Thinking of stopping Keto

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #21

I agree with you, there isn’t any.

My big concern was that I was borderline diabetic, and scared of losing fingers or toes. Unless someone has a motivation like that, however, it’s very hard to deal with the addictive nature of sugar and carbohydrate. Of course, I have since found out how delicious keto meals can be, and I further find that on those few occasions when I do indulge in a little extra carbohydrate, it never tastes as good as I was hoping, and the joint stiffness and back pain the next morning are just not worth it.

(PJ) #22

Sugar, wheat, sometimes dairy, can be profoundly addictive. Some people have a horribly hard time getting away from them indefinitely. They often eat just tiny amounts of something that keep the longing active in them.

People new to keto also often eat a far more limited diet than they need to. The other day I was looking at an old blog I had when my kid was a teen, and our dinners were things like: thai-based beef stir fry; chicken red curry; bacon mushroom chicken alfredo bake; ‘godzilla burgers’ (burgers with bacon and blue cheese mixed into them); and a deep fried protein-ball-thing stuffed with diced pepperoni and italian seasoning and parmesan, that we dipped in marinara; cold chicken pesto salad; in other words, a lot of different foods. I had a teen and I wanted my lowcarb food to be entertaining for her.

But most people, keto eating is so different than what they’ve done before, that they end up with a very small dietary range. And they’re often overdosing on things they never really ate before and maybe aren’t even that fond of. I have known people to say, “If I have to have more eggs or coconut oil I’m going to scream!” Well you could eat keto and never have a single egg or coconut oil. That’s a lack of searching and exploring the options, not a keto requirement.

If you don’t want to eat keto, there is certainly no rule you must, but it’s very sad to see someone abandon what could be an incredibly healthy upgrade in their life, because they just didn’t put the effort in to explore the many options for delicious food.

Blackberries for example are fairly low carb. You can have enough of them for a yummy smoothie. Sweetener alternatives (allulose is one I’m reading about lately - a real sugar, not a sugar alcohol, but zero carb) and spices, almond milk, some cream or kefir, could make that truly delicious for a fruit smoothie. (This would likely make me want to nosh, but some people aren’t affected that way.) My point being that there are sweet fruits – like most berries – that you COULD eat in small amounts for something yummy in that category.

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you well. :slight_smile:

PJ

(John) #23

No keto isn’t for everyone but at the very least try to stay low carb most of the time. Pretty much any diet carbs are the enemy. Maybe you can try doing 5 days on 2 off like some do.

(Robert C) #24

This is likely a mental issue. You may have fallen into the trap of feeling restricted. When anyone (including oneself) tells themself that the must do something (or not do something) they might rebel. One way to rebel is to find things wrong with following the new “rule”, for example, arguing about how restrictive Keto is. All a person can see in this mindset is what they cannot have, where they cannot eat. Feeling cornered by the rule and feelings of depression will likely follow.

A simple change in mindset (i.e. deciding to investigate how Keto is not restrictive) could lead you to a bookstore or to Amazon to pick up a few Keto cookbooks. These could keep you happily in the kitchen busy creating all sorts of great foods for months - all homemade and fresh - and all contributing to a better body composition and better blood numbers.

I’d focus on the mindset!

(Jane) #25

Based on this and your other thread about wanting a STRICT definition of keto I can see why you are struggling.

Where did you get the idea you can never eat another strawberry for the rest of your life? Or hummus. Or a single slice of pita bread? Maybe not as often or in the quantity you want but after you are fat-adapted, running efficiently on ketones and not trying to lose weight you can have those in limited quantities and should go right back into ketosis by the next day. Now, if you want to eat these daily then you will revert back to fueling your body with glucose and won’t get the benefits of keto.

(Edith) #26

I’m replying without reading the entire thread, so I apologize if I’m repeating something.

I understand how you feel. I like baking, but now that my whole family is either keto or low carb, I don’t bake any more and I miss it.

You haven’t been eating this way for very long. The longer you eat this way, the less you will miss certain foods. Also, the longer you eat this way, the more recipes you will find to replace foods you found comforting. (Of course, there are some foods for which there are no substitutes.)

I have made “mac and cheese” using cauliflower florets instead of pasta. My kids think it’s just fine. Keto pancakes are just as good as regular pancakes. The list goes on. It just takes time to find these things.

I’ve enjoyed the challenge of finding pretty tasty meals and snacks. Maybe you can, too.

(Clint) #27

I won’t lie. It was tough for me to adjust my diet for keto. I’m on week 4 of keto, and I’m just now starting to feel like I have a nice variety of foods that I can eat and have around the house regularly. I have stopped craving carbs for the most part, and when I do, I just pop a fat bomb or drink water or both and that seems to stop my craving pretty quickly. Not sure how you’re doing keto and not cooking? I basically have to cook EVERYTHING I eat now, because very few pre-packaged products are low carb. My Sundays are basically spent planning out my meals for the following week and then spending a good portion of the day preparing them. One thing that helped me a lot is I found a local bakery that has a lot of keto friendly baked goods. Bagels, donuts, crackers, breads, crustless quiches etc. Might be worth checking out some local bakeries. This one does not advertise that they are keto-friendly at all, I just happened upon it by accident.

#28

I know this is an older thread but the only question comes to mind for me is:

Why are you doing keto?

What changes do you desire in your body and mind? Why are you using an eating plan to accomplish that?

If you list the reasons you are doing keto then maybe some lightbulb moment might come into play for you. We all miss some food.

I am Carnivore. I dropped everything :wink: and I am loving my life…I came to terms with what eating suits me best.but I am not you…,you have to find a plan that suits you.

I am like ctviggen….lol…my want backs are pizza and ice cream and be able to drink a lot of beer without bloating like a crazy maniac but I can smile easily as I give this up forever. Cause I desire other changes in my life way more than the above. Way more :slight_smile:

best of luck to you

#30

a bbq, yum. being carnivore I would just fit in so well at that bbq LOL

I like beer. On a super hot day, a very cold brew in hand. Kayaking and coming back to a few cold beers while sitting at our campsite. Cold beers on the back deck kicking back.

But that is gone…and I am fine with it cause other things take priority in my life now…plus on Carnivore I can’t drink much :slight_smile: My body won’t allow it.

So happy you had a great keto day Sky!!!

#31

Keto isn’t for everyone. But even if it’s for someone, it might be super hard in the beginning. I am a hedonist and I usually listen to my body and I needed a gradual change, high-carb -> low-carb -> keto. It was easy and enjoyable that way but only because I used my own keto style that suits me. There were hardships too, it’s natural but it still was nice. I wanted more vegetables I could afford but I learned to be happy with a small amount so successfully that I usually don’t want my old amounts even off keto. But I still need more than the average ketoer. My love towards veggies and fruits hints I would be happier with much more carbs (still low-carb) but I feel better when I eat less carbs. So I try to find my sweet spot. Sometimes I do keto, sometimes not but in the beginning I stuck to keto and it was one of my best decisions in my life. But it’s not true for everyone. But if keto feels horrible, maybe it’s just wrong food choices or bad attitude, timing, whatever.
Give me almost any other ketoer’s diet diet and I probably won’t like it, possibly I will feel it’s hell. But my own keto is really nice for me. It’s not a fixed diet, you have choices! So many choices… And maybe you can afford more carbs. I couldn’t go very low so I started with a generous amount and I got lucky. But it’s not safe, no one knows if it will be too much.

Some of us love the freedom to eat nearly anything we want. And I can do it on keto. I appreciate tiny amounts and I love my very low-carb desserts.

I like to cook and bake. I use very different recipes now as I mostly ate vegetable dishes that were too carby for keto. I kept some veggie dishes and made them lower-carb while keeping the great taste. Soups are borderline okay, that’s good. But I can’t fill my stomach with a veggie dish on keto, it’s just some lovely tiny side dish at most. But it’s fine.

It probably doesn’t work for many but when I was temporarily miserable due to my low carb intake, I just dropped it pretty seriously for a few days. It changed my attitude for good :smiley: I still know it’s low and I like to go off keto sometimes but I just can’t consider my keto very restrictive or extreme anymore. It was my only quick trick, I needed a lot of time for others as changes are usually slow when we need to break old habits. But we can change a lot if we wanted.

(Jane Srygley) #32

I get the misery! And I understand the all-or-nothing thinking and the desire to be vegetarian. There is a vegetarian keto group on facebook and even a vegan keto group, both very active with lots of fun recipes. I highly recommend getting a blood ketone monitor so that you can see how many carbs you can consume and remain in ketosis. I know nothing about your situation, health, etc., but if you feel that keto is what you need, I believe you can make it work. I have had to literally GRIEVE over foods that I loved and have had to either limit significantly or give up entirely. I will still eat carbs on certain special occasions, but sugar is OUT because I am way too addicted. Clinging to foods that I am emotionally attached to has probably been the biggest reason that I’m still struggling after all these years, to be honest. I hope you get past it sooner than I did. Hang in there :heart:

Edited to say that I highly suggest exploring what besides food can make you happy!!! I am working on finding ways to reduce my anxiety and participate in activities that I enjoy. That is a big help to keep me on track with my health goals.

(Tessa) #33

How is it going? Are you still keto or did you stop? Just curious how things are going for you and what you decided to do? I’m at 7.5 months keto and lately it’s been hard. I’ve thought about stopping. I’ve thought about just pausing it till after the holidays. I have been finding ways to talk myself into stopping because I haven’t lost so huge miracle amount of weight. However, when I go to eat I’m still making keto choices and can’t seem to bring myself to eat non keto stuff.

(Edith) #34

I’ve been keto for over two years now. I choose my days that I am going to enjoy carbs and then I go right back to keto the next day. There is nothing wrong with that.

I do believe that if one goes off keto for more than a day or two at a time, it really is just that much more difficult to get back on the wagon.

(traci simpson) #35

My vegetarian son very politely that Christmas dinner would be meat free so I’m gonna have to suck it up for that one evening and eat beans, and veggies.

(Edith) #36

That’s very nice of you. I would probably just have a meatless option since it was my own child. I would be much nicer to vegetarian friends I was having over for dinner. :joy:

(Jane Srygley) #37

I tend to gain a stupid amount of weight even after just one day (6 lbs after a mother’s day dinner last year) but I’m going to have some carbs over the next couple of days due to my hubby’s birthday. Fasting today and the day after!

(Utility Muffin Research Kitchen) #38

That’s water. The body stores up to 500g glucose (as glycogen) but it’s stored with additional water (1:4 approx). So eating 300g carbs can add up to 3 pounds on the scales, but most of it is water and will be gone after a couple of days. Add some more water due to salt intake and such, and you’re there. Nothing to worry about.

(Jane Srygley) #39

That is super interesting thank you! Last May, I stayed higher for awhile, unfortunately. I’m hoping that fasting immediately after will help, and based on what you said, getting the glycogen out through fasting should do the trick. Fingers crossed!

(Edith) #40

I understand that one for sure. And the annoying this is that it only takes one day to put on the water weight and almost a week for it to come off. :rage:

(traci simpson) #41

I told him that if he came to my house, I’d make sure he’d have his veggies but I guess he feels like his house, his rules.