Starting Saturday 24th Nov...eek!

(Emma) #10

This is what I am hoping!

Thanks Natasha for taking the time to respond :blush:

(Emma) #11

Thanks @CarlKeller good to know.

I am clinically a normal weight but I have gained a stubborn 10+lbs this year and will continue to gain if I don’t change something now. I’m comfort eating, having sugary foods every day, and not exercising like I used to, plus I started night shift working which has added sleep deprivation into the mix! I read that the less you have to lose the harder to can be to shift.

Once I’m settled into keto the plan is to incorporate some IF, probably 16:8 to begin with as I am least hungry in the morning. But thought I better make small changes and keep it very simple when starting out. I want this to be a permanent change so I suspected rushing into changing everything would set me up for a much bigger challenge!

So glad I’m not doing this alone!

(Emma) #12

You guys are just awesome!

Thanks @Lilmaz for your experience. I’ve seen some great keto dessert recipes I can’t wait to try out!

@CarlKeller unfortunately I live with my 2 young children and although they have a low sugar diet, I’m not quite ready to push them to cut out carbs yet (need to get myself through it first!). So there will be carbs in the house and I will be preparing meals for them with carbs too. I just have to accept that temptation will be there and choose my other keto options instead. But that does worry me if I get weak. All the more reason to find support here in this lovely group :sunglasses:

So glad I found this forum :v:

(Kimberly) #13

I have 4 others I cook for none of them are doing keto so I am here to say that you can keep and even cook carbs for others. Stay focused and determined and if your family backs you it makes it even easier! I make sure that there’s something that I’m cooking for them that I can have too. I make keto biscuits and pizza so when they have that I can have my own too. Use zoodles instead of pasta my family lives that too. Make sure you have snacks on hand so you don’t feel deprived.

#14

Personally I think this is a great place to be in and a wonderful attitude to have. You realize there’s more to it than just weight loss, and I suspect you’ll be looking for other benefits than just a drop of the scales.

Honestly, I don’t know if it’s harder to “shift” if you have less to lose, but it may be harder to lose those few pounds. Shifting to nutritional ketosis isn’t a matter of your weight. I have a co-worker who had NO weight to lose, but she was always tired and sick to her stomach. She immediately could tell a difference being on a ketogenic diet.

Fret not, I think you’ll do great!

(Empress of the Unexpected) #15

Welcome Emma! You are going to be a welcome addition to the forums - we are so happy to have you! You have a great “why.” I had 20 pounds to lose, and they are gone! My triglycerides were high, and now they are low. Blood pressure lower. I cannot say enough good things about this WOE. As for the very beginning, I don’t recall much because I was in the middle of bronchitis when I started. So, I didn’t have much of an appetite for the first few weeks. I have never counted calories (I tried once - it lasted a couple of hours), so I thought the extra 20 pounds was just going to stick around forever. I did not have a sweet tooth, per se, but I ate carbs every hour. However, keto is a perfect fit for me, as I have always loved meat, bacon, butter, cheese. On rare occasions I will have a few carbs, but will never go back to my former diet. If you use the search function, upper right, there are many threads on how to save $$ on meat, etc. You may not believe it right now, but even I am able to sometimes eat twice a day. I just finished a breakfast of bacon, sautéed mushrooms, and macadamia nuts. I am stuffed, I do eat vegetables, and eat twice what I ate before. Ignore the naysayers who say this way of eating is not healthy, I am in much better health than I was six months ago. Really.

If you have not already read this, this is a great introductory link.

Again, best of luck, and please post often, there are so many helpful and knowledgeable people here.

(Emma) #16

That’s so good to hear, @Lilmaz thanks. I’m hoping over the next few weeks they will try what I am having and enjoy it so much they have it too. My eldest is 5 and he won’t eat vegetables unless they’re hidden in a curry or stew but he does generally eat meat and fish quite readily. Here’s to hoping!!

(Emma) #17

Following Dr Fung, 2Ketodudes and others have convinced me keto with or without IF or EF is just amazing for all sorts of things and feeling the way I have physically for the last year or more, the only way is up!

I’m so grateful for all your support, thanks :blush:

(Emma) #18

@Regina, thanks for these nuggets. Will definitely look at that link and do some strategic searching. I have questions about every little thing but I suspect much of it will become clear once I’ve started. I’ve done my research and planned out the first 2 weeks so I hope I’m not going in completely blind, but it still seems a scary and unknown road. I have stock cubes (bouillon cubes) at the ready :wink: As long as I don’t get hungry or bad cravings I will be fine!:crossed_fingers:

(John) #19

You’ll do fine. There is a lot of information but in the end it is really simple - you are eating normal, healthy foods in normal portion sizes. The only thing that changes up from what you are used to is the relative ratio of carbs, fat, and protein. And that there are some foods you are going to completely eliminate (sugar, starchy carbs) and some that you will significantly limit (non-starchy carbs).

And if you do just that, after a few weeks you will find that your body does just fine with fat as a primary fuel and a low amount of carbohydrates, and your appetite and hunger signals self-regulate down so that you naturally tend to eat less often, or get full from less food and just naturally don’t want to consume as much.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #20

You won’t, if you eat enough, and particularly get enough fat to satisfy your hunger. Paradoxically as it seems, fat is the best food to eat in order to encourage the body to dispense with excess fat, because it hardly stimulates insulin secretion, so you can eat till satisfied and your insulin will stay low, thus allowing your fat cells to release fat to be burned.

At first, you will probably eat a lot. Don’t worry about it. Somewhere along about the middle of week three, your satiety signaling will kick in, and your appetite will drop noticeably. Just get through the initial period without worrying how much you’re eating; the body seems to need the reassurance that there is an abundance of calories, and then it will tell you how much to eat so that you can burn off some of your extra fat. The key is to eat so little carbohydrate that you are able to metabolize that excess fat.

P.S.—You’ve gotten some great comments here. Let me just add that cutting out sugar is easier, physically, if you go cold turkey, but psychologically it’s better not to tell oneself you’re swearing off for ever. Take it one day at a time. You can have all the sugar you want, tommorrow; for today, just don’t have any right now.

(Emma) #21

Thanks for the vote of confidence @JohnH :blush:

I’m sooo excited about getting to this bit! I get anxious about getting hungry at the moment and take a sack load of carbs to work with me, it’s silly.

(Emma) #22

@PaulL awesome advice, I can totally do that. Such a good way to put it. It is definitely the psychological component that worries me most as it’s more an emotional crutch than a real physical addiction (although I’m sure I will have some physical withdrawal to deal with). And telling myself it’s not forever will help me through the tempting times. I love cream so this is a big plus for keto - I can still have desserts of some sort and not feel deprived.

(John) #23

At first, your goal is to get your body switched over from carbs as a primary fuel. So if you get hungry, eat keto-type snacks. It is BETTER to not snack and to get your energy intake from full meals. But until you are fat-adapted, it’s a good idea to have something safe on hand.

For me, that was measured quantities of low carb nuts (raw almonds, walnuts, pecans), single serving cheese (those little BabyBel cheese things are great for that), and canned fish. Tuna, sardines, anchovies. Ok, I only ate the anchovies once - those things are packed with flavor and go better as a component of larger dishes than just eating out of the can. Hard boiled eggs are another go-to, as is pre-cooked bacon. Hard salami, deli-sliced ham, turkey, chicken, beef. Some things require a fridge, others can go in a plastic bag in your bag, purse, briefcase, or backpack.

Or even keto-safe veggies. Celery sticks, cucumber slices or sticks, radishes, green bell pepper strips. All are great dipped in a full-fat dressing or mayo for a little extra flavor, or dabbed in some pink Himalayan salt.

Also, remember to supplement with sodium (salt), potassium (found in lite salt), and magnesium (I just take a supplement pill, or you can make sure to eat broccoli and spinach often). And drink plenty of water. It’ll help a lot in the early days.

(Emma) #24

@JohnH so grateful for your great advice! I will get the snacks ready especially as I’m at work tomorrow.

Feeling very nervous now but I don’t know why as I can’t get hungry eating all this delicious fat surely. I guess it’s the carb withdrawal that is daunting. Yay, day one here I come!! :hugs:

(Emma) #25

Day one done. I’ve been hungry today and light headed at times but it’s not been difficult to stick to LCHF foods. Felt full and a bit sick after breakfast of bacon and fried eggs in butter.

I was hungrier at work than I thought I would be despite a whole chicken breast, mayonnaise, half a ball of mozzarella, 2 rashers of bacon and salad for lunch. I stupidly didn’t bring any snacks. I had a coffee with cream which helped my hunger. Had a few olives as soon as I got in from work as was so hungry. For dinner I had baked thai salmon in coconut milk with broccoli, butter and a bit of rocket and watercress.

Feel pleased that I’ve survived the day and it was fairly easy. Myfitnesspal tells me I’ve had a total of 14g carbs, so success! But still feel not quite satiated (just finished dinner about 30 mins ago and it’s 10pm now) and considering having a bit of thick double cream (spoonable) to sort that out…

(Carl Keller) #26

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

You are on your way Emma. You can do this. :wink:

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #27

As long as they are keto-friendly snacks, don’t worry about eating them. But the idea is to eat enough at meals that snacking is not necessary. One you’ve kept your insulin level down for a while, your satiety signaling will kick in, and hunger will be much less of an issue.

#28

Good job, Emma!

I’ve got no more advice for you. You’ve got this figured out. :+1:

#29

Welcome to the keto side :slight_smile: what I wish I had known before I began (and 2ketodudes helped me realize that)- keto is a very personal journey and your body will react in a way that only your body can. Look into what others might be going through, just so you dont lose motivation and freak out if something unexpected happens. Learn from your body’s reaction-if something doesnt feel right, ask what could cause it and adjust, dont give up. And give yourself lots of pep talks- “you can do this,” “youre an adult, have some self-control,” “remember how unhappy you were before,” etc…it’s a head-game and once your head catches up, you’ll be in a wonderful place. I’m so happy with where I am now, 7 months later, that I never want to go back and I’m so excited to see where my body can take me now. You will have ups and downs, but use those ups to get you through those downs. And remember, keto is a simple diet, dont overcomplicate, it makes it easier to get those basics down in the beginnings. I wish you all the best on your journey :slight_smile: