Hello, I am new to the keto world and have a few questions before I start my journey

[Ketotoo82]

Hi my name is Tammy, im 36 year old woman that has battled with my weight my whole life. I am 5 foot 2 and around 250lbs. I have never been this big and it has put me into a depression. My body hurts from extra weight and health issues have arised from it also. Its time to make a change.
My questions are …

1. Health risks? Has anyone had any health problems? I have done my research and im getting mixed answers.
2. While starting the diet did you notice and nausea?
3. I have the keto pills ready to go. What are your experience with them? Pros and cons?
4. Silly question but has the pills and or diet affected your mood. Reason for asking is i was diagnosed with bi polar disorder.
5. Do you have any tips on foods? What worked best, taste, whats gross ect…
6. How long before you noticed changes in your body?
7. How long before you started to loose weight, inches?
8. Does anyone that has hypothyroidism had and issues with the keto pills, supplements, diet?
9. How much water should i be drinking on this diet?
10. What resipes are your favorite?
11. Tips? Anything that will help me achieve my goals?
    Sorry for my long post and thank you for taking your time to answer my questions.

[JohnH]

I found plenty of good, free info here:

A Ketogenic Diet for Beginners - The Ultimate Keto Guide - Diet Doctor

Mainly - eat low carb vegetables, some berries, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, most seafood, some dairy, some nuts and nut products, healthy fats like olive oil, avocado oil, butter, animal fats. Don’t eat sugars, grains, starches, most fruits. Avoid processed foods and most seed oils if possible.

I never took any pills or supplements. That’s just someone trying to make money off of you. All you need to spend money on is groceries, just a different set of foods than you currently eat.

[K.Hellmann]

Welcome Tammy!
I watched a bunch of podcasts and spent time reading this forum to get the courage to jump in to this new way of eating. It really is just a choice to take care of yourself and to try something new when all you’ve been doing just keeps you from feeling well.

If you stick to 20 carbs or under daily you won’t need to take supplements or think about it too much. I eat mostly salads with meat or chicken, cheese, creamy dressing, I skip breakfast, try to skip any snacking. Yes, drink lots of water especially at first.

Welcome to the Keto way!

By the way, I stopped taking pills for depression and stopped the GI meds and I have more energy now than I’ve had for 10 years. I’m so grateful for keto.

[Momof5]

Welcome to the forum, Tammy =).

I am 54, 5 foot 2 and started Keto in February at 293 and am now 254, with a goal of about 130 for now (probably will lower that later, depending how I look and feel at that weight).

1. Keto has many health benefits! Reducing your blood pressure, help for diabetes, cancer, heart, and several other diseases and ailments =). Browsing around the forum, you will see many testaments to this!.
2. The only time I had any nausea was when my body was adjusting to Keto when I stopped all Sugar, all bad carbs, (rice, pasta, potatoes, breads) and stopped eating processed foods, etc. Your body can feel a bit weird for a bit as it adjusts to that, but after that, it is fine!
3. What Keto pills do you mean? It is totally possible to do Keto without buying any pills =). I started taking a daily multi vitamin and mineral and some stuff because I don’t have a gallbladder (some enzymes for that) but haven’t bought anything that is called Keto pills.
4. I think most people here feel way more happy since being on Keto. Many people on the forum have been able to reduce Depression meds, and some have even been totally off them after a while being on Keto! You feel good because you lose weight, your body transforms, and the support on this forum is amazing!
5. We have a lot of sections on the forum about food. There is a recipe section, with a lot of really yummy recipes that other members have tried. We also have a thread where people post pictures of their foods they make daily, which can give you great ideas, and see what the food looks like.
6. I have lost 39 pounds so far and have been getting into clothes that I couldn’t before, so that is a great feeling.
7. You usually start to lose some right away, but a lot of this can be water weight as well.
8. I don’t have this so cannot answer that one, sorry.
9. It is suggested that you drink at least 64 ounces of water a day, personally I drink a lot more then that, some people drink 2 litres or more, but try to get in at least the 64 ounces a day =).
10. Refer to the recipe section for amazing recipes =).
11. If you drink lots of water, have NO sugar, keep your carbs to 20 grams a day, eat proteins and healthy fats, then that is a standard goal and you don’t have to worry about exercise at all for now. Later on if you feel lots of energy and want to bring it in, that is awesome. It is certainly not necessary at this point though!

Take your time and read the forum, there is tons of amazing information right here, on all the many threads. If you have any questions, just post them, and there will be lots of people that will tell you what has worked for them, or what is recommended, etc and we are all here to help and encourage each other. You have found the greatest forum on the internet, and welcome aboard =).

[KetoCancerMom]

Keto Is This Easy

Keto is this easy (aka Keto for beginners) Quick Version This is for Phase One—the starter phase. It’s still not complicated later, but this is the really easy-to-explain version which will help you no end. Eat under 20g of carbs a day (usually 20g net when starting, but for some people 20g total carbs works better). Don’t worry about the scale. All it tells you is weight, it tells you nothing about body composition, even the “smart” scales. Eat plenty of good food—fat and protein—whil…

I’m not sure what you mean by “keto pills”, could you clarify? As long as you follow the above guide to should do just fine. The biggest thing you might need to supplement is salt.

There are lots of people who have gone through various things and are now on keto. The biggest thing to remember is to stay calm. This is a marathon, not a sprint. You need to give your body time to adjust and to make changes. Don’t expect results overnight.

[OgreZed]

I’d suggest reading (and rereading) the Keto Reddit Group FAQ

Health risks? Has anyone had any health problems? I have done my research and im getting mixed answers.

My improvements

While starting the diet did you notice and nausea?

That can come from an electrolyte imbalance. Most early weight loss is water that gets flushed out of the body as it converts over to ketosis. That’s because glycogen, the stored form of carbohydrates, binds to water in the body. When carbohydrate intake is reduced, glycogen levels plummet and water is excreted from the body. That can be a cause of the keto flu, because electrolytes can be flushed out with that water, leaving an imbalance.

Keto-ade, Lite salt (potassium and sodium) + water + water flavoring can help.

I have the keto pills ready to go. What are your experience with them? Pros and cons?

Off-hand, I would say a waste of money. Ketosis comes from carb restriction.

Do you have any tips on foods? What worked best, taste, whats gross ect…

My favorites

How long before you noticed changes in your body?

Immediately for me, because I’m a T2 diabetic. Blood sugars came back to normal. I no longer need insulin and metformin.

How long before you started to loose weight, inches?

Just being in ketosis is no guarantee of weight loss. Ketosis is driven by carb restriction. Weight loss is driven by caloric restriction. For many, ketosis just makes caloric restriction easier because carbs and insulin are no longer creating a false sense of hunger.

Most short-term weight fluctuation is going to be a simple change in water retention and digestive tract contents, which can be large early on.

Does anyone that has hypothyroidism had and issues with the keto pills, supplements, diet?

I take allopurinol. My TSH levels have improved.

[Jill_Carpenter]

Hey! Welcome here!

Sorry for your weight frustrations.

Spend some time reading and reading more.

There are some food tracking sites to log in what you’re eating. If you don’t have that yet, I highly suggest it as you will want data to see where you’ve been and determine if this works for you and where you’re going.

The first few weeks can be a lot to figure out. But if you set goals/macros it gets as simple as checking stuff before you consume.

I personally come from a low carb knowledge, but keto is different in some subtle ways.

I can tell you what worked best for me launching in.

1. Try to keep it clean. No processed foods, only real meat, cheese, dairy, etc. Cook your own foods and track. I spent the first two weeks with purely meat and dairy (no milk). It’s a hard core approach but can kick one over to ketosis quickly. It can cause some keto flu but it also can give some immediate weight loss which can be just enough to encourage sticking with it.

2. Don’t worry so much about calories in the beginning, only carbs. Eat until satiated. Eventually the calories come into play as weight drops, but you may find you start eating less anyway as fat fills you up quicker.

3. Read all labels and don’t go near anything that has sugar. There’s some great motivating YouTube videos on sugar addiction and how bad the sugar industry really is.

4. Fat is your friend. Water is your friend. Salt may be your friend.

5. Track, tweek, and have the reasons you want to do this on a wall or on your computer or somewhere to remind you.

6. if you can plan ahead a little bit and have some snacks and easy to grab things set up for the first couple of weeks oh, you won’t have to think about it too much and can take that extra time to just spend researching and see where you want to go next with it. Easy snacks for me or things like deviled eggs, cheese Styx, regular cheese, lunch meat Roll-Ups but be careful of sugar content with some of those lunch meats,
   Chicken skin on, pork chops, chicken wings with blue cheese dressing, hamburgers, turkey burgers, steaks, massive omelette in the morning with lots of cheese and ham in it, coffee is okay but make sure to use heavy cream and if you need sweetener you got to use a fake one, but when possible try to avoid the fake sweeteners even and try to go as clean as possible. Bacon, fatty fishes, etc.

That’s a hard core approach. But it works for me.

The appetite suppresses quickly when you stick to it.

[Ketotoo82]

Thank you so much for the info. I am researching and getting everything sorted for my start on August 1st. I have ti keto diet pills that was a big rave on the show shark tank. I ordered them from the keto website in the .

this is them.

[Ketotoo82]

I ordered keto diet pills that were raved on the show shark tank and i got off the keto website in the .

its supposed to literally help melt the fat with diet.

[coffeekittie]

Ah, yes. I’ve read about those. Honestly? You might as well take them till they’re gone, and then just eat keto foods. You don’t need the pills. Read around this site and you’ll find out that you can do this way of eating easily and without expensive pills. You might end up taking supplements such as magnesium, but maybe not. Your body will get you where you want to be.

[x-Dena-x]

You might as well take them till they’re gone, and then just eat keto foods.

This. You really don’t need anything like that with Keto, just as much whole foods as possible and keeping carbs below 20g for a while. Only supps you may need are possibly electrolytes. Don’t fall for the Keto products gimmicks. Use the money you’d spend on that, for some good whole foods at the supermarket.

[Zpaladin]

Lots of great advice here. Some thoughts.

1. The most important thing is to get fat adapted first. Don’t worry about exercising, fasting, or even losing weight. It will all be easier once your body gets used to burning fat as it’s primary fuel rather than sugar. Once that happens (4-6 weeks usually) the cravings will go away and you will naturally cut your food intake.
   2 listen to your body. Eat when hungry and stop when full. Don’t worry about quantity (other than carbs) as long as you are eating real food.
2. Be mindful of salt, magnesium and potassium. If you feel weak or bad, take some salt.
3. Take pictures and measurements before you start. Many are ashamed but regret it after they have lost weight but don’t have the “before” picture. It can also be motivating to see how bad it was and how far you’ve come. Consider an hbA1c test or even a DXA scan though those do cost money.
4. Hide your scale. Seriously. Judge your success on inches lost, energy gained, appearance and biomarkers improved. The crazy weight loss you hear about is usually from men with severe type 2 diabetes, lots of muscle hidden under lots of fat. The more deranged your metabolism, the more dramatic the initial loss. But if you are not insulin resistant or have a slower metabolism due to previous dieting then you will likely see smaller initial losses.
5. Listen to podcasts for motivation and education, like 2 keto dudes.

“Cut carbs as much as possible/don’t fear fat or salt” will get you 80% there but there is a whole world of fasting, sweeteners, omega 3:6 ratios, pork belly recipes, Leptin resistance, faster cardio, etc etc if you want to go there to maximize performance or knowledge. But it’s optional.

[carolT]

I can’'t see the ingredients in those, but they are likely either snake oil or exogenous ketones, or maybe some MCT concoction? While supplementing ketones may help you get through the initial stages of carb withdrawl, they are not going to “melt fat” or “burn fat”.

They might be a supplement with some essential micronutrients? In that case they could help in the transition if you are deficient in those. Otherwise, choosing the right foods should supply you with the same things.

[OgreZed]

exogenous ketones

Someone compared that to buying bottled perspiration, throwing it on their body, then claiming they had an intense workout because of all the sweat on their body.