Got my 83 year old mom to go Keto!

elderly
(Liz ) #21

Right? And that’s just the extras, she orders eggs, broccoli, cauliflower, cheese, butter, chicken, etc from other places. She totally gets it and I believe she will stay keto the rest of her life. She is working hard to cut back on my dad’s carbs as well, bless her. It is no small task!! She’s got him reading labels now lol.

(Darlene Horsley) #22

That’s amazing! Pretty soon dad won’t have a choice. Lol

(Liz ) #23

She’s got him almost there, but he’s addicted to fruit juices alas and will not touch water, would rather die!! Literally :frowning: It’s rough. But she’s doing the best she can.

(Darlene Horsley) #24

Well it sounds like she’s doing a good job of it to me! As for juices maybe she could start mixing diet and regular ? I know it’s not perfect but may be a start.

(Rob) #25

I moved my parents to Trop50 (horrible crap but 50% sugar of full juice) and them migrated them to the juice diluted with diet 7up/lemon-lime soda which they enjoyed for sweetness and fizz. Went from 50g+ carbs to 11-15g per drink.

(Liz ) #26

@Capnbob That’s good work! We are trying something like that, migrating to something less carby with dilution.

@Darlene_Horsley It’s further complicated by my dad being on the Asperger’s spectrum and if you know anything about that, it is really disruptive and difficult to get him to change anything he loves. I hate to agitate him! Mom is better at it lol. She is a trooper to even try. When he was in the hospital last time he wouldn’t drink water at all, complained constantly about the quality of the OJ they offered him, we were so worried he would get dehydrated we brought him his preferred juice from outside every day. He is not a go-with-the-flow kinda guy, bless him.

(Darlene Horsley) #27

Ah I get it. Bless his heart. I’d probably be a softie and let him have the juice. Sigh. Kudos to mom for being such an advocate and trooper!

#28

Have relatives who are approaching 80. He had an A1C of 8.4 which we were expecting, diabetic since his 50s, Tofi. We were not expecting her to have an A1C of 9.4! They both went on a paleo plus diary type diet. Still eat quinoa, some rice, and a slice of ezekial bread daily. They do moderate fat. He eats lots of egg while omletes which I try to stop. His A1C went to 6 and hers went to the low 5s and she lost about 40 lbs. She looks great, he had a heart attack about 6 months after starting the diet (2 inch calcification in his LAD) but I think it was from the prior damage. That was Thanksgiving 2016. He is doing ok. Complains that he does not have enough to eat. I keep telling them to up the fat but they do not listen. I do not live near them most of the year so cannot cook.

He has been off all diabetes medication since last year. They fear salt since he still has high blood pressure and is on CVD medications. However his A1C at 6 is not ideal. Part of the problem is that they bring food in for every meal. Even if it looks LC there is probably hidden sugar and vegetable oil. It is great that your mother is cooking I think that is the key

#29

I wish I could get my mother on board. She actually introduced me to Atkins many years ago, and understands the benefits. She is trying to cut carbs, which is a good start, but eats a lot of crappy processed Atkins shakes/bars, etc. I have to be extremely careful how I approach things with her. She is strong-willed, and if she feels the advice we give her is unwanted (which can change from day to day, lol) or pushy, communication gets shut down (she doesn’t want to hear it).

#30

I was the same with juice when I started. It was the one thing I couldn’t fathom being without. I relied on diet drinks for a while (including some healthier choices without artificial sweeteners) and when my body was ready I stopped needing them. I’ll still indulge in a diet soda on occasion, but keto did it’s magic for me.

(Liz ) #31

Mom’s got dad down to one orange juice a day! She makes him a sort of lemonade by squeezing lemons into water and adding stevia. It’s s huge step down on carbohydrate cobsumption. He’s already losing weight. I’ll take him to the cardiologist Friday for his 6 month check up. He has congestive heart failure. We’re so curious if in any of his previous blood tests they ever checked his glucose.

Mom’s latest NSV is she can climb the stairs better, one foot after the other instead of up one step, stop, repeat.

A lot of the problems she thought were due to old age are actually due to insulin resistance, it turns out. So that makes me hopeful for aging better myself on Keto.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #32

LIz, that is great news about your parents. YEA, MOM!!!

Glad your dad has lost a few lbs. as well. Hopefully his heart dr. won’t be a total asshole about the new WOE, since they both are seeing good results.

(Liz ) #33

You know I worry about that! But I told dad if the Dr mentions his weight loss he can tell her “I’ve been cutting my carbs” and that’s it. I can’t imagine she will be against that since it’s so vague. Shes been pretty undogmatic this whole time which has made everything much easier. But I’m sad she doesn’t encourage a Keto WOE to her heart patients. What can ya do?

(Sarah Martinson) #34

This is an old post but I thought I would comment anyway. (I haven’t been able to find a keto site for seniors), but I am 72 and started keto about 3 years ago, initially lost 10 lbs. While I would like to lose another 30, my weight did stabilize. that said, I got tired of tracking my macros but tried to stay “low carb”, avoiding starchy and sweet food, and my weight stabilized for two years. I recently moved to a senior living community where a portion of our monthly fee is a dining allowance. Since moving here and not having complete control over my food choices, I have gained about 12 lbs. in 4 months. Not a happy camper to say the least. I still avoid high starch foods and deserts, bring my own salad dressing to the table, select entrees without sauces, have made a goal to walk 4,000 - 6,000 steps a day, do a 30 minute cardio dance workout 2x a week, and walk 6-12 flights of stairs a day. My legs are getting noticeably stronger, which has been a goal with walking and stair climbing, I know this type of exercise does not contribute to weight loss, but I I want to keep my legs strong and my body moving. Anyway, the comment above about the effect of constantly “grazing” on raising insulin levels caught my attention. I snack on almonds and macadamia nuts several time a day. So I will cut those out and see what happens. I would like to have a conversation with other seniors who are keto. I wonder if the macros should be different for seniors? The only information I have found when I google search is that keto is good for older adults and all of the reasons why, but nothing specific about macros for fine-tuning.

I need to get back with the program! Thanks for “listening”!

(Liz ) #35

Yeah I would definitely start with cutting out snacking. I can easily gain weight that way even if it’s all Keto friendly food. I hope at least some of your new weight is muscles!

My dad passed in May. My mom is still Keto. We now live with her & I make dinner every night. I try to make sure she gets plenty of protein for lean muscle retention and lots of coconut oil for brain health.

(Susan) #36

@SarahJ I am 64 turning 65 on a couple of months. I guess I qualify as being a senior :slight_smile: I was really interested to read about your progress. I’m a newbie to Keto myself, looking for answers too. I started all this on Jan 30th. I am trying to stay between 20 and 30 carbs per day and succeeding most of the time. I have noticed reduced swelling in my legs and neck, have lost about 2.5kgs, and feel I fit my clothes much better. I have reduced hunger so am not snacking and have had some trouble keeping up my calorie intake, actually, so am wondering if my body will go into ‘starvation’ mode. I’m trying for 1400 cals p/d but often go under 1000, even though I am eating to satiety. I used to snack on chocolate and nuts a lot pre-Keto. I am not missing those things at all, after a lifetime of being addicted to them. I used to be hungry all the time and have about 32kgs to lose, but will be happy with reducing my weight in any way now. The health benefits of this woe are what attracts me most now. I’m hoping for less pain and stiffness from osteoarthritis. I wonder how long that will take? My walking goals are the same a yours, but the physio says to aim for at least a 10 minute walk daily, so depending on pain levels and degree of laziness, I am at least doing that!

I don’t know if there are adjustments to macros for older people, but the recommended macros I have found most often in my reading are these:

A one size fits all approach for women eating Keto is this per day:

Calories (2000)
grams of carbs (20)
grams of protein (55)
grams of fat (190)

That is about 5% of the 2000 calories from carbs, about 10% from protein, and 85% from fat. If you have trouble getting there focus on carbs first. Find out where they are coming from and find other things to eat.

@LizinLowell, I have read through what is happening with your parents with a full heart. It is wonderful to read about the progress they are making thanks to your influence and their own self-determination :heart: Thank you for telling us about them and I want to encourage you that you are making such a wonderful difference. I lost my own mother at age 87 in July last year and wish I had known more about Keto then. She had Pancreatic cancer among other things. We just didn’t know how to do more than look after her daily personal needs and keep her company. My Dad died of congestive heart failure in 1999. He had a peanut eating addiction, drank beer a lot and ate potatoes every day. Both parents followed the Atkins diet for awhile in the 80s and early 90s but could not sustain it for life. They eventually found it was too much work to prepare the recommended amount of vegetables every day so they returned to their meat and three veg woe.

(Liz ) #37

Thanks for the kind words! I have so much compassion for what you went through losing your folks.

Just to reassure you, I’ve been keto 2 years, low carb since 2003, and when I started Keto I also worried I was undereating and would slow my metabolism and here’s what I found out: If you are undereating because you aren’t hungry for more food that’s good! It means your body is likely getting some of what it needs off your bodyfat. So really, you are consuming more than the food calories, some are coming off you! Don’t eat if you aren’t hungry. Period. (Also don’t leave the table hungry! Don’t snack, I know you aren’t.)

OK, so, what happened to me is after a year keto, having lost 50 pounds, my appetite returned! So I’m using extended fasting to try to get my basal insulin levels down even more in order to access more bodyfat. So keep that in mind and enjoy the non-hungries while they last!

The main thing to know is, if you were actually undereating too much and slowing your metabolism there are symptoms!! You might feel lethargic, your hair might start coming out, you might feel depressed, cold all the time…so if you are feeling good and full of energy then your bod is getting what it needs!

I don’t remember when my bodyaches went away but it was within the first 6 months and they never returned. Keep calm and keto on :slight_smile:

(Susan) #38

Thank you, @LizinLowell. It was tough alright, as it is for anyone who loves their parents.

Thank you also for the reassurance. I will listen more to my body and stop trying to keep to a strict regime. That’s true that the only way to lose weight is for my body to consume its own fat! No, I am not snacking :slight_smile:

Congratulations on your 50lb weight loss. That is quite an achievement. Thank you also for the slowed metabolism symptoms. I am sleeping a bit more than I used to and having trouble some days with wanting to get going, but I think I am also doing more the days before that happens and am getting tired out. I’m not losing more hair, depressed or cold.

It’s good to know your body aches went away too. I think less weight on my joints will be a huge benefit. I’ve lost 8lbs (3.5kgs) since Jan 30th and do already feel a bit better for it.