This question has probably been asked but I just started with the forum community and there’s a lot to keep up with. I’m new to the keto lifestyle, I honestly didn’t think I could do it because I’ve tried other things before and I wasn’t able to feel better usually just made myself feel worse after I gained the weight back. I’ve been overweight since I was 10 and after marriage and kids I gained and loss a significant amount over the years, of course I had more stamina and felt younger with plenty of energy but now my scheduale is so full from 5am-12 am which I’m sure many are in the same boat. I’ve been doing low carb for 2 months, I’ve done it slowly into it but by the 3rd week it got easier to not eat any carbs at all or just below 20g. I was also in that mind set that fat was bad (even though most of my life junk food fat has been the enemy) now I know best, but I’ve been increasing my fat in take. I’m 36, 256lbs, I’m trying to stick to 1100 calories a day, and 20g carbs or less, 26g protein, 79g fat… so my question is how to make sure I meet calorie requirement or is that not a big deal…? I started drinking bulletproof coffee in the morning well without the mct oil so maybe it’s not that bulletproof lol but it gives me great energy and I’m not hungry for quite a while, but most days I only take in about 800 calories though my macros are good… also to anyone reading who is also just starting through trial and error I have to say, if you keep going you will notice change, I haven’t lost any crazy amount of weight but I’m fine with that because the energy I feel and my skin (not looking exhausted, and bags under eyes have disappear) is well worth it. I also don’t feel heavy or sluggish which is how I felt before, and even though my days are long I don’t feel like I need a 5pm nap or coffee anymore, so keep on, it’s duable.
Keeping up with calories.. question :)
That kcal number seems awful low. The “dudes” just responded to an email from Duane, on the podcast with Gary Fettke that calorie restriction. You could take a listen, its in the mail section of the podcast.
Basically the RMR registers a calorie deficit and budgets accordingly and in some instances runs sytems in the body on lower energy than is optimal. Doug McGuff in Body by Science also talks about this from the opposite side, using excessive exercise as the means to lose weight. Both create a situation that deprives the body of what it needs: greater access to energy to run all systems optimally. Once it starts doing this it will freely access the adipose because it no longer feels like it will be starved. The answer to your question then is calorie counts are useful for counting macros. FOR ME, the biggest aid has been eating less frequently so my insulin is not always high and eating until I am full. Not stuffed. Just full. If I want a second or third helping I go get them. Then I don’t eat for 1/2 a day or more. Not until I am going to make another meal. No snacks- dessert with a meal, sure- no snacks. Now again, that’s for me ( and my wife) and we started having even more success with eating larger portions less frequently.
Your protein seems bit low as well but that may be because the calories are so low. Have you looked at calculators of lean body mass to work it out or is it based on the calories?
When I started I didn’t look at macros or calories because at that time I hadn’t even heard of that yet and was mainly just doing LCHF. I was still eating things like Japanese take away or Thai food. I just out the junk food slowly and then took things out like bread and rice etc after that. Then when I started Keto the transition was a bit easier to 20g.
In the beginning I just trusted my body. It sounds counterintuitive to let it do what it wants but on Keto it is very different to when you are eating carbs and are insulin driven. Once the carbage is out of your life eating to satiety is way easier. I also used to eat a lot more but that has naturally decreased as time has gone on and weight has been lost. Bulletproof coffee was a way I upped my fats and also helped with intermittent fasting in the beginning but now I rarely have them and just have cream in my coffee or the odd almond milk coffee if I am out and they don’t have cream. You will eventually have the same energy that MCT oil gives you when you are fully adapted.
My advice would be to get lots of Keto foods in your kitchen- fatty cuts of meat, vege and butter and not count anything for a bit, eat to satiety and see if that helps. You can always go back to macros etc afterwards. You may even find that what you plug into something like MFP that you may even be eating to the macros perfectly without even counting I was shocked when I did this after not recording for a while earlier this yeah and they were bang on 5% carb, 15% protein and 80% fat.
The above replies resonate pretty well with me. I eat when I’m hungry. I target healthy proteins and fat and allow carbs that are just incidental. As a result my calories fluctuate quite a bit day to day, I think depending on my activity level and whatever is going on with my body hormonally. When I first saw your post though, your protein really stuck out as low to me and your fats slightly low. Even with my fluctuations, my low days aren’t usually as low as you’re showing. I also did the quick math and came up with closer to 900 calories as opposed to 1100 that you listed as your target. I see you did mention most days you’re around 800 calories so maybe that’s where your macro info came from. Just based on my own personal experience, I have handfuls of days with low calories like this but it isn’t the norm. I did go through one period of time where my calories were low and seemed to just keep getting lower. I ended up borderline anemic but I also was not feeling very well and could tell something wasn’t right. I had to up my protein and eat even though I didn’t want to in order to get out of that. Once I did my normal appetite returned and I felt good again. It sounds like you are doing well though. You are seeing improvements with this way of eating and are feeling good. I’d say continue to pay attention to that and take notice if at some point that changes. Try and listen to your body in regards to when and how much to eat. I know this is difficult after many years of carbage. Even though they look a bit low to me, I can’t rightfully suggest changing your calories since what works for me might not for you. You asked though how to meet your calorie target. Like @Ketoteak said, for the most part I find that without even really trying my macros naturally hover right around Keto ratios simply by targeting healthy protein and fat for each meal. So I mostly eat in this manner. However, occasionally I’ll take a look at what I’ve already had for the day and find that my protein is low, so I might have some shrimp which is really high in protein. If fat is low, I’ll have cream in my coffee or extra butter on veggies. Hope this helps. Best wishes.
Thank you, you’re own perspective helps. I have been feeling pretty well and the few times I’ve logged what I’ve had for the day i was surprised to see my calories were lower than expected even though I felt I had eaten to satisfaction, see before on carbage my blood pressure would drop and I would get the shakes if I hadn’t eaten for a while during a the day so that was a tell sign to me that it had been too long and to eat. right now I don’t have hunger pans and i feel satisfied for a long time. I’m trying to distinguish when I’m really hungry and I eat, like that rule if you’re willing to eat a boiled egg then it’s hunger otherwise it’s a craving. My set calories based on the keto calculator was 1350 but like I said I was having a hard time making it to that point, so perhaps I will follow advised and increased my fat and a little more protein and try to get more calories from that even if I’m not feeling hunger, I’ll work on this, it’s really self learning and trial and error, really appreciate the help
When I asked how to tell the difference between real hunger and just craving carbs, they gave me the egg guide, and also someone quoted Dr. Phinney to the effect that if you go to the fridge and find yourself pulling out a stick of butter to munch on, then you’re hungry. I’ve also found that following the suggestion to try drinking some water to be very helpful. Apparently it’s possible to confuse thirst and hunger, who knew?