Hello, I am a new keto newbie and need assistance. I am recovering from a decade old struggle with anorexia bulimia. I have lost all my teeth due to my disorder, and currently only have my upper dentures, the bottom one is painful to wear and doesn’t fit so i never use it. I have issues eating normal foods because I cannot chew properly. I have been trying my best to not binge and eat normally. My meal I have come up with consists of the following. In a food processor, i blend 2 eggs, 1 egg white, about 50-60g of parsley, 90g of leeks/onions, a few lemon rind slices and a bit of their juices, 1 tbsp fish sauce, and blend that into a fine paste. I then microwave the result to get a fluffy scrambled egg kind of thing (it is completely green tho). With this scrambled herb egg concoction, I have 190g of asparagus steamed, and finally 75g of smoked coho salmon. This is usually my dinner. Besides this, I do not eat very much, because I don’t feel comfortable eating more than once per day due to feeling bloated. Instead, I drink carbonated water, a cup of berries, and maybe about 2 cups of milk throughout the day. Is this an ok keto meal plan? Also PLEASE help me with suggestions on recipes i could do with no teeth. I need ideas on what I can eat with my current condition. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Help Requested on Getting Started
Hello there, I just wanted to say congratulations on continuing to recover. Eating disorders are very devastating to not just our bodies but our minds / spirits. It’s very difficult to eat when you’re not used to it or you feel bloated after a meal. Not sure if you’re under a physician’s care of if you may need to gain weight at this point. These are things you may want to consider with any way of eating. There’s a lot of good tasting fats with keto. There are also creamy options that might be a good choice.
Just wanted to say hi. 
Welcome and well done on your recovery. My first thought is that you’re not getting a lot of fat in your diet. It can be hard to retrain your brain after years of buying into the low fat message at the best of times, more so if you have hang-ups about fat linked to your history. On keto, though, fat is fuel. If you cut both carbs and fats you’re in for a bad time.
If you’re happy you can do this, the easiest way to get more fat is to add butter to everything. Butter your eggs. Fry your asparagus in butter. Have a butter-based sauce with your salmon.
Soup is also your friend - look up recipes made with double cream. Cauliflower and leek soup is yummy. Baked brie might also be an option - I have mine with buttery caramelised onions.
Good luck!
Thank you for the suggestions. I am confused regarding fats though. Previously I had thought saturated fats were all bad, and hence was so confused about why people kept saying coconut oil was good for you. However, I have since learned through research that saturated fats aren’t the source of obesity and cholestral and all of the other bad health effects that are normally linked to it. However, I still am not at all certain about which fats are good and bad. For instance, is fat from butter honestly good for you? People say grass fed butter is perfectly good for your health. Also, what about cheese fats? Unlike coconut and grass fed butter, I have never heard of people say fats from cheese is good. Finally what fat sources should I deliberately stay away from?>
Fats that have a limited refining process are fine on this diet. Fats from cheeses, bacon, butter, lard, tallow, ghee, seasame are all fine.
What I have found is that most people tend to shy away from oils like vegetable oil, margarine, and hydrogenated oils, and highly processed oils like canola.
I get a majority of my added fats from coconut oil, olive oil, cheese, chia seed, avocado oil, butter, tallow, bacon fat, mct oil, and foods that are naturally high in fat.
Vegetable oils are extremely inflammatory and should be avoided at all cost! Animal fats and fruit oils like avocado and olive are optimal. Forget everything the medical establishment has told you about nutrition for the last 40 years. It was all based on someone’s opinion not science!
Also can people give me some opinons regarding oily fish and red meats? I eat oily fish, such as sockeye and coho salmon, trout, mackerel, anchovies, herring , sardines, etc at LEAST once a day. I know the amazing health benefits of these fishes, but I eat them MUCH MORE than the recommended “at least two servings per week”… Is this OK? Also, I have heard from different sources that red meat IS HEALTHY, as long as you are consuming GRASS FED. Are they actually healthy, or just “less harmful”. Also, does this only apply to beef? Because I have never heard of “grass fed pork” or “grass fed Lamb”, only I have heard of “grass fed beef”. Finally what is the relation between cholesterol and fat? I want to try liver, but I hear its healthy and unhealthy at the same time, due to it’s high cholesterol content. Is cholesterol considered bad because people who are not on a keto diet view consuming alot of fat similarly bad?
You need to read cholesterol clarity by Jimmy Moore and Dr Eric Westman. It will clarify a lot of your questions. I’m just going to say that the cholesterol you eat has little to do with your blood cholesterol levels. As a matter of fact, your body makes cholesterol. If you don’t eat it, your body makes more of it! You eat it and your body makes less. You should check out the cholesterol tread we have in show me the science. As far as beef goes, it is extremely nutritious, and you should buy whatever kind you can afford. Same goes for other meat sources. The fish you are eating is great, just watch the mercury levels on any of the larger predators. I love sardines!
I have the perfect thing for you! I had trouble getting my fats until I started making this shake/drink thing:
1 can coconut milk, unsweetened (330kcal, 33g sat. fat)
3 tbsp natural peanut butter (300kcal, 24g fat)
2 tsp no sugar added coco powder (43kcal, 1g fat, 2g net carb)
Add a touch of preferred sweetener if you can or need to.
Blend and shake over ice. Packs a whollop of fat but doesn’t leave me feeling bloated.
I’m going to try it with an avocado tomorrow after I do the shopping.
Congratulations on your recovery 
Oh and you can throw in a blob of coconut oil too but blend VERY well to get it all emulsified. That’ll fatten up your diet in no time!
I just wanted to stop and say hi. It’s very brave of you to share your personal battles with a group of strangers. I’m very proud of you for reaching out for help with your disorder. I wish I had suggestions for you, but I’m also pretty new.
Maybe try avocado, or see if you can find some soup/chili recipes?
Congratulations again on making the step towards recovery. Please please reach out if you feel yourself slipping into old habits again.
You’ve asked some really interesting questions, if you use the search function on this forum & search “grass fed”, “saturated fat”, etc you will find a number of threads & discussions - a wealth of information on many topics you’ve raised.
There’s science, opinions & examples of where both intersect with people’s finances & decision making processes. Some people will only want grass fed meat & are prepared to pay for it or know where to get it at a price they can afford, others won’t worry about that & will be buying what they can afford.
The mainstream nutritionists presentation of good/bad fats is in my opinion laughable, what are we, 4 years old? I just looked up a comparison of two oils, one they would never recommend we use = bacon grease (bad guy) vs one they would no doubt approve but they’d say don’t use too much = avocado oil (good guy) http://skipthepie.org/fats-and-oils/animal-fat-bacon-grease/compared-to/oil-avocado/#fats the “bad” guy (bacon grease) has 45% monounsaturated fat - the GOOD fat - whereas the “good” guy - (avocado oil) has 70%. That is a significant difference for sure but the bad guy is almost 50% GOOD fat. To me this means we have one good guy and one great guy - no bad guys!!! The mainstream will never present it this way as they treat us like we’re stupid (which we kind of are/were as we’ve followed their unscientific advice for the last 40 years!) & they still think saturated fat is the devil which has proven to be rubbish. Sorry this turned into a rant. I like to fry up some beef, maybe a few mushrooms, put it in a pot with water or stock, simmer for awhile, blend, add butter = nice beef broth/soup, good luck.
The way I look at it is this - the fat in human breast milk is predominantly saturated and monounsaturated, just like other animal fats. If that fat mix is optimal for babies it makes no sense for it to be bad for adults. I eat mostly animal fats (meat, fish, eggs, dairy, goose fat) and some occasional nuts or avocado. Processed vegetable oils actually make me feel ill, whereas I can eat butter until the cows come home.
Once your body has adapted to run mainly on fat instead of carbs, your tastes will change and you will start to crave fat.
I recall reading a few posts from individuals that have struggled with anorexia, these may help you with finding resources
https://zerocarbzen.com/tag/anorexia-nervosa/
Welcome. Some good ideas already.
I appreciate that anyone with ED is in a very delicate position and that making changes is very hard, especially when it goes against things you have feared for so long. What you are eating sounds good but I agree that you really need to ups the fats. I would do this in a considered and slow way that feels comfortable for you. A very easy way to tell which fats are good is whether they are solid at room temperature (depending of course on the room temp but assuming an average moderate climate) - coconut oil, butter, lard, tallow. They are also the best ones to cook with as they have higher smoking points with the exception of butter die to the milk solids. You can change this though by making ghee which then puts it alongside the others. Olive oil is also a great oil to have drizzled over all sorts.
The easiest was to “sneak” fats in if they scare you is to choose foods that have a higher fat content - so all the ones you have probably avoided in the past! Bring on the fatty steaks, skin-on chicken thighs, avocado, cheese, mayo, etc.
My feeling is that you need to take this slowly and be kind to your self. Be aware of how you feel about any changes and address any issues that arise rather than trying to over ride them. I think you are very brave and strong to tackle this and wish you all the best. Please use us freely to help and support you. xxx
You guys are amazing. I am so glad that I have somewhere I can come and share my struggles with and know that the people will be supportive. Thank you so much you guys, yall are amazing. TBH, it is hard because even my family rejects me. My sister, my mom, they despise me, mom actually wants me to GTFO the house, which I am seriously considering. My dad is the only person who is worried about my health, he doesn’t want me to go, he thinks I will die in a few weeks if I did… I have been really trying to kill my sugar cravings by eating healthy, but it is so hard, they don’t go away. I have read that Magnesium, Tryptophan,Chromium, Sulphur, and Phosphorus deficiency contribute to hard sugar cravings. Have any of have any experience regarding this? I have been eating alot of fats and leafy greens and good amount of protein, my bowels have improved, I feel healthier, and satiated. But even when I am not hungry, and don’t feel like eating, I keep craving sweets even after meals. Please help.
I’m so sorry to hear you’re having problems with your family. You’re doing really well trying to get into positive habits under difficult circumstances.
I can’t comment on nutrient deficiencies, however if you’ve spent the majority of your life running on carbs, it may take a while for carb cravings to fade. Habit and social conditioning play a huge part as well. Are you craving a replacement for pudding/snacks? Are you hungry for food or for the taste of something? Another thing to bear in mind if you have a history of caloric restriction is that your body may want more of the good stuff you’re now giving it. Try having something fatty when your brain wants sugar and see if the cravings improve.
I have a very specific eating problem. I do have a major sweet tooth, I LOVE anything related to dessert. However, I would not consider it an addiction. What DOES pose a problem for me is chocolate. I have a serious addiction with chocolate. It is what triggers me to binge and purge. I can do fine not eating other sweets, but chocolate, I cannot resist.
Yes, I was the same with chocolate, amazing how after 5 months low carb and now 9 months Keto, the cravings have substantially reduced, not gone completely, but I just keep looking the other way and saying “no”.