Do you have basic 'Keto Rules/Guidelines' you follow?

#74

You mentioned smth very smart, replacement foods and ingredients for those can be very expensive and overwhelming. I tell them that those ingredients are not needed and you actually spend a lot less on food, because you can’t eat a lot of the things we mindlessly purchased before.

(Marius the butter craving dude) #75

I guess I do have my rules. witch is better for anyone than not having any rules regarding eating.
The rules I have are more intuitive since I do not count macros a lot and I want to be flexible:

  1. Eat as less carbs and vegetables as I can in a day, possibly none. It is way more simple to keep carbs under 20 grams if you eat only meat… and you do not need to calculate carbs.
  2. Make sure I eat every day 50 gr from my home made lard tablet so that I have enough fat every day. Eating meat dose not mean that you get enough fat for keto.
  3. Give a thought at least once a week to other nutrients and vitamins found in organ meat; or just eat some organ meat once a week.
  4. Monitor my weight daily; and here I admit I am paranoid, I will never let myself go back !! I know that 2 kg variations plus or minus can mean anything other than fat tissue but I do not feel comfortable without checking my weight every day morning and before bed.

I wish that in time I will be like other people who eat correct instinctively and weight only once a week at random and they have the same weigh including in grams…

(Carol) #76

Thank you @JohnH, it was a labor love and wanting to share good health with 2 friends. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they take to it.

Absolutely! I’ve purchased a couple things over the months and some day I may make something using them but don’t find it tempting yet. :slight_smile:

I will also note that I talked with each woman individually over 2 hours - they wanted to know everything. lol I kept telling both of them to keep it simple to start. Tweaking can come later.

#77

It is amazing how simple keto is to us now and we smile with fond memories of newbie beginnings when we see our newbies jumping onboard. It was overwhelming for us, but now we have a chance to pay it forward to those who want to listen and do :slight_smile:

I recently removed myself from a few groups on FB (i am not familiar with the new “rules” these days on what we can say and names we are allowed to write) for the same reason… I just didn’t agree with the method anymore, a lot of people struggle and it leads to even further complications because you really need to watch portion sizes and carbs, at the same time waving all those delicious recipes+books and telling people to count total and under 20g of carbs - it feels like such a hassle, it sets us up for failure and makes us feel like we’re back on diets again. I didn’t want to work myself up again, so I took myself out of the groups and let people do their own thing. Maybe I’m just grumpy lately and things are bothering me more… I hope I just know better and try to do better :crossed_fingers::joy:

(KCKO, KCFO) #78

:clap::clap::clap::clap:

Well said. This is what we have to do to get healthy, lose weight and stay that way.

(traci simpson) #79

I still have moments of “Should I be eating all this food at one time” moments and it still seems crazy that this works! : )

#80

Totally agree :slight_smile: my husband calls me an animal :joy:

(Bob M) #81

After 5.5 years of low carb/keto, I guess I have fewer rules than others. I don’t get upset if I eat too many vegetables/olives/pickles for instance or even eat red onions or salsa. I don’t get upset if I have to add a paleo BBQ sauce to my meat as I’m sick of eating meat. I don’t freak if I eat something I normally wouldn’t at dinner out (such as – gasp!! – a loaded potato) or if I eat ice cream cake for a special event. I just fast to overcome that. Otherwise, I just fast when I can, eat relatively low fat, higher protein (which I’ve found I like better), low fiber, and try to eat few vegetables per day. If I can’t make it fasting, I eat a low carb meal and plan the next time. I also never count anything unless I’m testing something - no calories, no carbs, no nothing.

#82

Yep, and this is why I often limit my meal sizes too… :smile: :wink: :pleading_face: :lying_face: :shushing_face::face_with_hand_over_mouth:

That’s just Blasphemy, Bob!!! :astonished:… Kidding, but yes, I can see one getting sick of meats, when they are done for a long period of time, and very often. (But honestly don’t think I ever will though!) :slight_smile: But I do eat a lot of Seafood, Chicken, etc. trying to not overdo them, but do eat meat quite often still. :+1:

(Mary Beth Barr) #83

I saw The Magic Pill this weekend! It got my husband’s attention in favor of my WOE! Loved the effects on the little girl with autism!

#84

First off, welcome Mary, glad to have ya with us. And hope your husband decides to join you on this WOE/WOL which usually makes things a whole lot easier overall. :slight_smile:

Yes Ma’am, it’s a nice documentary and I do usually recommend folks watching it. Very cool to see how just changing your way of eating can cause so many good things to happen, such as with the little Girl and Boy, but also the adults as well. :+1: … Don’t think you can go wrong being much healthier. :slight_smile:

(hottie turned hag) #85

After 2+mos on “carnivore-ish” (quotes to deflect terminology zealots) ME TOO :neutral_face:
I’m sticking with it until goal weight (six pounds away) then debating going to just cheese and veg and no meat. I haaate to cook (did it almost every freaking night from 1981-2018 when my nest became empty :baby_chick::bird::penguin::baby_chick:) and when last child went to uni knowing I never had to cook again unless I wanted to was the one consoling factor in having that sadly suddenly too big house with no offspring to nurture.

Since starting this “carnivore” gig I am again cooking nightly. And just this week am not relishing the steaks and bacon anymore.
-sorry just a vent, kinda-

(Ellen ) #87

I’ve been on keto about 2 weeks now. At first I lost 4lbs but now nothing. No loss, no gain. I’m frustrated. Any advice?

(Running from stupidity) #88
(traci simpson) #89

Depends on what your eating and how many times a day. Do your clothes feel different?

(Ellen ) #90

Thank you Traci for responding. I figured out with much reading on this site that I have to be patient. I’ve kept the 4lbs off and occasionally fluctuate down 6lbs and back to the 4lb loss again over the past 3 weeks. I’m in this for the long haul so I’m happy with the results. I just thought I might be doing something wrong. Seems like I’m on track.

#91

As Traci indicated, it can depend on a lot of things. And then again, it also works differently for all of us. The scale also doesn’t always tell the true story either. You can have other things going on, and still not see the numbers changing dramatically. The more you read up on these forums, the more you will see what I mean :slight_smile: … You could also start an Accountability thread where you can post your information where folks can chime in to provide assistance? Or simply use the information for tracking purposes?

You can post your stuff, such as meals that you’re eating, how many a day, etc. (You can also check out and post on the 'What did you Keto today? The Trilogy! - I will add a link below) Very good inspiration in that thread, and everyone enjoys sharing their meal ideas. :+1: And as you say, you are still relatively new indeed, so don’t rush it. ‘Stress’ is also never good for weight loss or anything else for that matter. Simply try to enjoy this WOE/WOL but if you stick with it, I’m sure you will be happy with the results. :slight_smile:

(Ellen ) #92

Thank you Dave. I’m discovering another side of me that I didn’t think I had…patience. lol
Thanks for the advice.

(John) #93

When I first started, I lost in the first couple of weeks but actually had a gain in week 3 and the first part of week 4. It wasn’t until the end of week 4 that things started moving downwards again, and by the week 5 weigh-in I had lost the gain from weeks 3 and 4. And here I am, 9 months later, down over 90 pounds.

Your body is dealing with some rather significant changes in those first weeks. You are forcing it to change primary energy source from glycogen to fatty acids and ketones. It is NOT used to burning those fuels. It can do it, but it’s not really good at it. It does become good at it over time, and continues to get better at it over even longer time.

When I started, I had committed to stick with it for 6 weeks before evaluating success or failure. From my past experiences with making major changes to the body’s systems (dietary changes, exercise changes) there is an inertia that must be overcome before you really start seeing noticeable results. And 6 weeks seems to be the magic number for me.

Mark Sisson’s web site also says to commit to 6 weeks when starting. I have seen others say 30 days.

After 6 weeks of strictly following the keto guidelines (I used the Dr. Eric Westman “page 4” protocol), if I had seen no results, I would have tried something else on the same spectrum that also emphasizes healthy whole foods - maybe Mediterranean.

But the ketogenic diet did work for me - by the end of 6 weeks I was down about 6% of my starting weight, and now here after 9 months I am down 30% from my starting weight.

But if I had given up because I saw a couple of pounds gain in the 3rd week, I would never have had that success.

(Ellen ) #94

You’re so right. I’ve read many stories stating the same. I promise I am in this for the long haul. Tried a few things that didn’t work (vodka didn’t) and things that did (lemon water to reduce fluid). I can’t tell you how happy I am. The journey alone is fun!