HELP ! JUST STARTING OUt

newbies

#1

I am what the doctors call morbidly obese .
I am trying a ketogenic diet to lose weight.
I am fully dedicated because the only other option would be gastric bypass.
I am fat but don’t actually eat that much.
I don’t eat processed foods, don’t drink pop but can not seem to lose weight.
Th doctors mantra calories in calories out thing want to make me scream.
I have had my thyroid testing which I am told is normal
lt has become obvious to myself , my friends family and spouse my metabolism is broken.
I am afraid to eat. because I eat pretty healthy and I am 350
I have entered my numbers into a couple of online calculators and come up with:
110 P 119F 20 C at 1780 calories @ 30% deficit
Question 1 = Is that reasonable it seems like a lot of protein and fat
Question 2 = Carbs or net Carbs
Question 3= How do I know I am in Ketosis , I have been on ketogenic diet since 6 April
I have been feeling tired , foggy, the keto flu , my strips went a little bit into the ketone range but now are at trace . I eat the same breakfast and lunch throughout the week today i will end up with 92 P 70F and 26 C total (not net) I dont eat beef or pork. Please help me get on track
Thank so much for your time and consideration . I welcome any and all suggestions !


(Diane) #2

@J_A-M has really good advice for beginners. I wish I had this advice to follow when I was starting out.

Welcome! And good luck on your journey!!


(Cole McMichael) #3

Hang in there. It will happen. If you haven’t already, Please read “The Obesity Code”, and listen to all of the 2 keto dudes and the obesity code podcasts. It will give an idea of the science.

I’m curious if your pre keto diet has you in starvation mode?

Starting off I wouldn’t worry about counting calories. Keep the carbs low, and eat lots and lots of fats. Don’t be hungry or you’re setting yourself for failure. Eat until you’re satisfied. You will if not already get into ketosis and become fat adapted. You will get to the point where you just won’t be hungry. Then you may want to explore intermittent fasting.

Change your thought process of this being a diet. It has to be a lifestyle. Embrace it. It will save your life. Know you can take control.

Watch out for sneaky carbs. Keep a detailed food journal. Only weigh in once a week. I do Sunday mornings. Without eating beef or pork you may want to look into MTC oil. Fat coffees are awesome. Get those fats.

I wish you the best. The results WILL happen.


(CJ Young) #4

Definitely check out that thread, also really make sure you get enough fat or else you won’t feel satiated and your body won’t have the fuel to turn into keytones. If you’re not satiated your metabolism will stay low.

Also, I’m going to mention the Two Keto Dudes Podcast (and affiliated podcasts) to make sure you’ve heard of it. I ran into a newbie on a thread not long ago who hadn’t. If you haven’t heard of it check it out, specifically the 2 or 3 episodes with “newbie” in the title. They gave me a lot of confidence and answered some of my questions about doing it right and diet sustainability. Good luck!

Edit: I just saw the guy above me posted essentially the same thing, ha ha. But yeah, all of that.


#5

Thank you so much for your encouragement . I will definitely check out the
links / podcast you recommended.
I am finding it hard to meet the macros everyday. I found this nu Pasta
stuff made out of Konjac. (whatever the heck that is ) The entire package
is 26 cal 6 fiber 6 C and for me it is about three servings. I have to get
a new scale. so haven’t weighed. I like the fat coffees as a treat but
would have a hard time drinking it every day. Any suggestions for getting
the fat macros in? Anything that would have appealed to me previously I
would have had with something carby. (like cheese and whole wheat cracker).
It is funny what you said about not being hungry because I can hardly eat
dinner this week. I am just not hungry. How important is it to meet those
macro goals? If I am not hungry I don’t want to eat! Thanks so much!


(Jean Taylor) #6

The fat has never been as hard for me as a lot of people. Eat fattier cuts of meat. Butter is great on almost anything. Cream cheese is too. Sauces and dips are great. sauces could be broth based with added fats or cream based etc. Dips or dressings could be sour cream, mayo or butter based or just a high fat low carb dressing you like virtually anything, depending on what you’re wanting to dip.


(Chris W) #7

First off I would like to say you are making the right choice, if you stick to the WOE you will feel better very soon.
Next,
I will be blunt stop counting calories, it is counterproductive, just stop, your body does not have any way to know how many calories you are taking in. Macros are guides, based on BF sex and age mostly. Your goal is to become keto adapted first, then fat adapted, and then maybe you can really run in a fat deficient %. If you do it before that point you will only mess your metabolism up even more. Take the fat in, it will get your fire roaring, and then and only then can you really kick in the fat burner inside you. Trust me, keep the fat level up as high as you can, don’t cheat, don’t over eat protein as much as possible.

Getting fat is not terribly hard, because fat is energy dense it does not take much in physical volume to get to your macros.
My recommendation is to start simple, pick a few high fat meats (salamai, steak, sausage etc), eggs, EVO, butter, cheese, avacado, and some leafy greens like spinach which you always add fat to when you eat it by adding EVO butter or bacon fat for instance as a dressing. Wrap the cheese stick in salami no cracker. Make cheese crisps, eat pork rhinds, eat some nuts( I mean only some, they are sneaky).
I would recommend the use of coconut oil or any other MCT which helps stimulate the generation of ketones in the liver. I normally have 1-2 tablespoons a day in various forms mainly dropped into hot lemon water( I don’t do coffee).

I eat cheese sticks with guacamole cups, so I have constant size which is easy to calculate. Salmon patties with butter(and salt) is a common one for me, also butter on steak when I have it. Mayo sauce with brussel sprouts, roasted with EVO, butter and cheese added the last couple minutes is a great amount of fat and leafy greens. I think they taste just like fries with the right amount of salt.

f you do don’t make the macros exactly it is ok, they are guides, with the exception of the carbs. I recommend you never get anywhere near the 20g net or total and you will do just fine with the rest. If you push the 20g limit more than likely you will be over, so its best to keep that a tank which you try hard to never fill.
You should be taking in as much fat as possible early on the diet to the point of no longer being hungry, satiation. Not wanting to eat, and being full are different things, you need to be full I hope you understand the difference.


#8

Hi Chris, I think a small avocado is 13 grams of carbs , so when I
calculated all my incidental carbs like a cup of coconut milk / 1/4 cup
feta on my Greek salad with chicken (no dressing) , some black olives and
artichoke hearts I got up to 27 total carbs pretty quick. That being said
I think net carb on the avocado was three grams but I had red onion as
well 2C . I am trying to be gentile in keeping track of everything!


(Chris W) #9

I do net, but I try not really let either get high, there are a couple exceptions in my world. I don’t eat avacados itself due to the cost here, but I do wholly guacamole cups. When I eat spinach, asparagus, brussel sprouts, and lettuce I only use net for them. I typically use total carbs for most other things like peanut butter or cheese for instance and round up.

2 g net in a cup of avocado is what I have on my chart
red onions and artichoke hearts are not really great on keto at least from my perspective I have never recorded either. I like to use green onions instead.


(Rob) #10

Hello!
The ink is barely dry on my own new person introduction, so I have very few words of wisdom for you. I did want to take a moment and say welcome to the forums. Lots of good information on here and a goodly number of nice folk who are willing to help.

A few thoughts I had that I found helpful:

  • Keep it simple at first. I found a small number of recipes that A) I liked and B) I could verify the macros on and I made those … some as freezer meals so I had something healthy to eat when I was hungry.

  • There are a number of recipes for “Fat Bombs” … they help with a sweet tooth and can get you a lot of your fat for the day without a lot of carbs or calories. They don’t take long to make and they’re good to have around.

  • Relax … and when the scale or the tape measure aren’t moving much (neither has moved much for me in nearly a month) … take comfort in the fact you’re doing something healthy for yourself and the results will eventually come.

I wish you well!


(Chris W) #11

The other thing you need to understand is the 20g limit is not a magic limit that if you go over alarms start going off in your liver or a red light flashes in your pancreas. Its goal is designed to have the least amount insulin released through out a day. The lower the insulin the better off you are in keto way of life.

So if you go over a little don’t stress too much, I am pretty sure my limit to kick me out of keto is 55g in 12 hours.


#12

Everyone I know who’s done that lost weight temporarily and now they’re just as big as they were before. Keto is a better way to go.


(Alec) #13

kWREN
You have hit gold if you are not hungry. This is the first sign of lowering your insulin, which is really what this is all about. If you are not hungry, don’t eat. When you are hungry, eat as much fat as you need to be not hungry. Then stop.

There is lots of advice here in how to eat fat. But if I am stuck for getting fat and I am feeling uninspired, I eat cold bacon and cream cheese. I tell yer, it’s bloomin gorgeous, full of fat and salt (you need more salt).

And as (almost) everybody else said, do not count calories. Old wrong thinking. Just follow the process and see what happens. If you eat low carb high fat to satiety for a period of time you will lose weight.

Stick with it, and if you feel like you are going in the right direction, try a fast or 2. This will give your body a strong signal what you want it to do.

Good luck, stay with us!!
Cheers
Alec


(Rob) #14

If you are in the US, you need to deduct the fiber from the total carbs to get NET carbs. An avocado comes out as 2g NET carbs due to lots of fiber!
That is what most people measure and it allows you more avocado, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, berries, etc. within your carb budget. The reason is that fiber cannot generally be digested so shouldn’t count in your total.

In Europe/Aus, the labels already show NET carbs so you don’t deduct fiber. Just make sure that your tracking app is not using US data or else you will still need to deduct the fiber :grin:


(Cole McMichael) #15

If I was just starting again I would have done some things different. First, to beat the “flu” I would have increased my salt, magnesium and potassium. Second, I would have only eaten when I was hungry. I no longer make myself eat, because society says you have to. (3-5) times a day. I may eat 0-5 times. You’ll find that if you have a good fatty meal, you won’t be hungry for a long time.

I would stay away from the sugars as much as possible. Any sugar will raise insulin. Stay away from too much protein because that also gets converted to glucose. There is formula to figure the right protein amounts. Don’t quote me because I can’t remember the unit of measure but something like 0.8-1.5gr he per kilo or pound of lean body mass.

Usually getting fat should be from animal fats. If you’re not okay with that you’ll have to get some good oils, I like MTC and avocado oils. Eggs, nuts and avocados. You’ll be able to find some fats with a little research.

Wait until you get everything in line. You’ll be dropping the LBs, clearer head, and no more inflammation. It’s awesome and will happen.

This is just my opinion and what’s has worked for me.

Good luck.

Cole McMichael


#16

Thanks that is really helpful. I have been just making a big batch on the weekend and integrating into salad for lunch. I have a protein shake in morning and maybe a fat cofee every other day . It is just easier for tracking sake I find . I will lok into fat bomb recipes . Thanks for the encouragement. Good Luck Yourself!


#17

Thanks, I know people that have done it that have had terrible side effects. I really dont want to permanently butcher myself. I mean no offense to anyone who has the procedure and had sucess . I have great reservations myself.


#18

Thanks I am in Canada and just end up looking up nutrional values online to record my meals. I wasnt sure which was right. I thought I was eating really well but had calculated 27 total C and really at ne I was somewhere around 14. Thanks for the input. I was freaking out and didn’t know how people were possibly doing this ?


(Rob) #19

Yep, the Great White North is the same labelling as the US IIRC.

Well, some hardcore ketonians believe in total carbs not net and try to stay under 20 total, often due to extreme insulin sensitivity (or kooky advice). When you think about it, it’s close to ZC so easy if you go full on Carnivore.


(Chris W) #20

One thing I do often, on google type in calories of “xxxxx” and on the right it will pull up the nutrient content of the food about 90% of the time. If you have google assistant or home speaker you can ask it a specific volume size and it will tell you exactly.