Pitfalls?

(Tim) #1

Just starting this today. Breakfast was a two egg omelette with some Irish cheddar in it and a splash of Franks Red Hot. Planning on meatloaf with some steamed broccoli for my lunches this week. Am I doing this right or am I setting myself up to be so hungry that I gorge? Trying to lose about 50lbs and get back to my half marathon running weight. What are the pitfalls I need to watch out for?

(Doug) #2

Hi Tim. Sounds to me like you’re going great with the food selections. Protein and fat are quite satisfying for most of us - the exact amounts and ratios will vary from person to person.

It’s not good to not be satisfied; don’t feel you need to scrimp or “cut back” on food, especially in the beginning. Some people take a while to get adjusted to not eating many carbohydrates, and get the “keto flu” when starting out.

It’s common to have 5 or 10 lbs drop off quickly, due to less water retention. Carbohydrates in the body are stored as glycogen, in the liver and skeletal muscles, and they’re hydrated - it’s roughly 3 parts water to 1 part glycogen. Eating ketogenically means we’re not always topped off with glycogen.

Some pitfalls are expecting that first, perhaps miraculous, weight loss to continue, and finding it hard to be patient while adjusting to the way of eating.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

Breakfast looks fine, no reason to be hungry. It’s counter productive with keto. Eat enough to feel satisfied with plenty of fats. Your pitfalls are going to be going over 20 carbs daily. If you stay on top of that your golden. :cowboy_hat_face:

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #4

I found that I lost my appetite for a few days, then ate a bunch of everything (mostly because I was really excited to feel full on things I was formerly not allowing myself to eat–namely fat) and then my appetite just went back to normal, then dropped a bit and that’s where I am now.

I still feel hungry after many hours of not eating and I still enjoy eating until I’m satisfied but I never feel the need to binge like I did before going keto. I also never eat and feel hungry one hour later like I used to either.

(Jill F.) #5

It is ok to plan ahead and bring snacks with you or have them at home when you start keto. I started right after Christmas and did great at home but I was nervous about how I would do once I went back to work. I planned ahead, brought protein shake powder, shaker bottle, MCT powder, cubes of cheese, beef jerky, etc. I just knew I would be hungry, but I rarely needed them.
Best advice is get plenty of fat, protein, salt intake, hydration, and eat until you are satisfied. Everything else will fall into place. Welcome to the board!

(Carl Keller) #6

Hello and welcome Tim.

For the first week, my hunger was all over the place and cravings were common. What bailed me out a lot were pork rinds, deviled eggs, a few almonds and low carb beef jerky. Snacks are not ideal for keto since the goal is to keep our insulin levels low instead of constantly spiking them by eating, but if a fatty snack keeps you from a sugary relapse, then it’s a very small price to pay.

If you continue to restrict carbs, eat moderate protein and fat to satiety, your hunger should normalize fairly quick.

Keep net carbs under 20.
~You can likely start a bit higher and work your way down but 20 is a good honest number that will allow you to eat plenty of vegetables along with fat and protein.

Use a carb tracker like cronometer.com
~so you can accurately track your carbs. It tracks many other things but this is the most important

Feed yourself plenty of fat and fairly moderate protein
~These two things are your best friend in regards to keeping hunger and cravings in check. You should not gorge yourself on these things but eat until you are not hungry. It’s very important to not starve yourself, so eat when you are hungry.

Keep your electrolytes up.
~At least 64oz (2liters) of water and 2+ teaspoons of salt per day. We don’t retain either of these very well on a ketogenic diet and those two things are paramount for reducing/preventing the Keto Flu

Don’t stress and get plenty of sleep.
~Growing, healing and losing weight work best when we are relaxed. So try to get 7-9 hours per day and don’t obsess with what keto is not yet doing.

#7

Jill, I give you permission to eat anything you want, anytime you want, as long as you focus on keeping your carbs under 20g a day.

Once you become fat adapted, then you may realize you’re not as hungry all the time, and you can go longer periods without eating.

Then you’ll be able to experiment more with when to eat, or how much to eat. What foods are agreeable to you, and what foods you can do without.

Don’t make it too complicated, just keep your carbs under 20g a day.

(Scott) #8

Looks like a bacon deficit to me. :joy:

#9

Wow, that’s exactly what happened to me. In about the 2nd week or whatever it was I went ballistic, it’s as if I had never experienced food before (guess I hadn’t, all that carb “food” didn’t seem to count).