Still failing at keto

#111

I never said fat was protein. Let that go,

#112

You are not naive, I’m not sure what Matt’s problem is. As you can see in this post alone I am getting great - but conflicting - advice. Cut protein. Count calories. Count fat protein and calories. I endorse the poster that mentioned eating empty fat calories with no nutrition to be questionable. Others appear to be endorsing eating straight fat. I never insinuated that protein was fat - but when I ask how to get fat without the protein, which I am supposed to be cutting , I get a list of protein (bacon etc).

Or I am told to eat ghee. By the handfull?? I don’t know. I don’t cook, maybe that’s it?

Honestly you and Brenda have an approach that makes the most sense to me. Its still incredibly confusing and I’m really not sure why my desperate plea for help brought out such vicious responses! Clearly I unintentionally struck a nerve. In any case I truly appreciate the time you took to reply!

Also,I track in cronology.

#113

Pork rind pancakes sound like bliss

#114

Thank you. I see your perspective. Its helpful.

(Ellie) #115

Unfortunately in one of your earlier posts you did say fat is protein. I think it was either a typo or a comment that most things that have fat also have protein in them aside from straight fat.
I think that not cooking is probably a big part of it. Most of us get fat by cooking things in fat and pouring it over.
If you are going to do things like chicken salad, add avocado and mayo as easy sources of fat without added protein. Find some meals that you can make that hit the right level of things and repeat.
Maybe things like a tapas style plate of cheese, pate, celery, butter, olives and things like that. If you have a microwave you can make cheese crackers by just zapping slices of gouda or similar cheese for about 1-2mins. Then you can spread butter and pate on them, and you get crunch too!

Edited to add, I am fasting at the moment and just typing those food suggestions has made me hungry!! :joy:

#116

I’m going to search for a post where I said fat is protein. Its obviously not - but like i said before when I ask for foods to increase fat I get lists of protein.

EDIT: I think I found it and yes, out of context it could literally be read as “fat is protein” which is ignorant. Obviously that is not what I meant. You are correct, I was referring to the protein fatty suggestions in the context of that conversation - which is admittedly hard to keep up with here! I edited that statement lest I be deemed a troll. Thank you for pointing it out to me.

I love these suggestions, they warm my batchelorette heart! Thank you.

(charlie3) #117

To get my results I do food tracking and exercise and, if I want to burn some fat the target is 1/2 pound per week max and less than that is fine too.

(matt ) #118

If this is all legit I apologize. Seems I misread things.

("Don't call it calories, call it food") #119

Hi!

I have read all these responses and thought I would chime in with a summary of what had worked for me. I am not an expert like many of the people on here, but my suggestion would be to see this as an experiment. Pick a course of action and try it for a month, and see where you are. Here is what has worked for me:

  1. Eat 1700 calories a day. (I am 5’7" and I eat 1800, so I would guess 1700 would be good for you). Don’t skimp on calories. If you are under you calories at the end of the day (or by dinner time) and you are afraid of eating protein, put a Tablespoon of olive oil on your food, or eat a small fatbomb (see below).

  2. Track all your food - I weigh mine. As we start, we often don’t realize exactly what 100 grams looks like… I am not planning on weighing my food for all eternity, but for a few weeks, it is a good learning exercise.

  3. Spend 30 minutes looking at Keto cookbooks (if you are a college students, your library will have some). Make photocopies of the ones you are a) able to cook/make and b) fit in your idea of limited protein.

  4. Make some EASY fat bombs. I put coconut oil, cocoa powder, and stevia drops (now swerve that I have ordered it) in a mixing bowl, drop it in some molds (order on amazon - search for silicon candy molds, you can’t go wrong) and put it in the freezer. No cooking, one bowl to mix up, and with my molds, each one is 1 gram of carbs (and no protein). I eat one when I know I am hungry but don’t need to eat a meal or more protein.

  5. I am not sure if you CAN’T cook (no kitchen) or if you WON’T cook (don’t like it, feel like you don’t know how). My suggestion if it is the former is to buy a sous-vide machine and a air frier. With those plus your instant pot, you should be able to cook almost anything you need.

Mostly, figure out how to eat more calories and fat without eating more protein (as that is a concern for you). I think that you can manage that :slight_smile: If you are a full time college student at age 50, you have gumption and brains… I think you can figure out some recipes and methods for eating more fat… Tuna salad (no cooking), cole slaw (no cooking), fat bombs, drink some tea with coconut milk (from a can - try a rooibos chai with coconut milk, it is delicious).

Then, give it a shot for at least a month, and check back in…

(Robert) #120

I’m in the same boat. 4 weeks in and 3 lbs lost. It is VERY frustrating for sure. I understand why you asked even though a search is possible and will reveal many threads. However, the feedback on these forums is anything but consistent. Eat fat, stop telling people to eat fat!, watch your macros! Don’t worry about calories! Exercise!, Don’t exercise! Do IF or EF but don’t push your body into starvation but not eating enough. Eat more! Eat less! We have a section called show me the science and the pod casts are great but everyone will tell you keto is different for everyone. You would think there would be SOME set in stone rules that simply must be followed but that is not what I am finding. It is a veritable cornucopia of mixed advice that would confuse even the most organized person. But I commend you for sticking to your guns and waiting for the great advice you have been given so far. I am reading through them now to see if I can gain any insight off your efforts. I hope what you find here helps get you over this slump.

(Richard Morris) #121

There are only 2 things most people need to do to get into ketosis. Carbohydrate restrict, and get energy from fat (either stored or consumed). To be healthy for the long term I would add eat enough protein to support your lean mass, and get adequate essential nutrition.

Human bodies are diverse - and the number of ways people have been successful with ketogenic diets are equally diverse. Some people eat a LOT of protein (up to the theoretical safe limit of 3.3g/kg LBM) and that works for them. Some flirt with protein insufficiency (below 0.8g/kg LBM) and that works for them.

Some are able to eat ad libitum (whenever you are hungry, stop when full ) and they lose weight until they plateau into a normal BMI range no problem. Some have to modestly calorie restrict to do the same. Some plateau in the overweight range and are entirely satisfied because for the remainder of their lives they can eat ad libitum and remain healthy.

All of us can probably tell you what worked for us, but even if you have exactly the same goals as me, there is no guarantee that what worked for me will get the same results for you.

What I do know is if you are type 2 diabetic then eating so few carbs that you have to make them in your liver can reverse your disease. A ketogenic diet in my experience is the best easiest way to do that. And how I did that was <= 20g carbs a day, 80-120g of protein, ad libitum fat.

(Robert) #122

I make my coffee the same way. How many tablespoons of heavy cream would you say you intake daily? All total. I feel like I am getting too much. I usually consume 250ml spread across 40 oz of coffee.

(Robert) #123

Thank you for that. I am sure my issue is that I am probably not fully fat adapted yet. I learn alot from the podcasts. It just seems they sometimes go against what I see here and I am a person who likes rules for dieting and Keto seems to vary wildly. I think that is what I am struggling with the most. I end up questioning my own actions which leads to frustration.

(Sarah Bruhn) #124

If you need rules, pick a book about keto and stick to it, It will very likely work well for you. Rules don’t work for everyone, I personally like to use my curiosty to self experiment but there are plenty of keto based systems if that is what works for you :slight_smile:
Keto is awesome because it can work for basically anyone.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #125

The basics are the same, as Richard has posted: Keep your carbohydrate low enough to keep insulin secretion at a minimum; eat enough protein to avoid losing muscle mass, but not enough to be toxic; fill in the rest of your calories with fat, because it stimulates the least amount of insulin production, so it’s the safest source of calories. That’s it—the rest is tips and good advice. If you need more rules than that, I’m sure we could invent some for you, lol! :grinning::grinning:

A well-formulated ketogenic diet is basically a way of eating that uses the body’s natural processes for health rather than disease.

(back and doublin' down) #126

There is one rule that I think applies to everyone, as we are all experimenting:

Keep Calm

For me, that rule means “have patience” as this is a Way of Eating ~ no quick fixes (even though some have them). I can relate to those who say we didn’t get this way in a week or a month, and repair could be just as slow as the build up of the problem. @richard is consistent with his message and careful at backing up his suggestions with science. Everything beyond that is personal interpretation and based on n=1 experimenting.

Keep Calm ~ Do You ~ Keto On

(Cathy) #127

The Atkins induction plan is to get a person into ketosis and it has lots of guidelines that may be useful. That is the plan I used. It is a good plan and can be used indefinitely. It is on line and you can borrow or buy the book. Dr. Phinney is part of the group who wrote it so you know it is going to be reliable and useful. It addresses problems and serves up some of the science. I really think it should get more play.

(Angela) #128

Kept can work, Paleo can work, Carnivore can work. What is the special sauce?
They all trick you into eating less calories and you lose weight, it’s genius!

(Heather ) #129

What brand of pork rinds do you get? Are they plain or flavored? I goofed and got BBQ, loved them, then noticed the wheat and sugar in the ingredients. Though, I should have known better given they are BBQ! :roll_eyes:

Edit: sorry I should have read farther down and saw you posted what kind. And checking out that pancake recipe.

#130

I want to thank everyone that posted here, I am doing MUCH better. I have tweaked it down to too much protein…which promted me to post a second thread. Not failing quite so badly at Keto now! Need help with protein-free food?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!