Hello! Ex-Atkins, new to KETO! Intro & questions


(kac) #1

I’m starting my 2nd week of LCHF. I’ve done Atkins in the past, so it was easy for me to follow along here and adapt to this way of eating… albeit slight changes. I don’t find it as restricting and it’s definitely curbing my hunger more! Last week I started with the simple swap carbs for fat rule, cut out all sodas and sugars. Now I’m back to planning meals and logging them in my FitDay tracker. This forum is a saving grace and I’ve been able to answer most of my questions… but here are some:

Is my Base Metabolic Rate are the calories I eat to maintain or loose…vs. Daily Energy Expenditure? I couldn’t figure that out.

I once found a list/spreadsheet of acceptable foods on one of the threads and now cannot find it to save my life. Any help?

In the “Keto eating in one sentence” thread, the gentleman said if you are not sure about a food, to look up it’s nutrition value and figure out the carbs for 100g, and if the carbs are below 4 or 5 is okay to eat. What? why 100g? From my past Atkins experience and reading here, I have a good idea of what’s acceptable or not… just would love to have cheat sheets for reference!

Also-- I’m taking this one step at a time… I’ve been overloading on info and my mind shuts down. I read about these people who are taking the glucose counts, keto strips… I just cannot focus on that right now, hope that is okay?? hahaha

Lastly, is anyone doing any type of therapy? Would love to start as I am a food addict, but not sure who to target a health professional.

Thank you in advance ~ kac :grin:


#2

Don’t let this statement throw you off. It’s just a rough guideline for especially folks who have never restricted carbohydrates. Just to give them an idea of what can be considered low-, medium- and high-carb containing foods. You obviously have a better handle, as you have done Atkins before. Technically, if you stay below 20 grams carbs total for the day, you will be ok. Some people need to go lower (because they have very damaged metabolism issues)…but, as a keto starter template, 20 g is a good first target to shoot for. Go with that, see if it works for you, and then great, stay at 20 g (or make adjustments as necessary).


(John) #3

I can only help to maybe simplify something way too many overthink.
Carbs are a limit
Protein is a goal
Fat is the rest

If you can keep carbs under the limit then just adjust the types of fat/protein you eat to get what you want. For example if you need more protein in a day the breast meat lets you get more protein per gram of fat, if you need more fat eat dark meat.


#4

Base Metabolic Rate = BMR
Total Daily Energy Expenditure = TDEE

BMR is the calories you would need laying in bed all day and doing nothing, so no physical activity of any kind is considered.

TDEE takes into consideration any type of activity, mental or physical, and is usually above BMR.

CICO is Calories In, Calories Out

Just note that considering BMR and TDEE is still a CICO mindset and although that is relevant to some degree, the hormonal effects of eating keto can completely disrupt considerations of BMR vs TDEE and trying to calculate calories for losing or maintaining weight.

There are people who have the predicated relationship between eating more to gain weight and eating less to lose it, but there many people on keto who actually eat more to lose more.

There are a variety of mechanisms at play when considering the counter-intuitive act to eat more to lose more and it doesn’t work with everyone, but factors are the level of insulin resistance, sex hormones like testosterone in men and women, lean body mass (LBM), body heat from metabolic processes (thermogenesis), the thermic effect of food from digestion, the presence and balance of intestinal flora such as Firmicutes and Bacteroides.

In other words, I caution anyone doing keto against getting deeply involved in determining BMR and TDEE and calculating caloric load for loss or maintenance because hormones don’t know how to use calculators and it’s all about how the body actually responds, which is something that can change over time.

Keep carbs below 20 grams, eat enough protein and eat fat until you’re not hungry and let the body balance out it’s hormones and do the rest.


(Crow T. Robot) #5

Forget about it. You don’t need that stuff anymore.

“Calories” are a distraction.


(kac) #6

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! yes, Im not concerned about the calories-- it was more for my own curiosity to see what more caloric intake is/would be. I’m definitely focusing on the carbs/fats/proteins.

I’v been on for 9 days and am down 9.5 pounds! I know a lot is water weight, but its so nice to see. I’ve never been one to measure inches on the body-- I usually go by scale and dress size. :slight_smile:


(Alexandria) #7

Awesome response, a very nice way to simplify. When you’re starting out (like me), it’s so easy to get overloaded on info…so much of it is contradictory as well. I am going to start breaking down my macros in this way. Thanks


(Siobhan) #8

the 100g part is because keto sits carbs generally around 5% of your diet is carbs.
So if you have 100g of something, and 5g of that is sugar/starch then you know that thing is around 5% carbs
It’s basically just a way to get a percentage. It doesn’t mean you have to eat 100g of that thing, just a way to find out what you’re dealing with.
You could really do it with any amount (sort of) but 100g just makes it easy math.


(Alexandria) #9

Thanks! I never broke it down like that before. I’ve been struggling a bit and not sure if I’m hitting my markets as I should. Day 6 on Keto…7? I’m eating tons of fat, but finding it difficult to keep calories to a minimum. Keto Calculator says based on ny weight I should be eating 1150 Calories to lose weight. Any advice?

Age:32
Ht: 4’11"
Wt. 135lb


(Siobhan) #10

With keto you do not need to track calories as long as you’re keeping carbs down, and protein within range. In fact it is better to not try to restrict, because if you eat too little you might stall out as your metabolism slows down.

Check out this thread. It’s a bit lengthy, but it goes over the basis of why keto works (controlling fat store/burn hormones) and why calorie counting is simply not needed here. Eat until you are full (not unpleasantly so) don’t when you’re not.