New at keto and have some questions!

(Nicole Di Filippo) #1

Hello everyone!

My husband and I are just starting our Keto journey. Some background on us:

Me: I’ve alway been very active, especially while playing sports. I was always very fit…until I went to University and gained the dreaded “freshman 30”. No big deal. I stayed at around the same weight for quite some time. Not happy with the weight, but still feeling okay with my body. I’ve always had anger issues (to this day I’m not sure how my husband stuck with me). And by anger issues I mean irrational outbursts when stressed. I went to the doctor and it turns out I had anxiety. Most people with anxiety feel the “flight” in fight vs. flight. I felt the “fight”. I started some medication that changed a lot in my life. I was less stressed, less angry, my relationships got better with my family, husband and friends. But, it also made me gain a lot of weight. We eat fairly healthy, are very active, but it seemed like no matter what I did, I couldn’t lose the weight. A friend suggested I try Keto, and well, here I am. I’m hoping that sticking to this way of eating will finally help me feel good about my body again.

Husband: My husband has always been a bigger guy. Again, we always have eaten healthy, and he’s stayed at a pretty level weight over the years, with a bit of fluctuation when he went from an office job to a field job. His whole family is on the bigger side. I know he’s always been self conscious about his body. When we go swimming with friends, he’s always embarrassed to take his shirt off. Like me, he is pretty active. We play baseball together twice a week, his job involves a lot of walking, and we take the dog on two long, brisk walks a day. And he’s in the same boat as me, doesn’t seem to be able to lose weight. When I told him about this diet he was skeptical, but after I showed him some results from other people, he thought he’d give it a try.

Together: We are going on this journey together, but it’s great to know we have a resource and support group we can turn to. The biggest challenge for us is going to be cutting out beer, as we are big into craft beer as is all of our friends. But we’re at the point in our lives where a healthy body is more important than some tasty beer.

Some questions I have for the more experienced folks:

FAT: I’ve been tracking my intake and almost every day I’ve gone over my protein without coming close to my fat. How do we get more fat in our diet without adding too much more protein?

VEGETABLES: I’m shocked by how much net carbs were in vegetables. I was sad we had to cut out fruit, but I don’t want to cut out veggies too. What are the best veggies in terms of low net carbs?

BERRIES: I’ve always had smoothies in the mornings, and again, it’s something I thought was healthy and don’t want to remove. I’ve modified my smoothies by not putting banana in, adding avocado and spinach and adding ground flax seed. I’ve been adding a little bit of berries as well so it doesn’t taste like complete garbage. Is this okay? Or is there a better fruit I can add to my smoothies that have less net carbs?

We are only just beginning this new way of eating, so I’m sure we will have a lot more questions and I’m hoping this forum will help us get the answers we need from those experienced in eating Keto and help motivate us when things are getting rough.

(Diana ) #2

I’m a newbie to the forum, so take my comments with a grain of sea salt. I think other members who have been doing this a while will come along and give you some good answers.
But I imagine you will be told to try bacon and eggs in the morning, and forego the smoothies.
This way of eating goes against all that many of us have been taught: " Carbs good, fat bad". Shame on the system that makes it too hard for dietitians and doctors to speak up, even if they know better.
Before I started on KETO, my main objective was to get as many fruits and vegetables in my diet as I could stand. Now, it’s pretty much to get as much fat as I can stand.

There is a lot I don’t know, so I am really reading all I can find. This forum is great and so informative. Good luck on your journey!

(LeeAnn Brooks) #3

You mention you ate “healthy” a few times. I’m guessing you mean by SAD standards, which when you really dig in and research HFLC you’ll find is actually very unhealthy. Which is probably why you and your husband have struggled while eating “healthy.”

Anyway, to answer some of your questions.
To get in more fat: prep with oils/butter. Olive, avacado, coconut, lard, tallow, ghee, butter, bacon fat… cook everything in something fatty. Top everything with more fats: butter, mayo, smashed avacado, cheese sauce, mayo based sauces, HWC… pick fattier cuts of meat: chicken thighs vs. breast. Extra bonus for skins on. Pork belly. 70/30 ground beef vs 80/20. Fatty fishes like salmon and tuna vs lighter ones like tilapia.

For veggies, you’ll be fine with most leafy greens like spinach and kale. Most above ground veggies are ok. Asparagus, zucchini, cabbage, squash. Yes, they will have some carbs, but should be fine with a nice fatty main dish. Top them with butter or mayo or other fatty sauce to up the fat.

Berries are also okay but in low amounts. For example, I just ate 1/2 cup raspberries in 1/4 cup of HWC. It’s the only fruit I will have today. Im well within my carb limit.
Smoothies can work with raspberries, strawberries or blueberries. Stay away from bananas, peaches or the like. Use HWC, unsweetened Almond or coconut milk for your base. Avacado will make it fatty and nice and thick. Even cocoa powder can add some nice flavor. Maybe add some MCT oil for extra fat that won’t alter the flavor.

Just keep track of your carbs. If you’re using net carbs, you can definately do the incidental carbs in many veggies and some fruits in moderation. Add fat wherever you can.

(Davy) #4

That’s KERRYGOLD butter! :slight_smile:
Also cod liver oil, the best may be Carlsen’s.
I second the vote for lots of spinach and perhaps celery dipped in Philadelphia cream cheese.
Take your Magnesium (Remag is best) and Potassium and Himalayan Salt (the brand Real Salt could be the best) to avoid most of the Keto flu. Might add some good folic acid which is the same as folate. (all these will keep your heart calm and not beating fast and make you sleep better at night, and avoid cramps.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #5

I melt high quality butter on all protein. Had a piece of cod today with butter and the oil it was cooked in. HWC is your friend. I don’t do berries often but raspberries and the lowest carb and black berries next. HWC + Berries + 2 drops of Vanillia and a small amount of stevia.

It may take some number of weeks to get your fat percentages up.

:bacon::fried_egg::coffee: + HWC

Good Luck

#6

I’ve been taking one or two tablespoon(s) of coconut oil with some of my meals. One tablespoon of coconut oil has 13.6 grams of fat which (somehow) works out to 117 calories. (I’ve read that coconut oil has somewhat less than 9 cal/gram.)

For other meals, I add some other kind of oil or butter to the meal if it makes sense. I like avocado oil for this purpose as it doesn’t seem to have a strong flavor of its own and IMO enhances the flavor of whatever it’s added to. Butter is good too and is often easily obtainable when you eat out.

Supplementing with fish oil is an option too. This will help to improve your Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio in your diet.

Avocado, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and tomatoes (in limited amounts) are my go-to veggies. Leafy greens are good too, though I sometimes have GI problems when I eat too much of them. A vinegar and oil salad dressing is a good way to increase the fat in your diet too.

(Terri) #7

I seem to have no problem with hitting fat and carbs…I made a dozen scrambled eggs with whipping cream, sautéed mushrooms and cheese for the week. Put in containers to take to work. I wonder if I shouldn’t do that as it’s not being specifically weighed and the butter that I cook it in I just out in as a tsp butter…half avocado, chz stick, pork tenderloins wrapped in bacon—-8 oz, I put in 2 slices bacon. That’s it…reached fat, carbs and protein! That doesn’t seem like enough food though…lol sounds like it. And…I’m still hungry after lunch

(Anne) #8

What’s the benefit on folic acid on keto? I’ve read plenty about magnesium and potassium but not folic acid! I take an immunosuppressant drug for rheumatoid arthritis and take a very large dose of folic acid daily to mitigate side effects by encouraging cell growth. I’m curious to know the benefit for keto.

(Terri) #10

Am I doing it wrong?

(Davy) #11

Many people get higher pulse rate and palpitations when in Ketosis. If you notice this, it may be because you’re not getting enough Folate; which is a bit hard to get while Ketoing if you’re not careful. Though 1 whole avocado and 5 cups of spinach will get you there.
Folic Acid is the synthetic form of B9 and Folate is the natural form found in foods. Many marketing people use them interchangeably, though the natural form is probably better.
So it helps regulate your heart better.

(Anne) #12

Thanks so much! I never knew that, good info to have.

(Davy) #13

Though as an afterthought, it’s still probably getting enough good Magnesium that does most of the job, though I’m sure Folate helps. You may be one of the lucky ones that having Ketones doesn’t give you irregular and fast heartbeat but just in case. :wink:
Also, according to Dr. Dean, who wrote the Magnesium Miracle, you have to make sure you’re getting enough Magnesium, spread out through the day. If you’re not getting enough, you’ll think, “hey, this isn’t working.” when in fact, you’re just not getting enough.
Heh, I’m still going to be eating my spinach and avocado.

(Ruthann) #14

First of all, good luck and stick with it for a while as it takes quite a few weeks to feel the results. As for fat, my favorite is coffee (or tea) with 1 tbs of coconut oil, 2 tbs of HWC some pure dark cacao powder and stevia to taste. Blend it up and is AMAZING. That’s like 32.5 g of fat (but about 285 calories. 1.5 net carbs) in your morning coffee alone ;-). You can even use butter instead of coconut oil…there are different types of keto coffees to fit any taste so google around. You might want to use decaf or half bc I have noticed my body is way more sensitive to caffeine now.

(karen) #15

Two Things:

  1. This is my favorite website for beginning keto and getting an idea of what foods are most appropriate, as well as some great recipes. It’s a paid site but you don’t have to sign up or pay to get the general info.
  1. Many people have reported that keto has helped get their anger / anxiety under control, possibly because it helps balance hormones. Wouldn’t that be a nice side effect!

Good luck to both of you, try to have fun, and Keto On!

#16

If you like smoothies, you should definitely try ground chia seeds with unsweetened almond milk. Chia seeds are great keto food, lots of good fats in them. They’ll give a smoothie some thickness if you find you don’t like avocados in it.

I’d also recommend monkfruit sweetener for a smoothie with berries in it, not stevia. Monkfruit has a somewhat fruity aftertaste that I think will work better than the bitter stevia aftertaste. It depends on your preference of course!

(Jane) #17

Not enough info to tell. How much of those dozen eggs and other foods do you eat at one time for lunch?

How long have you been keto? Are you fat adapted? What is your height and weight?

(Terri) #18

Hi…10 eggs, 1/2 c chz and sautéed mushrooms in five containers for each day and 1/2 avocado. Then pan fried pork chop w/ 7 Brussels sprouts or asparagus for lunch. 1chz stick snack. Dinner 8 oz bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. On MyFitnessPal pal isn’t giving me net carbs and that was messing me up because I was hungry…also pounding heart and feeling crappy, so I thought all those carbs were in the avocado and other stuff…I don’t know how to change on that app. Also, I bought that exogenous KETO Drive…my keystones were .5 last night and .3 this am. still pounding heart and yuck…had some of that this am and it really didn’t help much…when I got Home, I used 3/4 scoop in a little cold water and downed it then ate a salad with cheese, cubes and 2 tbsp ranch and I feel a lot better and also my keystones were at .8. So I think my macros are good and when do I know when I’m fat adapted?, I hope now that I feel better lol. I’m 5’4” 178 lbs. also, started 7/19, last Thursday