Newbie Help!

(Amanda Tirado) #1

Hello everyone!!! I’ve been stalking these forums for a bit and finally decided to be more active :3

I have a couple of questions. I started keto around June and had great success. But unfortunately I quit like I usually do when needing to commit to something. I was also starting to get frustrated with the amount of money that I was spending on grocceries. I’m throwing myself back into it today and hopefully I can pick right up. Are macros really that important? I’d rather focus on getting under 20 grams of carbs, but I want to be successful with weightloss. When I was eating before, my protein and fats were very close at the end.

Do you recommend electrolyte supplements?
Are there any other tips you’d reccomend for a newbie that’s getting back on the horse again?

(John) #2

Another newbie here, so just sharing some of my discoveries. Veterans may have better ideas for you.

Groceries - get into the habit of going to the grocery store more often, and buying less. One thing I did wrong was to over-buy, especially vegetables, to make sure I didn’t “run out” of proper keto foods, and then end up tossing things that went bad before I could make them. Same with meats for that matter.

I’ve also learned to buy meat when it is on sale, and vacuum seal portions for daily use and put them in the freezer. For example, buy a slab of salmon, cut it into individual portions, cook one today, seal and freeze the other portions for later use.

Veggies - instead of buying those plastic boxes of salad greens for $4.00, buy an individual head of green leaf or romaine lettuce for $1.80, then cut it up yourself and put into plastic zip-lock bags. I get about 3 good sized salads from a single head of lettuce. But you need to realize you’re going to be eating that same salad for 3 days running before it wilts on you. Just mix it up with different dressings, or add-ins (crumbled bacon, hard-boiled eggs, grated cheese, other veggies).

Other fresh veggies - before you put it in your cart, think ahead - “Am I going to eat all of this before it goes bad?” Some thing only come in size “1” - i.e., one onion, one green bell pepper, 1 cucumber. So if you are only preparing food for you, and you buy a cucumber, you should expect to be eating that whole cuke over the next 3-5 days (cucumber sticks are great with a nice full-fat dip or dressing)

Electrolytes:
I like salt on foods and have never had an issue with blood pressure (mine is great, actually, always has been), so I just alternate regular salt or “lite” salt which is 50/50 sodium and potassium. I do take a daily magnesium supplement just in case, because I don’t always eat spinach or broccoli.

Back to the cost - overall I think I am saving money eating this way - I have completely quit using vending machines at work, that’s $2 or $3 per day I am saving right there = $15 per week = 2 or 3 portions of a good steak or salmon. I quit buying any kind of soda - I just drink coffee, tea, and water now, and water is free. I quit drinking alcohol, and that’s probably another $15-20 per week average saved. I haven’t been to a fast-food joint in 6 weeks.

So keep in mind when you see the big grocery bill that it may be replacing lots of smaller bills that you don’t notice but that add up over time.

(MelissaH) #3

Really good advice @JohnH
Welcome to the forum😊 Macros do matter. Especially when first starting out. Some people feel more comfortable going slow and just limiting carbs and all other junk they have been eating. It would suprise you the hidden carbs in things you eat everyday. I recommend tracking your macros on something like cronometer. If your protein and fat are similar you need to up your fat by quite a bit.
Fat 75%
Protein 20%
Carbs 5%
Salt everything, and search the forum for Brenda’s ketoaid, it’s very popular around here. Electrolytes are very important. Start slow if your worried about cost. Keto doesn’t have to be expensive. I mean it’s not ramen noodle cheap obviously lol hope that helps! Anymore questions just ask

(Amanda Tirado) #4

Thank you for the insights! It’s true, I should try to focus on buying smaller amounts of food more often. I usually tried to always cram two weeks of food in my cart at minimum and wasted a lot.

Super proud that I was able to correct my food and get about right on the macros today! I am super wiped out and have a massive headache though. I ended up having to sleep as soon as i got home which isn’t my norm. Hopefully my body will adjust as this is only Day 1 of getting back on the horse!

(Amanda) #5

I also consider myself to be quite new, but I completely agree with @JohnH. Particularly with the amount of veggies you buy. I am still struggling with this. I hate to see food go to waste, but I have yet to find a great use for half an old cucumber. :smile:

When I was transitioning to LCHF I always kept an oz of raw pecans that I salted on hand. I later discovered that this was great for magnesium and sodium. I also splurged on some different salts to vary my intake.

I also thought the cost was a lot more in the beginning, but now I can see the change in the bills each month. Give it time, all of those extras that you are not buying (take out, sodas, etc.) will add up.
KCKO

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

By all means, concentrate on keeping your carbohydrate under 20 g/day. That’s over 90% of this way of eating, right there. If you find an online app helpful for monitoring your carbohydrates, knock yourself out; I would advise, however, ignoring the percentages and the calorie limit suggested by the app. Instead, eat enough protein to avoid losing lean muscle, and make up the missing calories from your diet with fat. This is an insulin-lowering diet, and the key is restricting carbohydrate, because it really stimulates insulin secretion. Protein does as well, at about half the rate of carbohydrate, but it’s an essential part of the diet. (Besides, we need at least some insulin in our blood, or we’d starve to death, as Type I diabetics used to in the old days.) Fat is not magic, it just barely stimulates insulin, so it’s the safest source of calories. (Eat fat to lose fat—how’s that for irony?)

If you are eating healthy whole foods, you probably don’t need to supplement your electrolytes, other than to increase the amount of table salt you eat (try to get 2.5 teaspoons a day, including what is naturally present in your food). Be sure to drink to thirst.

When I first went keto, my appetite was enormous for a few weeks. Not only that, but I was used to overflowing plates when I was a carb-burner. It wasn’t long, however, before my satiety signaling kicked in, and I found my body naturally reducing my appetite to a more reasonable (and less expensive!) level. I figure I probably needed all those extra calories at first, for my body to be able to get a good start on healing my metabolism and get ready to let go of some of that excess fat, and then it could cut back once it was assured of a steady supply of energy. People generally find that they are spending less on groceries, even though the foods are more expensive. And you’ve already been given some great money-saving tips.

Welcome to the forums, and keep on ketoing on. Keep us posted! :bacon::bacon:

(Christy Moreno) #7

Be sure you are drinking enough water and salt, salt, salt. I would def do the Keto Aid quckly since you already had a headache. Water and electrolytes will help.
Welcome back!

(Cynthia Anderson) #8

If you buy a whole onion or etc and can’t or don’t want to eat it all you can always dehydrate it.