I have been following the Keto diet for about 3 weeks now with success as far as i can see, as the water weight dropped and eating whole foods and the correct amount of calories for the first time in what seems like forever. Seems like 6 days out of the week i barely ate any and one day where i binged. So aside from fixing my bad eating habits and its good to have food prepped up for the week i am being thrown by the carbs in my daily meal plan.
The link is to my myfitness pal for a days worth of food and if anyone could have a look and see if I am going in the right direction? as im full of self doubt at the moment and would rather not be,
Carbs are great - 16 net (lots of fiber) - you seem to be in the UK where the label values are already net of fiber BUT MFP seems to be using US stats (e.g. Avocado is 9 gross, 7 fiber, 2 net - which is a US value) so I think since 60% of your carbs are from Avocados, you are OK to net out fiber (at least for those).
Protein is pretty good. Work out your lean body mass (lots of good calculators out there = e.g. http://www.calculator.net/lean-body-mass-calculator.html ), convert to KG and see how many g of protein you are having per kg. e.g. I am about 150lb of of LBM, which is about 64kg so for me, your protein would be about 1.5g/kg. That is a good number for an active guy. You could do less (it is safe to go down as far as 0.8g/kg which would be about 54g for me) but if you are currently happy at this level of protein then stick with it until/if you have issues at which time you could see if reducing it helps. It wonāt hurt you if you have put to 33% more or less than this.
Fat is good from a macro level (71%) but if you need to eat more calories (see 4) then you would need to add fat and this macro would go up, which is fine.
I donāt know how big your are but 1790cal may be a bit low unless you are smaller/leaner. You donāt need to restrict calories to succeed at keto. Are you already lean or overweight, if so what weight? Have you worked out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). https://tdeecalculator.net. This will give you an idea of what calories you should eat to during the adaptation phase. If you do, then you can experiment up or down if you need to. Either way, donāt restrict in the first few months while your body adapts to re-prioritizing its metabolic processes. Once adapted, you will probably lose appetite if you have body fat to lose.
PS Aldi rocks for keto (price and quality). Their premium olives are great and good value, bacon, meats, (the crispy duck leg is great, skip the pancakes), veggies, double cream, etc. Itās a shame that their carbage is so good (bad) too
Anyway, donāt doubt yourself - youāll look back and laugh in a couple of months that you were ever worried about this. In the long term, this is the easiest Way of Eating you will ever do.
Thank you so much for your very detailed reply. Has given me some renewed confidence this morning
I have taken on board what you have said and also looked into the calculators as well and given me some more to think about. especially as i need to add about 200 to 300 extra calories in the day and possibly some more protein in that amount which I havenāt worked out how im going to do it yet. But fingers crossed :).
So for my details. Im 31, started at 275.8lbs, went down to 252.6lbs last week and back up to 254.4lbs this week and my body type is this https://imgur.com/a/oZGHM apologies I have a fair distance to go but it took my this long to get here so going to take time to reverse but would be worth it in the long run.
Exercise im not confident in the gym and the one that i go to is in a sports centre so there is no one to really get advice or help from so im kind of restricted to the treadmill, dumbells and the easy operated weight machines.
Yes Aldi is brilliant for a student budget although i wish there was a lidl nearby sometimes but they have too much bread and buttered toast is my weakness so good thing probably. I picked up a jar of the olives to use as a snack which have been great for weekend nights after i finish work and watch a film with friends.
Iāll addā¦ Donāt worry about exercise. It is only marginally useful for weight loss (hardly at all) and it actually serves to confound the fat adaptation process since it makes the body want more calories and not focus on changing from carbs to fat as the primary fuel. If you donāt enjoy it, donāt do it. The research on exercise suggests that most low/mid intensity cardio is pretty worthless, even for fitness. HIIT/tabata/sprints are effective for fitness but pretty hardcore. Weights are good since they build muscle, but only when done pretty hard like heavy, slow lifts or few lifts to failure. Sounds like a right shag to me there are lots of programs out there for when you are ready but donāt sweat it.
Get into exercise when youāve lost more weight and feel more like pushing it. Here are some things to check out in the meantimeā¦
A lot of people follow this guy. It sounds very plausible to me.
I like this one for 5-8 minute efforts to do at home. Start with getting form right, then increase pace and tension (tensing muscles as you do it). Surprisingly hard when you do that. http://zachbushmd.com/four-minute-workout/
Read this for stuff to do down the roadā¦
I donāt lift but many that do follow thisā¦
As a young(ish) man, this guy may be an inspiration (obey the abs ) He looks like a lunkhead but started nearer to where you are and is a committed Ketonaut.
As a matter of interest, where are you a student? When Iām back in the UK, there is no lidl near me either but I hear that they have good things that Aldi doesnāt. Bread is my downfall too but luckily most of the bread in the US where I usually am, SUCKS!
Ah thats good to know. I do want to get into weights to tone myself abit later on but right now i want to focus on losing the weight and feeling more comfortable in my own skin. Which i have to admit my stomach area does feel slightly different now even though im only on my 4th weeks of Keto but i guess thats just the lack of bloating.
Thanks for the links im going to head off and look through them all now and see what the score is, any extra motivation is always welcomed all in all as i said before i know this is the long haul and one that im committed to doing as lots of things in my life are changing and im fairly down the road with some of them and know that as long as i ask for help when im not sure then ill definitely succeed :).
One question i do have though, im not fat adapted yet but will be hopefully within the near future, is it still right to be meeting the calories suggested with deficit from the TDEE calculator or do you just eat as when and probably have a larger deficit? as i know that hunger usually slows right down from what ive read on being fat adapted?
Oooo oh yes before i forget im studying in Birmingham. Finding it much easier going back as an adult and a great focus
The soy sauce, sesame oil and the hot sauce are what was leftover in my cupboard but finished with this last batch of meals now. Moneys pretty tight as a student and im from the north of england which is notorious for being a skintflint so yeah. But i have coconut oil for cooking and olive oil for dressing ready for when i make up next weeks meals for sure. But thank you for pointing out for me.
The long term goal is to consolidate the amount of meals i have especially when i become fat adapted but right not i have found for a very long time not only have i never been eating enough calories day to day but wasnt the right stuff. So getting my body used to the right amount of fuel it needs for weightloss, plus i leave the house at 6:30am everyday to return and 10pm everyday so as it stands i cant go for that long a period without wanting to eat, but im sure will subside as i get fat adapted.
Thank you for your post though it is appreciated :).
I would eat to the TDEE until your appetite fades. Mine crashed and I was suddenly eating 12-1300 kcal for a few weeks. That was about 6 weeks in. It was spooky but amazing to eat these smaller meals and just not be hungry. Friends thought I was in a cult! I had a bit of a whoosh (lost weight fast) and then plateauād over Christmas (a few roasties and some Chrimble pud, etc.) and have not had such low appetite ever since. I donāt think it was the carbs that broke that feeling, it just doesnāt last forever for most people as their metabolism adjusts and low insulin levels become expected.
After about 5 months, extended fasts have been the primary method of loss. Lose 7lbs, gain 2-4 back, edge back down again and the do another fast the next month to move the needle. 90+ down (50 on keto), 40 to go.
A northerner in Brumā¦ Iām a Coventry lad (donāt let those poseurs from Warwick University pretend it isnāt in Coventry ). Best of luck with studies and ask the Balti houses to do cauliflower rice!!
In the long term, this is the easiest Way of Eating you will ever do.
there are lots of programs out there for when you are ready but donāt sweat it.
). Best of luck with studies and ask the Balti houses to do cauliflower rice!!