Two weeks in 😊

#1

So today marks two weeks of the Keto WOE.

I’ve had to accept a few changes on the way, including reverting back to eating meat. I’d given up meat & fish last year as it just felt like the right thing to do. After delving into the world of Keto it soon became apparent that staying vegetarian was going to make my battle of the bulge so much more difficult. I’ve compromised and now look for ethical meat producers. It was never about the taste for me but boy am I am happy to be eating bacon again :blush:.

No idea if I’ve lost weight or not (I’m avoiding the scales) but the controversial urine sticks have been varying shades of pink/purple the entire time. Hubby says I’ve changed shape and work uniforms are a bit looser.

I’m still a bit hung up on calories, last night I almost reached 2000 which made me panic a little but then spent time reading through the forum and watching some UT, which blast the CICO hypothesis out of the water. It’s just so ingrained :roll_eyes:.

I’m generally eating two meals a day as I either eat breakfast late or find I’m just too full to consider eating at lunch.

So far, so good. So glad I found this forum.

(Carl Keller) #2

Hi Chezza. It sounds like you are doing great so far. :slight_smile:

The urine strips are very unreliable. They are ok for confirming the presence of ketones but the colors won’t indicate how well your body is using ketones. Even if yours are accurate, the range of colors simply means there are times you are producing more or less ketones, depending on your body’s demand for energy. If you really want an accurate measure of ketones, a blood meter will do a much better job of it.

1000 calories of broccoli doesn’t affect us the same way that 1000 calories of soda does. What we eat is far more important than how much we eat therefore our goal, in a weight loss setting, is to eat foods that our hormones (mainly insulin, ghrelin and leptin) have evolved to thrive on. When we eat protein and fat our insulin levels normalize much quicker after eating than if we eat sugars and starches and it also keeps us fuller for longer. This is why we restrict carbs, not calories.

(Lazy, Dirty Keto 😝) #3

Sounds like you’re starting to get the hang of it! Kudos to you :blush: and it’s good that you came to the realization that vegetarian Keto may not be the best fit for you. It’s not impossible, but it most certainly complicates things! I wish you the best of luck on your journey to health.

(Scott) #4

@Chezza at two weeks you have made it through the carb withdrawal so now the fun starts! Over the next six months and beyond you will rewire your cells to use fat and ketones for fuel. You will have some side effects too like feeling fantastic. Keep going forward on keto.

(Jane) #5

I like the phrase “Calories do count… but don’t count calories”

Like @CarlKeller said, not all calories are equal and they tell you nothing about how your body processes them.

If you get the majority of your calories from meat and protein you will keep you insulin response low and be able to burn your own body fat. Time-restricted eating helps even more. If you are hungry EAT. If not then don’t force it to meet a macro.

Over time you probably will naturally eat less as your hunger signals reduce.

You are off to a great start!

(Charlotte) #6

To address the ethical meat issue, my husband and I buy our meat in bulk (quarter cow increments) from a local organic grass fed cattle ranch. Buying locally sourced meat instead of mass produced from a grocery store you’ll find not only its more ethical but the quality is substantially higher.

(Marianne) #7

So happy for you! This is the best and easiest thing I have done. I am hooked and my husband is, too. This is a delicious and satisfying way of eating and is now our preference. Of course, we enjoyed the “bad” things we were eating before, but now we know that those foods are poison, seriously addictive, and the reason for a lifetime of failure and poor health. Not much of a trade-off to my way of thinking. Just wish more people would stop trashing keto and hop on board. Hope to see you on the forum!

#8

“1000 calories of broccoli doesn’t affect us the same way that 1000 calories of soda does.“

Well that is true since it takes 19 cups (that’s 1.25 gallons) of steamed broccoli to make 1000 calories and only competitive eaters could do that. Takes about a six pack of sodas to do that.

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #9

I was vegetarian before I started keto last fall. I thought I would struggle more with eating meat but my body’s response was such a good one I was convinced almost immediately it’s what I had been missing. I’m not carnivore keto, I still enjoy veggies, dairy and sometimes nuts. Regardless of the weight loss, I feel stronger and healthier. I hope you get this feeling too.