Still trying to determine if Keto is for me!

#21

I have begun to see that. This is what makes it frustrating to not see the scale weight going down quicker. I have noticed inches of my hips neck and face though

#22

Forget about the scale, focus on your health and inches!

#23

Once a week if able. So something that allows 6 days on and 1 off

#24

That’s way too much for most people, there are extremely active people, people with insanely physical jobs, and then just genetic freaks that can pull off 50g/day, for us “normal” people, that’s just not realistic in most cases.

Going to the gym is awesome and always recommended for overall health and because more muscle equals a better running body, BUT for the weight loss, it’s usually not a huge difference for most people.

I think you need to stop and consider if you mentally want this, meaning now at this point. You’ve just started out, haven’t had good results, and although to me at least it’s pretty obvious why (50g) and in the same thread your saying you realistically need to cheat for this to work. NO…YOU DON’T!

Your thinking about this completely back asswards. First, this is NOT a diet, it’s a way of eating, we say this for a reason. You say you don’t want this to be strict, do you see what we eat? We have much MORE of a selection of awesome foods than the people that eat “normal”. We eat amazing steaks, veggies covered in butter, fried foods, ice creams, cookies we do it without worrying about calorie counts (some do) we don’t worry about fat clogging our arteries, we do all this while LOSING weight and getting HEALTHIER! Can the people on “normal” diets say that, without eating a salad and fat free dressing at every meal? Because most of the time, people are jealous of what I’m eating. You will GAIN much more in awesome food to eat than you will “loose” I put “loose” in quotes because if you stick around, do it right and see how it feels to run without all that garbage in your system, you won’t WANT to eat it anymore!

Start out and do Keto the traditional way at 20g for 2 weeks. There is a reason that’s the typical starting point! After that time if you want to slowly up it a little go ahead but wait give yourself a fair chance. There is no shortage of awesome recipes and meals / treats to make. Being too restrictive isn’t an excuse, because it’s simply not true. You’ve got an entire forum full of people here ready to help as you need it. Ask a ton of questions, your not going to bother us, it’s specifically why we’re here, to help others with the knowledge we’ve gained because we were ALL you at one point!

Stick with it, it WILL work for you! Good Luck!

(Ethan) #25

Others have tried this, and I think–while possible under some personal circumstances–it isn’t really the way to go. Cheating with that frequency will hinder your progress. You won’t see the results you want. It is still probably healthier to do that than nothing though, but don’t expect the same results or ease of being keto. My wife’s initial thoughts on keto were that she could never do it. She could never fast or do anything like that. She has been keto a month now. She is starting to do intermittent fasting by accident–just isn’t hungry. Cheat days will make that progress much smaller.

#26

You mentioned ice cream and cookies those are the kind of things that I’m talking about is a cheater I’m not talking about going out and benjen on major carbohydrates. I just want this to be my way of life and I have been on lower carb diets before where once I went off of them a game back twice as much weight which made me Larry in the first place of even trying this keto diet. And also it is hard to accept the fact that you can have so much fat on a diet and still lose weight I’m just worried that I’m going to go ahead and do this and all my efforts are going to be for nothing because I’m going to end up getting it back to fold. If there is a way to incorporate all those things that you’re talking about then yeah I wouldn’t need a cheat day you’re right

#27

Right, but remember that’s homemade cookies and ice creams made with keto friendly ingredients! It’s still really not something to be all about for the first couple weeks (maybe months). They taste just as good, and before you detox they are just as capable of keeping cravings alive in the ol’ brain which is why they should be avoided at first. You REALLY wanna go through the sugar detox before you start eating that stuff.

(Ethan) #28

Exactly. Once you go keto, it’s all you will eat-o.

(Rob) #29

It is important to note that the ice cream and cookies are keto/Low carb things, mostly that you make (or carefully buy) - not cheating on standard high carb items.

Remember, we know very little about you - how overweight are you, what are your medical conditions (if any), why are you trying keto, etc. Advice is all a bit scattershot unless we know this kind of stuff. If you are very overweight and insulin resistant then the advice would be to be more hardcore, if you are healthy, and only have a few pounds to lose, advice will be different.

Most people who are on Keto are doing it because they are effectively allergic to carbs so ‘cheat days’ are basically self sabotage. If you are metabolically deranged, you need to do this properly (20g) for a while and see what happens.

You should get some tests (if you haven’t) to establish your base situation. If you discover that you are sufficiently insulin sensitive to take 50 or 75g of carbs and not be kicked out of ketosis, then that’s great and those extra carbs won’t be cheating.

Without these basics appropriate advice is hard to pin down.

(Olivia) #30

Firstly, never compare yourself to other people. Everybody experiences weight loss a little different and this especially holds true for men vs women.

8 lbs ist quite a lot. Hold something in your hands which weighs that much and think about carrying that amount everyday in your backpack.
Weight loss is never linear, however, you will see a decline if you stick to your plan consistent.

As for “Cheat days”, there is no such thing. There is no test and no teacher. You have just made a decision to break your diet/plan/way of eating and you’re hampering your progress.

(Vincent Hall) #31

Those that recommend 20 carbs, you are talking net, yes?
So if a person was consuming 20 gram of fiber whilst consuming 20 grm of carbs (like from veg or salad,) so healthy carbs. 40 grams would be okay. Just wanted to make sure the comments above are not misunderstood, unless I have?
\v/

#32

I do net carbs so yes, I subtract fiber. Everyone has to decide for themselves.

(Ethan) #33

Generally, yes, we are talking net. However, I have found some fiber to be fake fiber. That is, I’ve eaten low-carb breads that advertise 26g of total carbs, but 20g of fiber and had MAJOR blood sugar spikes. Thus, I try really to eat fiber only from sources that I know, such as green, leafy vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I don’t trust the fiber content of imitation products (i.e., products made to imitate something else, such as low-carb bread) too much.

(Vincent Hall) #34

Absolutely, I never eat anything Ive not either made or am certain the fiber is real. I think Ive sussed most of it now but worth a mention for the newbies for sure.
\v/

(Renee Slaughter) #35

What she said.:grinning:

#36

I am 5’ 9" and currently weigh 233.5. When I got married almost 16 yrs ago, i weighed 175 so I want to get back to that weight. I liked the way I looked then. At that time, I ate no more than 100 carbs a day to maintain. I chose
keto because a friend physically lost weight. As a result, I did my research and found interest. Also it has helped with my IBS and cravings for chocolate and unnecessary carbs. Hopes this helps a little.

#37

It sounds like you could make some great progress on keto. Just go back and read the “induction” stage of Atkins, but stay on it longer than 2 weeks.

#38

Keto is for you. I started at 241 and am now at 185…

#39

Kudos. My weight loss was less dramatic, 205 to 167, but I feel like a million bucks.

(Rob) #40

Absolutely. Thanks. 60 lbs put on over time sounds like growing (and probably now significant) Insulin resistance. I don’t know if you’ve had any blood tests recently to tell you your HbA1c or any other measure of blood sugar, or even better some measure of insulin (e.g. a Kraft test or fasting insulin measure) but it might be worth it to answer a key question - am I keto for weight loss or keto to reverse a health issue? Obviously, the second comes with a much stronger rationale for compliance and drives a high proportion of people here.

If the former (weight loss only) then you can stick at 50g and your progress will be slower but you will still be doing much better for yourself than at higher carb levels. If the latter reason, you really should consider knuckling down to 20g (net of fiber) and run it for a couple of months to see what you can achieve from a health, weight loss and body composition POV.

Remember women lose less predictably than men. Keto is a WoE focusing on managing hormones (insulin mostly but also leptin, grehlin) and letting that address weight and health measures. Due to more complex hormonal situation for women this is less predictable. Often, women lose inches before scale weight as fat is lost and muscle is built an then loses weight with the opposite for many men. While this WoE is for life, as you become more insulin sensitive, you can add in more carbs, though you will probably forever be allergic to carbs.