Ive been on Keto for 6 weeks and I’m finding being on Keto is making me very unhappy.
Without being able to cook all the kinds of foods i want to eat I just feel depressed. Im not talking about eating junk food, I just want to cook fresh homemade food that I feel like eating. But the carb restriction does put great limits what I can cook.
Whats the point doing Keto if it just makes me unhappy?
Hi Alex, not everyone is suited to this WOE. Your comments are hard for me to relate to as Keto has changed my life and has been very liberating for me. I guess it depends on what you hope to achieve with Keto, what you are eating and why it is so difficult for you. Best of luck with whatever you path is.
I have found Keto to be amazing for reducing stress, and eliminating hunger when calorie deficient. Its just the thought of eating another avocado or some coconut milk just makes me… well I just know I cannoy eat those two foods for at least another year or so I’m so sick of them.
And simple things like taking a couple of cold whole oranges from the fridge, slicing it up into segments and biting into that cold Delicious juicy orange, or siting down with a bowl of ripe strawberry’s, or dipping a pitta bread into some homemade humus.
I just dont see the whole Keto thing is worth it if I can never do that again for the rest of my life
I’m sorry you feel this way, @ubc_router.
Have a scroll through this incredible thread - lots of inspiration here for lovely things to make, eat and enjoy: What Did You Keto Today? The Trilogy!
It’s possible that when you’re where you want to be with health/weight/metabolism you can have some fruit now and then, especially when you’re active. [Many people find that this doesn’t work for them, but it’s highly individual]
Agree with @KetoSnaps that it’s probably worth taking a look at all the amazing food that people do eat on Keto, so that your focus is on what you can eat rather than what you can’t eat. Personally I love avocado (and coconut milk) but I haven’t had either for a while.
If you would just stick with it for at least a year you will find you can increase your carbohydrates and not worry so much about doing strict keto and eat what you want?
Yes it is possible to be happy!
I agree that keto is more restrictive than how eating was before. I find what I miss the most is probably fruit (surprisingly not bread or pizza, which used to be my binge food). I never really ate much fruit before, but now I think an apple or watermelon or cantaloupe would be delicious. I don’t think about it, though; I just don’t. I don’t want to go there. For what I’ve given up, I have gained back in spades. Also, for me, what is the alternative - I don’t see one. I can’t go back to living how I was. Talk about depressing - horrible - and physically, I was becoming an invalid.
I would examine what you are looking for with keto, and how you felt before. Maybe it isn’t much of a trade-off to return to what you were doing. Also, try to increase your repertoire of food choices that you enjoy. I’d chuck the avacado - hate them! 
Good luck with wherever your journey takes you.
So find another way to eat that brings you the health benefits you want? I would suggest looking at the Mediterranean diet as another healthy option.
I rarely eat avocados, even though I do like them, and I don’t drink coconut milk.
I just had some fresh strawberries with plain yogurt and walnuts for breakfast. I had some hummus (store-bought) with sections of low-carb tortilla last night with a dinner of curried chicken and a salad with blue cheese dressing.
I even eat a small amount of BREAD now and then. But I am talking like 1/2 slice of a relatively low-carb bread, every other day.
You just have to manage portion sizes, and not eat the higher carbs every single day.
The orange slices are probably a no, though.
I’ve been doing it for over a year and am down over 100 pounds, and maintaining that loss (still losing, slowly). I eat a pretty balanced diet, though still low carb.
But yeah, if you can’t stick to it long term, then find something else. If you just cut out sugars and starches, you’ll probably get a pretty decent health benefit overall, though you may not get the appetite suppression and will have to use other techniques to make sure you are eating the right amounts.
Well, I can’t help you. I’ve never eaten humus. I miss, but have found low carb options, for spaghetti and meat sauce (usually, just have the meat sauce, but sometimes with spaghetti squash). After 6 years on low carb, I miss pizza and ice cream, and that’s about it. Oh, and picking up a sandwich, although the new chaffles help with that.
If you’re missing a “million” things, then you probably don’t have what it takes to be on any diet: vegan, vegetarian, low carb, paleo, keto, primal, etc. They all are more restrictive than eating a “million” things.
When I first started eating this way, I was very depressed about all the foods I had to give up (including my beloved homemade sourdough breads). But that changed when I bought a good low carb cookbook (These were the days before anybody mentioned Keto). After reading through it and making some good meals, my thinking shifted as mentioned above, from what I couldn’t have, to what I could. Yes, I still miss bread, but my new friend chaffles helps with that, and mangos, but on the whole I enjoy my food, and any cravings quickly pass. For me, the ability to eat steak(or fish, or chicken, or pork, or lobster with butter) and some veggies, followed by some berries and whipped cream on a slice of almond flour pound cake, and still be “on track” is nothing short of delightful.
A couple of tricks I used when starting:
Cauliflower is your friend. I think I probably ate roasted cauliflower with every meal for the first 6 months or so; I am not sure why, as I don’t think I had ever had it before, but I loved it, and it helped fill the “roasted Potato” part of the mental image of a proper dinner plate in my head. Then I discovered…
Mashed Cauliflower is a godsend. Either boil or steam your vegetables. I like to add about 1/4 cooked celery root to about 1/2 head of cooked cauliflower florets. Put in the food processor with a couple of Tablespoons of butter, Salt (to taste, but it takes more than you expect), pepper, Some cream,and an ounce or two of grated cheese. Process using the S blade until smooth.
Chef’s Salads are usually safe if you are going out to eat, especially for lunch.
Use your spice collection! Different spices can make your food taste different. I happen to love bold flavors, so will frequently make curries, or moroccan spiced dishes, or Thai, or Italian. Mix them up, it makes food more exciting.
Good luck.
Were you happy with your previous diet? Why did you change? What are your goals/expectations? You need to know WHY you are eating whatever diet you choose. Without the proper motivation or reasons you won’t stick to anything new or different.
Another thing I say is never say never. Especially when I first started, I said I’ll eat this way (strictly) until a certain day. If I really was craving something or wanted a special dish that wasn’t keto, I ate it when I hit that day. Was that perfect keto? No, but I reached my weight goals, found I really didn’t miss much, and loved the non scale victories.
You don’t have to eat keto, or even low carb, but you may not have the benefits that you were aiming for.
All change has it’s difficulties. I’m glad I stuck with it and I hope you find what you are looking for too!
My thoughts exactly! SO many amazing meal ideas on those threads. Great inspiration when I’m bored of the same old same old…
It does take quite a while to get into a new routine of foods that you like and eat day-to-day. The first several months can be tough.
There are several great sources for low carb recipes and food. Maybe checking out new things to cook will distract you from your old favorites. There’s a huge recipe section here and all the Two Keto Dudes podcasts have a recipe segment. Some websites to check out include I Breathe, I’m Hungry and, my favorite, All Day I Dream About Food. Carolyn Ketchum from All Day… also has several great cookbooks out including Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen.
I eat strawberries all the time, but do avoid oranges most of the time. Also, don’t put oranges in the fridge–it will give them frostbite. As for hummus, I think there are some substitute recipes out there made with nuts, but I don’t miss hummus enough to try.
There’s definitely a learning curve with changing your diet of finding new foods that you love, have made enough that they’re easy or get used to having them as staples in your fridge, while learning to live without old favorites. Whether or not this process is worth it depends on what your goals are and how important they are to you.
This is pretty much what I have seen from you, complaining about nutrients, obsessing over perfect macros, eating a very odd mix of food that I wouldn’t find sustainable. I think you’re making life a lot harder than necessary.
Apparently you are a vegetarian from what I gather by your food choices. I have never heard you mention any animal based foods other than cheese. If your version of keto was what I had to eat I would give it up in two days, because your diet isn’t livable for me either. You seem to be focused on everything you can’t eat while ignoring all the stuff you could eat. Personally I don’t think KETO is for you because you can’t seem to get your head around the fact that the food choices you are staying with (what is acceptable from your previous WOE) is about all you consider without opening up to healthy ketogenic choices. It’s all about what you can’t eat instead of focusing on the positive side of new possibilities. I have had to make many adaptations in my life (amputee, dialysis, transplant patient on steroids, diabetes, dentures, glasses, etc.) and I would have given up on living a long time ago with your outlook. Do something that makes you happy with life, focus on the positive! 
Absolutely no point at all. Make your own choices. But I hope you have learnt enough to know what your choices entail.
Personally, I had almost accepted being overweight, until I started feeling very unwell and then I looked for options! How thankful I am to have found Keto! It makes me happy! The weight loss, the health benefits and the knowledge that I am constantly reducing my risk of metabolic disease.
But, if I was feeling miserable I would do what made me happy. But really,…are you happy?
I have found that keto opened my eyes to some foods that I didn’t think I would enjoy, or had not had in forever. Mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, chia seeds, boi choy and hemp hearts just to name a few. Try experimenting with new spices and cooking methods. If you feel like the food lacks variety or flavor, you may be doing it wrong!
I felt the same way until I pushed through and got over my modern glucose addiction.
Once I realized why I missed the things that were hurting me, I was good to go.
Our pleasure centers always pine for the things that make it feel good… no matter how unhealthy they are.
My Type 2 went away along with my addiction to all the crap my self-control was weak against.
Nobody is going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. You have to find out if it’s worth it to you.
Look at it this way… the smoker… alcoholic… heroin addict is unhappy without their fixes.
This woe was difficult for me to adjust to as well, I don’t honestly think it was easy for most of us at first, if it was we wouldn’t be in the predicament we are in! As hard as it was, I started and stopped keto three times before it stuck, I realized that playing with my little girl was harder, walking around in public was harder and being romantic was virtually impossible! All these things finally made me realize keto was simple, I was making it hard! It sounds like you enjoy cooking, I do as well and find it fun to experiment. I have tried things I never expected to enjoy and now love.
You have received some plentiful replies, so all I will say is to look deep inside and find a happiness that does not come from food. I used food as a reward for so long, now I reward myself with new items that make me happy instead of cause harm to my body. It is not easy, the struggle is real, but it’s very much worth it! Food does not bring happiness it brings codependency. I truly hope you find your happiness!