How to get enough calories without adding carbs

(Johny De martelaere) #1

Hi, so i’ve tried to start the keto diet, ive cut my carbs to 30 (can’t get them to 20 because of milk.)
So I have 10 carbs in the morning and 15-20 through out the rest of the day.
But when I add my food in myfitnesspal im getting to ma of 1500 calorie, because I feel tired and deel muscle mass decrease I know I probably don’t have enough calories. Since im not really feeling hungry what can I do to add callories without carbs?
Regards

(Allie) #2

OK. Milk is not advised on keto for exactly that reason.

MFP is a great tool for tracking but it is not specifically keto and doesn’t calculate things in a keto way. Forget calories. Concentrate on getting carbs low enough, the right amount of protein, then fat until satisfied. This WOE should make you feel good, it’s not a torture method.

(Tim) #3

You have to add more fat. It’s the only way to get enough energy wothout filling your body up with junk constantly.

#4

If you need more calories, eat things like fattier meat, add oils and butter with sauces and dressings, avocado, cheese.

#5

Shift from milk to heavy whipping cream…

(Ren) #6

Instead of regular milk, try keto friendly replacements like Unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk/cream, or heavy cream.

(Siobhan) #7

If you arent hungry, as described, you dont need more food. Calories dont mean anything and it is normal to experience decreased appetite at first.

The tiredness is probably low sodium/magnesium/potassium. Take epsom salt baths for magnesium and foods rich in potassium and salt directly until you feel better.

Not sure what you mean by feeling decreased muscle. Less athletic performance? That is normal until you are fat adapted, after which athletes find they continue to improve past where they were pre-keto.

(Dany Bolduc) #8

You did not state how long ago you started, but you should know that feeling weak and tired, even sick with flu-like symptoms is normal when starting on a Keto diet. It’s called Carbs Withdrawals, or Keto Flu. This will go away.

Increasing your caloric intake is quite easy. Add fat to everything: You’re cooking 3 eggs for breakfast ? They can easily hold 3 Tbs fat (I use a blend of Butter, Coconut Oil and Bacon Fat).

Salads are an incredibly good way to add a lot of fat as well… not to mention that adding oils and mayo to salads tastes really good.

Same goes for sautéed veggie like spinach, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, etc.

You WANT your extras calories to come from fat. This will keep you sated longer.

On the topic of satiety….

Once you become fat adapted, depending on how much body fat you have, you might not ‘need’ more than 1500 calories… actually calories don’t mean much at all.

Eat when hungry, don’t eat when not hungry. Your definition of hunger will change as you get over carb addiction.

If you have a lot of weight to lose, you should find that you are less and less hungry and need to eat less and less often.

That’s because your body will easily and naturally get a portion of its energy from your stored fat.

And that is why counting your calorie intake is not meaningful.

(To know more on that look for threads on Fasting and how Fasting in a Fat-adapted state does not equate to Calorie Restriction)

(Johny De martelaere) #9

Hello everyone
Thank you for al the answer and tips, I will try to drink the whipped cream, what about raw milk? I know cheese is made from it and most cheesz has no carbs.
I once try a spoon coconut oil like that and even in my Coffee and I Just don’t like the taste of it.
I’m have been cutting carbs for about three weeks and I feel as if I cannot lift the weights at work as i’m used to.
Also feel at the end of my strenght when tightening nuts sooner.
Wil try more salade(but my fridge is so small… with al the fresh veggies taking thee space)

#10

Cheese is made from milk, but the process changes the macro-nutrient (and micronutrient) makeup. Usually some sort of enzyme or bacteria is used for the process, which will change the milk into cheese, similar to how fermentation works to make alcohol, for instance. In addition, with something like Mozzarella cheese anyway, there are byproducts of the process that will be removed. I believe for Mozzarella there is a whey liquid byproduct that is usually removed (maybe they put it into those protein drinks elsewhere, I don’t know).

So, yes, the milk had carbs, but the resulting Cheese does not, or has fewer carbs (depending on the process, not all cheeses are zero carb).

Somewhat likewise, Butter is made from heavy Cream, but has less carbs (HWC has very little anyway) as the process for making it can have a byproduct of buttermilk which is commonly removed.

As for the coconut oil bit, I don’t like the virgin kind myself, which tastes like cocount, but usually have no problem with the plain, (more processed) non-virgin Coconut oil, as it has no taste. If you are already using that, then don’t worry about coconut oil I guess. You could use Olive Oil or Butter if they suit you (or HWC for that matter with slightly more caution).

(Mike W.) #11

Drink this. 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream, 1 tbsp Kerrygold butter, 1.5 tbsp coconut oil, 4oz of coffee…lol

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(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #12

If you spoon coconut oil into tea or coffee, it can be awful in texture and taste, but use a stick blender or even toss all in a regular blender and it gets transformed in texture and taste. If you have MCT oil available it has many of the benefits of coconut oil but doesn’t have any flavor.

BTW, hard cheese is lower in carbs than the softer ones, you can use cream cheese, mozzarella like cheeses but they have more carbs. Stick to things like aged gouda or Parmesan when possible.

It sounds like you are not getting enough sodium, the forums have several threads on making ketoaid, taking supplements, etc. so you don’t have those flu like symptoms. Just do a search on low sodium. Sodium also keeps your potassium in balance and magnesium helps with those symptoms as well.

Good luck on your Journey.

(Jason Barnett) #13

MCT oil or coconut oil. Take one tbsp in the morning to start with and then ramp up slowly from there. Caution!! If you use too much too quickly you could end up with disaster pants!

(G. Andrew Duthie) #14

When it comes to cream cheese, it pays to check the labels. Some cream cheese brands are as high as 2-4g/oz, but the lowest (Philly included) are as low as 1g/oz.

Makes a big difference if you’re making something like cream cheese pancakes.