Just Starting, tips anyone?

(Debbie ) #1

Ok I have tried to do this several times and always quit due to issues that discouraged me. I am gonna try again but wondered if there are tips or suggestions that might help me stay past the first week!?!
In the past I have always felt better, more energy and just felt level all day. I want to do this to lose weight and to be healthier.
My issues are: not losing weight , terrible constipation and feeling overwhelmed … I own and run a small business and cooking is hard for me to work in my hectic days.
I would love to be successful at this as I have seen so many others do it and reach their goals! I am trying to understand all that it entails.

I tried the Keto Calculator mentioned on here and here are the results
1578 cal intake
25g carbs
80g protein
129g fat
Does this seem to be correct?
Any feedback would be much appreciated! :relaxed:

#2

If the obstacle is time to cook then I would focus on meal prep. You can prep everything on the weekends for the week then all you have to do is grab/reheat and eat.

(Karen Fricke) #3

2 things, keep calm and keto on, and in the words of Yoda, “do, or do not, there is no try.” Make up your mind that you’re going to do it. There will always be ups and downs, stalls and occasional weight gains, just keep doing it anyway. If you look for reasons to cheat or quit, you can always find them. Instead, look for reasons to continue. It has taken me a year and a half to lose 55 lbs, sometimes it was easy, sometimes it wasn’t, but if I had given up when it wasn’t I would be right back where I started. I don’t mean to be rude, but “busy” is just an excuse. I see it often in Facebook groups and here. I don’t spend any more time on meals than I did before keto. There are keto options in restaurants and fast food. If you get meat out of the freezer in the morning it can take less than 30 minutes to fix supper, or put something in the crock pot in the morning. No one can give you the motivation, you have to find it in yourself.

(Tim) #4

Have you tried fasting as a way to jump-start your way into keto? It worked for me. I was a bit extreme with it though, and I had/have the weight to lose.

Most people easily have 7 days worth of fat on them though. Just an idea.

(KB Keto) #5

Hey @Debanne. I’m glad you joined the forums. It’s a great support network and everyone here is so very helpful.

So here’s my advice (I’ll share a link after as well plus highly recommend checking out the 2ketodudes website)

  1. I’m glad you used a calculator and not just someone else’s advice. I would shoot to keep those carbs under 20g. Protein numbers look good. But during the first few weeks. I’d recommend eating a bit more fat. One thing many people get hung up on early is not eating enough fat and not getting enough electrolytes (more on that in a bit). You’re figuratively changing the engine in your car from gasoline (carbs) to diesel (fat). You need teach your body’s engine to use fat as fuel and it takes time. Be patient. Dont stress over calories early on. Get your 20g net carbs / ~80g of protein / and eat 150g+ of fat until full. This should be around a 4 week period of eating this way then you can start changing your numbers and see how you body adjusts.

  2. Electrolytes - be sure you are getting yours in. Supplementing with salt, potassium, and magnesium is essential, especially early on but throughout the diet. Salt Lite is a great option for getting potassium and sodium. Himalayan Pink Salt has tons of minerals and tastes great - tho I like my black salts a little better. Celtic Sea Salt has more magnesium than Pink salt but less sodium. Super Keto Food Avocados have a great deal of potassium and fat - win win.

  3. Don’t try fasting. A lot of people here fast. whether its IF, 24 hour (dinner to dinner), or extended fasts. And once you are keto adapted, this is a great way to push through stalls in your weight loss or just improve health. But over the first 4-6 weeks, I would not recommend this. In the same principle of not worrying about calories as you adjust to the diet, you dont need to worry about fasting.

  4. be sure you are eating green leafy veges, broccoli, etc. This along with the magnesium supplement should help issues with constipation. If you are still having issues. try limiting dairy and see if that has any impact.

  5. Meal Prep - you are busy. small business owners are always super busy and thank you for doing what you do. You have to prepare in advance over these next few weeks. Once you’ve become keto adapted, you will still want to prep, but it wont even phase you when you go extended hours without eating. Keto is great for that. When eating out. you have to be careful. It can be done, but you have no control of what goes into the food. I’ve seen cooks prepare beef with sugar… WHY?! but it happens. The only way to control this is to prep yourself. But if you do eat out. Breakfast food - eggs and bacon are usually safe, steak and broccoli with butter, chipotle with no rice or beans can work as well. a lot of people here have success with fast food in a pinch as well. McDonald’s will put your mcdouble on a platter and serve with a knife and fork when you order it without a bun and no sauce. (pickles, meat, cheese)

I know that’s a lot - but hope it helps. Please also check out this link (and let me know what you think):
https://kbketo.com/welcome/what-is-keto

and of course 2ketodudes - their podcast has really helped break down a lot of information in easy to understand chunks plus opened up a lot of new topics I never really knew - the salt episode (#71) was really trans-formative for a lot of people.

(Debbie ) #6

Thank you so much!! I am so glad for all the info … not too much at all :blush: I will check out the links for sure! This info just gave me the boost I needed … thinking I CAN DO THIS :grin:
I am sure I haven’t got in all the fat I should when trying before. What’s the take on diet soda? Sweetener for coffee recommendations?
Thank you for taking time to give such a great answer to my post!

(Siobhan) #7

For diet soda I would say zevia is the best bet. Plenty of people have problems with aspartame as far as blood glucose and insulin and addictiveness goes.

For sweetener: stevia, erythritol, liquid stevia and heavy cream works well.

I’ll also add my recommendations for beginners:
<20g of carbs
1-1.5g of protein per kg of lean body mass
fat to satiety. There is no such thing as too much fat if you are eating it to satiety. Heavy cream, butter, mayo, fatty meat, bacon, etc

Make sure you get plenty of sodium (4g a day at least) and make sure magnesium and potassium are at good levels.

Try not to snack or if you do make it as fatty as possible (like Keto chocolate mousse or a fat bomb).

And yes you can definitely do this :slight_smile:

(KB Keto) #8

I’ll start with the coffee. Do you feel you need sweetener? Have you tried any variations ‘bulletproof coffee’ (BPC)? I personally recommend limiting artificial sweeteners as much as possible. Stevia is probably the best option if you really do need it for your coffee. I personally prefer some butter and coconut oil with a splash of heavy whipping cream in my coffee. Mix that in a blender and enjoy some frothy delicious fats and caffeine. (Really helpful if you are having a difficult time getting enough fats)

As for diet pop (I’m from Ohio where we call soda - pop). If this is something you need as you work on adjusting to Keto then its ‘ok’ Some say no because the sweetness is a gateway to cheating on keto, but I say if a diet pop helps you from cheating, then do it. Usually, I save my diet drinks for mixing with alcohol :wink: (I put a few excellent drinks on my site and should be adding more soon) and like @siobhan - I have found that Zevia is a great option vs your standard diet drinks.

(Ernest) #9

Keep it simple. Keto is not all that complicated
You need a fatty protein source
You need FAT… DUH.
Get some greens.
Eat when hungry and never leave the dining table hungry.
These keto calculators sometimes cause more confusion. Do not force feed just to meet the numbers suggested by the calculator. Use it as guideline
Some days you will eat more than other days. Learn to listen to your body.
Try to avoid anything that would trigger cravings for sweets. (yes, diet sodas)
Fasting should come naturally.
Most important, there are better ways to track progress than the scale. Scale numbers just bring out the worst in people.
Do not expect results overnight, keto is not magic.
Hectic days are normal for most of us. It comes down to how much you want this good health.
Pick a day and prep meals for the week. Invest in a foodsaver machine and vacuum seal portions.
Sous Vide thingamajigs are great for busy day meals

At the end of the day, success on keto is in your own hands. You have to experiment with what works for you.
Weight loss is never linear. It’s a lot of losses, stalls and even gains. This is when you have to self experiment

Keep Calm and Keto on

(Suzanne Barton) #10

@Debanne - Good luck on your keto journey! It’s well worth it!! My tips:

  1. Be careful of sweeteners, even stevia. When I use them I get bad sugar cravings.
  2. Pick a few simple meals and repeat them. Much easier than trying to plan out or try new recipes at the beginning. My go to’s are: bacon and eggs, egg salad (use cream cheese and butter instead of mayo if you eat dairy) pulled pork, and an awesome baked salmon recipe I found on dietdoctor.com.
  3. Remember you are repairing your body, not just losing weight! It takes time to heal all the damage that has been done. It took me 10 weeks on keto before I really started noticing all the energy and other benefits fellow ketoers talked about.
  4. Visit this site daily. Read tons of threads! You will find lots of helpful info and a great support system!
(Kathy L) #11

Doc Nally talked about a patient of his that followed keto & only ate at McDonald’s Double cheese burgers - he just didn’t eat the bun - and did great!

#12

I’m planning on a fast on Monday to kick start me on my way again. Can you tell me how long you’re first fast was?

(Tim) #13

I’m currently on day 55 of a 60 day fast. While technically not my ‘first’ fast I think this is the first one I’ve become fat adapted on. I had done some Intermittent Fasting which I read about back when Brad Pilon first published ‘Eat Stop Eat’ back in 2008 or 2009. I have also, within the last two years, done two seven day fasts.

This 60 day monster I’m currently on is really the first fast I’ve done with the goal of getting into ketosis, losing weight and becoming fat adapted.

My recommendation to you is this. Go as long as you can. It only gets easier with time.

(Doug) #14

5 days - I was motivated due to my doctor finally touching me with his sword, saying, “Sir Type 2 Diabetic.” It went really well, no big hunger, one night of “cool feet” that was not uncomfortable at all - in fact it made it nice to snuggle underneath the bed covers. Wednesday - Sunday, and I quit because I was afraid of feeling “low energy” the following day at work. A needless fear, I think now.

I think fasting is really a miraculous thing - after 24 hours or so I get a “lightness of being” feeling - I just really feel better, overall, joints hurt less, etc.

(kac) #15

Thanks for the tips== I’m re-starting too. :confused: