New member introduction

(Jerrod) #1

Hey guys and girls

I am new to the forum, like 10 minutes old. I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi, I will be annoying you frequently with questions that may seem stupid for some of you haha! I just recently starting doing research on the keto diet and I’m very interested in trying it as I’ve had little success with others I’ve tried. My first question on this forum is what could a person do or what should a person do to get started, and I don’t mean purchasing food but rather, what should I do to see if I my body is ready or what personal levels should I be checking before starting? I think that my personal eating habits are already keto in a sense but I need to drop a few things out including sugar, which I haven’t had in 3 days already. More to come and happy to be apart of this forum now

(Purcilla) #2

Welcome! I’m new to keto aswell, 2 days in. Before I started I just read, read, read pretty much everything I could online. I’ve watch videos on youtube on meal prepping as well as purchasing a keto for beggingers guide at my local grocery store for roughly 12$.(recipes + 2week meal guide included) I also downloaded an app called carb manager so that I can keep track of what I eat and how much I should eat for the day. As for if you’re ready to keto or not kind of depends on why you’re doing it. Either way today is always a good day to start!

#3

This is a good place to start

Keto is this easy (Keto for beloved noobs)

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
  • Don’t worry about the scale - keto is a primarily a HORMONE-CONTROL diet not a WEIGHT-LOSS diet. If you eat right, the weight loss should come. But when it’s ready, not when you demand. Relax and trust the process.
  • Eat plenty of good food - fat and protein - while adhering to 20g/carbs/day. Don’t worry too much about macros and calories EXCEPT carbs. Keep them below 20g/day. (Prioritize the protein - always start with protein in every meal, but don’t panic about it.) Your job is to get fat-adapted, so give your body the fuel you want it to use. Also, your appetite will vary - it’ll disappear, then it’ll come roaring back. Happens to most people, don’t sweat it.
  • ELECTROLYTES/SALT - KEEP THEM UP
  • Buy the meat you can afford - don’t stress about grass-fed, organic (con), etc… The worst meat is better than the best bread.
  • Fasting is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. Works for lots, not for others. Don’t let tools tell you to use it before you’re fat-adapted and it makes sense.
  • This site has a search function (magnifying glass at the top of the page) and a newbies section - use them both, you’ll get a better variety of answers to your questions far more quickly that way. SERIOUSLY, THIS IS VERY USEFUL.[1]

That’s as difficult as it needs to be for a couple of months.

My good friend Terence (being friends with a Kiwi feels kinda dirty, but there you have it, keto makes for strange bedfellows) tells me this thing I have described above is called “dirty keto.” So yeah, do dirty keto, kids! :slight_smile:

Lots of Love, THE JUICE

Expanded version is HERE

[1]If you can’t find a useful answer after searching and reading for a while, we can help you a lot more if you tell us relevant data about yourself such as your reasons for doing keto, your weight/height/age/gender, a sample menu plan & any relevant health conditions.

(Carl Keller) #4

Welcome Jerrod.

If you have constant hunger, cravings, unwanted fat stores, nagging inflammation, high cholesterol, low stamina or if you are simply interested in feeling amazing, then your body is ready for keto. :slight_smile:

Here’s a really good guide for understanding and starting keto:

If you have any comments or concerns, feel free to ask.

(Jerrod) #5

Thanks britez and Rosie!

I also downloaded the carb manager and I think that app is set up really well and I even used it for two days just to see what am I doing as of now that I need to change and it looks like I’m consuming way to much protein…that’s going to be a tough one to break as I go to the gym almost every day off on my 4x4 work schedule. Protein has always been important. If I could just tell you guys what I had for meals yesterday which was a day shift and what I’m having tonight which is my first night shift maybe you could let me know if I need to make moderate adjustments or completely reconsider how I’m doing this.

Yesterday I started work at 8am and my job is not labor intensive at all, I run equipment so I’m on my butt for 12 hours doing nothing physical

4 am wake up :sleeping: I have a coffee with coconut oil and salt free butter which is called a bulletproof coffee( heard about it on a joe Rogan podcast ) and one more black coffee when I arrive on site at 6:30am

Around 10 or 11am I will have one chicken breast and about 2-3 cups of cooked veggies in vegetable oil

Around 1pm I snacked on some mixed nutts with no peanuts, just a handful.

Depending on our break, anywhere between 3pm and 4:30pm I had about 6 slices of salami and 3 baby bells!

I bring an avocado but rarely do I feel hungry after my last break. Usually about 3 ltrs of water throughout the day.

Tonight you can swap all the am with pm and pm with am

I have some cooked broccoli and cauliflower with a little shredded cheddar and some bacon, it looks really good! I will probably eat that around 11pm or 12am

I have my handful of mixed nutts for a snack and my second meal will be around 3-4am and it’s cooked turkey sandwich meat from the deli wrapped around some cheddar, not sure how many I should bring. This will be combined with cooked asparagus and green beans and 2 hard boiled eggs.

Might eat that avocado

Can you guys let me know if I’m not balancing this very well, or due to shift work I shouldn’t be eating at certain times or certain things?

(Purcilla) #6

I’m not sure I have the knowledge to help. I don’t have normal work schedule. It’s pretty hectic. Honestly today was the first time I’ve ever been able to eat 3 meals in one day (on my way to work now) it’s 4:30pm for me. I’ll work tomorrow morning at 6am so I usually only eat once a day. I’m taking it one day at a time. Hopefully I can at least eat breakfast and dinner. :thinking:

#7

Couple of things come to mind :slightly_smiling_face:

1 - Bulletproof coffee isn’t compulsory so if you’re not hungry when you get up you can skip it

2 - “Too much protein” is different for everybody & if you’re exercising lot you can usually get away with more. A good place to start is 1 gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight & then tweak according to how well it’s working for you

3 - Maybe swap out the chicken breast for a fattier bit of meat or at least be sure to add some healthy fat. By healthy fat I mean natural fat - not processed seed oils.

4 - Keto is primarily an hormonal diet. The key is to keep insulin spikes to a minimum so if you can eat larger meals & avoid snacking you’ll be off to a good start

(Carl Keller) #8

By the looks of your food choices, I would guess you are not much of a fan for fatty proteins like dark poultry meat, salmon and beef. But if you are, there’s a lot of opportunity to get your fat grams up along with moderate protein. Consider swapping the (lean) chicken breast for thighs, legs or wings. Little things like that might help speed up your journey toward fat adaptation.

A red flag popped up when I noticed you include vegetable oil in your meals. There’s a lot of bad press about hydrogenated oils like:

  • Soybean oil
  • Canola oil
  • Corn oil
  • Cottonseed oil
  • Sunflower oil
  • Peanut oil
  • Sesame oil
  • Rice bran oil

You will find positive studies that suggest these oils are good for you, but every single one of those studies is funded by a company or group of companies that makes these types of products.

Some healthier oils to cook with are coconut, olive and avocado oil and good old bacon grease makes vegetables taste amazing.

One other thing I noticed is how often you are eating, including your snacks. It’s best to try and eat larger meals and get used to not eating between them. I wouldn’t discourage a snack if it saves you from relapsing to carbs, but in general, the goal is to keep our insulin as inactive as possible. The time between meals is an opportunity for our body to access fat stores and if you are eating something every few hours, the insulin never has a chance to settle.

It might take a little time to get used to this. Eating carbs trained us to be hungry every few hours and as your body gets used to using fat, you shouldn’t feel the need to eat as often.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #9

Welcome! Some people come to this way of eating after they’ve had labs checked at a doc and were told they weren’t well. Baseline or before starting labs aren’t necessary but they’re fun to watch improve if you have problems.

The only requirement is an interest in your health and happiness, the rest will follow.

(less is more, more or less) #10

Welcome, Jerrod, to the fray.

There are no stupid questions.

@anon54735292’s post cuts to the chase. If you skipped it, please re-read it.

This is the heart of low-carb living. Sugar is everywhere and in so many things.

For example, is a slice of typical BBQ-prepped meat low-carb? That’s not a rhetorical question. Yes or no?

(Jerrod) #11

Ok I have no problem dropping vegtable oil as I prefer avocado oil and coconut oil for cooking anyways, and if I’m dropping the chicken breasts can you recommend something that would better substitute it? I’m also a huge fan of beef So I’ll bring that right into the mix. Salmon, I’ll eat it but I really don’t like fish haha…but I’ll eat it it’s around. One thing about the bulletproof coffee, usually when I wake up I’m not hungry, the only reason I eat breakfast(when I have the time) is because I’m under the impression It’s the right way to start a day, the coffee does wonders for fatigue in the early morning and I say that only for bulletproof coffee. A regular coffee does next to nothing for me! Should I still skip that coffee if I’m not hungry or is it ok to have regardless of why I’m taking it? And lots of replies and helpful stuff here, you guys kick serious ass!

(Carl Keller) #12

I’m not saying it’s a must, just that’s it an opportunity to get more fat in your diet. But if you enjoy thighs, legs and wings, those are fattier than breasts.

If you don’t like something you don’t have to eat it. Don’t make keto a job. Eat things you like. It was just an idea to get more fat into your plan.

Ask 10 keto people this and you will probably hear half to most of them to say it’s ok when you are just starting. The extra fats and ketones from the MCT oil won’t hurt you when you are trying get adapted but after your cravings are gone and your hunger is controllable, you might see better results on the scale if you discontinue this.

I never drank BPC but I do use a small amount of coconut oil in my morning coffee. It doesn’t seem to have hindered my progress and I do like how it wakes me up and puts me on alert. I don’t think it has slowed my weight loss but I came to keto just trying to lose some belly fat. In someone with more insulin resistance, this might not be as true.

If you enjoy it I would keep drinking it and keep what I’ve said in mind. If you hit a prolonged stall, you can consider dropping it.

(Jill F.) #13

Welcome! I am fairly new too working on 6 weeks here. Best advice is meal prep and do not assume things are keto friendly. Use some type of tracker to check carbs in things before you eat them. Like for example, I was craving spaghetti squash but 1 cup has 8 carbs so I had to alot for that in my meal planning today to eat it for dinner.
Get on here often, read through some of the older threads to get advice. Put in extra fat where you can, and dont just use scale to measure. Also get a fabric tape measure and check that as well. I have lost 10 pounds but 15 inches in a little over a month, so I am very glad I am measuring!

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #14

1- You’re ready for it. There are very few reasons why today is not a good day to start.

2- Read a book. While Juice’s post and the ensuing thread (linked above) is great, and a good place to start, there is no substitute for a real book. Knowing the why is kinda important.

3- Carbs are the important thing. Folks like to fight about the amount of protein (they’re mostly wrong and mostly too low, but like I said, folks like to fight) and the right amount of fat, but the big thing is the carbs. Keep them low, and you should see results.

4- Eat real foods. Steaks, leafy greens, chicken thighs, stalk vegetables. Artificial sweeteners screw people up. Fake foods are what got folks to the state where they need the keto in the first place, and they want to eat more fake foods. If you had a cake problem before, eating a fake food cake isn’t a cure.

5- Perfect is the enemy of doing well. Aim for 90% or 95%. You might get to 100% compliance, but don’t beat yourself up when you bust the diet. Get a grip, get back on, and get on with your new life.

6- Keep a journal. About your weight, you’re measurements, your memory, your feelings, your pains, whatever is going on with you. Keto fixes a lot of things for a lot of people, some of them are subtle (memory being one) so it’s good to keep notes one where you were so you can see where you are. Inventory over time.

(Running from stupidity) #15

:metal::metal::metal::metal::metal:

Excellent post.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #16

Chicken thighs. Even breast with the skin on would be better. Rib-eye steak is a great food, and so is almost any form of pork, especially bacon! :bacon: