Keto "How To" and Keto Variations?

(Nicole Silvia) #1

The more I learn about Keto the more complex it sounds. My understanding was that you eat less than 20 g of carbs per day, go into ketosis and amazing things will happen. But it’s not that simple. Especially if you want to train for race’s or other athletic events. Am I wrong?

So, please is there some very easy, step by step guide to ketosis? What to do when and what to expect? I’d like more of a formula.

Also, there seems to be variations of keto on here, or am I mistaken? What do they mean? And how do I figure out what works for me?

(LeeAnn Brooks) #2

Keto needs to be personalized to you, so asking a forum like this such a question is likely to get you dozens of differing and often conflicting answers. I realize this confuses newbies, but try not to let it overwhelm you. Take in ideas and opinions here, see what speaks to you and give it a shot. It’s all a personal experiment. If that doesn’t work, try something else.
Beyond that, there are really only a few “rules” to Keto (and even some of them are debated).

  1. stay below 20 net grams carbs
  2. moderate protein (lots of debate here)
  3. eat fat to satiety (even some debate here)
  4. avoid snacking (when you eat matters as much of not more than what you eat)
(Nicole Silvia) #3

Thank you! I think I need moderate protein. What exactly do people mean by eating fat to satiety? What fat exactly?

Avoiding snacking, I’m also unsure of. I am used to eating consistently throughout the day. I still eat when I’m hungry right?

And what do you mean when you say when you eat matters more than what? When IS the best time?

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #4

Keep the carbs low. <20, <thirty, whatever works. <20 works for nearly everyone. Subtract fiber to get to your number.
The rest will generally sort itself.

If you want the advanced level, eat more whole foods, avoid “vegetable oils” and other sources of omega-6 polyunsaturated oil.

Beyond that, you can tweak metrics, improve food quality and sourcing, time your eating window (even 13 fasted hours/11 hours to eat shows benefit, but you might look at 16-8, 20-4, 23-1 fasting), embracing extended fasting (I’m not there yet, but some folks seem to embrace that), go full carnivore, work on varying your vegetable matter, etc.

But at the end of the day, keeping carbs low is the primary driver of benefits.

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #5

If you restrict your carbs, you will find that your hunger is much less of a consistent presence. I am rarely hungry, and have to skip a couple meals to get actually hungry.

Eating to satiety is tricky. It takes time to get in tune with your body, to discover what is “satiety” rather than being full, stuffed or otherwise uncomfortable. It’s that point where you could eat more, but don’t feel the need to actually eat anything. For folks who came into keto from a fairly disordered eating history, it may take several months to get dialed into their satiation thermostat.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #6

Yes, eat when you’re hungry, but make it a meal, not a snack.

Eating fat to satiety means you feel full but not over stuffed. You’re satisfied. The fat content will keep you fuller longer, so you shouldn’t need to snack all day long. In fact, you may get to a point you aren’t hungry at all at a meal time. When that happens, go ahead and skip it. This is IF, or Intermittent fasting. Not everyone does it, but it’s a great tool for helping lose weight.

Fat can be consumed in high fat cuts of meat like pork belly, chicken thighs, flank steak… avacados, eggs, cheese and cream if you can do dairy, mayos, oils… cook in oil or bacon grease. Just a few ideas.

(Nicole Silvia) #7

Thanks! I already feel less hungry and more dialed in to hunger, but I am no where near fasting. I would get hungry.

Again, what is meant by eating FAT to satiety? How so? What fat are we talking about? Like snack? Or extra fat in the meal? I need examples.

(Nicole Silvia) #8

Oh, yea… guess I should start saving bacon grease :wink:

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #9

You will see many strategies here for eating fat to satiety. I will allow someone else to answer that. I do not do that. I eat real foods until I am sated. I do not worry about fat, either eating too much or eating too little. I only make sure I hit my protein target, as a minimum, and stay below my carb number. I am not “pure keto” according to many ketonauts here. I do not care. I do what works for me.

(Nicole Silvia) #10

I actually just found a podcast episode on this very question. Again, it’s probably a matter of opinion. My goal is more to not be hungry, which is going well.

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #11

Any healthy fat, like lard, bacon, olive oil, avocado/and avo oil will do it. Just stay way from the vegetable oils like corn, soy, cottonseed, & rapeseed oil marketed as canola oil.

Listen to this episode:

(Nicole Silvia) #12

That’s the episode I found!