New to this and frustrated. Please advise

#36

Thank you. Yes, I prefer Rebel to Wink.

(Charlotte) #37

Haven’t tried that one. I’ll have to check it out.

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #38

Hello, I too am at around 6 weeks. Although personally I have lost about 15 pounds, I didn’t chose Keto for weight loss. I have terrible inflammation that is eating away at my joints and disks.

I read Keto can reduce inflammation. I also was chronically fatigued. Running on Ketones I feel focused, more overall energy. Do you not feel any positive effects?

Keto may seem very limited in the food department but once you learn all the great foods you can have it is not too hard. 6 weeks is nothing and I would bet you’re not fat adapted yet so maybe give it a bit longer before giving up?

Honestly what do you have to lose? Keto is one of the healthiest diets and definitely offers health benefits. :grinning:

(Charlotte) #39

After thinking about this, I agree with @JohnH. Maybe keto isn’t for you. Keto takes a certain mindset. If your heart isn’t in and if you are just too focused on what you will be giving up and can’t live with that then you won’t be able to haveany significant success with keto. You still haven’t told us what specifically your eating yet, so its hard to be of any real help. The only thing I can think of is that there are non-keto foods you are still eating and thats keeping you from seeing results. There is no shame in deciding keto isn’t for you. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s definitely not for everyone. I truly hope that you can find something that works for you that you’ll be happy with. Good luck!

(Patrick M) #40

One other thing to keep in mind is that just because something is “keto friendly” doesn’t mean your body tolerates it well.

I am 6 weeks into Keto as well, although I had done it before and have had great success with weight loss in the past. I actually started the year doing a carnivore diet since I could eat eggs, bacon, and ribeye every day. After 3 weeks I had lost 10lbs and my wife wanted to try keto. So I switched my diet to a standard keto diet with 1 caveat. My wife and I started doing a shake called KetoChow for breakfast. It’s the only meal replacement I have found that is true keto, a full meal replacement, and is a soylent food with all the electrolytes needed for ketosis.

I have a blood test device so I am sure that I am producing ketones, however I started gaining weight. My wife on the other hand is doing great, although she won’t ever tell me what she weighs or lost. What I had found is that the shakes had sucralose (main ingredient in Splenda). Sucralose is “keto friendly” however it causes major digestive issues for me and my body doesn’t tolerate it well. As soon as I stopped eating the shakes my weight stabilized.

My point is, just because something is keto friendly doesn’t mean it is friendly to your body in particular. Artificial sweeteners can be a big issue, even if they are low or no carb. Some people react the same as they would with sugar, some like me can’t stomach certain sweeteners, and some people like my wife are just fine. It’s all about finding what works for you and that takes time. Give it another 6 weeks, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

(Jo) #41

I also have been on the Keto diet for 6 weeks and haven’t lost a pound and I agree with you, it’s discouraging! The benefits I have found is that I don’t have brain fog, I have more energy and I feel better so that is enough to keep me going. I have switched things up a little and am eating more carbs a few days a week because I wasn’t sleeping well and I feel that raised my cortisol levels and caused stress. That has helped with my sleep issues and it has also gave me some flexibility with this diet. I hope you can find that the benefits are better than the disappointments!

(Bob M) #42

My guidance: avoid all fake foods, like KetoChow. Try to just eat real food, such as steaks, pork, chicken, beef liver, beef heart, lamb, shrimp, etc. Eat some vegetables if you must. Avoid all PUFAs found in seed oils. That is, don’t buy store-bought mayo or salad dressings. Don’t eat many or any nuts. Don’t overdue chicken or pork, sticking to beef and lamb and fish if possible. Don’t eat fat bombs. Don’t worry about macros, just carbs. Don’t eat anything sweet. Try not eating dairy (I personally eat dairy, but mainly cheese, but it affects others).

#43

Thanks, yes I had a similar incident with maltodextrin in Starbucks SF vanilla. Sucralose has since been on my radar as well (and many others). Good tip and one that few newbies know as much on IG (Keto “veterans”) encourages sugar free drinks at Starbucks and otherwise with little in the way of warnings.

(Bob M) #44

And this includes fake cakes, fake breads, fake anything else. Don’t eat them.

#45

THATS what I was looking for in my original question! Tweaks, ideas, etc from veterans!!! Not “what were your expectations” which read especially unfriendly and unsupportive. Thank you!!

(Jane) #46

How can anyone offer you ideas to tweak when you haven’t even posted what you typically eat yet?

You are getting general advice because you haven’t provided anything specific for someone to work with.

It’s obviously not what you want to hear from the tone of your responses to people trying to help you… but if you give up now you will gain the 8 lbs back and be back to square one looking for another diet to follow.

You are on the verge of becoming fat adapted where keto really starts to work. Give it another 6 weeks and then if you still haven’t lost any weight then look for another way to eat.

But post a few menus if you truly want ideas to tweak. And what time of day you are eating (and not eating).

(Jane) #47

Read this thread to see if anything resonates. She didn’t give up and posted before and after pics at the bottom of the thread.

#48

I told you that you weren’t doing anything wrong, that you’re in a normal situation for where you’re at, and that you need to have realistic expectations. If that’s unfriendly and unsupportive, then so be it. Quit, for all I care.

(Charlotte) #50

That’s not called for. You should have stopped at unrealistic expectations. You have this whole tough approach that doesn’t help. Please keep that in mind. No need to kick someone when theyre already down man.

#51

Thank you. My questions have been answered. I’ll not be posting on this thread again.

(Jane) #52

So you are going to flounce the thread instead of posting your daily menus?

Ummm… k.

Good luck!!!

#53

I actually have a pretty smooth and mellow approach, which is that newbies need to give it time and to stop panicking whenever they stop losing for a couple weeks. OP has been completely dismissive of everyone telling them that they’re not doing anything wrong and that they need to be more patient; yet they won’t give more information, such as a daily menu, that could be more helpful. All they want is to lose as much weight as they can, as quickly as they can, 8lbs in six weeks isn’t good enough. They will not succeed long term with that mindset, and it doesn’t sound like they intended to stick with it long term anyways.

(Martha Mac) #54

Sounds like me 6 to 8 weeks in :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Richard and Carl gave me some awesome advice when they read my letter on the podcast. I can’t remember which number it is but will find it and post it for you. Don’t give up! Keep Calm and Keto On! Your body is going through a lot of change. This isn’t an overnight magic bullet it’s a complete lifestyle change and takes time! I got so fed up with what seemed to me the endless stories of “I lost 20 pounds in ten days!” It just doesn’t work that way for so many people. You need to throw the scales away, you need to focus on the non-scale victories and your health and well being and how you feel. You need to know that in six months time you’ll look back and there WILL be a huge difference in so many aspects of your life and the weight will come off when you’re body is good and ready to let go of it, as long as you stick to Keto.

#55

I like your approach. Everyone here is (ostensibly) an adult.

I’M STATING MY OPINION NOW:
If what someone is trying isn’t working, try patience, try something else, do some research. Or quit because all of this is under your control! But getting all snippy and bent out of shape? That’s a weird and unnecessary response.

Here’s the help you’ll get: try more calories, try less calories. Try more fat, try less fat. Try eating at different times. Try not eating. Try more electrolytes. Try more water. Try more veg. Try less veg. Don’t eat nuts, do eat nuts. Don’t eat dairy. Do eat dairy. Try collagen and MCT and and and and…the secret is that only by relaxing and paying attention to exactly how you and only you respond will work because your gut and your brain are unique like your fingerprints and what works for me or anyone on this forum probably won’t work for you and vice versa. So instead of making yourself crazed over this, just don’t eat sugar and don’t eat starch. Stop weighing yourself. The end.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #56

I addressed the issues you raised in your OP. I’m sorry you didn’t like the response. It sounded as though you had already researched the basics of a well-formulated ketogenic diet, so that I didn’t need to address them. My apologies.

Having caught up with the thread, I see the OP has left. Good luck to her, and I hope she finds what she’s looking for.