I track in an app because I am a data nerd and I enjoy it. However, I aim for a minimum number of calories each day, not a maximum. I want to maintain my weight and I have an active lifestyle, so I want to make sure I am getting enough fuel to keep my body healthy. I am of the opinion that we should look at Cals as a minimum number of energy units needed to fuel the body based on our lifestyle and goals, not as something that should be restricted. I know this is semantics, but it can really make a difference, especially for those of us who have been chronic dieters since a young age. (Probably 1/2 of the women on this board, myself included.) I also like to look at my macros when I am having an especially on or off day. Again, data nerd. 
How many of you watch calories?
MamaJ
(J)
#61
Baytowvin
(TJ Borden)
#62
You’re free to do so.
I agree keto isn’t magic, it’s biochemistry. So if it still just comes down to being as simple as calories; in your opinion, what makes keto different than a regular diet?
KetoC
(Corina)
#63
I am in my 2nd week and am having a hard time incorporating fats. I love heavy cream. Do you limit cream? What are your favorite fats? Your weightloss journey is inspiring! 
Madeleine
#65
@TheWelshWalker Non-calorie counter here. I did for a few weeks as I was trying to get a handle on my macros and found out 1) I must have a crazy high metabolism because I can put away over 3000 calories/day without blinking, and 2) detailed tracking drives me nuts. I start to question everything and feel deprived and…ack! I love tracking other things - my workouts, my sleep - but calorie counting makes me pretty unhappy.
The good news is that part of why I have such a high metabolism is probably that I never did get into calorie counting, so of all the many messages I’ve sent my body over the years, deprivation has never been one of them
mememe
#66
Hi Baytowvin,
Keto WOE clearly has a whole host of medical/physical advantages for us. For those who can handle this WOE, that alone is worth the effort.
As far as weight loss goes, the body is far better at using fat stores when it’s in ketosis, than when it’s burning sugar. A MASSIVE help with weight loss, is ketos’ ability to supress our appetite. We can consume far less calories, just because of this effect…some simply don’t want to eat as much.
If it were true that keto WOE meant CICO didn’t matter any more, we would see thousands of people (of the millions on a keto diet…I’m making these figures up for demonstration purposes!) eating 3000, 4000, 5000+ calories a day and losing weight!
If I trawl the net, I can find a couple of studies where literally 1 or 2 people could do this. But it’s by no means the norm. Let me add that we all know of skinny people who can eat what they like on a sugar based diet, and NEVER put on weight. That doesn’t mean that the average guy can eat what he likes and not put on weight.
I suspect that, if 100 people from this forum decided to take part in a trial:-
- Keep carbs to less than 20g/day
- eat 5000 calories a day with no extra excercise
- keep the 75% / 5% / 20% rule
For 2 months, 98 would put on a LOT of weight and 2 would probably die 
Please don’t mistake my views as being argumentative. I have learnt a lot from this forum…I just don’t agree with this point.
Oh and thanks for your posts. I have read a few here and there, very helpful 
Happyheart
(Wendy)
#67
Well my go to fat is butter. Because I love the taste! I add it generously to my veggies, even my meats if they are at all dry, or just because.
I eat full fat yogurt,and cream cheese and hwc. Olive oil on salads. Olives, avocados and coconut oil.
TheWelshWalker
(Lindsey)
#68
I’ve been avoiding yogurts, which I used to love, because I’m worried about the carb content. Do you get non dairy or just normal full fat?
Amy_R0922
(Amy Ramadan)
#69
I love yogurt as well, used to have it most days for breakfast. I have quit eating it all together because everything I find in the grocery store is packed full of carbs and sugar!! Interested to know what kind ppl are eating that would be keto compliant!!! 
Happyheart
(Wendy)
#71
I get full fat unsweetened Greek yogurt. At first I had to add sweetener but now I just add a few berries or sometimes coconut flakes. I’ve had full fat regular yogurt I just like Greek better.
Bellyman
(Brian)
#73
We like the Fage 5% unsweetened yogurt here, too. It’s a bit on the tart / sour side if one is expecting the sugary sweet taste of what might as well be yogurt desserts or puddings. But we have grown to like it. Nice amount of protein in it, too!
Shortstuff
(Allie)
#75
I have yoghurt most days, full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and chia seeds mixed in.
@TheWelshWalker look out for Lancashire Farms full fat Greek, it’s the best I’ve found.
Chazzam
(Charlotte)
#80
I tracked diligently for maybe the first 4-6 weeks I did keto, and haven’t tracked a thing in the 5 months since. So far I’m down 47 pounds. Not the world’s fastest progress, but I’m happy with it.
Everyone is different, so my experience may or may not be helpful to you personally, but this is what worked for me: I tracked in the beginning as I was getting used to the keto way of eating, used that time to really learn about the macronutrient profiles of foods I eat frequently, to figure out what filled me up the most, and to get a general sense of what a keto day/week of eating might look like. I lost a little weight–not much, but the scale was moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. I also felt better, had more energy, etc., so I stuck with it. I didn’t sweat it if I was a little over on calories or macros–a tracking tool can be helpful as a rough guideline, but it’s not meant to be a set of concrete laws by which to live.
I quit tracking because one thing I’ve learned about myself is that if I track long-term, I’m setting myself up to think of keto as a diet and quit completely. It just isn’t psychologically sustainable for me. So I moved to intuitive eating. I keep track of net carbs in my head, and round carbs up rather than down when estimating so as to keep my actual carb intake on the low side. Other than that, I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m completely full. I only eat when I’m legitimately hungry, not when I’m “feeling peckish”, which is a difference I’ve had to intentionally learn to identify over time. I also found that I could comfortably fast for longer periods of time the longer I was on keto. As my intuition around food got better and better, the weight started coming off more and more easily.
I’m sure that I’m taking in more calories than a weight loss app would suggest I should a lot of the time, but some days I eat way under that calorie limit as well, and it all seems to even out in the end. It’s not planned or intentional: it’s just normal to have hungry days and not-so-hungry days, and losing the rigidity of tracking allows your body to tell you which kind of day it is. A typical day of eating for me might be a fatty coffee in the morning (iced coffee with mct oil and HWC for me), a small-ish lunch of whatever I threw in my lunchbox that morning–usually a handful of macadamia nuts or pecans, some cubed cheese, an avocado with tamari and wasabi, and a hardboiled egg or two. I sip on ketoaide throughout the afternoon, then have a big evening meal–usually something like bunless burgers with mushrooms and mixed greens, or a spinach/cheese omelette with bacon, or chicken wings with a side of green beans tossed in lemon juice, garlic salt, butter and toasted slivered almonds. If I’m still hungry after dinner I might have a fat bomb or a mug cake or something, but that’s become much more of a rarity these days. Some days I skip lunch or even dinner altogether–if I’m not hungry, I don’t eat, no matter what the clock says.
I think the thing you should determine first and foremost is whether keto is about reaching a long-term goal for you, or more about reaching something short-term. I think for most people, diligent tracking isn’t sustainable in the long term, and it can take a few months for your body to become fully fat adapted to the point where you’re losing some serious weight, so I’m in favor of switching to a more intuitive way of eating fairly early on, trying to let go of your natural desire to see major results quickly, and focusing on becoming more in tune with what your body needs. If, however, you’re just looking to drop a few pounds in the short-term, an app could honestly give you all you need to get there. It’s really a matter of your goals and what feels sustainable for you.