Keto I am all over the place

[Kball]

Hello everyone,

Looking for some help not sure if it is available. Quick version… Keto 5 weeks. In a weight stall. I don’t think I am doing Keto right. I have been in ketosis for about 4 1/2 weeks. Lost the 18lbs now teetering back and fourth up1lb down 1lb. I went off the reservation and started eating burgers (without buns, ketchup etc…). Salads but not counting intake. Stopped eating avocado, almonds etc. But I am still in ketosis.

I am looking for a meal planning site that can help with staying within the 20-30 carb range at a click of a button. I joined carb manager today and while it is a fountain of knowledge it was a waste of money for me at this time. It does meal planning but includes breakfast but I don’t eat breakfast. I intermediate fast from 6pm till about 12pm. I want simple lunches not meals I have to spend prepping for half my Saturday.

What I am looking for is something that will say "5 olives, 10 almonds, laughing cow cheese wedge and 3 rolled pieces of ham for a total of 23 carbs (I have no idea how many carbs that is)

There is a lot of how to’s but no really how to. they say the days intake should be around 20% carb 70%fat and 5% fiber (don’t blast me I know I am screwing this up). I am trying to be aggressive Keto. but really want simple.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Momof5]

Welcome to the forum, Kball =).

Keto Is This Easy

Keto is this easy (aka Keto for beginners) Quick Version This is for Phase One—the starter phase. It’s still not complicated later, but this is the really easy-to-explain version which will help you no end. Eat under 20g of carbs a day (usually 20g net when starting, but for some people 20g total carbs works better). Don’t worry about the scale. All it tells you is weight, it tells you nothing about body composition, even the “smart” scales. Eat plenty of good food—fat and protein—whil…

I use a free app with cronometer.com

The key to success is keeping your carbs under 20 grams and eating enough good proteins and healthy fats. I find I need to drink enough water and keep my electrolytes up as well, and avoid all artificial sweeteners.

If you are doing TMAD (two meals a day like you say, lunch and supper) and doing it 18:6 then just have the two meals at noon and 5:30 with no snacks between and no calories from the 6pm -until 12 noon (as snacking will mess up your fat burning abilites --glucose levels.

You don’t need to spend money on a Keto program – they just rip you off – you can look on our recipe section here on the forum to get a lot of meal ideas and through our sections called “What did you Keto today” – we are currently on Part IV --because so many people are posting their meals!

[gingersmommy]

I find what helped me, and which I still do today, is keep your meals and food choices simple and natural - foods in their whole state (eggs, bacon, butter, heavy cream, pork, beef, chicken, sausage, hamburger, cheese, some mayo, home made salad dressing, etc.). We eat low carb veggies - romaine, spinach, brussell sprouts, cole slaw. We eat mainly one meal a day now with maybe a snack if I am hungry before then. Meals are meat and a veggie with butter and/or bacon grease. When I started and was eating 2/3 meals a day, I would mainly just have a veggie with dinner. Breakfast and lunch were generally carb free, which for me wasn’t difficult because I am perfectly happy with limiting the carbs and just having easy food like eggs and bacon, or tuna with some mayo, or a big bacon cheeseburger, etc. It doesn’t have to be difficult, just eat what you like.

I would suggest that you go to ketokarma.com and get your daily protein and fat macros. It’s a free macro calculator and you don’t have to put in any personal information. Meet or exceed a little the protein and fat macros, and keep the carbs under 20g/day. For me, I found this helpful to make sure I was eating enough protein and fat. After 2-3 weeks, you will come to learn how many fat/protein/carb grams there are in your favorite foods and you won’t have to track so closely.

[Shinita]

I am very incompatible with meal plans as I like to eat whatever I want. But it’s very good as I can use whatever I have or want to use and I keep it as simple or complicated as I want.
Why don’t you make your own meal plan? Mine is usually lots of eggs, some cheese, some meat and some other stuff, very simple as long as I don’t start to overcomplicate it but I like experimenting, I still keep it simple. Carbs hardly add up when I mostly eat egg, meat and cheese with very little or no lactose… It’s way easier now. I eat some vegetables but the amount is small, I get way more carbs from eggs and dairy. But it gives me variety and flavors If you still need more vegetables, you need to track more but you can still make good plans.
Getting all the necessary nutrients are trickier but if you use nutritious food including meat, it’s not a bad start already.

(Why is it a problem if a plan includes breakfast? You simply eat it at another time. When I make a plan, I do it for a day, it doesn’t matter when I eat them… Of course, such a breakfast shouldn’t be too complicated. But if it’s just a few eggs, you simply eat them whenever you eat, that’s it.)

If you want simple, you may eat very similar dishes every day. Many people are into chaffles, for example and they use them all the time. I am into eggs, I eat boiled, scrambled eggs, sunny side ups and pancakes all the time. Many people focus on various meats. You can add different things to the same basic dish if you need more variety.

I guess it’s something we should learn to do it right eventually.

You need the right amount of macronutrients but unless you do some therapeutic keto, percentages shouldn’t be forced to meet some numbers that may or may not work. We humans are different and we need different percentages (and some of us works fine with very different ones even when our energy intake stays the same. but if it doubles, we surely don’t need suddenly twice as much protein and not necessarily can handle twice as much carbs). Do whatever works and feels right for you. I personally focus on grams (if I track), I need very low carb and that’s it as my protein is always, automatically fine. Some people should focus on protein too, some people works better with more fat, others with more protein… One can experiment and figure out such things. Even carbs… 5% is awfully much for some people, let alone 10% (I don’t even understand how normal people can afford that on keto without starving, it’s around 40g for a modest, 1600 kcal energy intake).