Need some advice to get started

#1

I am getting ready to start and am somewhat confused. Some say don’t worry about portion size just worry about carbs being < 20/day. But my mind can’t wrap around “don’t worry about portion size.” Can someone give me an idea of what a day’s worth of food would look like for a 60’s male, 5’ 11" and 210#. I want to lose about 30#. Any advice would be appreciated. I like almost all food hence my weight issue. Thanks in advance.

(Cathy) #2

I think the best idea is to start with recommended serving sizes of various low carb foods. For instance, 2 or 3 eggs or 3-4 oz. of meat. Add your side of l/c veg and some butter and see how you feel. It is really a simple thing and over thinking it may be an early pit fall. Good luck and check in any time or all the time!

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

I was pretty much your same height and weight when I started. 205lb. and 5’10”. I’ve lost 40 lbs so far since September 2018. without worrying about portion sizes. That will take care of itself on keto as you learn to sense when you’ve had enough to eat. Eliminate the carbs and your appetite will regulate itself in a month or so. It’s important to eat enough to be satisfied and not to restrict your calories. Soon your body will become accustomed to burning fat and when you eat less you won’t feel tired or low energy because your body can easily access your stored fat.

Don’t fall into keto copycat recipes at the beginning, keep it simple and track your carbs accurately. I recommend Cronometer, it’s free and will help you have an accurate carb count. And buy a cheap digital kitchen scale if you don’t already own one. Don’t worry about protein and fat, just eat enough to feel satisfied. Not having portion control doesn’t mean a ticket to an all you can eat buffet, don’t overeat. You should feel comfortable after eating, not stuffed. The goal is 80% full.

:cowboy_hat_face:

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #4

In my opinion the right amount of food is however much you need to eat to feel satisfied without going over your carbs. Let your body tell you when you had enough. You need to learn to listen and not worry too much about specific portions or limiting calories.

(Scott) #5

Don’t eat when full and stop eating when full. At first you may not get very good signaling on this but it will improve over time. I keep it very simple and don’t measure or log anything but others do.
Limit carbs to 20g if you can (I go for <50g because I like wine)
Embrace “healthy” fats. No seed oils and saturated is now prefered.
No snacking.
Eat to satiety.
First week is not the best but every day thereafter gets better and better. Stick it out!

(Jane) #6

Good advice from @David_Stilley and @Rclause

I will chime in also to keep your carbs below 20, eat enough at your meals that you don’t snack and get plenty of salt. Ditch all seed oils and use butter, bacon fat, olive oil or lard. This diet goes against all conventional wisdom of the last 50 years but if you look around at our population you can see the results - and they ain’t pretty!!!

The first few weeks are the hardest as you go through carb withdrawal and your body doesn’t burn the fat very well. You may be tired, cranky, fight cravings etc. Then one day you will wake up refreshed after a good nights sleep, have more energy and find you aren’t hungry until noon. Welcome to the beginnings of fat-adaptation! It only gets better.

Besides the < 20 carbs the key to this diet is to limit your insulin response to food. That’s why it is important to stop the snacking and cut out breakfast as soon as it is natural and you aren’t hungry. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” was a slogan invented by the breakfast cereal companies to increase profits - there is no scientific basis for this for adults. Yes, kids should eat breakfast because they need the fuel for their growing bodies and high energy output but adults do not.

Welcome to the forum!

(Jane) #7

I meant to add this about insulin in case you weren’t aware. When I understood insulin the light bulb came on as to why I couldn’t loose weight on 1200 cal/day but eating “6 small meals” or snacking on fat-free carbs during the day.

When you eat your pancreas produces insulin to lower your blood sugar - carbs produce the largest response, protein a lot lower, fats practically none. By cutting the carbs and how often you eat your will go for much longer periods with much lower insulin response. Insulin stops your body’s ability to burn its own fat and your body will store whatever you are eating when insulin is high. Once the insulin drops, the body will turn to its fat stores.

You don’t need to worry about this now - it will come naturally as your body adapts. Just keep your carbs low and eat enough at your meals you aren’t hungry in between and the rest will follow.

(Jane) #8

Great list! I’ve got 12 of the 21 growing in my garden this summer :grinning:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #9

I have found a lot more that aren’t listed, obviously turnip greens, mustard greens and collards, bok choy, arugula, and chard, bean sprouts, daikon, and pretty much all fresh herbs. Also lots of less common stuff that’s tied to ethnic cooking like Asian vegetables. The things in the list don’t really include all the variations either (Napa, white, red, Savoy cabbages for instance) but is a good commonly available list to work from. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Little Miss Scare-All) #10

It took me a minute to get past this because I’m a natural over-eater. At first, I kept fearing portion size, due to years of portion control WOE. Like hey, here’s your ounce of food! Enjoy it!

Maybe at first, you may find it valuable to pick an appropriate calorie intake for your size and goals. Measure your food out for a couple weeks. Then you can kind of get to see what a foundation portion size, for you, looks like. This isnt something that HAS to be done, or even done for very long, but it may be helpful for your own understanding.

(Carl Keller) #11

Same here. By trusting the advice to eat to satiety, I finally got to know and understand my hunger. When I quit eating sugar and starch, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my hunger began to change for the better. I stopped being hungry every three hours and I began to eat once or twice a day. I was able to eat satisfying meals and not feel deprived in any way. Within a month, my hunger demanded fewer calories because the calories I was giving it were of much greater quality.

This is the beauty of LCHF. When your hormones start behaving properly and you listen to them, it’s difficult to eat to too much. So my advice is to start rehabbing your hunger hormones asap. The sooner you form a good relationship with your hunger, the sooner you will gain control of your health. It’s one of the greatest lessons I ever learned about myself.

(Marianne) #12

For a lot of people, this is true, however, when I started (not that long ago), I ate three meals a day (even though I never ate breakfast before), whether I really felt hungry or not. I loved the food during that time and enjoyed eating it (who doesn’t love bacon and eggs, chicken salad, steak…!). I would honestly say immediately, I had absolutely no cravings for sweets or carbs and that has lasted since, so there really was no transition. After about 1-2 weeks, I just did not want to eat three meals a day and began eating two, mostly one meal a day. I experienced no hunger. Make sure to keep your salt high; that will also help with feeling headachy, etc.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

#13

Thanks to everyone for your help. It is greatly appreciated.