Is keto for me if I'm not looking to lose a lot of weight?

(Kevin Haney) #1

Is keto for everyone, or just people looking to lose a LOT of weight that may already be insulin resistant? Listening to the first podcast though, one comment (Carl I think) mentioned that it was for people needing to lose a lot of weight.

I’m 5’10" male, 53, 178 lbs (about 80 kg), but generally hover between 175 and 180, tending towards the upper more recently, and am looking to lose a few pounds - over the past few years, they tend to be around my middle, not a surprise I know! I’m moderately active, generally doing free weights or treadmill (fast walk) for 45 minutes at least 3 days a week, but lately energy levels have been low, and noticing some aches and pains that sometime affect the workout routine. But my day job has me sitting on my brain all day as a computer programmer, and unfortunately there is lots of carbage around the office to tempt.

The good news is, I started the keto diet 2 weeks ago while on holiday break, and have noticed a difference, I’ve gone from about 178 2 weeks ago, to 173 this morning (I have seen below 175 in a while). I feel like I could go to maybe 165-170, but I probably don’t want to go below that. If anything, at that point I may want to start working out more and put on muscle weight.

My biggest concern is that I can’t eat the “recommended” number of calories that loseIt suggests (1800-2000), and concerned that once I hit my target, I may keep losing if I don’t eat enough (I could eat 3 eggs, bacon, avocado or some cheese for brunch and not be hungry until dinner time), so I could probably get away with two 700-800 calorie meals a day. Should I ignore loseit?

My daughter is type 1 diabetic, so we had some keto stix around, so I could verify that I did have moderate to high ketones (higher in the beginning, been low to medium since).

I got a good keto cookbook for christmas gift, so looking forward to trying new things (though I don’t think I’ll get tired of bacon and eggs!).

Thanks for any feedback!

(Karl Bork) #2

Give it a try. You’ll probably stall out fairly soon if you’re already close to your goal weight. Eat more fat to keep the weight on.

(Emma Cohn) #3

I’m a 5’5" woman and when I started keto in July I weighed about 145. I dropped down to 130 pretty quickly and have been at that weight for months despite lowering my calories and doing OMAD most days of the week. I feel great mentally and physically, though so I intend to continue eating keto for life. I’d be happy to lose a bit more weight but I think my body has found it’s natural healthy weight so I’m going to focus on building muscle for a while.

My point being, you can maintain your weight on keto even when eating at a deficit some days. For a while I was only eating about 800 calories and not losing a pound (granted I wasn’t weighing my food so I could have underestimated my actual calories). You don’t have to force yourself to eat. Make sure you get enough protein and eat fat to satiety. The weight you’ve already lost was probably mostly water as you used up your glycogen stores. The fat loss could slow down considerably now. Don’t worry about wasting away on keto, just eat when you are hungry.

don’t know about loseit but here’s the keto macro calculator I like:
https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

Ignore the ketostix. They are just telling you whether you are dumping excess ketones in your urine, not whether you are making or using them. It’s normal as you become keto adapted to have less and less acetoacetate in your urine, and the beta hydroxybutyrate isn’t registered by the strips. If you eat less than 20g of net carbs per day you are probably in ketosis.

(Dan Dan) #4

IF/EF KETO WOE is not about loosing weight its about attaining a healthy fat to muscle body composition by changing your body into using fat as its primary energy source rather than carbohydrates

This is accomplished by a Diet high in fat, moderate in protein, and low in carbohydrates (net)

Its not hard to increase calories, just add fat, top everything with fat, do not eat anything without fat

“May the Force (fat adaption) be with you”

IF/EF Keto WOE is Self-Discovery :wink:

Good luck and much success in your journey in IF/EF Keto WOE :grin:

#5

Being in ketosis isn’t only for folks wanting to lose weight. All of my immediate family are seeking the cognitive benefits associated with it. They have reasonable insulin sensitivity and normal BF%.

One of the keys to maintaining weight has been consuming sufficient calories. Achieving this before satiety can be challenging. Determining exact carb tolerances has also been helpful, allowing more calorie dense foods.

(Keto in Katy) #6

I started keto four years ago. I was not overweight and had no metabolic issues, I just didn’t feel very good as I approached my 51st birthday. Ultimately I did lose 10 lbs of remaining belly fat, got a lot more energy, higher HDL, lower triglycerides, perfect CRP (inflammation) numbers, and much improved mental clarity. There are many benefits.

Do not focus on calories.

(Kevin Haney) #7

thanks for the feedback all! I have a script from my doctor to get bloodwork for cholesterol for yearly checkup… I’m going to hold off a bit before getting it done while I stabilize on the keto… I’m really curious to see where things go with the numbers. My total chol. number for the past few years has been around 200, but a year ago it was at 224. My hdl has always been on the higher end of the scale, around 60, triglycerides also around 60… ldl 155 last time. I know from what i’m reading/hearing I shouldn’t place too much emphasis on the cholesterol numbers, just trying to re-learn all the things I thought I knew about diet all these years… the keto science makes sense to me, and it just seems like the right thing to do. If my numbers don’t get “worse” maybe I can convince my wife to join me on this journey. She is looking to lose at least 50 lbs, and is at risk for pre-diabetes. She more of a foodie than I am, so i need to make sure we can make the food interesting for her. I’m used to limiting my self, having been diagnosed with celiac disease about 20 years ago (gluten free). Like with celiac where I could just say “no I can’t eat that, it’s got gluten”, with keto I can now say “no, I can’t eat that, too many carbs”.

(Keto in Katy) #8

Does your doctor understand LCHF/keto and which cholesterol values are important in that context? If not, find one who does — otherwise you will almost surely get the wrong advice on the lab values. What looks “worse” to a conventional doc (higher Total Cholesterol) is probably meaningless, and may result in a recommendation to go on a statin (not good for primary prevention). If you are doing keto it is very important that you are consulting with a physician that understands these things.

The important lab value for heart disease risk (to my understanding) is the ratio of Triglycerides to HDL. So for example, if your Trigs are 100 and your HDL is 50, then 100/50 = a ratio of 2. A ratio of 2 or lower is good, under 1 is excellent.

Good luck!

(Clare) #9

Look, odds are you’ll feel great once you adjust and you’ll never want to go back.
I only needed to lose a couple of stone - I did that in six months but two years later, everything in my life is better and I simply wouldn’t dream of going back. Weight loss is great but feeling like you’ve got super powers beats everything.

(Lonnie Hedley) #10

This ^^^

I feel like I could flip cars. I know I can’t, but feeling like I could is awesome.

Mental clarity, lack of inflammation, no afternoon crashes.

Weight loss is great, but having the feeling that you’re super human is even better.

(Kevin Haney) #11

I’m pretty certain my current doc is not going to be happy about the HFLC diet idea, so I’ll probably be switching if he objects… I think I noticed some links here on info to bring to your doctor so I’ll be well prepared next time, and see how he reacts. I generally only see him once a year for a checkup. I should have dropped him a few years ago… my previous doctor died unexpectedly at a relatively young age… he was a DO (vs. current guy is MD), so had a more holistic approach, very open minded. Not as happy with the new guy, a bit more rigid.

re: ratio… trigs and hdl are both about 60, so ratio = 1?

(Kevin Haney) #12

is CRP a “standard” test? Looking at some previous blood work, I don’t see it, but maybe it has a different name?

(Keto in Katy) #13

Yes! that is excellent.

I have also seen it called hsCRP (High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein). Not part of a lipid panel but is a common test and can be requested.

(Meeping up the Science!) #14

It’s a good question.

I’m reminded of something Dr. Michael Eades once said which I am paraphrasing - “the lucky ones get fat.” Meaning, you can have poor health and be slim. A ketogenic diet prevents this to a large degree and helps with many of the diseases of civilization. Many skinny people have heart attacks and strokes, and many skinny people also are type 2 diabetics. You absolutely will get health benefits. Even people who lower processed carbs in general see a positive result, though I feel ketogenic diets are more beneficial for a variety of reasons. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Weight loss really isn’t about caloric deficits so much as hormonal imbalance and behavior that drives overconsumption of foods that cause this imbalance. A ketogenic diet restores the optimal balance of the body…so you will not automatically become super skinny if you are eating to satiety. People who lose too much weight either have physiological illnesses or behavioral disorders that cause them to not eat, typically. As long as you eat adequate protein and fat you will be fine.

Once you become in tune with your body you are less likely to overeat. I would not worry about calories - focus on eating healthy food that is in a whole form as possible (i.e., meat and veggies). Always bring food and snacks to the office and when you want to eat carbage, eat the food you’ve brought. I was a game designer many years ago and I work in healthcare now, and so I get there being crap food literally everywhere.

Ketogenic diets are about being healthy. Many of us want to lose weight, however anyone can benefit, particularly people with family histories of metabolic disease in middle to old age.

(Kevin Haney) #15

I know I’ve seen C-Reactive Protein on my daughters bloodwork, but it must have been requested… she has Lupus so definitely important to check hers to watch for flares. Autoimmune diseases run in my family (oldest daughter type 1 diabetes, youngest lupus, celiac, me celiac), maybe once I figure this diet out, I can help them try it out. Oldest daughter with type-1 is vegetarian though, so I’m not going to convince her to eat meats I don’t think… generally she eats well, low carb, veggies, though I wonder if she’s getting all the nutrients she needs.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #16

Sustained high insulin levels can have an inflammatory effect, so eating keto is good for all kinds of conditions besides weight loss. Getting enough fat is essential to maintaining cardiovascular health (low cholesterol is turning out to be actually dangerous for some people), and low insulin levels will keep you from becoming diabetic. The inflammatory effect of insulin has even led some brain researchers to start calling Alzheimer’s disease Type III diabetes, and it is known that a low-carb, high-fat diet can help keep certain tumors (which need high levels of glucose to keep growing) under control. A ketogenic diet is also healthier for the liver than the standard American diet (SAD).

Does that give you an idea? I love that I’ve lost a bunch of weight, don’t get me wrong, but I love even more the thought of healing from metabolic disease. As someone on these forums will occasionally post, I’m attached to my fingers and toes and so, as much as I love sweet things, I love hanging on to my body parts even more.