So confused!

(Morgan Rodgers) #1

Hello! I just started keto a couple of days ago. But going to the grocery store the first time to buy only keto foods was an experience. I’ve been reading a lot of articles and forums here and elsewhere but I’m still struggling with cutting down my carb intake. I’ve finally got the increased fat part down somewhat (that wasn’t easy either, and still struggling a little) but cutting the carbs is really hard. They’re everywhere! Can anyone tell me what tips and strategies worked best for you to both cut the carbs and increase the fat? What foods did you just get rid of and what foods did you add/increased your diet in? Thanks for the help!

#2

Welcome to the forum Morgan.

It will depend on individual food preferences.

I started with bacon and eggs.

It must be more than 6 years now and they still do the job.

#3

shop fresh food
don’t buy packaged junk

shop those outside aisles of the store, don’t go inland where all the junkier food is :slight_smile:

this helped me alot in just limiting what crap I did look at and keep myself in a fresh food menu.

(Susan) #4

Welcome to the forum, Morgan =).

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This is Keto in a nutshell =).

Eggs, bacon, sausages, or a combination of all 3 are a great starting breakfast, and you can add a Keto Coffee to the mix as well.

I would start out with 3 good meals a day and no snacks --but eat enough at all three meals. If you concentrate getting the bulk of your foods from proteins that are with good fats, then you don’t really have to add a lot of extra fats. Proteins and a fatty coffee for breakfast is a good start. Lunch can be some proteins and a bit of a low carb vegetable and the same for supper.

I only eat two times a day now (but that is after doing Keto for 2 years in February) so today for lunch at 1pm I had 6 hard boiled eggs and a fatty coffee. For supper at 4:30 I had some chicken, and some fried (in butter) broccoli and cabbage. When I started Keto I used to make fried eggs for breakfast, with 2 strips of bacon or two breakfast sausages and a fatty coffee. For lunch I would have things like some romaine lettuce or spinach in bowl, with a can of tuna, salmon, sardines or chicken (all packed in water) and I would drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil on that). For supper I had a protein and some low carb vegetables. Over time I ended up only doing two meals a day with the schedule I have now, but it took me months to get to that point. If you eat enough at all the meals, and keep the carbs really low, you will be full.

There are a lot of Keto alternate solutions for almost any meal that you are used to as well. Our recipe section on the forum as well as our “What did you Keto today” thread has lots of great ideas that will give you ideas too!

If you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to ask as we want you to succeed and there are a lot of very friendly people here that would love to help you in your Keto journey =).

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

Not buying processed foods is a big help. The rule of thumb is to buy only from the periphery of the supermarket: produce, meat, poultry, fish, and dairy (if you can tolerate it). Avoiding sugar, grains, and starches removes most of the deadly carb-rich foods from consideration; buying only leafy greens and vegetables grown above ground (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc.) means not having to worry all that much about one’s carb intake.

Cook your meat, poultry, and fish in fats low in polyunsaturates and high in saturated and monounsaturated fats (exactly the opposite of the current dietary guidelines): in other words, use butter/ghee, lard, tallow, and bacon grease. If you cannot stop yourself from using cooking oil, avoid the seed oils at all costs. The fruit oils (avocado, coconut, and olive) have a better fatty-acid profile. You can make gravy for the meat, and cheese sauce for the vegetables. Replace the milk in the recipe with heavy cream.

Note that cooking this way makes meals dead simple. A meat with gravy, vegetable with cheese sauce, and a green salad with a fat-rich dressing make for a tasty, satisfying meal.

#6

I felt the same way. It was a whole new world. Personally I made a very short list of foods that I can eat and stuck to that until I got more familiar. And I focussed mostly on the carbs (no more than 20 net( not the other things.
My list went a bit like this
Can have: fish, meat, eggs (but not processed items unless the label says no carbs)
Can have: veggies that grow over ground but only a little bit… use a scale to weigh them.
Can have: small amounts of dairy… never over 5 carb grams and counting the carbs in them
Can have: fats…(and vinegars for dressings)
Can have: very small amounts of artificial sweetener
Can drink: coffee, tea, water, small amounts of cream but counting the carbs int the
Can not have: pretty much everything else.

It was a whole new world. After some weeks I tried a few other things… almond milk, nuts, a few berries etc

Good luck: You can do it

(Allie) #7

Buy real food only, not prepackaged convenience junk, so you can control what’s in it. Start with meat and eggs, maybe add in some diary and / or low carb veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage) if that suits you, gradually build from there.

#8

Yes I remember the problem and still have it when I eat plants in more than minuscule amounts… It was easier after years of low-carb (I ate <80g net carbs before keto) but still, cutting my carbs into half made my dishes different. I had to stop eating veggie dishes, for example except maybe the emptiest soups… I ate vegetables in big amounts, you see. I still could eat raw vegetables as a side dish, I needed a small amount that way and the juiciness, crunchiness was wonderful.

Focus on nice, more or less fatty animal proteins and add whatever it fits. If you like meat and don’t really need plants, it’s not hard to eat, like, 3g total carbs in your main food… And you can add little extras if you wish. Many little extras if you want and can handle tiny amounts. Not just low-carb veggies or low-carb fruits, I never was that type, I am the “anything I want in tiny amounts” one. I find carbier veggies usually way more tasty and important and I automatically use a way, way smaller amount so I get way less carbs from them. I can say I use them as spice :slight_smile: Especially onion.

Be careful with oily seeds too. Some are carbier than others but all have some.

Not eating overly processed things with a long ingredients list is a good idea others already wrote. I stopped eating them way, way before keto (there are some exceptions but quite rarely). I dislike all the unnecessary ingredients I don’t know or find bad. But on keto and especially on carnivore I noticed they tend to have unnecessarily much carbs indeed. And certain condiments are very sugary, even using a not huge but significant amount may interfere.

Eating simple has benefits anyway. If you can eliminate potentially problematic items (for you. we aren’t all the same. I can handle a little lactose, others can handle much but some people should avoid it… many people have problems with sweeteners but others need them as a crutch for a while at least…etc.) without feeling too bad due to the loss, do it. You may find your near ideal woe easier.
But you can fine tune things later if you can’t be drastic enough in the beginning.

One more thing. Even if you realize you can afford much more carbs to stay in ketosis and get fat-adapted… You may get way more benefits when staying low. It happened to me. But others found out they function better with some more carbs so we should find our own sweet spot ourselves (and it’s subject to change even if it’s the same person but with different activity or goal).

(Marianne) #9

I did the same. I knew the carb macro was supposed to be under 20. Got my protein and fat macros and then made a list of the foods I enjoyed and created a simple database of how many fat, protein and carb grams were in each serving/ounce/cup, etc. My meals were mainly protein and fat, with dinner almost always being a piece of meat (pork - our favorite, beef, chicken drumsticks/thighs - I don’t like fish) and a small serving of vegetable. This was not difficult for me because I prefer rich food over veggies. Veggies now serve as a delicious conduit to the fats I enjoy - bacon grease, butter, olive oil, coconut oil, cheese sauce made with heavy cream, etc. I only go to the grocery store now for sundries and fresh vegetables. Those are pretty much limited to brussels sprouts (we never seem to tire of them), cabbage and romaine, sometimes lemon. I do the bulk of our shopping at BJs (like Costco or Sams), and purchase all of our meat there, repackage into two servings for my husband and I and then freeze.

Be careful with the oils - I had to really restrict/eliminate my consumption of store-bought mayo as I discovered it was made with the wrong kind of oil. Haven’t tried making home made yet. Use olive oil, butter, ghee (great for hard searing steak), coconut oil, bacon grease.

When I first started, I ate three meals a day, never having done so before. It was something I looked forward to every day, and each meal carried me more than comfortably to the next with no snacks in between. If you find you are hungry, eat more at your meals. Don’t count calories but try to keep the carbs under 20/day. After a while, I found I didn’t need or want to eat as much or as often in a day, and three meals became two, or dinner and a “snack” like bacon or hard boiled eggs.

Good luck to you! It gets easier, especially if you love what you eat and are physically satisfied by it.

(Rebecca ) #10

This is pretty much the same way I entered into eating Ketogenically. I let my body decide what it needed…something I hadn’t allowed it to do for…well…YEARS!!
Good luck!

(Bob M) #11

It’s easiest to stay with meat and vegetables (I prefer cooking them - vegetables - quite well). I don’t mind dairy; will eat cheese (depending on many factors, good for vitamin k2), butter, ghee, sometimes sour cream, sometimes other dairy. Depends on the week. Lunch today had blue cheese and some Parmesan cheese; mainly high-saturated fat ground pork from Fire in a Bottle and steak and a few olives.

I also like pickled products: olives in brine; pickles. Sauerkraut if you like it and it doesn’t upset your stomach (as the raw stuff does mine). I avoid olives in oil, as often the oil is not olive oil.

I tend to avoid things like pork rinds or other similar “snacky” products. I try not to snack.

(Marianne) #12

Really!? I thought olive oil was “safe.” :open_mouth:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #13

Yes, olive oil is better than any of the seed oils, but as Bob remarked, olives are often not packed in olive oil, being packed in something cheaper, such as soybean oil.

Someone once asked why Dr. Phinney, though eating a low-carb, high-fat diet, preferred to use tuna packed in water, instead of tuna packed in oil. His answer was similar: he didn’t want the soybean oil.

(Marianne) #14

I had no idea. Never read the ingredients because I trusted the label. :pleading_face:

Is there any kind of bottled oil that is okay to cook with at a high temperature. I use ghee for steaks, but always use olive oil for pork, hamburgers, etc.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #15

@gingersmommy Liquid coconut cooking oil (aka MCT). But it’s such a beautiful oil I never cook with it!

(Bob M) #16

I used to get olives from the local store all the time. They were packed there and came in sealed plastic. You removed the seal on one section between the top and the bottom, and took off the top.

I ate these for years…until I looked at the label and realized they were packed in sunflower oil.

I also used to get “fresh” anchovies, also packed in sealed plastic containers. Again, packed in sunflower oil.

Now, I just get olives from Costco, as I can get “martini” (green) olives and kalamata olives in brine. The kalamata olives aren’t great ones, but are perfectly fine to add to foods.

#17

I hope this doesn’t add to your confusion but my doctor has a must eat everyday list and then a list of foods you can have as much as you want. The must have everyday list is 4 cups of vegetables, 2 from leafy greens, 2 from other low carb sources. The list of foods I could have was basically protein of all varieties. After a few weeks, other foods are added in such as nuts and low carb fruits like raspberries. So, a nice well planned and “boring” start. No wheat, sugar or any versions of those. The way you begin doesn’t have to be the way you continue. We did this for a couple of months before moving on to more creative dishes and continued weight loss.

(Robin) #18

THIS! This right here… all these responses are the reason for you, Morgan, to be here. There are no stupid questions and no lack of patience when each newbie asks the same questions. I rely on this group to keep me on track, even though it’s not a struggle anymore (7 months and 45 pounds down). I had problems, I asked, they answered, I did what they said, and now I’m basically on auto-pilot. You will be too. You got this!

#19

I use avocado oil for all frying. I personally do not use pork products for unrelated reasons having nothing to do with diet. When I need a high heat oil I use avocado. Olive oil is only for light sauteing or marinades

I do like making mock versions of foods try DietDoctor.com for fat head pizza and almond flour breads

#20

The best advice I give to people is about beverages. I highly recommend you limit yourself to water (carbonated, or not), coffee, or teas. No sugar and NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS! If you drink alcohol, I recommend vodka/soda or miller lite beer.