I have no idea what I’m doing!

keto
newbies

(Joanna Gannon) #1

Hi, I’d like to try Keto after years of struggling with horrible gastrointestinal issues for years. I wouldn’t mind dropping a few pounds, either. And I’m tired all the time and I constantly lose focus toward the end of the day. I talked to friend and he was telling me I had to measure so many different things and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for what I should measure and how much, etc. I’m 33 years old, 5’5” and 135lbs. I’ve heard great things about the benefits of keto but I just have no idea where to start, what to eat, how much, etc. if someone could just point me in the right direction, I’d be incredibly grateful! Thanks!


(Bunny) #2

Some things you might try and see how it works along with a ketogenic diet is bone broth (strained of all veggies, meat and bone) or meat broth on an empty stomach or 4 hours before you eat anything or when IF/EF fasting (if you plan on doing that)!

Resources:

  1. HEAL YOUR STOMACH WITH BONE BROTH: As a nation, we battle multiple gastrointestinal illnesses. According to recent surveys, about 74 percent of Americans struggle daily with digestive symptoms, such as bloating, abdominal pain, or chronic diarrhea. Unfortunately, some of these digestive problems cannot be treated with medicine, leaving individuals to live with these symptoms. Curing many of these stomach problems, bone broth contains important building blocks of the body that aid in healing your gut. …More
  1. Why some people can’t just jump into bone broth - Dr. Kellyann: Some people can’t metabolize glutamine well. This problem can stem from a variety of causes, including a severely sick gut, lead toxicity, a deficiency of vitamin B6, or over-exposure to monosodium glutamate (MSG). People who have issues with glutamine may find that upping their intake of this nutrient upsets their stomach, gives them headaches, or makes them feel tired or “foggy.” Luckily, if you have this problem, there’s a simple solution. Initially, instead of drinking bone broth, switch to meat broth. This is broth you make by simmering bone-in cuts of beef, lamb, or poultry. (Don’t remove the bones from the meat.) Because you simmer meat broth only for a few hours—two hours or so for poultry, or four hours or so for beef or lamb—it has a much lower glutamine content than long-simmered bone broth. …More

(Candy Lind) #3

Don’t measure anything. At least at first. Don’t weigh at first either - except to establish a baseline. READ THIS POST, then follow it. Start by trying to stay under 20 grams of carbs a day by simply eating mostly protein & fat. You can find info-graphic pictures on dietdoctor.com that will make it easy to choose proteins with more fat and low-carb veggies, and help you know what to avoid.

Eating this way will help your body learn to use fat for fuel. You will need plenty of salt, more than you think you need. Otherwise you’ll get “keto flu “ symptoms. If you feel groggy, foggy, lifeless, etc., take some salt and water.

Add fat (butter, ghee, mayo, full-fat dressing, sour cream, heavy cream, olive, avocado or coconut oil) to your food. Eat til satisfied, DON’T EAT when you’re not hungry. No snacking. If you’re hungry 3 hours after a meal, you didn’t eat enough at the meal. Eat REAL food, not processed crap, because it WILL have hidden carbs.This WoE is simple. Don’t make it harder than it has to be. We’re here for you if you have specific questions, but this should get you going in the least confusing way. Good luck!


(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #4

Listen to the first few episodes of Two Keto Dudes podcast for a description of how it works, what you eat, etc. Or if you know the induction phase of the Atkins diet…it’s where I started.


(charlie3) #5

I was where you are 8 months ago. Learning how took me months, not days. The first guidance I heard that resonated was, “eat real food.” Even that took a while to sink in. I believe most of the benefit of most of these not-mainstream diets are all the things you aren’t eating any more.


(Allie) #6

Just start by tracking all your food and drink to learn how to keep carbs below 20g. Master that, give your body time to get used to it, then make changes if need be. It doesn’t have to be complicated.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #7

Keeping carbohydrate as low as possible—we recommend under 20 g/day—is well over 90% of a ketogenic diet. Your carbohydrate threshold may be higher than that, but unless you are quite metabolically deranged, cutting your carbohydrate to that level is guaranteed to get you into nutritional ketosis. So carbohydrate is all you really need to measure. The rest is simple: eat whole foods, and replace the missing calories from not eating carbohydrate with calories from fat instead. The healthiest fats are saturated and monounsaturated, exactly the opposite of what the U.S. dietary guidelines recommend.

The goal of the diet is (a) to lower your insulin level, and (b) to adapt your muscles to getting most of their energy from fat, not glucose. We enter ketosis almost immediately after cutting carbohydrate intake sufficiently, but fat-adaptation take six to eight weeks, and in some people, a bit longer. Entering ketosis is what allows the body to start metabolizing any excess stored fat, and the metabolic changes that lead to fat-adaptation are what provide the sense of well-being and energy that people talk about. The long-term lowering of insulin should heal inflammation, allow the body to normalize its weight and composition, clean up your arteries, and reduce your insulin resistance. The ketones produced in your liver, especially β-hydroxybutyrate, should do good things to your intestinal lining and help it heal.

Everyone’s mileage varies where a ketogenic diet is concerned, so don’t expect your experience to be like anyone else’s. There are some common themes, however, so we can help you deal with whatever you may happen to experience. Please keep us posted on your progress.


(Carpe salata!) #8

Hi Joanna,
Stick with it. Bring on any questions or issues, there are no dumb questions - we love all of them :slight_smile:
Glad to hear another person starting the journey back to health!