I think it’s official. I “feel” out of ketosis. Backing up, I was never really sure I was in ketosis other than the urine strips saying I was.
I’ve been doing keto since January 1st and I initially skimmed down in my stomach and face: went from 140 pounds to 135… and now have plateaued or worse, gained some pounds. I’m thinking I’m eating about 50 net carbs?
I’ve been feeling bloated, getting migraines and feeling sluggish.
I’ve talked about some of my problem on here before: like I tend to eat a lot at night( even in the middle of the night) … I daily eat protein bars, swerve, and I do have dairy/HWC. Most of my carbs come from creamer and my protein bar and the miscellaneous in cheese and veggies.
Anyways, I’m so torn. I don’t know if I should just give u?..or restart completely, but maybe with a different goal or different plan?.. or just pick up where I left off? I would like to lose 10 pounds. I would like to stop being preoccupied with my food though so I’m not sure if keto is the way to go. Suggestions?
Think I’m out of ketosis
Reduce that further. You’re probably right and not in ketosis.
This is probably part of the issue. Protein bars and swerve aren’t food, and dairy is inflammatory to most people, and some are even allergic to it.
Have some fatty meat, fill up on that, in fact, and leave the stuff with a nutrition label on the store shelf where it belongs.
It most definitely is the way to go, provided you choose species-appropriate foods.
I wouldn’t give up on it since you haven’t really followed the plan yet. Yes, getting started sucks. Especially getting through the cravings and flu. But it gets better as your body adjusts. Just stay under 20 net carbs and get your fat intake where it needs to be. Skip the excess protein as your body will just convert excess into glucose which could be stored as fat.
You can do it. Just have faith in the program.
Sounds like you are in low carb purgatory, neither getting enough carbs for fuel nor reducing carbs low enough to allow your body to fat adapt, and tap into fat for fuel. No wonder you feel so rubbish.
If and when you do decide to cut your carbs below 20g, just stay on top of your electrolytes (sodium, magnesium, potassium) and that’ll help you feel miles better.
Good luck 
The science on this is far from settled. I’m starting to lean into the “protein can be too high” category.
Protein requirements are a loaded subject. Folks seem to do better when they quietly figure out their personal n=1 rather than try to hit a target (which nobody seems to agree on).
My N=1 says I can eat 120-160 grams of protein per day and lose weight and Ted Naiman’s experiment resulted in this:
But if too much protein doesn’t work for you or anyone else, then stick to what does. I’m inclined to believe that converting protein to glycogen is driven by demand, not by supply.
I was just trying to explain this to family yesterday. They had interest in and questions about keto but concern or desire was brought up to keep “healthy whole grains and some fruit” in their diet.
My response was pretty much what you said. It’s hard to know if someone will experience that but I think it’s important people know it’s a possibility with just slightly too many carbs. I’ve heard people talk, even on here, about doing fine with 50g carbs. But if they tip to the other side of too many carbs and then out of keto, it seems to me it’d feel constantly like a calorie restrictive diet with the hunger pangs always present and it might not even occur to them why it feels so crappy.
@KBG I’m sure some metabolically healthy folks get by just fine on 50g carb. I know I can tolerate that level- once I am strongly fat adapted. When one has metabolic disregulation however, and is just starting out (and not an elite athlete- they can tolerate and utilise higher carbs), 50g of carb could be more than enough to leave a person feeling like they’ve been hit by a bus.
I do. But I try to stick with the essential. Usually walnuts or macadamia nuts.
I think metabolic health is the key here. I, for one, am metabolically deranged and 50 g of carbs is too much for me at the moment. I need to be under 20 mg/day and I don’t mess around with the whole net carb thing. If it’s a carb, I count it.
Also, dairy, nuts and fat bombs tend to be snacks. The point of keto is NOT to snack. Just do a few months of yummy meat and a few veggies. I started at three meals a day with snacks. I am down to one meal a day, or two. Today was one meal: Steak and cabbage and greens.
One of those people who are aware of how few people know that veges aren’t carb-free-zones? Yes, yes I am 
IMO 
Switching your diet to keto DOES involve some changes, you really have to give up certain foods and think differently. Replacement foods can set you up for failure - baked goods, protein bars, etc.,+ snacking should also be avoided - have three/two meals, maybe try IF, experiment with your body and see what feels best.
Stick to basics-veggies, meat, eggs, healthy fats, etc. It takes months for your head and your body to catch up, you will have your eating under control, you will feel more comfortable with your diets and how your body works. Then you can slowly start adding different baked goods, flours, protein bars, sweeteners, etc
The basis of getting into ketosis is to keep insulin low enough, and the way to do that is to keep carbohydrate intake low enough not to stimulate insulin to rise above the threshold where it starts preventing fat from leaving your fat cells.
The confusion comes from the facts that (a) everyone’s insulin threshold is different, and (b) different amounts of carbohydrate cause different levels of insulin secretion in different people. That’s why we recommend eating less than 20 g/day of carbohydrate—it’s a level at which everyone (except the most metabolically-damaged people) can get into ketosis. Your personal carbohydrate threshold may be higher than that, but start with a 20 g/day limit. Once you are fat-adapted, you can play around with the limit, but for right now, stay really low.
In some of his lectures, Gary Taubes mentions a case report he read, about an executive at Dupont, whose company physician had had great success putting executives and workers on a low-carb diet. This one executive was so insulin-resistant, however, that eating a single apple would cause him to start gaining weight. The good news is that we can usually recover at least some degree of greater insulin-sensitivity, if we remain long enough on a ketogenic diet.