I’m sorry guys but I’m quitting while still not ahead.
After 18 days eating the very best grass fed grass finished organic foods and purchasing beef liver capsules, bone marrow capsules, mct oil, ghee, grass fed butter, bone broth etc etc I’m down about £350 in my pocket but ZERO on the scale. I have ZERO ENERGY and while I appreciate every single piece of feedback and knowledge from others I find this the hardest diet/way of living EVER!!!
I’ve heard…don’t count calories, calories still matter, don’t be scared of fat, don’t overdo fat, don’t overdo protein, make sure you get enough protein. It could be a lack of sleep, stress, medication, undereating, overeating the list goes on and on yet I’ve still lost only money!! My energy is worse than ever, my mood is worse than ever, my sleep is shocking. My stress levels through the roof…the list goes on and on. After 18 days I can’t see/ feel a positive difference and my scale ain’t moving whatsoever. Why on earth should I carry on???
I quit!
Sorry you are having a hard time with this. In the end, we all have to decide what’s best for us
If you do decide to try again:
Do more of this: Eat meat, fish, poultry, avocados, pork, eggs, low GI vegetables. Stay under 20g net carbs and make sure you are staying under this by tracking at first. Buy frozen/ bulk from Sainsbury’s or Asda or Iceland or local high street market to keep cost low. You could intermittent fast if you want for faster results (e.g eating only between say 12-6pm) but this isn’t necessary. Try as much as possible to be in bed with lights out by 11pm latest.
Do none of these: Eating grass fed, mars bred, wild caught anything. Basic budget grocery store stuff will do. No more drinking MCT oil, butter, heavy cream. No need for 4 litres of water- in my opinion that just makes you pee out your electrolytes which makes you tired & moody. A litre or two a day will be ok. Put the scale away & bring it out in maybe 3 months.
Good luck.
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You do sound a bit stressed. Once ketosis kicked in I felt euphoric and the scales were moving by then too.
I’m not sure I spend any more money on food than I did before. Even a non ketonist buys food.
Are you defo in ketosis?
How much do you have to lose? (makes a big difference). I am retired and on a budget, I buy the cheapest meats I can find, lots of eggs, whatever (real) cheese is on sale, and some of the low carb veggies. I live cheaply. I eat as much as I want of any of the above items. I watch nothing but the carbs. I have lost over 120 pounds, was able to quit all the meds (blood pressure, cholesterol etc. ) and feel great. I am never hungry, if I want food, I eat.
For me, it is the easiest way of eating. I will stay this way for the rest of my life, it’s been years already.
You stress too much, about supplements and the scales. None of the expensive things you bought are needed. I throw leftover bones (pork chops, chicken, whatever) in a crock pot and let them cook until I have broth. It’s a product I make from “garbage”.
Mostly I want to know how much you have to lose - the more you need to lose, the faster it goes.
Are you sure you eat zero sugar and starch?
I eat all them you mentioned including avocado, I use redmonds salt, I never ever go near 20 grams of carbs per day.
I’m only eating the very best (most expensive) foods. All labelled and ZERO CARBS. All foods are traceable. I watched hundreds of videos from Dr Boz, Dr Beth, Thomas DeLauer etc etc. I’ve taking every bit of advice on here but NOTHING POSITIVE has happened. I currently way in U.K. terms 18 stone 8 when I was 13 stones for many years until attacked and being on meds for the last 4. (I’ve now came off all meds) but this way of life fueling and HEALING my body has had nothing but NEGATIVE EFFECTS thus far.
It’s possible keto isn’t for you. Or this type of keto that you do… If you don’t enjoy your woe, it’s a problem IMO (though it may be worth for some to suffer in the beginning, it depends on things. I am a hedonist, if I don’t enjoy my woe more than the previous one, I quit on the first day - but I can afford that as I don’t need to sacrifice big food joy or convenience things for health).
Keto is the cheapest woe ever for me 
Probably carnivore is even more so, not like I do it purely.
I lost no fat in years (with off days but pretty low-carb, typically, lots of experiment and enough effort for someone like me) but still no way I would eat much more carbs, that just would make me feel worse and spend more money on food.
So it’s clear for me. But for you, you need to figure out what works best for you. Why do you started it? Hoping you will lose fat in no time? Well that just doesn’t happen to all of us 
I tried it because my body clearly showed me that it prefers quite low-carb. So I gradually (in a few jumps) went lower, not forcing anything or making things hard. But I am sure some people need way more carbs to feel okay. Or maybe not in the end but right now keto just would be too stressful. I still think your keto style isn’t so great. If you think it’s a waste of money to buy your fancy meat, don’t buy fancy meat… It may be more important for some but it makes no sense to spend much enough to feel bad about it. And for so very many for us, cheaper meats work too. My own body is elated if I barely or not give it plant carbs and it’s not choosy about the meat so very much (except chicken doesn’t satiate me so I keep that low). I do buy good eggs as it’s important for me (and they are as cheap as the normal, lower-quality eggs at this point, lucky me).
Of course, one may do keto without any meat, I did that for years, a bit too much carbs for me and meat makes things so chill most of the time. It’s great nutrition.
There are the actual macros, actual items, sometimes some details are off and we don’t get much benefits from our woe just struggles. It may take a long time to figure out what works really well. A few weeks? That’s nothing. I didn’t expect any fat-loss in the first months and yep, I didn’t get it but I got something I appreciated. I understand that if you get nothing, you want to quit. But I still think it may be the style of keto. I would be utterly miserable on someone else’s keto for various reasons. In bad times, even on my own, I made some mistakes during my journey… Or wasn’t ready for the eventually near ideal version. I needed extreme low-carb but couldn’t do it in the first years. Those times weren’t bad but I got close to no benefits - but I needed them to reach where I got. Now I have great times and yes, sometimes temporal problems, mostly because I can’t follow what i know to be right… It’s good as I can change that, it’s in my power.
But… I need to eat anyway. Eating more carbs would just add way more problems, you may be different, sure, just saying…
You seem to be very impatient. I heard success stories from people who suffered in the first months, I would have quit but they wouldn’t have been okay even then. I hope it’s not a very common thing but it’s normal to need time for noticeable success. Not just 2-3 weeks.
Maybe you feel so bad and taking a while to adapt? Or …
Dr Ken Berry says he couldn’t get into ketosis on a Keto diet, he went carnivore and it happened!
Yes - but the “not to do” list is equally as important. Like the oils & heavy cream you mentioned you were drinking. I highly recommend tracking what you are eating, at least for now. I use the Cronometer app.
Salt is good but remember sodium is only one of the electrolytes. Try lo salt which contains both sodium and potassium (around £1 or £2 from Tesco) and use a quarter teasy of that instead. But again - not too much water lest you pee them all out quickly.
PS: Lidl & Aldi are also great & cheaper grocery stores - as you may already know. There is no need for all this “best & expensive” foods.
Finally, maybe stay off YouTube and forums for a while. This stress can’t be helping. You know the basics now of getting into ketosis. I say do that & let’s see where you are in 3 month or so.
Thank you so so much for the long and detailed reply. It’s very much appreciated. Am I being impatient? 18 days on ANY OTHER DIET I can guarantee you I would’ve lost weight. 18 days with No crisps, pop, sweets, cakes… I would’ve definitely lost SOMETHING! Would I be feeling better? Possibly. How can there be so many differentials from all these different people they’ve had success? I see a thread saying “Keto is this easy” 
it’s the most complicated way of eating to fuel and heal your body I’ve ever heard of. Again though, I’m very appreciative of all advice and try to take it onboard. If I’d lost 2lb I’d be happy, if I felt more positive I’d feel happy, if my clothes fitted better I’d feel happy. But all I feel is drained, depressed and stressed.
Why are you spending all this money? It’s not at all necessary. Plus, it sems to make you angry and contribute to your frustration.
What are the negative effects you mention? Are they just the normal issues people go through while adapting to Keto? 18 days isn’t all that long.
I don’t remember whether you are a man or a woman, but if the latter, be aware that many women need at least a month on a ketogenic diet for their hormones to re-regulate themselves, before fat loss starts. Also, not eating enough can cause the body to hang onto fat, which is why we advise eating to satiety.
Also, it’s concerning that you are spending so much money. All you need to buy and eat is meat and a few veg. Organic, grass-fed and all that stuff is a great idea, but not necessary. Dr. Eric Westman had a homeless patient at his weight-loss clinic who lost 80 lbs./36 kg by eating at McDonald’s. buying burgers and salads without the fries, buns, or sweet fizzy drinks.
If we can persuade you to keep trying for a little while longer, check out this thread in the Newbies section:
Not to mention the Tips from the Oldies sub-forum:
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/c/newbies/tips-from-the-oldies
and our Keto on a Budge sub-forum:
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/c/food/budget
Thanyou for the reply!! Yes, I’m just really really frustrated that I’ve seen zero progress or benefits thus far. The grass fed/finished products all came from watching Dr Berg videos. I thought I’d I’m going to heal my body and give it the best fuel I’ll give it the best of what I can afford whether by foods or supplements.
I oversimplify things but I do know if your body can’t burn carbs it must burn fat. Stored fat.
My expense was £5.75 on ketosis test strips (Ketostix) Make sure your in Ketosis.
I think it’s important to know.
Maybe starting out on a paleo low carb diet and keeping with that for a long while, then slowly introduce keto again if you want to. Set.a limit for your carbs, and do mostly root veggies because they are nutrient dense. Grass fed grass finished are better for you, but it’s not always doable. Try the next step down and do mostly pasture raised.
I too have wasted a lot of money trying things to help my gut while adding calories in a keto way. When I get frustrated and feel hopeless, one thing that helps me is meditation. I like to listen to Andy of headspace. Just his voice calms me. Believe that you will find your way eventually.
I don’t but if you do, why didn’t you do any other diets then? If fat-loss is so very important and urgent for you? As I wrote, I don’t know your motivation, I just followed my old carb lowering journey myself, it was pretty clear what to do, no doubts or option of quitting for good. Of course it’s quite fine to test a new woe… But it’s very, very normal not to get quick success on all of them. Sometimes our body has way more important things to do than just to shed a few pounds, I heard this many times regarding keto (I don’t lose fat as I eat too much, I know that - not 100% but close - but others often work differently). Maybe you eat much on keto too, all those fats while it doesn’t happen “all the other diets”. I can’t possibly know but some people do overdo fat on keto in the beginning.
It is simple (well, it can be. vegan keto isn’t simple let alone easy in my eyes…) but not necessarily easy. It may be impossible, depends on the person.
Just eat (the proper kind of but it’s not about fancy grass fed, organic or whatever) meat and bam, you are doing keto (IMO. I don’t care about this “carnivore isn’t ketogenic” things, that’s not the point here) and there is a big chance that you get all you need. Or some change, IDK about numbers here but it works for many and meat is very nutritious indeed. Of course it may be impossible or hellish, I wouldn’t eat like that and I like being very close to carnivore. But not that strict, never!
And isn’t normal eating difficult too if you are health-conscious? So many things to consider. But if you get rid of a bunch of more or less clearly bad items, it gets simpler and better. I had that when I went low-carb, it was amazing. But I had to evolve further. Some people stay there and get success. I got some but it stopped.
What is complicated in eating low-carb items? I really don’t get it. Maybe because I am very different from you or because I had several low-carb years before keto…
Thank you, I’m only taking all these days fats as bulletproof coffee etc is what has been recommended on almost every YouTube expert video. Eat fat to get used to fat utilisation and watch your body adapt to being this fat burning machine. “Don’t fear fat”
Keep it simple. Stop listening to all those “experts”. Just follow simple keto: No more than 20 carbs. It’s that simple.
You raise an understandable question. Various answers are posted all over this forum, as you’ve read and rightly observed. And they’re clearly not working for you.
We’re all wired differently and your expectations and timetables are what they are.
So perhaps it’s best for you to simply return to whatever lifestyle you grew used to before - i.e., the one that brought you to the point where you gave keto a quick whirl.
Doesn’t sound like it’s for you at the present time.
So go back to whatever you were doing for a few more years and see how that works out for you.
