@Apex estimated your total calories at 1100-1300. That’s not high fat. We might be wrong, but until you start tracking and stop guessing, none of us will know.
This can also be an issue. You teach your body how to manage your metabolism. You’ve told it for years that its only getting 1200 calories a day and only one meal, so it’s learned to manage on this. As I said above, you’re going to need to re-train it.
I’m pretty sure I’ve graduated to a level here that you can private message me. How exactly? Not sure just yet! If you can’t figure it out, please shout out here and we’ll get it to work somehow!
Hi @Zuleika! Thanks for that calculator link. That’s the one I had used, too.
And thanks for the tips regarding Carb Manager and Joy, both of which I just downloaded to try out. While I agree with you that there’s some work up front creating a spreadsheet (yes, having to look up values), once that’s done, it’s vastly easier than what I see on either Carb Manager or Joy (and same with MFP) – way too much typing into little boxes, something I really don’t like to do on my phone! With my spreadsheet I also just look up a food item and enter the amount I ate (or am planning on eating), but I’ve added in a few things which are super-advantageous from my POV. Of primary importance is being freed from the idea of ‘servings’ which is a very American approach (I’m American, so please don’t take that as critical!). Even with being able to create one’s own recipes, there’s that ‘identify a serving size’ requirement. Why? Does one always EAT the same amount?! And also, I want to be able to edit and personalize my list of foods so that my pull-down’s are a manageable size. For me, a massive database of foods is a hindrance, not a benefit!
So, I guess I’m just fussy AF and/or, for starters, I prefer the European approach of having all nutrient information given in a single amount and value: 100 grams. All I need to do is break the eggs I’m about to eat into the bowl and weigh them, then jot down that number and let Excel calculate the macros. Whether it’s 127 g. one day or 54 g., I’m not limited to volume or ‘servings’ units. Ditto with something like bacon which we slice by hand off a very large hunk. I aim for something like 50 g. often, but that can vary up or down by 10-15 g. depending on how my slicing hand is performing on the day!
Basically I guess it just comes down to customization: I want to get what I want, and not what somebody else has determined I want. I like a tool that serves me, is tailored to my needs, and can grow with me as I wish!
And regarding my comment about weighing and dishes, I was referring to the general procedure of weighing versus volume, including things like baking. For sure fewer dishes when you can just add in ingredients to one bowl rather than using all your measuring cups and spoons as well! But for Keto, I think the same applies. For a bacon, egg, cream cheese, butter, mushroom, peppers, onion and hot sauce breakfast, for example – I have yet to get sick of it! – I need a single bowl and a small plate to get everything weighed and, thereafter, served. Would you need more?
Anyhow, hope I don’t come across as contrary – love these discussions and just so happy to be ‘talking’ to people who don’t think keto is insane!
Hi @amwassil !
I’m fascinated by the comment “as much as I dislike the metric system generally”. Out of curiosity, why?
Pity you’re not a cook, but of course that’s from my pretty Foodie POV. Do you dislike the process? Or do you just not thrill over the results?
Sorry … so many questions!
For distance: a centimeter is too short, a meter too long and a kilometer way too short; whereas an inch, foot, yard and mile are just about right. For temperature: a degree centigrade is too much; whereas a degree Fahrenheit is much more precise, but I agree that ‘0’ as the freezing point of water makes more sense than ‘32’. For weight: a kilogram is too much and a gram too little; ounces and pounds are just about right, but I agree that grams are far easier to calculate. For volume: a milliliter is too small, but a liter is not bad; but for larger quantities gallons makes more sense than multiplying liters, although I agree that having both an ‘imperial gallon’ and ‘US gallon’ is ridiculous.
To the good, though, calculating base 10 makes sense. It’s just that the arbitrary size of the metric units have no reference to anything. Even the so-called standard meter as a unit based on a fraction of the circumference of the earth turns out to be wrong, so also yet another arbitrary unit.
I don’t dislike the process nor generally my results, and I do have favourites and nonfavourites. For example, I like my keto coffee and look forward every morning to drink it. I’m a functional type person and food is fuel. I seldom actually cook anything and mostly eat single bowl mixes. I don’t obsess over food nor need it for anything other than fuel. Eating is just a pit stop: I want to get in, get refueled and get on the road again.
Haha, I will assume you’re being facetious! But then again, we’re all a bit like Goldilocks when it comes to what’s “just right” aren’t we?! I’m glad you concede that zero’s the more logical freezing point J.
As for the food/fuel and eating/pit stop thingy, you and I are on different highways here. Although it’s not really true, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say I live for food because few things make me consistently happier! But, different strokes and if it works for you, carry on!
I haven’t used Carb Manager, but I’ve used Joy for a long time. You’re not restricted to “serving sizes” or US volume measurements at all. You have a choice usually of several measurement options for every item. For example, for some sausages I buy, there are grams, ounces, or links. You can put in partials–like 1.5 servings or whatever. You can add your own recipes or foods, again with both weight and servings. The foods you’ve eaten most recently come up as soon as you click on the button to add something and the list narrows just by typing in a couple of letters. So, after you’ve used it for a while and gotten most of your routine foods in, it gets much easier to use. It also has a scanning feature, so if you have packaged foods (condiments, etc.) you can just scan the bar code. It’s not perfect, but it’s a very good option.
Same for me. I think I am probably very unorthodox in how I prepare food and eat, certainly not typical. When I got into keto again I investigated several online planning/tracking tools but could find nothing that came close to the flexibility I require combining ingredients into meals and performing the ratios and calculations I want to see. The few that came closest required lots of fiddling to do so. Being well versed in spreadsheets I knew I could get exactly what I wanted with one, so I did. Another benefit of using spreadsheets is that I can see exactly how everything gets calculated. There are no ‘black box’ generated totals to wonder about.
Have they fixed the taste of that stuff? I used to use it when it first came out, then they changed the formulation and it tasted disgusting.
As far as I know, proprietary ‘Brain Octane’ is just MCT oil.
Hi @ZuleikaD – my quick look at ‘Joy’ was sloppy, then, and clearly the several foods I looked at just didn’t want to cooperate. Since, like you, I found the un-fussy interface quite nice, I’ll take back my initial judgement – looks like a good app! It’s probably still not for me since I’ve cooked up something of my own that works for me (and set up my own database of foods which took a few hours, so I’d rather not start over J). Anyhow, very good that it exists and I hope plenty of people take advantage of it!
Wow, @amwassil, those words could have been written by me – you and I feel almost identically about doing our own thing! With me, though, I wouldn’t have said I was exactly ‘well-versed’ in Excel, but you’d be amazed what a couple of weeks of hard graft does J. And absolutely I want to be able to ‘look under the hood’ and know how it’s all working. Are we just badly lacking the ability to trust?! Cheers!
No idea what it tasted like before, but I just take a tablespoon in the am, then follow it with flax seed. Then water, then a cup of coffee.
So, since last I wrote, I took up some of your advice with regards to eating some more.
Reduced exercise to almost none.
Now I have added 2 hard boiled eggs, and have about 3-4 slices of salami.
Will get tougher midweek, as it is Holy Week and can’t eat meat of any sort from Wednesday until Saturday at noon.
Can’t stand salmon, but have a few days to endure.
Will see how this goes for a few more weeks before throwing in the towel.
So I did Keto from 1/25 - 6/8/19
Saw zero in the way of weight loss.
Got off of it due to going on vacation and have restarted as of yesterday 7/22.
Really need advice on how best to proceed.
I drink coffee. Did so yesterday and today with a packet of Splenda & Half n Half (while on it previously, did the Ghee, no Splenda, etc.)
My one meal of the day was a steak in butter with broccoli and cheese (under 22G Carbs) with 2 glasses of Diet 7up.
I took 2 tablespoons of Bulletproof Brain Octane (afternoon & after my meal).
No snacks, nothing but coffee as described above.
Today, took 1 tablespoon of Bulletproof and 1 Tablespoon of Flax Seed Oil.
Coffee with Splenda & half and half.
Meal will be the same tonight.
I drank 2 glasses of water this am.
Other than that, nothing.
I want this to work this time, any thoughts?
Welcome back @KetoUSA
Initial suggestions: ditch the Splenda, Half & Half, Diet 7Up and Flaxseed oil.
https://blog.virtahealth.com/fats-oils-ketogenic-diet/
https://blog.virtahealth.com/mufa-pufa-ketogenic-diet/
If coffee is and is going to be a major part of your daily regimen (as it is mine) make it true keto coffee. By that I mean an actual meal in itself that meets your macro ratios. Use zero carb whipping cream instead of Half & Half, MCT oil and/or coconut oil, and/or ghee. Add zero or very low carb whey protein powder to balance the fats with protein to your ratios. Use a blender, don’t just drink a cup of coffee with an oil slick floating on top. You could also use powdered MCT oil with whipping cream if you don’t want to use a blender. For a single cup of coffee, a blender probably looks like overkill. If you go for MCT powder, however, be advised it may contain carbs, so read the label carefully and get one with the lowest carbs you can.
As for your main meal, I’ll let others advise.
My advice is to re-read this thread and consider some of the suggestions that people offered before, particularly regarding how much you’re eating. Most people seemed to think it was very low, but your intake doesn’t seem to have changed. People also suggested you ditch the MCT oil/Octane and eat real food.
Also:
My first go round.
I had dropped the artificial sweeteners, etc.
Coffee had a tablespoon of GHEE and Heavy cream
I began to eat a snack midday which consisted of salami and sometime provolone.
Dinner was salmon somedays with broccoli with cheese. would add some olive oil.
I drink 3-4 cups of coffee per day.
THIS, So much! Me too!