Started keto 4 weeks ago after a health scare,

[Bungal]

5 Weeks ago I was 25 stone and within 1 week had put on a stone in weight and ballooned to 26 stone and I was suffering with really bad water retention,I felt like I was going to pop I was so bloated. I went to the doctors and he ask for a load of blood tests to be done as well as check by blood pressure (which was high at 173/97)but this would take a few week for the tests and for him to see me about the results so I decided I was going to do something about it before all the tests were in, I decided to go keto.

To start it off I did a 3 day fast to get the ball rolling and then went on my keto journy trying to keep carbs to 20g a day. I am now 4 weeks In and you wont believe the results, even my doctor is shocked! as I mentioned I was suffering with really bad water retention and all this has gone,all my legs,feet, hands and even abdomen have almost halved in size I can even see the vains on the back of my hands again,as soon as I started the diet I was losing 4lb a day in weight which I am guessing was water, I now weigh exactly 22 stone today. The weight loss has now slowed but still losing around 1/2lb a day atm but i feel so much better, my blood pressure has dropped to 134/84 so nearly out the danger zone, the only down side is the doctor tells me that I have type 2 diabete’s but hoping I can reverse this. He said for me to keep doing what i am doing as its clearly working. normally all he did was moan at me about losing weight but for once he was really upbeat and encouraging me to keep it up. He said that had I not done this and gotten the results I had he was going to send me to hospital he was so worried.So looks like I have dodged a bullet!

Cant tell you how much better I feel,I almost feel like I am thin already given such the quick weight loss lol, everyone I tell cant belive how much I have lost, specialy given such a short time. Next goal is to get into the 19’s and hopefully get rid off the diabetes.

I just need to find a good potato substitute, tried turnips and radish but not quite what I was hoping!

Trev

[amwassil]

I think that’s call a ‘whoosh’. Best wishes for long term success.

[Jesty]

Congratulations on your success and achievements to date. I hope it continues.
Drs!! Let me keep quiet!!

[robintemplin]

Fantastic!!! I am amazed by how many people see such dramatic results so quickly. Mashed cauliflower is a good sub for potatoes.

[Alecmcq]

Cant tell you how much better I feel

Bloody outstanding!!! Well done for finding the right approach to help yourself better, and then executing brilliantly.

Be very wary of any medic suggesting you need to move away from keto because it’s “not healthy”. They are so wrong it is criminal.

Keep up the excellent work!! Just think where you’ll be in a year!

[PaulL]

Congratulations on your success so far. Fat loss slows as we go along, so don’t be dismayed at that. If you stick with your ketogenic diet, you can most likely count on reversing Type II diabetes eventually. How long the process will take depends on how insulin-resistant one is at the start, but many people have done it, including our Two Keto Dudes, Richard and Carl. Do keep us posted on your progress.

[ctviggen]

If you’re looking for something “mashed” fauxtatoes from cauliflower aren’t bad. Or at least I don’t think so.

Congrats on the losses!

[Aqua_chonk]

I just need to find a good potato substitute

Trev, congrats on busting it out. Well done, sir. Now for the bad news: You ain’t gonna find a good potato substitute. The particular sweetness of white starches–potatoes, white bread, etc.–is the sole jurisdiction of the carb addict.

[Ducks while slew of contrary responses from ketoers fills thread]

Don’t worry, your taste buds will gradually change if you religiously eschew carbs. There will come a time when you can barely remember what that stuff tasted like and, believe it or not, even the smell of it won’t affect you anymore. But between now and then, take it from me, you’re only gonna torture yourself trying to hold onto it by finding substitutes because none of them will come close.

A better course of action might be to mimic mouth feels. Scrambled eggs with lots of butter and cheese slide over the tongue like mashed potatoes. Crispy bacon and pork rinds crunch like Doritos (and can scoop up just as much cheese, especially when properly used together) Guilt-free cheesecake can be banged out in five minutes in a food processor.

This has been my experience, anyway. I’ve tried crutch…er…bridge foods to ease the transition and they just kept the carb memories alive and made me crave the real thing longer. Soon as I cut them out and gritted my teeth through a few weeks of cravings: blissful relief. I no longer avoid walking through the bakery section of a grocery because it triggers me, but because it smells straight up like a port-o-potty.

No worries. You’ll find what works for you. Keto on, dude.

[gingersmommy]

I just need to find a good potato substitute

Try steamed brussels sprouts with salt and added butter and/or bacon grease - delicious!!! Definitely not like potatoes, but the one thing we enjoyed so much we ate it every night for over a year without ever getting sick of it.

Best to you!

[Bungal]

Thanks for all the messages I am definately going to stick with it,new weigh in today and in the 21’s now (Tho only just :P) just need to get up and start walking now to get some fitness back!

I keep reading about the keto flu but not had anything like that yet, I keep checking the keto strips and definately still in keto, could it still happen? in the 5th week now.

1 Thing with the potato substitute, anyone tried Jicama? cant get it here in uk so ordered some seeds to grow my own, looks quite interesting. It has a water chestnut texture to it tho not sure what the flavour is like and It can be eaten raw or cooked.

[amwassil]

While eating SAD all my life prior to keto I had lots of fave carb foods: bread of many sorts, potatoes prepped in many different ways, ice cream, fruits, various veggies, beer to name some. I started keto with a 4-day water fast and dropped all my fave carb foods. Never missed any of it. Still don’t 5 years later. Yes, I remember what everything tasted like and how much I liked it. Yet, I have no cravings, no desire and don’t feel deprived. Just do it - you’ll get over it soon enough.

[Aqua_chonk]

[PaulL]

I keep reading about the keto flu but not had anything like that yet,

You are obviously getting enough salt, then. That’s good.

[Rebj]

It’s so good to read a success story! I wish I had one to tell! I hope you have continued success and improving health each and every day!

[Viola_Rosan]

Hi and congratulations!

Your graph decline looks really consistent! I’m also going to celebrate my one-month milestone in a few days .

I cook cauliflower (can use frozen), put in a blender, then saturate with butter.
You can try things like french fries (especially cajun fries) with daikon radish and it works surprisingly well for me.

[robintemplin]

Wow… good idea!

[CaptainKirk]

Trev,
That’s awesome. Ultimately, I have to ask WHY you would want a fake version of a food that has harmed you already? (Is it the texture, the taste, the feelings when you eat it? Does it mean something to you? Can you remember who shared it with you that helps you feel connected to them?)

Those are valuable exercises. Sometimes we have to say “Dad, I always loved when we had French Fries together… But they are not good for me… How about I remember you for loving me, and trust that you will love me even if I give up this habit, and choose to think of you smiling down on me as I make better choices for myself?”

I’ve had a few of those. They actually helped with some of the addictions (Soda was my moms way of telling me how happy she was with me… We didn’t get it often. It gave me a double High)…

Great Job and Good Luck!

[Annoula]

I second this comment. I absolutely remember loving a number of high-carb foods, and they still can appeal to me. But there’s a massive difference between “appeal to me” and craving them which means that if I’ve fried potatoes for my family I can have one or two, enjoy them thoroughly, but not feel compelled to eat more. With mashed potatoes, much of my previous enjoyment was that yummy melted butter, so almost anything else with butter melted over it does it for me now. For the various pastas I used to enjoy, I now still very much enjoy the sauce – putanesca, bolognese, pesto – but eat a bit alone perhaps, or on top of a veggie like zucchini or green beans. And finally, I still eat pizza in a manner of speaking in that I scrape off the topping and eat that, leaving behind the crust. Same number of slices because I’m more easily satiated these days, and of the two components of a pizza – crust and toppings – the tastiest bits by far are the toppings.
My suggestion then is not to seek replacements as they are likely to pale in comparison. Learn what you can eat and combine them in a new way that is yummy. For a while you may feel that an element of your meal (the starches) is “missing” but that will change soon enough and the breads and pastas and potatoes – and even the desserts – will simply not call out to you.

[Bungal]

That’s awesome. Ultimately, I have to ask WHY you would want a fake version of a food that has harmed you already?

Plan and simple answer, I love roast potato with the family roast on a sunday, All cooked in the meat juices and getting all crispy on the edges YUM! LOL. I know that I am kidding myself trying to find something close to it. Its just one thing I miss the most, not fussed by chips,crisps or even buttery mash just a simple roast potato with my dinner.

I’ll get there tho still early days, and all the time I am seeing small results on the scales just spurs me on to keep going.

[CaptainKirk]

I would suggest Sweet Potatoes. Then, Yucca.
They both add fibers.

And finally, out of curiosity… How small of an amount is the tiniest you could eat, in between the protein, etc. And give yourself a bit of “Joy” without needing to eat the whole potato?

Imagine how you would savor it, and take your time eating it… If you knew it was the last sliver of that goodness you would ever have… How would you eat it/treat it?

Could you invoke that. Because… While I have to avoid most foods I enjoy because of an addiction response… If you could master that. The art of the few tiniest tastes to get the essence, without the damage (it’s the dose that makes the poison).

You could reduce what you eat to a sliver of the crunchiness… Get that pleasure, and sit with it. Then move on…

at this point in my journey the ONLY thing I’ve truly learned… There is no such thing as “One Right Answer” For everyone… We are all unique snowflakes. And we MUST find what works for us, because it is truly US that has to do this to some degree for the rest of our lives! (Which is forever, to us, when you think about it…)

Good Luck!
God Bless!