Doubts about carbs and type of food

(angie) #1

Hi everybody, i have began to track my macros with MyFitnessPal. Some days I see I am lower in carbs. My question is: can I have something that is not considered keto in a small amount (by example a piece of suahi that I really miss or any other little thing) if I am under the 20 gr limit or that is going to take me out of ketosis anyway.
Thanks
Angie

(Daisy) #2

Only you can answer that question. There are no keto police that will come and cart you away if you eat the ā€œwrong thingā€. But you need to experiment on yourself, what is referred to around here as N=1. If it doesnā€™t set you spiraling, kick you out of Ketosis (I donā€™t even really know what that means) or make you sick, then itā€™s ok for you!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

Presumably you are eating a ketogenic diet for some reason. If that bit of food is more important than your reason for eating keto, or if eating that food doesnā€™t prevent you from achieving your keto purpose, then why not?

If you are eating keto for the metabolic health, then you might find it helpful to reconsider eating any food that is going to raise your insulin level and harm you, but if your primary reason for eating keto is to lose weight, that goal might not be worth the sense of deprivation caused by giving up a favorite food.

In my case, I gave up sugar and sweets in order to try and avoid becoming a diabetic, and I started feeling so good that in a couple of weeks I cut the rest of my carbohydrate and started eating keto/LCHF. I donā€™t intend to go backā€”as long as I can keep my sugar addiction in check, anyway! :bacon:

(John) #4

People can handle different amounts of carbohyrates and still be in ketosis / lipolysis. 20 grams is pretty much guaranteed to work for everyone (thatā€™s 80 carb calories, less than your body burns in 1 hour with you just sitting there doing nothing) which is why it is the magic number.

You may be able to consume more and still be primarily burning fat most of the day, or you may need to go even lower. Thatā€™s up to you to determine for yourself by individual experimentation.

It is generally better to spend your carb calories on a nutrient and fiber dense food like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. But if you want to eat rice, eat rice.

Depends on how long youā€™ve been at it, and if you are fully fat adapted.

(angie) #5

Thanks for your answers. I am doing keto to loose weight. My heigh is 168 cm, I began in june with a low fat diet and a weight of 83.5kg. I went to 78kg and stalled in septemberā€¦ The doctor then gave me the keto diet, and I have lost another 6 kg up to date. I think I have at least 10 or 12 kgs more to goā€¦ This way of eating is easy to mantain but sometimes a want a little bite of things that I miss, not a full meal, but some biteā€¦ :smile:

(Diana ) #6

I think if you normally have no problem maintaining the carb goals, a little bite of a favorite food now and then may be what you need to keep you motivated.
Some hard core ā€œcarb addictsā€ might react to that one little bite like an alcoholic on a binge, though. You have to know what you are/arenā€™t capable of.

#7

I love raw fish. I eat it regularly. I have two suggestions:

  1. sashimi
  2. Poke bowl made with cauliflower rice

Most folks on this forum eat an arbitrarily set number of carbs. While convenient, I donā€™t think itā€™s optimal. I believe in testing to determine personal carb threshold. You may be able to indulge in sushi. Thereā€™s only one way to know, and itā€™s not by asking in a forumā€¦

(Kathleen Rose) #8

So how can you tell if youā€™re fat adapted? And how come when I reply to a certain post it ends up 6 posts away? Donā€™t you just love us noobs?

(Bob M) #9

Who can eat 1 piece of sushi? Seriously, itā€™s like telling yourself to eat one spoon of ice cream out of a pint container. It just doesnā€™t work.

(Running from stupidity) #10

Mebbe. My wife - who used to down a LOT of chocolate, thatā€™s a great way to get up to 94kg, BTW - has two small squares of very dark sugar-free chocolate each evening.

Iā€™m better at abstaining than moderating, but thatā€™s changing too, since I reordered my eating with keto.

Last night, had a few blackberries with some jelly mousse, and really wanted more - Iā€™ve been really hungry the last couple of days, no idea why - but 20 minutes later, having successfully been distracted by #ADHDBRAIN, I was fine and didnā€™t have any more.

So n=1, I guess. Where ā€˜nā€™ could be a person, or an hour, or a 10-minute span, or something :slight_smile:

(Bob M) #11

I can eat 85%+ chocolate and not want any more, but thatā€™s because to me it tastes bad. I donā€™t want any more. (I use the sugared variety.)

I think some people can do this, but Iā€™ve been on low carb 5 years, and I know what my limits are. If I have one piece of sushi, that means I have purchased a whole box of it. Itā€™s like ice cream - you canā€™t buy a taste. I can fast 4.5-5.5 days, so I have willpower, but that willpower breaks with things like sushi, ice cream, pizza., especially since there is no such thing as one piece (letā€™s ignore pizza places that sell by the piece, as we donā€™t have those here). I donā€™t buy them, donā€™t have them in the house, etc.

If she can eat one sushi piece, more power to her. I couldnā€™t do it.

(Carl Keller) #12

I gave up potatoes and rice after eating one or the other at least 4-5 days, every single week for 40+ years and I know how you feel. The good thing for me is I have found a lot of new foods that I enjoy and that are a lot better for my health. Hopefully you can discover those things too.

Sure you can have some sushiā€¦ maybe let it be a reward for your progress. Just to warn you though, some people who have a lot of carbs at once, after being keto for a while, feel like crap the next day. Flu like symptons, cravings, low energy etc might be in store if you overdo it. But others can do it and it might just stall them a few days on the scale.