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(Cesar) #1

Hi, I’m new to keto would like to know what you guy’s are doing or taking.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #2

Click on the magnifying glass image at the upper right of the page. Enter a search term. Have fun.

#3

I see keto as simply “Minimal carbs. Adequate proteins. Fats as needed (for satiety).”

First, determine your macros, keeping in mind that the proteins macro is a lower limit, while the fats and carbs macros are upper limits.

So, two priorities:

  • You need to keep carbs low to stay in ketosis.
  • You need to make sure you get enough proteins. Your body needs them. Being significantly low on them over an extended period can cause the body to get them elsewhere. That may mean a breakdown of muscle tissue. Not good.

After that, ideally, it should be hunger that determines how many fats and additional proteins (and thus calories) you need to be eating, if only because leaving yourself hungry all the time means keto won’t be sustainable. You don’t need to eat all of the fats macro if you’re not hungry, because the body can make up the difference with stored body fat.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

I don’t bother with macros, except to try to keep my carb intake as low as possible. For the rest, I eat the amount of protein that seems right and add enough fat to do away with hunger. I eat when hungry, stop eating when I stop being hungry, and don’t eat till hungry again. If I eat enough at a meal, I don’t particularly want to snack until the next meal.

This approach works well for me. I shed 80 lbs. (36.4 kg) effortlessly, with no exercise or intentional calorie restriction. (Obviously, my appetite dropped to the point where I was able to metabolise both the fat I was eating and the excess fat in my body.) After a further twelve months of body recomposition (i.e., I got thinner, but my weight stayed the same), I have been maintaining the same weight for three or four years now, basically without calculating macros or counting calories.

I should add that I do have an issue with sometimes wanting to eat, even though I am not hungry. Dr. Robert Cywes calls this “emotional eating.” The key is to have something safe, such as a cup of coffee, to meet that need with when it arises.

#5

It’s quite a wide range of questions in one.
We are all different and need different things.
I try to keep my carbs as low as I comfortably can as that is what my body likes best. Ketosis alone doesn’t do anything good to me as far as I can tell.
Most of my efforts go to minimizing my fat (and therefore calorie) intake because I tend to overeat these even after a decade trying not to. I learned a few things from tracking but it can’t really help, satiating, good food and right timing can.

I never really lost fat on keto as I can’t eat so little long term (i.e. more than 2 days) without doing everything right and that’s strict but I have found my way where I feel better and I have the theoretical knowledge to lose fat as well. That should happen this year. I don’t have super much to lose, that’s why it’s hard, it was super easy to lose fat before keto (it was effortless) as I was fattier and my body wanted the same amount of food as it does now.

But you may be lucky like most people here. If you want to lose fat. You said nothing so I have no idea if that’s the case.
But either way, keto (at least the right style for you) easily can give you great benefits. Normal keto did nothing beyond fat adaptation for me but carnivore-ish, that is another world :slight_smile: No way I stay far from it for long ever.

Find your own way. Don’t stress about fixed macros, percentages, calories. If you are lucky, you won’t need much stuggle to find your way. And we easily may change a lot and it’s fine.
Don’t expect the same as someone else, it doesn’t work that way.

I don’t supplement anything like many others, some people feel the need for it though.
I do IF, preferably OMAD but it’s perfectly fine to eat very differently, each to their own. Sometimes I have 5+ meals because that’s my only option. Oh yep, don’t expect all your days to be the same, some of our bodies aren’t like that at all.

There could be zillion other things to say. It’s better to have proper, specific questions. Or else we can just write whatever we want as I did.
Context helps too, I mean some basic data, past, goals, whatever.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #6

I just rediscovered the FAQ, which you can find by clicking on the three-bar icon at the top right of your screen, just to the left of your avatar. It lays out the ketogenic diet in basic, easily-comprehensible terms. You might wish to take a look at it.