Demotivated

newbies
#21

@Rseale8856 I am averaging somewhere in the 90-something grams of fat a day. Sometimes just over 100 sometimes in the 80s. My protein is low. Typically in the 90gram range - but I’m really not hungry. Let me know what you think. I feel like I have enough of my own fat to burn :joy:

(Charlotte) #22

I hate cooking, so i make a lot of stuff in advance or I buy precooked stuff. Like the ground sausage and steak, I’ll cook up the whole package and refrigerate it then just pull what I want when I want it. I do buy precooked grilled chicken strips cuz its convenient, just make double check ingredients.

ESPECIALLY check ingredients on all deli meat. That jumped out at me, especially 3-4ozs. A lot of it has added sugar and preservatives. Even the stuff from behind the counter. I generally stay away from it, but when I crave a sandwich I stick to just roast beef because its usually the safest. I’ll make little sandwich rollups. I layer 1 slice of meat, 1 slice of cheese, slice of avocado, and maybe a little mayo or ranch, and roll it all up and eat it that way. Its really filling for me. I can usually only eat 1 rollup.

These are my personal preferences:
I only use heavy whipping cream or full fat coconut milk for everything, even my coffee.

I don’t eat fruit, because it works against me more times than not. But thats just me.

I don’t eat carrots… generally if it grows IN the ground I don’t eat it. I love peppers and broccoli, and I use onion and vine tomatos conservatively. I also eat spaghetti squash because I have always loved it smothered in butter.

I don’t eat nuts except pecans in my occasional keto pecan truffle.

The only dressing I use is ranch or vinaigrette and stick to olive oil mayo.

I try to keep things as simple as possible and it has worked well for me. When I first started I went from
0-60mph overboard… total balls to the wall and it completely stressed me out and made it harder for me. I took a step back and just learned to keep it simple. I checked my ingredients, measured my food, logged what I ate, watched my carb intake, and monitored my other macros. @juice got me hooked on using cronometer for logging my food. Once I got used to the interface I liked it a lot better than MFP. I’m only 3 months in and still learning, so the above things are just what I have found that work for me. I hope that helps.

#23

Yeah, I’m a little insane at the moment with tracking and logging on MFP. I need to, at least at first, to give me perspective. The only nuts I am eating is in my salad and that’s to add fat. I’m 2 1/2 weeks in trying to figure it out. I was off major carbs and sugar before I started this so it was an easy transition and I got into ketosis quickly, no keto flu or any other issues. Guess I need to wait to become fat adaptive.

(Keto butts drive me nuts) #24

Maybe weighing out your food instead of using handfuls might get a bit more of an accurate tracking numbers. Kcko

(Charlotte) #25

Thats best. You’ll have to give it longer than a month though. 2 months minimum, 3 months is best before you decide if keto is for you. I’m 3 months in and I track everything precisely with a kitchen scale. I tried “winging it” today, but my ocd was like “oh hell no!”.

#26

@Erik_Knudson I weigh and measure everything. No guessing!

#27

I took my measurements today. I’m in it. I believe it can work. I hope I’m not disappointed! Will report progress!

(Alec) #29

Yes, spot on. Your best blood glucose reaction to anything from a “normal” base reading is no change. If you have carbs it will go up, triggering an insulin response. If your BG goes down it is likely that that is caused again by an insulin response but without the carbs.

In either case, you want to avoid the insulin. Best reaction to food BG-wise is stability/no change.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #30

WHAT? Blackest heresy!!! :grin::grin:

Seriously, might I ask what it is about bacon, that you don’t want to get too much? It’s a good way of getting calories from healthy saturated and monounsaturated fats.

Mind you, this is the exact opposite of what Procter & Gamble wants you to believe, but it’s actually the polyunsaturated fats that are the ones doing damage to our bodies. Go back to cooking with butter, lard, tallow, and bacon grease. (And eat plenty of bacon, so that you have bacon grease to cook with, lol!) :bacon::bacon:

(Jill F.) #31

I totally agree in the beginning measure EVERYTHING, a serving size of almonds, etc, is very small amount. Even a handful as a small framed woman equaled 2 servings once I measured.
Things like tomatoes and carrots are pretty high in carbs as far as veggies go. I would try to stick with green leafy things and use the orange or red things like carrots, tomatoes, red, orange, or yellow bell peppers out for now. Avacodo also has carbs.
I would try to stick with meats like steak, bacon, sausages, things full fat.
Keep tracking, keep measuring, and KCKO!

#32

Hi and welcome,

Keto definitely works.

By far and away the most important thing is to keep below 20g carbs (sounds easy but hidden carbs happen, and we forget to count this or that). If we go over - then the switch is clicked, no more fat burning.

Some people can go over and get away with it but I learned the hard way I’m not one of those. For me it’s a clear cut switch, on or off.

As for 1200 versus 1500, just “eat to satiety”, don’t be hungry or jam packed. Easy as that. I know it requires some mental gymnastics, I was a bit stressed about over eating, but I was over thinking it all.

Once you go into ketosis it’s pretty automatic and easy to do. But we need patience.

Cheers.

#33

@Alex99 Tx! Are you saying below 20g net carbs, which I am doing, or below 20g carbs?

#34

We had a survey a while ago, most of us are using Net Carbs and that’s fine for most people, most of the time.

But recently we’ve been having a lot of newbies saying they have stalled or want to make sure or it isn’t working …

So I’ve been checking out Dr Eric Westman’s “Ask Adapt” Youtube info. He says it is like “prescription strength” (20g Total Carbs) versus “over the counter strength” (20g Net Carbs). Both will work but he advises his patients to go with 20g Total Carbs because he wants it to work first time every time. He also says he has about a 99% success doing it that way.

I don’t have any real statistics but I’m guessing the more casual keto approach has a lot lower level of success?

I’m also trying to find Dr Westman’s “Page 4” Food Items List. He says “If it isn’t on there then you can’t eat it”. I have his book but I’m looking for that clinic hand out with just that list.

I like that approach. Less fumbling, no guessing, more sure.

Once you get firmly and surely started then you can add this and that.

(Now I’m using Net Carbs, but at the start I went somewhere between Total and Net carbs).

So I wasn’t suggesting all this as a necessity. But some food for thought.

If you’re already in ketosis then don’t worry about it, just go with 20g Net Carbs and watch for hidden carbs (that gotcha got me 3 times and I’m allegedly super careful …)

Otherwise keto is great, well worth the effort. Once you get started I found it is all pretty easy and almost automatic to follow.

(Cindy) #35

HEALcare-Page-4-digital-handout_20180906_E.pdf (124.8 KB)

I’m attaching his page 4 list. This is what he sends if you submit your email expressing an interest in it.

#36

@alex99 thank you. I am in ketosis already, at least according to the urine test strips I have. I got in quickly b/c I was eating low carb before. It wasn’t much of an adjustment for me. That said, I might try 20 total carbs below to see how it feels for a week.

Why does the Dr limit oils and creams to 2 tbsps a day? I didn’t think fat/oils were limited?

(Carolyn aka stokies) #37

I would try to cut put the snacks and tighten up your eating window. Even with low carb if you spike insulin 4x a day you are not going to lose weight. From my experience. I limit my eating window to 6 hrs a day and eat 2 or 3 meals in that window. But I give my body 18 hrs to process food, lower insulin and allow my body to access fat stores to burn after insulin goes back down.

Ymmv

#38

Thanks

#39

If you can get away with Net Carbs then you should be fine. It’s just a good card to keep up one’s sleeve if ever needed.

Why the 2 tablespoons? Because people do silly things, he told someone they “can eat all the bacon they want”, so they went out and had 3 lbs of bacon or some rediculous amount. I can imagine someone putting a tablespoon of coffee into a bottle of oil and drink the whole lot.

Anyway see how you go after a week.

(Cindy) #40

Dr. Westman also works with a lot of patients who are T2D or obese and need to get results quickly. So he needs them to show results as soon as possible and the best way to insure that is to limit more of what they eat. Notice he also says no nuts initially.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #41

Oils and creams are easy to get too much of. Also seed oils (called “vegetable oils” for marketing purposes) contain far too much polyunsaturated fatty acids. PUFA’s in quantity make us queasy, and certain of them cause inflammation when we get too much of them. Fat is a great source of calories, because it minimally stimulates insulin secretion, but try to get it in the form of real food: meat, avocadoes, cheese, and the like.