volek did a study of Keto without exercise vs Keto + exercise and the second group lost substantially more fat.

Though I agree that changing WOE and adding exercise at the same time… it can be too much change at once!

(Pamela) #26

I may change my opinion based on what you’re saying (and a few others alluded to). I just ate about half my lunch, and I feel full. I’m not going to force myself to eat the rest today. I’m headed out to the gym.

I really hate that I just outright reject new ideas, then 5 posts later I’m like, oh… :rofl:

Thank you so much for the help everyone. :slightly_smiling_face:

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #27

Huh… I think I can confidently diagnose you as human :wink: