Feeling limited

(Jen) #1

I just started this diet and am feeling a little (or alot) limited. I know I need to preplan my meals im order to avoid this, but even what I drink seems very limited. I bought a diet coke today :see_no_evil:. Its technically ok on keto bc of the no carbs & no sugar. Any thoughts on this? Should I stay away all together?

(Robert C) #2

I decided a long time ago to stay away from Diet Coke.
Happier for it now - get my caffeine through great tasting coffee.
Artificial sweeteners can both ruin the gut and perpetuate the desire for sugar.

It is likely a very short term thing - throw away all remaining Diet Coke inventory and totally abstain (and get your caffeine from somewhere safer like tea or coffee - don’t try skipping caffeine at the same time - probably will lead to failure). In a couple of weeks - Diet Coke cravings will likely be gone (and - as a positive side effect) general carb cravings might diminish, helping your keto!

(Frank) #3

Have a rib eye steak covered with mushrooms, heavy cream and butter with a side of asparagus. Follow that up with some blackberrys in hwc and rediwhip with cinnamon and pecans on top. Maybe even a square or two of giardelli 86% chocolate. After that let me know how limited you are feeling. :wink:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #4

If you’re feeling bored with your food already not a good thing. Look at the “What did you keto today” thread. Get some inspiration from others who are being creative or just simple with their meals. It doesn’t have to be boring at all. And get used to drinking lots of water, and coffee or tea. They will be your go to beverages on keto. Keto eating frees us from some food stigma we may have bought into. Replace the carbs with fat and protein snacks that you may have thought of as off limits before. Olives, salami, cheeses, HB eggs, pork rinds, pepperoni, pickles or whatever fits the profile. Plenty of good veggies still ok too.

(Scott) #5

It is incredibly liberating to switch to just drinking water. I don’t go anywhere without my Hydro-Flask. It is even better if you get the optional internal straw with the flip top. Keeps water cold all day even in a hot car. The best part is no buying water bottles, big savings! After awhile water tastes normal and anything else tastes odd (except wine and scotch but that’s a whole separate story). We haven’t pack lunch this week due to my wife’s cold but thats okay. Monday was a bid wrap but made as a salad (no wrap carbs) with blue cheese. Tuesday got a to go from a hole in the wall big burger place, cheese burger w/ extra bacon and side salad. saves almost $3 each day not getting drinks and hitting the water bottle.

(Omar) #6

some people think that diet coke makes them stall weight loss wise

so if you looking for weight loss and you have a stall you may want to consider the diet coke being a potential cause.

If you are not looking for weight loss then there should be no reason to worry about it but you always better without it

(John) #7

Yes, this is an issue to work through as you change what you eat. We live in a world where convenience = high carbohydrate and processed food.

Healthy foods, that are prepared from fresh ingredients and don’t include a lot of starches and grains, are a bit more perishable and don’t have the carb fillers or delivery systems - like bread to act as “holders” for your meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

You are definitely cutting out / limiting foods you once used to eat, and that are abundant and easily accessible in our junk food / fast food world. No sugar, no starches, no grains, no potatoes, no refined seed oils.

Seems simple enough, until you realize that includes most dry forms of foods that come in wrappers and don’t need to be refrigerated. No snack bars, candy bars, crackers, cookies, granola bars, biscuits, bread, rolls, cereals.

But the reason you are eating this way is that all of those foods have contributed to whatever condition it is you are trying to address - metabolic syndrome, diabetes, blood sugar, excessive body fat, inability to control your eating. So if those foods are the problem, you have to figure out how to cut them out somehow and replace them with something healthier.

It’s work, and not easy, and takes a lot of changes of habit. More frequent grocery shopping, more attention to exactly what you are eating, more cooking and food prep, more research as to what is on the menus at restaurants nearby. A willingness to try new foods and experiment with different recipes. Sometimes a willingness to develop a taste for foods that you actually don’t like initially.

It is certainly doable, you just have to set your mind to it. I still have the challenge of coming home from work (sometimes late) and realizing that if I want to eat, I need to cook. When all I want to do is plop down in a chair and eat something easy. So - I rouse my “inner adult” and go cook myself something. The more I do it, the more it just becomes habit. Worst case, I eat some cold cuts, cheese, pickles, olives, and condiments as a charcuterie plate.

As for Diet Coke - that’s an individual choice. I used to drink 4 or more of them a day. I quit cold turkey to avoid keeping the desire for sweet tasting things alive. I tried one about 3 weeks into the keto diet and it tasted foul, like a bottle full of chemicals. Which is, in fact, what it is. Artificial everything, except for the water.

You may have no problems continuing to drink Diet Cokes, but I dropped them. Flavored but unsweetened sparkling water may be a good option for you. I make up a 2L jug of water with 1/2 of a lemon or lime squeezed into it for flavor as a soft drink replacement. I am lucky that I love coffee (black), black tea, green tea, and herbal teas so I always have options for a flavored drink when I want something other than plain water.

Also - it’s not that hard to develop or re-acquire your taste for just plain water. It’s the ideal beverage.

(Laurie) #8

You have to find that sweet spot where you’re eating right (for you) and not getting so frustrated that you’ll quit.

Some do well with strictness and simplicity; there’s less chance of messing up. I need to be strict about certain things, but I have some leeway with others, such as occasional soft drinks. I was never a big pop/soda drinker anyway. Once in a while I enjoy a Diet Coke or Zevia, but as others have mentioned, I’m kind of losing my taste for sweet things.

I enjoy regular bottled water but can’t afford it. I don’t like the taste of our local water, so I make a mix of lemon + stevia + salt + potassium + water, and flavor my drinking water with it. I just use one squirt of mix per glass of water, so I’m getting hardly any lemon or stevia–just enough to make the water taste okay.

Try some of the suggestions that have been offered and see what works for you. Good luck!

(Robert C) #9

OR

You have to fine that least-sweet spot
:grinning:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #10

Funny thing, I don’t drink sodas often but I used to drink the sugar variety off and on. Diet soda made me wretch. But after 5 months of keto I tried a diet soda and it didn’t bother me the way it used to. I think that I was comparing it to the sugar taste which I have avoided since starting keto.
But I full heartedly agree about water and insulated drinking bottles, everyday all day.

Brita or Pur pitchers have been the answer for me. California water tastes like a swimming pool.

(Laurie) #11

I was raised on chlorinated water, and it took me a long time to get used to non-chlorinated!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #12

I was too and as an adult I drank only distilled water for years, switched to filters about 5 years ago.

(Shanda) #13

I can attest to this. Tried drinking a coke zero a couple weeks after I gave up soda and it made me sick.

(Janelle) #14

Everybody will have an opinion on this. I use sweeteners in limited quantities. Ok’d by my obesity doc, based on a lot of evidence but if it triggers you for wanting more sweets or raises blood sugar, stay away. No soda/pop for me though - too many weird ingredients.

Drinks -

  • Fizzy water like LaCroix - so many flavors, no sugar, no sweetener.
  • Coffee
  • Hot tea
  • Water with a known mix in. I believe doc said Crystal Light is ok.

If you’re tired of foods -

  • Taco Salad (bed of shredded lettuce, salsa, avocado or guac, seasoned beef, cheese, sour cream)
  • Salmon baked or fried in butter in a cast iron skillet, small salad and a veggie side
  • Chile con carne - no beans
  • Chicken breast or thighs with a half cup of lower carb pasta sauce covered in mozzarella and with zucchini noodles for a side.
  • Crock Pot or Instant Pot? Beef Stew with a few mushrooms, small amount of onion and rutabaga (like potato - much lower carb)
  • Order your favorite loaded meat topping pizza and eat just the toppings (feels weird but works)
(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #15

I also use sweeteners. Would the fat just melt off if I stopped? Maybe but it’s slowly coming off and I don’t have any physical symptoms using them so I’m using them and for me, they enhance my experience.

#16

Peta, I’m like you – for now. When I’m not fasting I will use one short squirt of Mio sweetner to my water or carbonated water more for taste than actual sweetness.

Also, I add one short squirt of liquid Splenda to my once-a-day coffee (fasting or not) to cut the bitterness. I have not seen any blood glucose spikes because of these. When it comes to sugar cravings I can say it has not really increased my want for sweets. It might increase overall hunger waves early in the fast.

However, I am beginning to believe that when I am Extended Fasting that sweetners just might be slowing my weight-loss results. On my next fast I will cut out all forms of sweetners and apply only 1 tbsp of HWC to my coffee. Small steps. And if I think HWC has an effect, then the following fast will be black coffee only. Again, small steps.

As for diet soft drinks, I have been allowing myself 1 to 2 cans per month maximum and have seen no bad side effects. The rare Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper and Diet Root Beer are still a treat.

#17

Drinkwise, have you tried kombucha? I know here in Australia everyone’s gone kombucha crazy, pretty much every store/eatery sells it. They are low in sugar, and it’s a fermented beverage which is good for our gut bacteria. Loads of different flavours too.

(MooBoom) #18

That was my biggest fear about going keto, feeling limited. But if anything, keto has allowed me to include more deliciousness in my cooking than I’ve ever experienced before! Here’s some of the meals my fiancĂ© and I enjoy:

Breakfast options:

  • Oven baked bacon, pan fried haloumi, poached eggs with homemade hollandaise sauce and a side of spinach cooked in butter.
  • Omelette made with eggs and heavy whipping cream, filled with mushies, capsicum, ham, cheese and spinach
  • A thick dollop of natural Greek yoghurt topped with organic mixed berries, scattered with a handful of walnuts/pecans and dusted with cinnamon
  • A diet doctor keto bread roll with fried egg and bacon
  • Eggs benedict with fresh smoked salmon or pulled pork minus the bread/toast (or on top of a diet doctor bread roll)
  • Crustless quiche with whatever keto fillings you can cram in
  • Or a Bullet Proof Coffee with all the good stuff (double cream, coconut oil, cacao powder
yum!)
  • Plain old eggs how you like ‘em with bacon
  • Etc
.

Lunch options:

  • Leftovers from the previous evenings dinner
  • Spinach salad with fatty protein (salmon, sardines, bacon, chicken thigh etc) and crispy bacon bits, low carb veg and an olive oil/red wine vinaigrette
  • Chicken Caesar salad minus the croutons
  • Charcuterie platter
  • Rotissierie chicken with homemade mayo, avocado, olives, a wedge of whatever cheese you like, maybe a few nuts and if you have room- low carb veg
  • A jalapeno cheddar bacon keto muffin with a side of greens
  • Tuna nicoise salad minus the potato
  • Etc
.

Dinner options:

  • A well marbled steak cooked to your liking (in butter!) with a mushroom cream sauce (or creamy peppercorn sauce) served with a side of greens i.e. asparagus, broccoli, spinach, kale etc
  • Homemade burger with the lot- just no bun!
  • Taco bowl
  • Fajita’s minus the tacos
  • Bolognese sauce on al dente broccoli florets instead of pasta (or carbonara sauce, marinara sauce etc)
  • Keto pizza with whatever base you like best (some like fat head, some like cheeseisthenewbread’s base, I like a chicken crust)
  • Chicken cacciatore on a bed of cauliflower mash
  • Beef stroganoff on a bed of cauliflower mash
  • Crispy skin salmon served with loaded cauliflower mash and Asian greens
  • Any number of keto casseroles (my favourite is steamed broccoli, turkey mince, sausage, cubes of ham off the bone in a cream cheese/cream/mozzarella sauce)
  • Stirfry with lashings of oil and low carb veg
  • Lamb souvlaki minus the bread
  • Any fatty protein with a side of greens
  • Lemon chilli garlic prawns cooked in a creamy white wine sauce, served with parmesan cheese, a scattering of Persian feta, on a bed of steamed broccoli florets
  • Pork belly with loaded cauliflower mash and a side of greens
  • Beef Pho without the noodles (or with low carb noodles like slendier)
  • Keto lasagna (I layer slices of full fat ricotta and zucchini ribbons as the ‘noodle’)
  • Creamy broccoli and bacon soup
  • Etc



Snacks/Dessert (hardly eat these but for beginners it’s helpful, or if you’re going to a social event and need a keto option these are great):

  • Keto brownie (in the recipe section of this forum)
  • Keto cheesecake (recipe on my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/deliciousnotdeprivedketo/)
  • Keto crackers and cheese/pate (recipe on my FB page link above)
  • Good old low carb veg and a low carb dip i.e. babaganoush
  • A handful of macadamias or other keto friendly nut
  • A few slices of salami/ham and some olives
  • A dill pickle wrapped in a slice of cheese and salami
  • Etc



I really, REALLY don’t feel limited given the above is just scratching the surface and everything is fooken delicious!!!

Dive in, discover what you CAN have and it’ll blow your socks off!!

(Bunny) #19

I try to think about it this way:

  1. What would I do if there were no quikymarts around the corner from my house?

  2. What would I do if food didn’t come in a nice pretty clear and colorful cellophane or cardboard packages?

  3. Only thing that there was sweet to eat was fruit?

  4. Cephalic-Phase-Reciprocation and metabolic anticipatory expectations spiking your insulin[1]; your already starting to begin the process of digestion as amylase spills forth into your mouth from the salivary glands (you have not even touched a speck of food yet)? Thinking of all those mouth watering delicious goodies at that quikymart around the corner or the thought of all those delicious chewy chocolate chip cookies that just melt in your mouth sitting all lonely in the cabinet hidden behind that box of somethings?

  5. Why (above) I quit using artificial sweeteners!

Footnotes:

[1] The neural/cephalic phase reflexes in the physiology of nutrition

(Alex ) #20

@MsQueenOfHearts

Jen, if you need a “fizzy” hit the then try some carbonated water, and experiment with natural flavours - apple cider vinegar and-or a teaspoon of lemon juice work really well