Getting in enough fat - a thought process and a bit of anxiety at 6 months in

#1

Hi, everyone. So I am 6 months into Keto and it has changed my life. I have lost 27 pounds, effortlessly. I feel SOOOO much better. I sleep better. I have tons more energy. I don’t have “low periods” of the day. My mind is clearer. I’m getting daily exercise and have started to put on some muscle, which is great for a woman post-menopause. Perhaps the biggest change of all is that I have no food cravings. None. Zero. Sugar and carbs are of absolutely no interest to me whatsoever for the very first time in my life (I am a full-fledge sugar and carb addict). I also do daily intermittent fasting by eating my first meal no earlier than noon and, if possible, eating my first meal as late as 3 pm. I wake up by 7 AM. I have never cheated and I have absolutely no interest in “cheating”.

I have been using carb manager to keep me on track. I’m not as obsessive about it as I first was, but if I don’t use it, I find myself eating a few too many cherry tomatoes and not getting enough fat in. On these days, I never go over 22 net grams of carbs, but I end up with WAY too much protein, throwing my macros off. This will reflect on the scale, and more importantly, how I feel. On days like this I never feel satisfied. It’s very clear to me that eating too much protein and not enough fat doesn’t work for me. This is the real struggle. My goal is to eat 75% of my calories from fat, 20% from protein and no more than 20 net grams of carbs per day. I usually eat less than 15 net grams of carbs and I aim for 10.

Let me say that I am eating very “clean” in that I am not eating any processed “keto” crap (sorry to those who use those - just not for me). I eat meat, macadamia nuts (and to a lesser extent pecans and walnuts), butter, ghee, sour cream and cheese. My one indulgence is UTZ Pork Rinds, which I eat daily. I find that, even eating this way, getting enough fat in is a struggle. If I eat my first meal and don’t get enough fat in (75%), I end up behind the 8-ball for the rest of the day. Yesterday I actually melted an ounce of butter and ate pork rinds dipped in it to up my fat. I hadn’t done anything “off”, but if I don’t eat at LEAST 4-5 ounces of nuts/ day, I can’t get those ratios where they need to be. I

Here’s the thing: This much fat is what makes me feel full. It is also what keeps me from having cravings. But I’ve been dieting all of my life, and I find it hard to, mentally, keep up with eating this much fat. It scares me on some level. I’m worried I’m going to drop dead of a heart attack as I’m dipping that pork rind in the butter. This can’t be healthy, can it? I was born in 1962. When I was kid, who first started dieting at age 10, I might add, if you were looking at a menu and saw the “diet plate” it was always a burger patty with no bun, a scoop of cottage cheese (no such things as low fat back then) and a tomato slice. That is probably a perfect keto meal. But then the 80 hit with the low-fat BS and we all got brainwashed. I’ve never bought into much of the “low fat” diets, mainly because I couldn’t eat low fat. I just couldn’t. But over the years I eliminated all dairy from my life, especially cheese, which I love and I also eliminated all nuts from my life except almonds (which I always hated). Now I can finally eat cheese (YAY! I love that so much) and macadamia nuts, but in the back of my mind a little voice keeps nagging me that this is wrong and dangerous.

Part of the problem in getting fat in is that meat is so much leaner these days. It’s hard to find 70% hamburger. Steaks are very lean. Even pork is lean. I grew up on a farm where we raised our own pork and beef. It was never this lean. I have ordered a 1/2 grass-fed beef this month which I should have in Dec. Even this beef will be much leaner than I would like, but at least I can get the steaks with more fat on them and have the hamburger meat custom ground. Even so, I have spent decades training myself to limit that fat. I used to LOVE to eat steak with a little piece of fat in each bite. Now it’s a struggle to do so. I’m struggling with the fat. I’m looking for your help.

So what do I eat in a typical day? The following: 6-10 ounces of some sort of meat (beef, pork, turkey, chicken - usually a mixture). I try to eat some of the fat with it, if possible. 4 ounces of nuts (predominately macadamias, but also some pecans and walnuts). 4-5 ounces of cheese (Manchego and Jarlsberg). 2 ounces of butter/ ghee (this is actually a LOT of butter/ ghee). 1-2 ounces of sour cream. 3 ounces of pork rinds. 2-3 ounces of berries and/ or tomatoes. Some arugula or romaine lettuce and/ or some asparagus. I keep the total carbs of the fruit and veggies to under 8. If I eat this way, I’m getting my targeted macros in. I drink water, plain seltzer and home-made mint tea with stevia added. That’s it. This is what I eat and drink daily.

I worry that I’m eating too much cheese and nuts. I’m worried about the butter. I haven’t had any blood work done since I started this and I’m worried that I’m going to be off the charts with my cholesterol next time I’m tested, even though I don’t believe in the 200 rule. I’m going to be tested for new life insurance soon and I’m worried about that, too. I think this is all brainwashing from the 80s forward, and all the decades of dieting, but I’m still a bit worried about it.

How does this look to you guys? Thoughts? Thanks for letting me write this.

(Laurie) #2

Congratulations on your accomplishment. I’m glad it’s been working for you.

I eat two meals a day. Most of my meals are satisfying. But sometimes I just know that whatever I ate wasn’t enough. Usually, the problem is not enough fat. Since I eat the same things over and over, I’m learning which meals need to be supplemented with more fat.

I’ll throw out a few ideas for getting more fat; maybe a couple of them will appeal to you.

I finish my second daily meal with a “dessert” of one ounce of Cambozola cheese, a cross between camembert and gorgonzola. It’s heavenly, and 42% fat. I buy Cambozola Classic, made by Käserei Champignon. I tried another brand once, and it wasn’t as good.

Apparently mascarpone cheese is also around 42% fat. Perhaps you can use it instead of, or mixed with, sour cream. (Admittedly, it is more expensive than sour cream.) I haven’t tried it yet. I went to buy some, but I read the label and it was only 36% fat, so there wasn’t much point.

By the way, Jarlsberg cheese is relatively low in fat. Could you replace it with another kind?

I recently tasted some homemade oil-packed vegetables. Delicious. I believe the name is sottoli. Maybe you can find a recipe or even buy it somewhere. Oil-packed artichokes have been in stores since forever. (For what it’s worth, I eat almost zero vegetables now.)

Depending on how you cook your meat, could you put some bacon in the mix, or wrap things in bacon? I’ve also seen fat pork–if I recall correctly, it was pork belly–at my Costco (in the meat section with the pork).

Sorry, I don’t know what to say about your worries. I hope your insurance test will set your mind at ease. Good luck!

#3

Thank you so much for your helpful suggestions. I will definitely look into the mascarpone. I love Jarlsburg, but I also like the Manchego, so I can start to eat more of that, although they are similar in fat and protein.

I REALLY don’t care for blue cheeses or strong, runny cheeses. Not for me.

I don’t care too much for bacon. I don’t think I’d like pork belly. Pork, in general, isn’t my fav. I do like the rib in a pork chop, though and I eat those regularly. I am looking into short ribs and other fattier beef options.

I tend to look at my veggies as a counterpoint to all of the fat. My favorite thing is to melt some of my cheese in the micro, then throw a handful of spring mix or rocket on top and eat it like an inverted salad. I need that freshness in my food.

I think all of this is just anxiety about doing something so opposite of what I’m used to doing. And what is weird is that I am not an anxious person. But life is weird right now. I makes sense to worry a bit, doesn’t it?

(Bob M) #4

You might just want to run some “tests”. Can you eat something that’s lower in fat and still be sated? Or do you really need the fat?

I find I have have a very low fat, high protein meal, and it’s satisfying.

#5

Oh, I’ve done high protein/ lower-low fat MANY times in my life. I know exactly how I feel when I eat that way. It’s not good. This is the first time that I’ve done high fat, low protein, extremely low carb and it’s changed everything.

(Bob M) #6

Higher protein, lower fat, AND lower carb?

If so, then what is your concern?

#7

I think that I’ve been pretty clear that I’m not sure what my concern is. Probably just lingering trauma from failed diets combined with low-level brainwashing.

No, I haven’t don’t high protein, low fat, low carb because I always ate a lot of veggies. However, I’m not willing to try something different at this point. Also, isn’t the point of KETO to be high fat?

(Laurie) #8

Hi again. “How much fat” seems somewhat controversial, or at least complicated. But you will often read “Eat fat to satiety” or words to that effect. That’s what I do–I eat just enough fat to keep the hungry feeling from happening. If you don’t feel hungry after or between meals, maybe you don’t need more fat.

#9

For me it tends to be more than I think it is. Again, the “diet” mindset. I find that if I eat fat according to my carb manager, aiming for at least 75%, even if it’s beyond feeling satiated, it works and I’m not hungry. Probably brain re-training.

(Bob M) #10

I don’t see what’s wrong with what you’re doing. If it works, it works.

If at some time in the future, you find that you have stalled, then consider what you’re eating in more detail. At that point, one option is higher protein, lower fat. Will it work? You can tell us at that point. :wink:

(Robin) #11

@EquiPro I totally get your concerns that are floating about looking for a place to land. Going Keto, especially high fat, feels like rubbing a cat’s belly the wrong way and waiting for the claws to shred you to pieces. You feel like you are on the road to terrible test results. You’re doing everything right, and yet… it still feels so wrong. Yep, sounds about right. It will take some time for you to trust your body and to see test results that prove what your body already knows. You’ve already seen the success of weight loss and a mindset of zero cravings. And you think…”Surely the other shoe is about to drop!” (It’s not.) “Surely it can’t be this easy!” (It can.)
But, let’s suppose you get back horrendous lab results. (You won’t). Let’s suppose your numbers are off the charts. If so, you will have learned that Keto is not for you. (It is.) Worst case scenario, you will be starting a new way of eating from a much better weight.
More likely scenario, your worries will be laid to rest. Either way… You got this!

(Bob M) #12

After eating (very) low fat for decades and being on low carb going on 7 years now, I STILL catch myself thinking “that’s a lot of fat!” at times. It’s happening less and less frequently, but I still do this. And I went through some tests recently where I ate as much - gasp! - saturated fat as I could.

#13

Thanks, Robin. You really understood what this post is about.