Keto exit plan, sort of?

#41

I can’t put my family on low-carb let alone keto… But people on a “normal” diet might have been okay with keto food, it depends. While I did a somewhat normal keto (just vegetarian and carbier than usual), I cooked keto food and simple carby staples. It’s probably way easier with meat. When my SO is willing to eat meat, we eat the same main dish, he just add carbs. When he doesn’t want meat, I still might make some carnivore egg dish (because I do carnivore now, at least dirty carnivore) - or we just eat different stuff but the latter wouldn’t be a problem if I still did normal keto. I almost never cook non-keto food except extremely simple staples (or bread, I love baking bread), that’s not my style and it works.

If the other family members eat low-fat and you totally want dishes full with fat to begin with so you can’t just add the fat later (I am like this), that complicates things.

I don’t think low-carb is bad for the kids but I am no expert. They don’t actually need to do keto for you all to eat the same dishes. They can have their own little desserts or carrots or something, a bit more carbs but more relaxed.
But it’s important to know if your family is okay with it. I am a low-carber since 9 years and my SO is a high-carber since 40 and it hardly will change. His diet always changed with mine to a big extent, he’s not choosy but high-carb is a fixed thing for him, he can’t change that one. Keto isn’t for everyone.

(Susan) #42

@KetoCancerMom started Keto when she got Cancer, but she is married with 4 small children and the entire family is on Keto, but they allow the kids to have some non Keto things when out at times too. It is very doable =).

(Ellen ) #43

That’s amazing beccs. I’ve seen your pictures. What an inspiration.

(John) #44

If you want to eat closer to a “normal” diet, without giving up your weight loss, then consider shifting the balance towards more vegetables, while keeping protein moderate, and reducing the fat intake while keeping overall calories about the same.

Give that a try, if that’s your goal.

(Ken) #45

Was it instant mashed potatoes? They seem to cause massive bloating and discomfort to me. Real ones not so much. A good alternative that is less glycemic are root veggies. Ones such as carrots, turnips, rutabagas , and parsnips. They have less starch than potatoes because spuds are actually tubers rather than roots.

(Ken) #46

Yes, it will. There are plenty of people out there that eat carbs on the Weekends and are successful. Especially if you train, I suggest eating your carbs after your workout because your muscles are primed for glycogen uptake.

#47

So agree and your stats are super impressive Mark! When the poster says slippery slope in their original post it means there are troubles afoot the person had to deal with and knows that moderation will not be an easy step ever for them. Key words in that post from the OP for sure :slight_smile:

And I am one of those slippery slope people. I know me and boy oh boy the slope has my name on it all the time LOL

#48

I know this well :slight_smile: It is very hard to make your own eating lifestyle then ya gotta ‘mesh it up’ with the family’s eating lifestyle. My hubby and kid are carb eaters. My kid will eat low carb mostly cause I been chatting that to her and she gets it now (near 15 now) but hubby will not go there at all.

It isn’t you have to cave in and go off keto. You can ‘slowly’ adapt some food changes over the kids’s main meals as they find ok a bit and when out and about, you can eat before you go out and eat small something when they order their main foods.

There are tons of ways around it all :slight_smile: It just takes time to make your maintenance plan work for you. While losing and concentrating on ‘dieting’ many don’t think truly of what to do when they hit goal and the days after. It actually is real important.

On vacay with the treats and more, many a time we hit ice cream places or a fancy bakery and they order what they want, I just drink my water and get nothing. It isn’t a ‘horrible thing’ ya know, in fact they feel sad I am not eating anything but thing is I don’t care one bit about that crap and they think I feel bad ya know…but I tell them I don’t want and am super cool on it :slight_smile: I tell ya having to deal with others feelings how I eat is more annoying then going somewhere and not eating crap with them HAHA

If I truly truly truly want a taste of something while out and about it has to be very special. Like we hit a Bavarian town for a short vacay near us and my kid was it is ALL about the Bavarian fancy pretzels that are the size of car tire…well not that big maybe LOL but we sat down at this great place, German little music band playing so fun and happy and all, ordered this monster pretzel and hubby and kid attacked it and kid was like, come on mom and I said nah, and she was again like come on mom, we are here on vacay, and I was gonna keep saying no but I thought, ok…I pulled off about an inch of pretzel…took a nibble and said WOW these are great…WOW these are just wonderful and she just lit up all happy agreeing with me…heck by the time we left I did leave 1/2 of that sucker on the table! It takes very little to make others happy sometimes but I pick and choose those times very carefully. If I had jumped on that pretzel and ‘moderated’ a good bit more by the time we hit the fancy german ice cream store I would have been eating a cup of it easily or get those lovely sugar waffle cones and after that…all bets would be off --and then a restaruant for dinner would have been no holes barred for me. Cause my mindset would have changed from 'I am on a healthy eating plan and need to stay right here for success and do what I gotta do to keep that ’ or I coulda thought ‘what the heck, eat crap this day, feel horrible, and then I know I would have to fight like hell for the next weeks to keep plan, cause I know I am the type to backslide very fast’ and would I get on plan?

So key is know you and what you can do. Make it work for you. You can do this easily. Any small healthy change to the family are great obviously. You can cook meat and veg and a side of mac n cheese for kiddo if they want it, you don’t have to eat it :slight_smile: You don’t have to eat separate in any way, you dish up your plate and eat your way and add a bit of whatever the kids may want on their plate. All plates at the table and have an enjoyable dinner time.

Just rambling off what it took for me and how I have to work my plan for me. It is a very personal lifestyle situation and everyone will have to go thru how they are going to make any eating changes work long term. Long term is key. There is not healthy short dieting plans truly in life. You either go all in eating healthy or don’t. But if you want long term you got to make those little mindset changes how ya navigate the real world long term and you definitely sound like a smart person :slight_smile: and I know you will make it all work for ya at all times ) You got this!!

(Bob M) #49

They were mashed potatoes I made by peeling potatoes, cutting them, boiling them, mashing them with high stearic acid butter oil (and once with a bit of cream too). Both times caused terrible symptoms, even IBS-like symptoms, which I haven’t had in a long time. (The last time might have been when I was trying resistant starch…using potato starch mainly; hmm…a pattern?)

By contrast, I periodically eat a half a baked potato with butter and sour cream, if my wife and I go to a steak place where they refuse to replace the potato with anything else. And that does not seem to cause issues (but I also eat this at dinner and go to bed shortly thereafter; whereas I workout in the morning and eat around 10 am or so). It’s also once in a blue moon, and not several days a week after exercise.

This week, I’ve been experimenting with a “Ruby cocoa bar”, which my wife got for our kids for Valentine’s day and they didn’t like. It’s bad tasting, but has carbs and high cocoa butter, which are both what I want.

Adding a few carbs after my workout does seem to be helping me recover. I’ll have to see what my results will be (eg, more muscle and/or more strength). If I get better results, I’ll keep experimenting. If not, I’ll go back to keto only.

For me, I’ve been doing this six years, and I tend to get affected negatively from carbs, so this limits any possibility of a slippery slope. For instance, modern wheat and I don’t get along: I get chest congestion, asthma, and allergies. If I have a pizza, I get those basically the next day. (Probably thought that was “normal” back when I ate those all the time.) So, modern wheat is bad for me. (My verdict is still out on Einkorn wheat; going to make some high-fat biscuits this weekend with Einkorn and try them as a carb and fat delivery device after my workouts.)

So, I think it’s all up to the person. If eating some carbs helps, and there is no danger of remission, then it’s OK.

I had quite a few carbs yesterday: Ruby bar after workout; salsa, red onions, and peppers at dinner. This is much more than normal. I’m still in ketosis (0.1 mmol/L), though, and oddly my ketonix output has gone from around 20 the previous days to over 50.

(Ken) #50

Very relevant points. It is the “Slippery Carb Slope” that eventually causes problems. That’s why it’s important to know the Science of both LIpogenesis as well as Lipolysis. In regards to Carbs, it’s all about glycogen. Glycogen is the fulcrum on which the balance of adaptation is determined. Too many carbs and you tip towards fat storage. Severe restriction and you secrete Glucagon and burn it. Amounts that do not cause chronic liver overcompensation and you stay balanced. This is how it works, there’s nothing subjective about it. As long as people understand it, Maintenance is easy.

#51

I hear all that but in truth the mental side of dieting for life and abstaining foods and more is never easy for a billion of us out there :slight_smile: :slight_smile: I do think many have a critical carb limit, heck Atkins from long ago knew that, but many when adding back those carbs and playing the carb game is a slope of enormous stress. Best one can do is experiment thru it all and see where one lands for a solid stable maintenance.

(Bob M) #52

And also not everyone exercises, so that’s another factor. If you exercise, you can probably take a hit of carbs with not too much or any (external) effect. Those carbs might all go to glycogen. If you’re totally sedentary, it might not be the same.

You can burn glucagon? I thought glucagon was a hormone. Or did you mean glycogen?

(Ken) #53

Nah, I just didn’t explain it very well. When you drop the carbs you initially secrete Glucagon to enable Glycogenolysis, the burning up of liver glycogen before true Lipolysis. I’ve lived and studied this for so long sometimes I forget I need to be more Pedantic.

(Nicola Blair) #54

I would suggest slowly upping healthy carbs and see how you feel and if you can maintain. You’ll need to find the balance that works for you. It’s what I think I’ll do when I meet my goals. Good luck.