I find it difficult to eat Keto. I typically have 2 eggs and a half of avocado in the morning, salmon or chicken for lunch, and fish, chicken, or steak for dinner. I am limiting my veggies to leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower in relatively small quantities. I drizzle in some olive oil. Evening snacks are 2 slices of cheese and some Pork Rinds.
My carbs are around 20g-22g, Proteins seem high at 123g, and fat around 80g. I think I need to lower my protein and up the faaaaat! I just don’t know what to eat, especially when I take my lunch to work with me every day.
I have been checking my weight which fluctuates daily, but I don’t seem to be losing any weight. I’m doing this for a few weeks and haven’t seen any progress. I haven’t checked my Ketones because when I used the strips in the past I rarely got into Ketosis according to the strips.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thank you!
Find it difficult in getting my fat in
If your having fish, top with a homemade tarter sauce. You can add couple hundred calories and 28 grams of fat just with 2 tablespoons.
Chicken add a ranch sauce to dip in.
Use cream cheese or sour cream as dip for pork rinds.
Butter, butter and more butter.
If carbs are good, try a handful of macadamia nuts.
Add some cubes of cheese to your meals.
Eat the whole avacado.
Make fat bombs to eat as dessert at end of meal.
*try not to snack but make meals larger.
I find it difficult in adding the fat, yet staying within my caloric intake for the day. I know that calories still matter and I can’t just eat tons of fat and expect to lose weight.
Restricting calories only matter in your mind. From your initial post, you’re clearly still stuck on the SAD way of thinking. “Restrict calories, low fat, I’ll lose weight”. If it was working you wouldn’t be here looking for tips.
Everyone is different, but most people find if you increase your fat your body will naturally get full sooner and you’ll adjust to less calories without needing to give it much thought. That’s one of the benefits of eating fat instead of carbs.
Like others suggested, sauces are a great way to up the fat. After cooking your meat, toss a couple pats of butter in the pan to deglaze and release the fond for a fatty sauce. When I ate fish I’d make some sort of mayo concoction to smother it in. If you’re eating salads, don’t be afraid of making your own vinaigrette. Mine was simply olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice with some salt and pepper. I did not see you mention coffee, but lots of people enjoy replacing breakfast with a bulletproof coffee (coconut or mct oil, butter, hwc). I personally just do a little hwc in my morning coffee because I prefer eating instead of drinking my fats, but this little bit of fat is typically good enough to get me to my 1pm eating window.
Abundant energy makes the body more willing to part with its excess fat. The key is to eat fat to satiety, since that’s the way to get enough calories without stimulating insulin secretion.
As Dr. Eric Westman says, “Calories count, but you shouldn’t count them.” The point being that once you’ve been eating this way for a few weeks you can trust your body to shut down your appetite (i.e., you’ll reach satiety) when you’ve given it enough calories. People who have a lot of excess fat to metabolize will automatically find themselves eating at a level that will allow the body to burn both the fat they eat and the fat in their adipose tissue. In the first few weeks, especially, don’t worry how much you are eating; everything will settle down and your satiety signaling will kick in, and before you know it, you’ll be fully fat-adapted.
If you want to lose weight and aren’t feeling hunger, there’s no reason to “get all your fat in”. Fat is just a (flavorful) fuel. Your energy needs can either come from ingested fat or stored fat.
I don’t even include fat in my daily macros. I want less than 20 grams of net carbs and at least 120 grams of protein. After that, it’s a matter of whether I’m hungry or not. I would like to stay under 1200 calories, which also then limits my fat intake. But I will have fat if I’m feeling hungry. I’d rather go over 1200 calories than make myself feel deprived, as I have a history of binge eating that goes back nearly 50 years.
Substitute lunch for a chicken broth made from broth powder (mainly salt) and hot water with one tablespoon of coconut oil. Stir well to dissolve the powder and emulsify the oil.