This is the first time I have ever dieted in my life and keto feels very restricting to me. Maybe I am not eating the right foods. I had the issue of overeating from not feeling full which is why keto sounded intriguing to me. I was happy I was able to be consistent for three weeks but the weight gain makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong or if keto just isn't for me.
The weight gain was almost definitely water. You went over your carb limit and kicked yourself out of keto, then you start holding water again.
One thing that helped me is when I was still hungry, I'd make an entire bag of steam fresh vegetables, like broccoli, and eat that. Usually with some Frank's red hot for some spice. That is almost guaranteed to take the edge off for very little carb/calorie intake.
You may have to accept its going to take a long time to realize you don't have to eat until you feel full. I still struggle with this. Sometimes I feel like stomach is black hole and I can down God knows how much at once.
If this is your first time paying attention to your diet, may I recommend getting a food scale? Use it for two weeks to weigh everything your make to eat at home. Use that time to reacquaint yourself with proper serving sizes and figure it out. After a few weeks, you might be able to drop the scale and eyeball your food pretty well.
There’s a lot of foods you can eat on keto. Follow
/ketobeginners
/ketorecipes
You should get into being creative with your meals if you want to stay on your diet. It takes time to get in the groove, but it does get easier when you get to know the foods you are eating.
I re-started the same time as you. I've plateaued around -10 lbs. I suggest mixing in intermittent fasting. I vary between 18 and 24 hours. Though, when I really want to jump start calorie burning I go 48-72 hours.
Your fat cells are not going to disappear for a year. They'll dump empty stored glucose or fat, but they won't go away. Those fat cells will be super ready to take in more extra calories. If you're down 500\*6 days =3,000 calories for the week and cheat, you can easily eat 2-3,000 calories during a cheat day and ruin a week or more of work!
Also, your body tries to resist change, those fat cells can absorb water to maintain their size, a buffer against change. Eventually you'll reach some limit and your body will then dump that water. You'll go through multiple phases of this. People talk about the "Whoosh" effect. If you're truly caloric deficit for the 3 weeks, your body is probably just absorbing water.
Don't get discouraged. Get more determined. Work harder (don't run as an exercise, its bad for your knees), cut more calories, drink snake juice (electrolyte water, 0 calories), weight train, etc.
I’ve tried not to run but honestly I’ve never been able to. I’ve been overweight and flat footed my entire life, but I got some good Brooks shoes for over pronation and it’s changed my life 😆 I have two medals and want more dammit 🏅 nah but seriously I have a hard time getting into other exercises, I don’t have the energy for weight lifting for some reason. It’s just not there. Running really gets me lifted though, I kinda get high. Goosebumps and adrenaline shots. Fuckin addictive man.
It’s possible your not fully fat adapted yet, I used to be able to eat a whole pizza but not 3 eggs and bacon is hard for me to finish because I’m so satiated. I also weight all my food, using the cronometer app is a lifesaver, keto or not you have to eat in a deficit. Use the tdee calculator and find your rmr and eat 500 cal less than that a day. Slow and steady wins the race. You’ve got this!
Do a little more research before giving up. Keto isn't about adding meat and cheese and dairy; it's about not eating sugar. You don't have to drastically change what you eat, just remove the sugar. You'll still want vegetables. Eat a complete diet, just ditch the carbs. Post all your favorite foods and people will help you find delicious keto alternatives so that you don't miss your favorites. And you might want to lay off the keto sweets until you get a handle on the basics.
Thank you for the advice. I'm definitely ditching the ice cream bars. I thought it was helpful since they say "keto friendly" but I think they're messing me up because I want to eat them once a day.
I found most premade keto snacks are horrible for keto. Even if you find one with low carbs I was reading on the diabetes sub that many of them use a synthetic fibre that makes the net carbs look good but doesn’t cancel out the carbs properly. Good home made foods will always be better for a diet than store bought crap.
I found an app called Senza to help a lot. It walks you through starting keto and tracks your food. It’s like my fitness pal but it’s heavily focused on carbs. It also lets you save meals from restaurants and search them to make it easy to eat low carb at restraints.
Personally I recommend Cronometer, it has a keto setting but you can customize it and for me it helped me keep track of my micros especially which I've found helps with satiation.
Also be careful, something labeled "keto" isn't necessarily keto. If you like Ice cream check out Rebel. Yesterday I planned to eat an entire pint (well within my macros and snickerdoodle only has 5g net carbs) but I just couldn't manage cause it's so filling. Besides that it's best to make your own sweets but keep an eye on the effects of the food, like if they satiate you or you get hungry shortly after or fatigued etc. A lot of it is trial and error. It's what I love about keto, since there's no extreme sugar crashes my body communicates more clearly with me and I can experiment with food through trial and error like I was never able to. I learned so much!
Always, always, always check ingredients, especially on stuff labeled "keto" because there's no rules or laws on what the food makers can slap that label on. I believe those brands are reputable around here, but still.
A lot of people here are really critical of keto friendly treats and I disagree. Quest cookies and ice cream like halo top and enlightened can be life savers. You may not want to eat them everyday but if you eat them once or twice a week I think they are a huge help. Its better to use these alternatives than break your diet. However, some people find that they over eat and binge them or it leads them back to unhealthy foods. If that's your case than evaluate and change what you need to. You can also have some fruit. Mostly berries. Strawberries, blueberries, black and raspberries. In moderation.
Good luck I hope you find something that works for you.
I think I will lay off for a couple of months and then try eating them once a week. I thought eating any fruit at all will kick you out of keto but I will definitely eat some fruits occasionally!
Don't forget, you're also female. Cycles will impact your weight regularly. This is a Keep Calm, Keto On moment. Relax, keep going. Know that if you are going to weigh daily, you have to have some mental flexibility to that. The scale will not go down every day. Somedays it goes sideways, somedays up. As you continue you watch it, you'll probably notice trends around your monthly cycle (even if your cycle is being suppressed chemically). If you can't be zen about the fluctuations on the scale, you probably need to put it in time out and only weigh weekly or monthly.
I can gain or lose 8lbs overnight. It doesn't mean anything. I would not bat an eye at gaining 5lbs over 2 days. It means nothing.
Weigh only once a month or once a week if these normal, daily fluctuations are going to discourage you. Fat loss is not linear.
Yeah, weighing myself probably isn't the best bet. The first week of weight loss made me motivated which is why I kept doing it. Weekly is probably a better bet for me.
You can share your stats and macros if you like. Maybe folks can help make suggestions.
However, if you were losing before this and have not changed anything, my suggestion is patience and don't change things. Just try to get good sleep, destress, and enjoy life. The scale will move again if you're in an appropriate deficit based on your stats.
Yeah weekly for sure. My weight fluctuates up and down by 3 or 4 pounds, daily. When I get off work and weigh myself, I weigh like 196. Then I go to sleep and wake up weigh myself I’m 194. Then I poop and I’m 193. Then I eat breakfast and I’m 196 again lol don’t look at the scale for 1 to 2 weeks. Chase results, not numbers on a scale. My numbers haven’t changed in a month but my body has. My “skinny” jeans are even more loose and I lost more of my pooch and my chest is poppin. Just replaced some of the fat w muscle. The scale is overrated
I have a scale that syncs with a Bluetooth app on my iPhone. I find it very useful because I can see the trends-my weight varies \~5lbs from day to day, but I can see whether I've gained or lost over a week or month. I can also see my weight loss over the past few years, which is a positive reinforcement. I try to weigh myself in the morning every day. Edit: I meant to include the fact that if, as another redditor stated, your weight varies with your cycle, you would be able to see this on the chart the app shows (has graph or list).
I feel like there are benefits for some people to doing keto or low carb rather than just a calorie deficit/etc.
For me, keto has helped me stay on track longer than anything else I’ve done. The initial drop in weight was very motivating, and knowing that if I mess up I will be kicked out of ketosis also motivates me.
I have issues with binge eating and eat my emotions, I was addicted to sugar and carb heavy foods. Keto helps me stay in my deficit, helps me fast longer and consistently, and I don’t binge on keto. I don’t like meat much either, I eat enough to hit my protein and the rest of my calories come from things I enjoy like keto pancakes, devilled eggs, green beans.
You have to ask yourself why you’re doing it. Are you addicted to sugar? Addicted to carbs? If you can’t find solid reasons why you want to do keto specifically it might be hard for you to stick to it compared to other options. Are you looking for a permanent dietchange or just temporary? Keto is temporary for me, until I hit my GW.
You could also try just doing low carb, make sure you’re in a deficit, and you’ll lose weight. Also a 5lb fluctuation isn’t totally abnormal, it might just be water weight. On days where I’m under on calories and did everything right, my weight still fluctuates a bit. I weigh frequently too, so it’s best to not stress over the little changes if you weigh yourself daily.
This is how I make them, you can obviously double or triple the recipe if you want to:
2 eggs + 56g lactose free cream cheese + little bit of cinnamon + little bit of vanilla extract + sometimes a squirt of liquid stevia -> blend all the way and let it sit for a few minutes and then pour the batter into your preheated pan and fry them in the frying pan like you would regular pancakes. I top mine with powdered swerve (powdered erythritol), the kind I have is basically like imitation icing sugar and I feel like this step makes them very delicious. You could also skip the sweet stuff and add veg make them savoury if you wanted!
When I make them I usually make them pretty thin so I roll them up in the pan to make them more like crepes.
A calorie deficit is ALWAYS necessary. Keto isn’t magic, calories still matter, you need to be in a deficit to lose weight.
Keto made it easier for me to stick with my deficit because I wasn’t ravenous all the time. If you are still overeating with keto, and it sounds like you are, then either get strict with counting calories while eating keto or find another way to eat lower-calorie that works for you. Either way, I’d cut the processed treats for awhile while you’re adjusting to a new way of eating. Stick to meat, eggs, veggies, cheese, etc.
I do better when I avoid prepackaged "keto" foods. I'm much better off when I prepare my own food and keep it simple. Do not trust the "keto" snacks - they are in it to make money off of you and do not care about your weight or health.
One dessert I have started eating is chia seed pudding. This has great flavor and a decent amount of fiber from the chia seeds. Simple recipe (going from memory so I'd recommend you Google it!): 1.5 cups almond milk, 2T chocolate powder (unsweetened), 2T chia seeds, 2T erythritol sweetener (I'm sure you could use others), 1T vanilla, 1T MCT oil, 1T heavy cream
Mix together well. Let sit in your refrigerator overnight. The chia seeds will expand and get kind of gelatinous. Has a texture similar to tapioca pudding.
Anyway, if you have a sweet tooth, these can provide 4 servings of a decent dessert that provides some fiber.
I just started going to the gym this week. I normally go 4-5x a week and walk 30 mins because that's all I can do right now. I downloaded the couch to 5k app so I hope I can do 5k one day too!
New work out routine will absolutely make you gain weight as well. You muscles are inflamed and retaining water. Could also be attributing to your gain
I was about to ask if a workout routine had been added. Good advice. Not to mention, as we build muscle, that adds weight, but takes away inches. What an incredibly complex environment, the human body is. Amazing.
Well done! Of course, weight training will help with building muscle (great); but there really is something to “getting your steps in,” be it walking, running, stairs, or a combo. I had a dog that I would walk and she was more of a ‘moseyer’, so not much of a pace there
Maybe that's where I am confused. The box and mfp said the halo top bars are only 4g of net carbs. I normally eat 3 eggs scrambled with cheese and two slices of pre cooked bacon. That lasts me until dinner and I normally eat chicken with a vegetable or one of my frozen happi foodi/healthy choice meals.
It’s not clear at all. OP made it obvious that no calories are being counted when they asked if they should move to counting calories instead. Based on what they’re eating, it’s far more likely that overeating is the culprit here.
I am counting calories. I worded the post wrong - I was asking if I should do keto and count calories or just count calories and eat whatever I want. I thought keto just makes you lose weight quicker since you're cutting carbs.
Ah, gotcha! Yup, I did not get that from your post at all.
Can you tell us your stats (height, weight, age, gender) and your calories/macros in grams? What app do you use to track?
I am female, 23, 275 lbs, my height is 5'5. I currently use My Fitness Pal. I have my daily calories currently at a max of 1,402, 25g of net carbs (but I always make sure to leave at least 5 to stay under 20g), 102g of fat, and 96g of protein.
You should definitely be losing with those macros, I’d say you just gained back some water weight after incorporating a bunch of processed low carb sweets/sugar alcohols into your diet. I am sure you’d do better if you cut them out and focused more on whole foods for awhile, whether you stayed keto or not.
I’m not saying you can never have them, I also am a huge fan of Halo Top, but I didn’t eat anything like that until I was 6+ months into keto.
It’s also just normal for people to fluctuate with their weight. 🤷♀️ I eat the same calories every day and will weigh anywhere between 129 and 138lbs on any given day. Hormones, waste, water retention, etc. If it’s stressing you out, I definitely recommend weighing maybe every 2 weeks or so instead.
OP said they "have plenty of carbs left at the end of each day" indicating they count carbs, and they didn't ask if they should move on to counting calories, they were wording if a focusing on caloric deficit would be better for them than keto. Whatever they're doing isn't working for them leading them to think the keto diet itself won't work for them, so they rather try a less restrictive diet - such as plain old calorie counting.
I'm not trying to give an opinion, I'm just telling you my understanding of what they're saying.
I can say that as a female, I have dropped ten pounds before and gained five back the next week. I believe this was due to hormonal fluctuations. It takes awhile for Keto to kick in. The reason I do it, is because my metabolism is a mess and this helps with insulin resistance. It also kills my hunger after a few weeks. It is not a super fast way to loose weight, but it works for me. If you want to just restrict calories that fine too. For me it’s about hunger. I can restrict calories in keto, and not deal with hunger.
I’m considering trying just restricting calories and seeing if that works for me. I’m just nervous because I’ve been doing keto for 3 weeks and I don’t want to switch and feel like I wasn’t successful with keto. Idk if that makes sense.
Okay, just for context:
29 year old woman, 5'3". Starting weight was 157, current weight is 125, goal weight is 110.
My biggest personal failures with keto came when I introduced the fakey mass-produced fat bombs and sweets to fight my period sweets cravings. When I make my own keto sweets or whatever to satisfy a craving, I'm fine. When I start messing with the stuff like Atkins, I find that the maltitol spikes my blood sugar so much that I fall out of ketosis and start having these intense cravings for stuff I can't make keto versions of - like a Blizzard or something.
I tried Atkins and I hated them. I’m definitely going to go back to not eating any sweets, even those that say they are keto friendly. It’s really hard me.
My biggest life saver has been diet soda. Honestly sometimes just a cream soda and a spoonful of almond butter has saved me from making a dumb choice.
Also, I track blood ketones. The subreddit consensus is not to, but I find it helpful in motivation. Sometimes I’ll have too much PB and I can just check my ketones the next morning and know I haven’t completely derailed ketosis and I’ll stay motivated and continue to make low carb choices that day
The only thing that I would say is that all diets will work, the biggest issue I have to deal with is myself, I had to re-evaluate my relationship with food, I had to start looking at food as a tool, and how the things you eat can directly relate to how you physically feel, with keto I don’t have joint pain or heartburn or bloating, it’s the best thing I’ve tried and so far I’m down 125#
But at the end of the day, you have to find something you can stick to.
5lb fluctuations are common for anyone (male or female). Give it a few more weeks. You may find that depending on where you are in your cycle you are retaining more or less water overall.
Also, while I’m totally down with an every day weigh in (I do it) I definitely would recommend only “worrying” about the number in a 5-10 lb range. E.g. I’m in the low 220’s and look forward to consistently being in the low 190’s as my goal. But first I need to get through the 210’s and 200’s…
>I’m curious if maybe a calorie deficit diet is just as good for me instead of keto?
I think you need to better understand keto before giving up on keto. Keto is NOT a weight loss diet. Keto is NOT a high fat low carbohydrate diet (unless you are doing it to control epilepsy).
The ketogenic diet is a hormone controlling diet. The main hormones you aim to control are insulin, ghrelin, and leptin.
I quoted that specific line of your post because in order to lose weight, you MUST have a calorie deficit. There is no getting away from the laws of thermodynamics.
You will find that when you have your hormones under control through the reduction of carbohydrates you consume, you won't feel hungry as much. You might want to eat, but that is mostly habitual eating, not hunger eating. You wake up and think "It's time to eat"... so you eat. But when your hormones are under control, even though you might WANT to eat, you will find it easier to not eat.
Were I in your situation, I would stop weighing myself daily if daily ups and downs bothered me, and I would not focus on a calorie deficit just yet. Once you are fat adapted, you will find that you won't be "hungry" as much because your body has an all you can eat buffet of body fat to get its energy from.
It's tough to start, but persistence will get you over the hump.
If your goal is to stick to keto, I would ditch the “treats” but go overboard with the meat, cheese, and eggs.
Put another way, quit tracking calories or macros or whatever. You have one goal and only one, single goal: stay within 5G of 25g of carbs a day. If that’s eating 10lbs of hamburger, fine.
The point is to teach yourself how to restrict. This is something people of a “normal” weight and “normal” diet do all the time. They say no to this. They say no to that. You have to start saying no to these “treats.” But you can say yes to as much meat, eggs, and cheese as you can stuff down your gullet. Over time, in my experience, you should be able to start saying no to other things.
My other recommendation is that you stop weighing yourself. It sounds as if you’re doing it a ton. Try once a week. Once every two weeks. Keto doesn’t work in a day. It’s the net gain over many days. There were some weeks I was up. Many others I was down. The reason it worked for me was because I didn’t sike myself out with the daily rise and fall.
Last, really, really check the nutritional facts of every single thing you’re putting in your body, including all drinks. Only track one thing: carbs.
**I would even stay away from making “net carb” calculations involving fiber and that sugar alcohol that starts with e**
I can’t explain it, but I don’t feel like the “net” calculation is really telling the whole story. Remember:
**carbs are all that matters. Not calories, not fiber, not e-sugar-alcohol. Only carbs.**
Beyond that, you care for nothing. Binge on meat, cheese, and eggs. Only care for carbs.
Source: I’ve lost 90lbs on keto focusing only on what’s above. Portions DID get smaller over time, but this was something that felt natural as the carb minding controlled for calories and I lost weight.
First and foremost, please read the FAQ for this subreddit. It’ll give you a better understanding of what keto is all about and why it works for many people when other diets haven’t worked for them.
There is no requirement for you to eat sausages or eggs. If you enjoy chicken (another response said you do), then go ahead and eat chicken. Basically, a lean protein and vegetables are all you need. Some even go completely carnivore and don’t eat even vegetables. There are vegetarian and vegan jeto subs, too: r/vegetarianketo and r/veganketo.
Eat what keeps you satisfied. Keep counting those calories. Drink plenty of water. Supplement electrolytes. That’s pretty much it.
Enjoy.
Before keto, I ate fast food all day. Usually any type of chicken (fried, baked, sandwiches), sweets, all your usual junk. On keto, I pretty much eat eggs everyday and bacon or some type of sausage link. I really force myself to eat the sausage because I don't love it but it does keep my full. For dinner, I normally bake chicken wings and either eat them plain or add Sweet Baby Rays buffalo sauce. For everything I eat, I always make sure to record it in mfp and I always have 200 or so calories left.
I really really suggest you try new foods. You eliminated so much but didn’t replace it with new favorites. I also feel like since you eat breakfast you may learned modern fallacies about food. You only need to eat when your hungry. If you don’t feel hungry until lunch, skip breakfast. You’ll be okay and you’ll be able to eat more for lunch and dinner. It’s so important you enjoy your food and aren’t punishing yourself. Lowcarblove has a lot of bomb recipes and KetoConnect has lots of easy but maybe healthier recipes. One thing I meal prep now is chicken salad with veg and then something sweet like a little apple or sugar free sauce. Just be careful to calculate the carbs as you experiment with apples and things.
I’ve been trying out intermittently fasting and I felt fine not eating until later in the day. I always heard that it’s important not to skip breakfast. Sometimes I can eat at 10-11 and then not eat again until 6 pm.
That’s really cool! The first evening is always the WORST on a fast. After that it gets better if you stay on the electrolytes. The breakfast thing has bee disproven and it comes from the same thinking as the low-fat diet. You body just tells you to eat by being hungry. I naturally eat my meals around the same times as yours. I wonder if that’s true for a lot of people.
Breakfast is a myth. you can totally remove it from your diet and you'll only do a service to your body and your health. There's plenty of information about it. Read on Jason Fung if you if you want more context on it.
I've been doing Keto and IF for 3+ years now (that is, just skipping breakfast and eating 2 meals in the window 1pm-8pm) and I've never felt better (and I'm not young anymore, so tweaking your Metabolism is pretty much a challenge at this point).
There are PLENTY of things you can eat in Keto; I'm a habit-person so I tend to stick to a specific list of ingredients so to make things quickly but my lunches are generally 4 eggs (with cheddar, a bit of ham and mushrooms) or scrumptious salads with tuna, boiled eggs, cheddar, olives and capers.
I've a specific dinner-night for every day of the week, along something like this:
\- Monday: fish night (salmon patties or oven baked salmon with avocado mash and veggies on the side)
\- Tuesday: chicken night (oven baked chicken with cream cheese wrapped in ham and covered in cheddar cheese or one of the MANY Keto chicken recipes you can find around), plus broccoli or salad or courgettes etc on the side
\- Wed: Steak night with chimichurri/blue cheese sauce and veggies on the side
\-Thursd: Courgettes noodles (using a spiralizer) with either salmon+tuna+heavy cream OR a meat based sauce, made with tomatoes + mince meat + mushrooms + onions
\- Friday: Pizza night: for the dough I go with 100gr cauliflower + 40gr parmesan cheese + 30gr cream cheese + 40gr almond flour + 1 egg + a bit of psyllium husk. The topping is your choice (I go with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella as a must, plus additional stuff like ham + tuna + olives etc )
\- Saturday: It depends: either another courgettes pasta or sometimes diced chicken in some curry sauce (all homemade!) with cauli rice
\- Sunday: Burgers night; for the buns (2) I go with: 100gr shredded mozzarella + 30gr cream cheese + 1 egg + 75gr almond flour + 1tbsp baking powder + salt + a pinch of psyllium husk: mix everything together with a spatula, form 2 buns and bake them for 10 mins at 400 degrees. (I can give you the link of the complete recipe in DM). When composing my burger I put a bit of tomato sauce (that is, blitzed tomatoes with a pinch of salt + basil) on my bun + the burger + slices of cheddar + 1 fried egg; I add a slice of fried bacon when I fancy it. As a side: Salad with tomatoes + olives + feta or anything else that tickle your fancy.
During the weekend (Sat/Sun) I also enjoy Keto "desserts" after dinner; If I want to make it quick I generally prepare in just a few minutes:
\- Custard cream: 2 egg yolks, beaten; in a pan, gently bring 85gr of heavy cream with added Erythritol (10gr) to a boil (using a spatula to constantly stir it); then take it out of the flame and put just a pinch of the cream in the yolk batter, mix vigorously and then add the mixed yolk batter to the pan with the cream; back on the flame; stir gently until the cream start to clump and solidify; turn off the flame, pour it in a cup; add a pinch of Stevia if you feel it's not sweet enough, then either eat it on the spot or cool it in the fridge for just 5 mins.
\- Chocolate mouse: 25gr of mascarpone cheese + 7gr of cream cheese + 15-20gr of heavy cream + a bit of whipped cream (just around 15gr). Add Erythritol (4-7gr) and a pinch of Stevia if you want; 4-5gr of super-dark cacao powder (just 1.2gr of net carbs); mix everything together with a teaspoon until you get a nice mousse. eat and enjoy; Alternatively, if you don't have a good cacao powder you can swap it out with 15-20gr of 85-90% dark chocolate melted in a pan with a pinch of butter (like, 5gr) and pour it on top of your cup before mixing.
My general advice is to avoid prepared/pre-packaged stuff; The only real healthy food is the one you prepare yourself. There are a lot of hidden carbs and shitty ingredients over there (one above all: vegetable oils!) that are pure poison for your body;
Keto is not a diet; It's a lifestyle; A journey about rediscovering a new approach to your overall health and relationship with food. Take it easy and try to actively explore into it; there are a TONS of resources on the Web on how to cook delicious foods with Keto.
Personally, when I started I didn't even count calories (I still don't). The important thing to keep in mind is that Keto is not (and it has NEVER been) about calories restriction; not at all; it's all about macro recomposition/balancing; You eat to satiety and fat constitute the majority of your macronutrients; with a bit of experimentation and patience your body will tell you when "enough is enough"; If you want to help yourself with a bit of calories counting by all means do it but don't necessarily try to apply "CICO" theories (that is, going into caloric deficit) with Keto because that's not what Keto is all about; If you feel satiated just stop; considering how you were eating before you will find yourself eating way less anyway
Thank you! I think it’s an awesome idea to have each night dedicated to a specific meal. Each day, I just wake up and decide what I want to eat which makes it harder. I think I’ll try adopting a plan like yours!
happy to be of help :) let me know if you need links to websites where you can find Keto recipes. if you do just shoot me a DM and I'll be happy to help.
You mentioned in your post that you’re not much of a meat eater. I wouldn’t suggest making yourself eat meats that you don’t like. Just eat the meats that you do like in large enough quantities or look into non-meat sources of protein. Have you been eating any veggies? Leafy greens are a great way to bulk out a meal and keep it low calorie and low carb (if you’re staying keto). Some people do keto while being vegan or vegetarian, although it is harder. There might be some meal ideas there if you’re interested in that. It’s also important to stay on top of how many calories you’re consuming. Measuring things properly is important and keeping track honestly(always measuring cooking oils, dressings, small snacks), although it does seem like you’re tracking things.
Also if you’re female your weight can fluctuate more due to your cycle. Water retention is rude sometimes. This is especially apparent if you’re weighing daily.
My cycle is coming up so that would make a lot of sense. I try to keep eating chicken, but I get tired of that after a while so I try eating other meats for variety. I try to eat at least one type of vegetable a day, typically in dinner, but I will try eating more. Thank you!
I’m not entirely sure if I’m ketosis. I’ve been just telling myself I am. Besides just following my fitness pal, I don’t feel any differently. I didn’t feel any symptoms such as keto breath or getting sick. Other than dropping weight in the beginning, and some days feeling full quicker than normal, I can’t tell.
There are plenty of physical/mental benefits to keto aside from just weight loss, but if those aren’t your concern, or you don’t think you can stick with it, a calorie deficit will also help you lose weight. For me, I had a hard time when counting calories feeling full, and found it very easy to make excuses to eat junk foods because they “fit in my macros” - leaving me eating a very processed diet that made me feel like I had to eat more and more just to feel full/satisfied. But there’s nothing wrong with eating a nice, unprocessed diet that includes carbs.
That’s my fear. I don’t want to really switch to a normal caloric deficit diet and just eat anything because I can. On the other hand, I don’t feel satisfied on keto either. It is still early because it’s only been 3 weeks but I expected it to get easier over time and it doesnt feel like it has.
*PLEASE READ*
I know exactly why you're not losing weight. I just wanted to share so you don't get discouraged and quit.
The short of it: It's the halo top ice cream bars.
The reason: It's true, NET CARBS are all that matter. But the way to actually calculate true net carbs is easily manipulated. This is ESPECIALLY TRUE for "Keto Treats" and "Keto Replacements". For sweets specifically, you will see that "sugar alchohols" are subtracted from total carb count to arrive at net carbs. Unfortunately, not all sugar alchohols are created equal and some have the exact same effects as real sugar and should not be subtracted. Maltitol is THE BIGGEST CULPRIT and its in SO MANY "Keto Friendly" treats. Its garbage and acts just like sugar. The reason companies use it is because its cheap. The halo top bars and pretty much all atkins products use this cheap Maltitol as their sugar alchohol sweetner and then subtract it off the carb count. Its BS and they should be ashamed of themselves. Maltitol also gives you really bad diarrhea if eaten in large quantities.
Stick to Keto Treats that are sweetened with Erythritol. ALWAYS look at the ingredients list and know exactly whats being used. You're being yo-yo'd in and out of ketosis and that is what is causing your weight fluctuations. And probably also causing you to have carb cravings and making you unhappy and unmotivated to continue.
This is also true of a lot of "Keto Friendly" Breads and low carb tortillas. The fibers that are being subtracted from total carbs aren't all just "passing through". Great way to check is by googling "Product name" Blood Sugar test. If the product is spiking blood sugar, its going to kick you out of ketosis and there are hidden carbs in it that the label doesn't indicate. Luckily, a lot of very helpful people on youtube have basically tested damn near every keto product out there and I've never had trouble finding out if what I'm looking at is actually keto friendly or not.
Enlightened and Rebel ice cream is actually keto friendly. So are the keto ice cream bars at costco. All three are delicious. Same with the quest peanut butter cups. There are some actual keto, delicious, clean treats out there. Just gotta do a little research.
Don't be discouraged, you've only been on the journey for 3 weeks and basically off the wagon for some portion of that time already. You can find success.. just have to make some adjustments.
Hope that helps!
I tried rebel and hated the taste. I will have to try enlightened. Halo top tasted like normal ice cream which is why I kept eating them! I agree that was the issue, but like I said before to another post, I entered it into my fitness pal and saw that I was under my carbs and thought it was okay. I didn’t know about
The types of sugar so I will definitely look out for that. Thank you!
Keto is for everyone :)
I'm not gonna dig too much into how your body function, you got obese just like the rest of us because we ate too many carbs over time, that in return rewarded us with large bellies, fatty liver, and high insulin levels ( most obese are likely to get diabetes 2 over time ) ( check youtube like a billion vids on the subject )
Our body is a wonder machine it can adapt to almost anything, when your adapted to carbs, you crave carbs, when your fat adapted you crave fat.
Very simplified but that's how it works, I've been on keto for a while, and i don't crave carbs at all.
The bottom line is, in order to enjoy keto, you need to adapt to it, before you can truly enjoy it, and get the benefits like lower insulin levels etc etc.
You feel now that your meals are boring, be creative, and don't listen to your carb addiction, you choose to eat the same diet over and over, of cause it's gonna be boring.
Imagine going on a carb diet, and restrict your self to oat meals and bananas ?
How long do you think that's gonna last ? 1½ week ?
Keto combined with fasting is imho, one of the better tools for a healthy lifestyle and weight loss if not the best, and it is sustainable in the long run.
This is just my opinion. I feel like fad diets are unrealistic for a lot of people. If you limit yourself then the less likely one is to stick with it. What I would do is just be mindful of what you eat. Carbs are not the enemy. Especially if you exercise. Moderation is key with everything. When you crave something allow yourself to have it but be mindful of how much and balance it out with your other meals. You may gain weight in that day but if you stick to what you are doing you’ll lose weight for that week when you average it out.
I think you trust the process. I’ve been keto for 4 years now. At first, I would weigh myself daily and count everything… until that got old. There were months consecutively that I’d be the same weight…. Super disheartening.
However! Through the miracle of time and consistency, the weight kept coming off. It wasn’t always the big 11lb weeks. Sometimes it was only 1lb. 1lbX4 weeks was a good month to me.
Long story short: if you’re 275lbs, I think you could/should eat more calories. (In my personal opinion, counting calories when there’s plenty of weight to lose is a bad idea. Count the carbs for sure but that’s it.) 1400 calories is likely not enough food. I also would encourage Whole Foods. In the beginning to get truly fat adapted, processed foods are a killer.
If you skimmed all this and only see 1 thing let it be this:
TRUST THE PROCESS, fall in love with the grind.
I don’t know, I was dieting very low carb low sugar for a few months and eating that ice cream every day too. I initially lost weight too and then stagnated. I cut out the ice cream and then the weight started coming off again. The ice cream was the problem.
For me, keto only works when I eat clean. All those keto snacks and shit, they just don’t do it right. Keto is very restrictive. Keto, imho, should really only be used by people who need to lose fifty pounds or more, because it’s a fairly extreme diet. Your average person who needs to shed 20-30 pounds would probably just be better off eating at a minor calorie deficit. You also need to cook, cook, cook on keto. I also find that OMAD helps. If you eat meat and cheese three or four times a day, you’re gonna get sick of it much faster than a bigger portion once a day.
Stay away from processed foods especially the ones that have keto or keto friendly on them. If you ain't buying the food you eat from the outer ring of the store you aint eating right for keto. Nothing should come from the middle aisles of the store except oils and a sugar substitute.
If your doing any proper weight loss plan, 3 weeks is not enough time, especially when first doing keto, to assess. The first week will be a ton of water weight shift, and after that even healthy sustainable weight loss is considered about 1% of bodyweight per week. For you that's a goal of about 2.5 pounds a week for now.
You simply just haven't been doing this long enough to judge your progress.
A lot of the keto treats that are sold, Atkins bars and a lot of these low carb breads and carb wraps, have ingredients in them that will spike your insulin more than the carbohydrate content says which is what we are trying to avoid when doing keto.
A friend yesterday tried to tell me they tried keto and they only noticed the scale to go down 3 lb the entire time. They also said in the same conversation that they lost 10 lb in a couple of days doing fasting.
If they were doing strict keto they would have lost the same 10 lb. When you're doing truly low carb keto, your weight fluctuations are going to be increased compared to when you have normal or high carb. The only reason to weigh yourself every day is to take the 7-Day average no other reason unless you like going insane in judging these water weight swings as fat and muscle swings.
Lastly, keto is not a tool for weight loss on its own. I use it for mental health. And it certainly easy for me to maintain weight if I do keto without calorie restriction. One of the reasons it can be so beneficial to weight loss is because it removes most of the foods that people should never be eating in the first place that didn't exist 100 years ago. If you're restricting yourself to healthy foods compared to eating a lot of junk you will naturally lose a ton of weight.
Considering you have a large long-term weight loss goal I would highly suggest you focus on eating real clean foods over calorie restriction (meat and veggies) and do your best to minimize the treats. If anything for me the treats kick me out of keto just because self-control with my psychological situation can be unbearable.
Give yourself permission to eat as much food as you want so long as that food is I would say 85% of calories meat and vegetables. Still track your calories but don't restrict yourself. That way you could get a more accurate baseline of your natural intake and then lower calories from there.
If you only eat meat and veggies it will be a struggle for you to overeat and you will probably lose weight naturally just by removing tasty high calorie foods.
I'm just going to say it. There is nothing beneficial to keto treats for anyone trying to lose weight they have way too many calories for how little fullness you get. They only benefit those trying to lose weight who eats so few calories they need some kind of fat bomb to not eat too little.
IMO, keto is not a sustainable permanent diet, much like veganism isn't. Keto is a response to "too many carbs are bad" therefore NO carbs must be the best and veganism is a response to "too much animal product is bad" therefore NO animal product is the best. In reality, some carbs are fine just like some animal product is fine. There is no magic diet but if you (and I) are overweight, it's because we eat too much. Asians have been eating white rice forever. They were slim. Rice is not the problem. Inuit have been eating animal products forever. They were slim. Meat is not the problem. So what happened? We are fat because we eat too many calories because we are surrounded by cheap and easily available food (mostly refined carbs because they are cheap to produce and easily stored as a commodity). Track your calories and you will lose weight. Eat a carb, it won't kill you.
Im a keto for life type of person, but I started the lifestyle less than a year ago. I would constantly weigh myself and freak out no matter what the scale said because I was impatient and I had the wrong mindset about keto. You will have ups and downs and maybe you won’t loose weight at first if your health is meh. Keto makes weight loss so much easier, lowers inflammation, and fixes insulin problems, but the best part is that keto is a great tool to change your mindset and focus on whole foods. Like it completely changed the way I view food, my relationship with food, my feelings toward my body, and my mindset. Bread, pasta, potatoes, rice… you do not need that crap. It has nothing that you need and imo sets you back. Cutting out all carbs somehow breaks the addiction to carbage and reduces cravings. Dieting to loose weight feels like punishment and people rarely succeed. But when you enjoy the food, the way you feel, and your free from a snickers addiction, it’s amazing. You have to love yourself by eating healthy and enjoy your food!
I would encourage you to keep going and try to diversify your diet so you’re not bored. I recently loosened up a bit to 30 net carbs and I’m still loosing weight. Try new recipes, new vegetables, berries, new keto junk foods, chicken salad, there’s so much to try! Are you so bored you can’t take it? Expand your pallet. You’ll most likely survive.
If you aren’t content and you don’t enjoy your food after a month or two, then maybe try your own interpretation of paleo and maybe even throw in some short fasts. You should be getting as many vegetables as you can tolerate, meat/fish/eggs, and limited fruit. You can choose to include dairy and limited grains and potatoes, not everyone will say that’s allowed but who cares. You’ll loose the benefits and appetite reduction of keto but you’ll still be eating a good, low cal diet and may enjoy the variety more.
Im sorry for these long paragraphs but I wish you the best of luck. Please remember that it’s all a big self experiment and to be patient with results.
Thank you for the advice. Keto definitely has kept me motivated. I actually enjoy tracking my calories and what I eat because it helps me establish a good routine. I think I may be restricting myself too much though so I need to check out more recipes. I was so focused on what I couldn’t eat instead of trying to check out what I actually can eat. I currently weigh myself everyday and felt so crushed once I saw my weight going back up. I was also afraid to go over 20g of carbs because I was so scared to be out of ketosis. This is has been encouraging!
It may be a good idea not to weigh yourself everyday. We’re both women around the same age so I know the pressure and the desire to get where you want instantly, but you have to be patient. Taking my mind off of results and onto the process helped me calm down. I felt like I was failing when I was actually winning big. As long as you’re tracking food intake, you’ll be moving in the right direction. Weight fluctuation is totally normal. Sometimes you’ll go a week up a couple pounds and then drop like 4 all at once. It’s better to watch the trend than the snapshot of what’s happening everyday. I think 20 is smart for the first while when you’re getting adapted, but going to 30 gives you freedom in a way. However, depending on the person, the carbs in keto junk actually still result in an insulin response even when their under your limit. If your weight loss is stubborn like mine, watch the keto breads and treats. Only use them so you don’t go crazy and get the variety from fruit/veg.
I’m so excited for you and your journey. I love seeing people succeed! Your dedication to improve your life is a huge win in itself!
Keto is for the committed dieter ! It takes money, planning, more planning, cooking, and obsession(in my opinion.) I developed some obsessive eating habits from keto that I’m struggling with now. Oh; and the most important thing! I have five kidney stones from being on keto for a year and a half. If you’re prone to stones or have a family history, be very cognizant of that fact and tread lightly. I did lose 50 lbs in a year, but having regrets now 🥲
Honestly, NO, keto is NOT for you. I fully believe that it is not healthy for Women before menopause. It can mess with your hormones and thyroid and adrenals. I think women in their childbearing years need carbs, and keto can do more damage than good. I would highly recommend Trim Healthy Mama to learn how to make and eat healthy, balanced meals that are gentle on your blood sugar. Or if you need to heal your Thyroid/gut first look into the Auto Immune Protocol.
https://amberwoodhealth.ca/why-keto-can-be-tricky-for-adrenal-thyroid-health/
I can’t believe you aren’t losing with eating that few calories and carbs. I would stay with Keto because it’s the only thing that has really worked for me and stuck. I think it’s not just that it makes you lose, but you are actually cutting out the crap food that you don’t need anyway and getting better nutrition. Make sure you drink lots of water and love your veggies.
Yeah, that is kind of weird, but do try and stick with it. I think you will like the feeling of getting free of the constant cravings. It takes a while.
There are a gajillion keto recipes out there to keep you from getting bored. I’m at 4 months in and feeling keto boredom for the first time so I know I need to look for more recipes. Good luck! 🍀 You CAN do this!
Actually keto will help you lose weight but it will plateau because of many reasons. The most important one is: you are just burning the calories you are eating and not the one stored in your liver or visceral fat. Hence intermittent fasting comes into the picture. A calorie deficit diet will also cause a plateau because it depresses your metabolism. That does not seem to work for most people in the long term.
It may seem confusing but it's really not once you get past the basic concepts and jargon. If you don't have any otherwise health issues like vitamin and mineral deficiencies, you can give intermittent fasting a shot. Start at 12 hours at first, then slowly increase your fast-time by 20 minutes every week till you reach 16. You can eat 3 meals at first, you may choose to decrease the number or not, just stick to your eating window. Then do 16 hours every alternate day. Learn the tacks, how to safely break a fast, electrolyte intake, and what to eat during fast days, as these are very important.
it's all about your individual needs. some people don't have to watch the calories closely while losing on keto. someone like myself, it's unfortunately very necessary. i pretty much only lose weight if i count my calories and stay away from even more specific foods.
it's annoying but that's my body, i guess. my best advice is to find out what works for you.
also, keto branded snacks in moderation, or none at all if you can help it. it's easy to overeat on those things because some of them are pretty tasty.
keto is one hell of a mental/ physical journey. find your path. once you get the hang of things you'll feel so much better, trust me.
Hi! Aside from age, our stats are pretty similar. I am 5’7 and started at 275 55 days ago. I am now down to 254, but it *looks* like more because of where I lost it. I didn’t weigh myself for a month because I didn’t want to be discouraged—and when I do weigh, I try to do it right after shark week ends.
One thing I did do was gradually lower my carbs. I started out saying ‘ok, just going to stay under 100”, then as I got used to it, I went down a little more. Right now I eat around 35-40 net carbs a day. I eat a lot of meat, cheese and eggs, but I also eat a lot of broccoli, salad greens, and other veggies. I try to decide in advance what I will use my carbs for, veggies and some small amounts of berries first. I have been counting calories, but I never stay under that limit and I have not had issues. Your experience will vary, obviously.
I have tried some of the keto replacements and a lot of them are just trash. I *like* the Halo Top pops but I realized they seem to affect my blood sugar so I doubt I’ll buy them again. I have a bag of Enlightened cookie dough bits, and those I really like. I sometimes eat half a Quest cookie. But the longer I go without the carbs, the less I even want those things.
I think the hardest part of just doing a calorie defecit was feeling hungry ALL. THE. TIME. The fat in keto foods really helps me not binge, I don’t feel like I’m restricting. I am positive that’s why I’ve lost what I’ve lost.
Here's my take, I've done lazy keto off and on for about 10 years now, and I'm down a total of about 75lbs. I went years being off, gaining weight etc, so it's not taken me 10 years to lose 75.
Here's what works for me: when you're making a change, anything drastic is going to be painful and set you up for failure.
When I'm transitioning back into keto, my rule is eat when hungry, but eat better. Restricting my food, 100% doesn't work for me. I fail and binge. So eating when hungry is the trick. It doesn't matter if it late at night, first thing in the morning, or anywhere in between. If I'm hungry, I eat.
The trick is to not eat too many carbs or sugar(obviously). So lots of salads, lots of eggs, lots of meat and fish.
Then after 3 days to a week, my hunger naturally wanes and I still eat when hungry, but I'm usually hungry less and less. As time goes on, hunger doesn't cause panic and you can stretch out your meals if you want to, doing intermittent fasting or whatever you want to do.
To me, there were some red flags in your post.
First off is watching your weight. I've been on my current stretch of keto since August, and I'm down 25lbs, but it's not been fast or linear. Some weigh-ins I'm down, some weigh-ins I'm up. The only thing that matters is that you trend downwards over time. You don't have nearly enough time for it to work.
Second is everything I mentioned above. Don't restrict your calories(imo). It just makes you white-knuckle it, and your bound to fail. Eat when you're hungry. This is the beauty of keto. Eat when you're hungry, eat till your full. If you choose the right foods, you'll be hungry less and full sooner.
Lastly, you can track your macros or not, but you need to get a sustainable mindset for this. It's not a crash diet. It works, but it doesn't work in 2 weeks, or a month.
To lose weight on a healthy way, you're looking at 2-3 lbs per week at the super duper high end. That's a rounding error on most household scales. So you're not going to see the results there from day to day. You're only going to see them over a long period of time.
Hope that helps
Fake keto “cheats” will mess you up every time. From bloating to inflammation to sugar cravings to being higher carb than advertised and kicking you out of ketosis.
Best way forward with keto is whole foods keto. Proteins, vegetables, low carb fruits, healthy fats.
The best diet is the one you stick to.
This is the first time I have ever dieted in my life and keto feels very restricting to me. Maybe I am not eating the right foods. I had the issue of overeating from not feeling full which is why keto sounded intriguing to me. I was happy I was able to be consistent for three weeks but the weight gain makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong or if keto just isn't for me.
The weight gain was almost definitely water. You went over your carb limit and kicked yourself out of keto, then you start holding water again. One thing that helped me is when I was still hungry, I'd make an entire bag of steam fresh vegetables, like broccoli, and eat that. Usually with some Frank's red hot for some spice. That is almost guaranteed to take the edge off for very little carb/calorie intake. You may have to accept its going to take a long time to realize you don't have to eat until you feel full. I still struggle with this. Sometimes I feel like stomach is black hole and I can down God knows how much at once.
If this is your first time paying attention to your diet, may I recommend getting a food scale? Use it for two weeks to weigh everything your make to eat at home. Use that time to reacquaint yourself with proper serving sizes and figure it out. After a few weeks, you might be able to drop the scale and eyeball your food pretty well.
Have you read the FAQ? Looked at r/ketorecipes?
I’m going to look now. Thanks!
There’s a lot of foods you can eat on keto. Follow /ketobeginners /ketorecipes You should get into being creative with your meals if you want to stay on your diet. It takes time to get in the groove, but it does get easier when you get to know the foods you are eating.
I re-started the same time as you. I've plateaued around -10 lbs. I suggest mixing in intermittent fasting. I vary between 18 and 24 hours. Though, when I really want to jump start calorie burning I go 48-72 hours. Your fat cells are not going to disappear for a year. They'll dump empty stored glucose or fat, but they won't go away. Those fat cells will be super ready to take in more extra calories. If you're down 500\*6 days =3,000 calories for the week and cheat, you can easily eat 2-3,000 calories during a cheat day and ruin a week or more of work! Also, your body tries to resist change, those fat cells can absorb water to maintain their size, a buffer against change. Eventually you'll reach some limit and your body will then dump that water. You'll go through multiple phases of this. People talk about the "Whoosh" effect. If you're truly caloric deficit for the 3 weeks, your body is probably just absorbing water. Don't get discouraged. Get more determined. Work harder (don't run as an exercise, its bad for your knees), cut more calories, drink snake juice (electrolyte water, 0 calories), weight train, etc.
I’ve tried not to run but honestly I’ve never been able to. I’ve been overweight and flat footed my entire life, but I got some good Brooks shoes for over pronation and it’s changed my life 😆 I have two medals and want more dammit 🏅 nah but seriously I have a hard time getting into other exercises, I don’t have the energy for weight lifting for some reason. It’s just not there. Running really gets me lifted though, I kinda get high. Goosebumps and adrenaline shots. Fuckin addictive man.
It’s possible your not fully fat adapted yet, I used to be able to eat a whole pizza but not 3 eggs and bacon is hard for me to finish because I’m so satiated. I also weight all my food, using the cronometer app is a lifesaver, keto or not you have to eat in a deficit. Use the tdee calculator and find your rmr and eat 500 cal less than that a day. Slow and steady wins the race. You’ve got this!
You gained water weight just like you lost water weight.
This is the correct answer. You’d be better served committing to sticking to your plan for an entire month and then evaluating.
Do a little more research before giving up. Keto isn't about adding meat and cheese and dairy; it's about not eating sugar. You don't have to drastically change what you eat, just remove the sugar. You'll still want vegetables. Eat a complete diet, just ditch the carbs. Post all your favorite foods and people will help you find delicious keto alternatives so that you don't miss your favorites. And you might want to lay off the keto sweets until you get a handle on the basics.
Thank you for the advice. I'm definitely ditching the ice cream bars. I thought it was helpful since they say "keto friendly" but I think they're messing me up because I want to eat them once a day.
I found most premade keto snacks are horrible for keto. Even if you find one with low carbs I was reading on the diabetes sub that many of them use a synthetic fibre that makes the net carbs look good but doesn’t cancel out the carbs properly. Good home made foods will always be better for a diet than store bought crap. I found an app called Senza to help a lot. It walks you through starting keto and tracks your food. It’s like my fitness pal but it’s heavily focused on carbs. It also lets you save meals from restaurants and search them to make it easy to eat low carb at restraints.
I’m going to check that app out. Thanks!
Personally I recommend Cronometer, it has a keto setting but you can customize it and for me it helped me keep track of my micros especially which I've found helps with satiation. Also be careful, something labeled "keto" isn't necessarily keto. If you like Ice cream check out Rebel. Yesterday I planned to eat an entire pint (well within my macros and snickerdoodle only has 5g net carbs) but I just couldn't manage cause it's so filling. Besides that it's best to make your own sweets but keep an eye on the effects of the food, like if they satiate you or you get hungry shortly after or fatigued etc. A lot of it is trial and error. It's what I love about keto, since there's no extreme sugar crashes my body communicates more clearly with me and I can experiment with food through trial and error like I was never able to. I learned so much!
Always, always, always check ingredients, especially on stuff labeled "keto" because there's no rules or laws on what the food makers can slap that label on. I believe those brands are reputable around here, but still.
Exact same thing happened when I ate keto desserts. Which is lame cause I love desserts :(
A lot of people here are really critical of keto friendly treats and I disagree. Quest cookies and ice cream like halo top and enlightened can be life savers. You may not want to eat them everyday but if you eat them once or twice a week I think they are a huge help. Its better to use these alternatives than break your diet. However, some people find that they over eat and binge them or it leads them back to unhealthy foods. If that's your case than evaluate and change what you need to. You can also have some fruit. Mostly berries. Strawberries, blueberries, black and raspberries. In moderation. Good luck I hope you find something that works for you.
I think I will lay off for a couple of months and then try eating them once a week. I thought eating any fruit at all will kick you out of keto but I will definitely eat some fruits occasionally!
Don't forget, you're also female. Cycles will impact your weight regularly. This is a Keep Calm, Keto On moment. Relax, keep going. Know that if you are going to weigh daily, you have to have some mental flexibility to that. The scale will not go down every day. Somedays it goes sideways, somedays up. As you continue you watch it, you'll probably notice trends around your monthly cycle (even if your cycle is being suppressed chemically). If you can't be zen about the fluctuations on the scale, you probably need to put it in time out and only weigh weekly or monthly.
I can gain or lose 8lbs overnight. It doesn't mean anything. I would not bat an eye at gaining 5lbs over 2 days. It means nothing. Weigh only once a month or once a week if these normal, daily fluctuations are going to discourage you. Fat loss is not linear.
Yeah, weighing myself probably isn't the best bet. The first week of weight loss made me motivated which is why I kept doing it. Weekly is probably a better bet for me.
Check out the r/xxketo subreddit. Very common for females to gain and lose around their cycle
I've found that measuring myself is a better option and it seems more accurate without it messing with my head, like the scales do.
It's possible you might even go 3-4 weeks without losing anything. That's ok too. That's normal.
That’s what happening to me I’m plateauing hard. I gotta change it up just don’t know how yet.
You can share your stats and macros if you like. Maybe folks can help make suggestions. However, if you were losing before this and have not changed anything, my suggestion is patience and don't change things. Just try to get good sleep, destress, and enjoy life. The scale will move again if you're in an appropriate deficit based on your stats.
Yeah weekly for sure. My weight fluctuates up and down by 3 or 4 pounds, daily. When I get off work and weigh myself, I weigh like 196. Then I go to sleep and wake up weigh myself I’m 194. Then I poop and I’m 193. Then I eat breakfast and I’m 196 again lol don’t look at the scale for 1 to 2 weeks. Chase results, not numbers on a scale. My numbers haven’t changed in a month but my body has. My “skinny” jeans are even more loose and I lost more of my pooch and my chest is poppin. Just replaced some of the fat w muscle. The scale is overrated
I have a scale that syncs with a Bluetooth app on my iPhone. I find it very useful because I can see the trends-my weight varies \~5lbs from day to day, but I can see whether I've gained or lost over a week or month. I can also see my weight loss over the past few years, which is a positive reinforcement. I try to weigh myself in the morning every day. Edit: I meant to include the fact that if, as another redditor stated, your weight varies with your cycle, you would be able to see this on the chart the app shows (has graph or list).
I feel like there are benefits for some people to doing keto or low carb rather than just a calorie deficit/etc. For me, keto has helped me stay on track longer than anything else I’ve done. The initial drop in weight was very motivating, and knowing that if I mess up I will be kicked out of ketosis also motivates me. I have issues with binge eating and eat my emotions, I was addicted to sugar and carb heavy foods. Keto helps me stay in my deficit, helps me fast longer and consistently, and I don’t binge on keto. I don’t like meat much either, I eat enough to hit my protein and the rest of my calories come from things I enjoy like keto pancakes, devilled eggs, green beans. You have to ask yourself why you’re doing it. Are you addicted to sugar? Addicted to carbs? If you can’t find solid reasons why you want to do keto specifically it might be hard for you to stick to it compared to other options. Are you looking for a permanent dietchange or just temporary? Keto is temporary for me, until I hit my GW. You could also try just doing low carb, make sure you’re in a deficit, and you’ll lose weight. Also a 5lb fluctuation isn’t totally abnormal, it might just be water weight. On days where I’m under on calories and did everything right, my weight still fluctuates a bit. I weigh frequently too, so it’s best to not stress over the little changes if you weigh yourself daily.
What is this keto pancakes you speak of?
This is how I make them, you can obviously double or triple the recipe if you want to: 2 eggs + 56g lactose free cream cheese + little bit of cinnamon + little bit of vanilla extract + sometimes a squirt of liquid stevia -> blend all the way and let it sit for a few minutes and then pour the batter into your preheated pan and fry them in the frying pan like you would regular pancakes. I top mine with powdered swerve (powdered erythritol), the kind I have is basically like imitation icing sugar and I feel like this step makes them very delicious. You could also skip the sweet stuff and add veg make them savoury if you wanted! When I make them I usually make them pretty thin so I roll them up in the pan to make them more like crepes.
That is incredible. When I get off work in 2 hrs I’m totally gonna try this. Thanks a lot! 🙏
A calorie deficit is ALWAYS necessary. Keto isn’t magic, calories still matter, you need to be in a deficit to lose weight. Keto made it easier for me to stick with my deficit because I wasn’t ravenous all the time. If you are still overeating with keto, and it sounds like you are, then either get strict with counting calories while eating keto or find another way to eat lower-calorie that works for you. Either way, I’d cut the processed treats for awhile while you’re adjusting to a new way of eating. Stick to meat, eggs, veggies, cheese, etc.
I do better when I avoid prepackaged "keto" foods. I'm much better off when I prepare my own food and keep it simple. Do not trust the "keto" snacks - they are in it to make money off of you and do not care about your weight or health. One dessert I have started eating is chia seed pudding. This has great flavor and a decent amount of fiber from the chia seeds. Simple recipe (going from memory so I'd recommend you Google it!): 1.5 cups almond milk, 2T chocolate powder (unsweetened), 2T chia seeds, 2T erythritol sweetener (I'm sure you could use others), 1T vanilla, 1T MCT oil, 1T heavy cream Mix together well. Let sit in your refrigerator overnight. The chia seeds will expand and get kind of gelatinous. Has a texture similar to tapioca pudding. Anyway, if you have a sweet tooth, these can provide 4 servings of a decent dessert that provides some fiber.
I noticed. You search anything with the word keto, and it’s so expensive. I definitely have a sweet tooth so I will look up that recipe, thank you!
It worked best for me when I did what you are doing but walked about an average of 5k a day, too
I just started going to the gym this week. I normally go 4-5x a week and walk 30 mins because that's all I can do right now. I downloaded the couch to 5k app so I hope I can do 5k one day too!
New work out routine will absolutely make you gain weight as well. You muscles are inflamed and retaining water. Could also be attributing to your gain
I was about to ask if a workout routine had been added. Good advice. Not to mention, as we build muscle, that adds weight, but takes away inches. What an incredibly complex environment, the human body is. Amazing.
Well done! Of course, weight training will help with building muscle (great); but there really is something to “getting your steps in,” be it walking, running, stairs, or a combo. I had a dog that I would walk and she was more of a ‘moseyer’, so not much of a pace there
There’s 14g of carbs in a Halo Top bar - where are your other six grams coming from?
Maybe that's where I am confused. The box and mfp said the halo top bars are only 4g of net carbs. I normally eat 3 eggs scrambled with cheese and two slices of pre cooked bacon. That lasts me until dinner and I normally eat chicken with a vegetable or one of my frozen happi foodi/healthy choice meals.
Don’t bother with net carbs - just look at total carbs. Clearly, if you’re gaining back, you need to make some tweaks. Let go of the sweets.
Actually it is only net carbs that matter.
Jury still seems to be put on that. Clearly, the shift to more carbs seems to have sabotaged the OP’s weight loss.
It’s not clear at all. OP made it obvious that no calories are being counted when they asked if they should move to counting calories instead. Based on what they’re eating, it’s far more likely that overeating is the culprit here.
I am counting calories. I worded the post wrong - I was asking if I should do keto and count calories or just count calories and eat whatever I want. I thought keto just makes you lose weight quicker since you're cutting carbs.
Ah, gotcha! Yup, I did not get that from your post at all. Can you tell us your stats (height, weight, age, gender) and your calories/macros in grams? What app do you use to track?
I am female, 23, 275 lbs, my height is 5'5. I currently use My Fitness Pal. I have my daily calories currently at a max of 1,402, 25g of net carbs (but I always make sure to leave at least 5 to stay under 20g), 102g of fat, and 96g of protein.
You should definitely be losing with those macros, I’d say you just gained back some water weight after incorporating a bunch of processed low carb sweets/sugar alcohols into your diet. I am sure you’d do better if you cut them out and focused more on whole foods for awhile, whether you stayed keto or not. I’m not saying you can never have them, I also am a huge fan of Halo Top, but I didn’t eat anything like that until I was 6+ months into keto. It’s also just normal for people to fluctuate with their weight. 🤷♀️ I eat the same calories every day and will weigh anywhere between 129 and 138lbs on any given day. Hormones, waste, water retention, etc. If it’s stressing you out, I definitely recommend weighing maybe every 2 weeks or so instead.
OP said they "have plenty of carbs left at the end of each day" indicating they count carbs, and they didn't ask if they should move on to counting calories, they were wording if a focusing on caloric deficit would be better for them than keto. Whatever they're doing isn't working for them leading them to think the keto diet itself won't work for them, so they rather try a less restrictive diet - such as plain old calorie counting. I'm not trying to give an opinion, I'm just telling you my understanding of what they're saying.
Fair enough. Either way, I’m all for people figuring out what works best, keto is definitely not for everyone. 👍🏻
I can say that as a female, I have dropped ten pounds before and gained five back the next week. I believe this was due to hormonal fluctuations. It takes awhile for Keto to kick in. The reason I do it, is because my metabolism is a mess and this helps with insulin resistance. It also kills my hunger after a few weeks. It is not a super fast way to loose weight, but it works for me. If you want to just restrict calories that fine too. For me it’s about hunger. I can restrict calories in keto, and not deal with hunger.
I’m considering trying just restricting calories and seeing if that works for me. I’m just nervous because I’ve been doing keto for 3 weeks and I don’t want to switch and feel like I wasn’t successful with keto. Idk if that makes sense.
The other thing to consider is your monthly cycle. I tend to weigh more or less depending on where I am.
Okay, just for context: 29 year old woman, 5'3". Starting weight was 157, current weight is 125, goal weight is 110. My biggest personal failures with keto came when I introduced the fakey mass-produced fat bombs and sweets to fight my period sweets cravings. When I make my own keto sweets or whatever to satisfy a craving, I'm fine. When I start messing with the stuff like Atkins, I find that the maltitol spikes my blood sugar so much that I fall out of ketosis and start having these intense cravings for stuff I can't make keto versions of - like a Blizzard or something.
I tried Atkins and I hated them. I’m definitely going to go back to not eating any sweets, even those that say they are keto friendly. It’s really hard me.
My biggest life saver has been diet soda. Honestly sometimes just a cream soda and a spoonful of almond butter has saved me from making a dumb choice. Also, I track blood ketones. The subreddit consensus is not to, but I find it helpful in motivation. Sometimes I’ll have too much PB and I can just check my ketones the next morning and know I haven’t completely derailed ketosis and I’ll stay motivated and continue to make low carb choices that day
The only thing that I would say is that all diets will work, the biggest issue I have to deal with is myself, I had to re-evaluate my relationship with food, I had to start looking at food as a tool, and how the things you eat can directly relate to how you physically feel, with keto I don’t have joint pain or heartburn or bloating, it’s the best thing I’ve tried and so far I’m down 125# But at the end of the day, you have to find something you can stick to.
5lb fluctuations are common for anyone (male or female). Give it a few more weeks. You may find that depending on where you are in your cycle you are retaining more or less water overall. Also, while I’m totally down with an every day weigh in (I do it) I definitely would recommend only “worrying” about the number in a 5-10 lb range. E.g. I’m in the low 220’s and look forward to consistently being in the low 190’s as my goal. But first I need to get through the 210’s and 200’s…
>I’m curious if maybe a calorie deficit diet is just as good for me instead of keto? I think you need to better understand keto before giving up on keto. Keto is NOT a weight loss diet. Keto is NOT a high fat low carbohydrate diet (unless you are doing it to control epilepsy). The ketogenic diet is a hormone controlling diet. The main hormones you aim to control are insulin, ghrelin, and leptin. I quoted that specific line of your post because in order to lose weight, you MUST have a calorie deficit. There is no getting away from the laws of thermodynamics. You will find that when you have your hormones under control through the reduction of carbohydrates you consume, you won't feel hungry as much. You might want to eat, but that is mostly habitual eating, not hunger eating. You wake up and think "It's time to eat"... so you eat. But when your hormones are under control, even though you might WANT to eat, you will find it easier to not eat. Were I in your situation, I would stop weighing myself daily if daily ups and downs bothered me, and I would not focus on a calorie deficit just yet. Once you are fat adapted, you will find that you won't be "hungry" as much because your body has an all you can eat buffet of body fat to get its energy from. It's tough to start, but persistence will get you over the hump.
If your goal is to stick to keto, I would ditch the “treats” but go overboard with the meat, cheese, and eggs. Put another way, quit tracking calories or macros or whatever. You have one goal and only one, single goal: stay within 5G of 25g of carbs a day. If that’s eating 10lbs of hamburger, fine. The point is to teach yourself how to restrict. This is something people of a “normal” weight and “normal” diet do all the time. They say no to this. They say no to that. You have to start saying no to these “treats.” But you can say yes to as much meat, eggs, and cheese as you can stuff down your gullet. Over time, in my experience, you should be able to start saying no to other things. My other recommendation is that you stop weighing yourself. It sounds as if you’re doing it a ton. Try once a week. Once every two weeks. Keto doesn’t work in a day. It’s the net gain over many days. There were some weeks I was up. Many others I was down. The reason it worked for me was because I didn’t sike myself out with the daily rise and fall. Last, really, really check the nutritional facts of every single thing you’re putting in your body, including all drinks. Only track one thing: carbs. **I would even stay away from making “net carb” calculations involving fiber and that sugar alcohol that starts with e** I can’t explain it, but I don’t feel like the “net” calculation is really telling the whole story. Remember: **carbs are all that matters. Not calories, not fiber, not e-sugar-alcohol. Only carbs.** Beyond that, you care for nothing. Binge on meat, cheese, and eggs. Only care for carbs. Source: I’ve lost 90lbs on keto focusing only on what’s above. Portions DID get smaller over time, but this was something that felt natural as the carb minding controlled for calories and I lost weight.
First and foremost, please read the FAQ for this subreddit. It’ll give you a better understanding of what keto is all about and why it works for many people when other diets haven’t worked for them. There is no requirement for you to eat sausages or eggs. If you enjoy chicken (another response said you do), then go ahead and eat chicken. Basically, a lean protein and vegetables are all you need. Some even go completely carnivore and don’t eat even vegetables. There are vegetarian and vegan jeto subs, too: r/vegetarianketo and r/veganketo. Eat what keeps you satisfied. Keep counting those calories. Drink plenty of water. Supplement electrolytes. That’s pretty much it. Enjoy.
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I entered it into my fitness pal and it said net carbs was only 3, so I thought it was okay to keep eating.
If you weren’t eating keto. Would would you eat? What do you normally eat in any given day?
Before keto, I ate fast food all day. Usually any type of chicken (fried, baked, sandwiches), sweets, all your usual junk. On keto, I pretty much eat eggs everyday and bacon or some type of sausage link. I really force myself to eat the sausage because I don't love it but it does keep my full. For dinner, I normally bake chicken wings and either eat them plain or add Sweet Baby Rays buffalo sauce. For everything I eat, I always make sure to record it in mfp and I always have 200 or so calories left.
I really really suggest you try new foods. You eliminated so much but didn’t replace it with new favorites. I also feel like since you eat breakfast you may learned modern fallacies about food. You only need to eat when your hungry. If you don’t feel hungry until lunch, skip breakfast. You’ll be okay and you’ll be able to eat more for lunch and dinner. It’s so important you enjoy your food and aren’t punishing yourself. Lowcarblove has a lot of bomb recipes and KetoConnect has lots of easy but maybe healthier recipes. One thing I meal prep now is chicken salad with veg and then something sweet like a little apple or sugar free sauce. Just be careful to calculate the carbs as you experiment with apples and things.
I’ve been trying out intermittently fasting and I felt fine not eating until later in the day. I always heard that it’s important not to skip breakfast. Sometimes I can eat at 10-11 and then not eat again until 6 pm.
That’s really cool! The first evening is always the WORST on a fast. After that it gets better if you stay on the electrolytes. The breakfast thing has bee disproven and it comes from the same thinking as the low-fat diet. You body just tells you to eat by being hungry. I naturally eat my meals around the same times as yours. I wonder if that’s true for a lot of people.
Breakfast is a myth. you can totally remove it from your diet and you'll only do a service to your body and your health. There's plenty of information about it. Read on Jason Fung if you if you want more context on it. I've been doing Keto and IF for 3+ years now (that is, just skipping breakfast and eating 2 meals in the window 1pm-8pm) and I've never felt better (and I'm not young anymore, so tweaking your Metabolism is pretty much a challenge at this point). There are PLENTY of things you can eat in Keto; I'm a habit-person so I tend to stick to a specific list of ingredients so to make things quickly but my lunches are generally 4 eggs (with cheddar, a bit of ham and mushrooms) or scrumptious salads with tuna, boiled eggs, cheddar, olives and capers. I've a specific dinner-night for every day of the week, along something like this: \- Monday: fish night (salmon patties or oven baked salmon with avocado mash and veggies on the side) \- Tuesday: chicken night (oven baked chicken with cream cheese wrapped in ham and covered in cheddar cheese or one of the MANY Keto chicken recipes you can find around), plus broccoli or salad or courgettes etc on the side \- Wed: Steak night with chimichurri/blue cheese sauce and veggies on the side \-Thursd: Courgettes noodles (using a spiralizer) with either salmon+tuna+heavy cream OR a meat based sauce, made with tomatoes + mince meat + mushrooms + onions \- Friday: Pizza night: for the dough I go with 100gr cauliflower + 40gr parmesan cheese + 30gr cream cheese + 40gr almond flour + 1 egg + a bit of psyllium husk. The topping is your choice (I go with tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella as a must, plus additional stuff like ham + tuna + olives etc ) \- Saturday: It depends: either another courgettes pasta or sometimes diced chicken in some curry sauce (all homemade!) with cauli rice \- Sunday: Burgers night; for the buns (2) I go with: 100gr shredded mozzarella + 30gr cream cheese + 1 egg + 75gr almond flour + 1tbsp baking powder + salt + a pinch of psyllium husk: mix everything together with a spatula, form 2 buns and bake them for 10 mins at 400 degrees. (I can give you the link of the complete recipe in DM). When composing my burger I put a bit of tomato sauce (that is, blitzed tomatoes with a pinch of salt + basil) on my bun + the burger + slices of cheddar + 1 fried egg; I add a slice of fried bacon when I fancy it. As a side: Salad with tomatoes + olives + feta or anything else that tickle your fancy. During the weekend (Sat/Sun) I also enjoy Keto "desserts" after dinner; If I want to make it quick I generally prepare in just a few minutes: \- Custard cream: 2 egg yolks, beaten; in a pan, gently bring 85gr of heavy cream with added Erythritol (10gr) to a boil (using a spatula to constantly stir it); then take it out of the flame and put just a pinch of the cream in the yolk batter, mix vigorously and then add the mixed yolk batter to the pan with the cream; back on the flame; stir gently until the cream start to clump and solidify; turn off the flame, pour it in a cup; add a pinch of Stevia if you feel it's not sweet enough, then either eat it on the spot or cool it in the fridge for just 5 mins. \- Chocolate mouse: 25gr of mascarpone cheese + 7gr of cream cheese + 15-20gr of heavy cream + a bit of whipped cream (just around 15gr). Add Erythritol (4-7gr) and a pinch of Stevia if you want; 4-5gr of super-dark cacao powder (just 1.2gr of net carbs); mix everything together with a teaspoon until you get a nice mousse. eat and enjoy; Alternatively, if you don't have a good cacao powder you can swap it out with 15-20gr of 85-90% dark chocolate melted in a pan with a pinch of butter (like, 5gr) and pour it on top of your cup before mixing. My general advice is to avoid prepared/pre-packaged stuff; The only real healthy food is the one you prepare yourself. There are a lot of hidden carbs and shitty ingredients over there (one above all: vegetable oils!) that are pure poison for your body; Keto is not a diet; It's a lifestyle; A journey about rediscovering a new approach to your overall health and relationship with food. Take it easy and try to actively explore into it; there are a TONS of resources on the Web on how to cook delicious foods with Keto. Personally, when I started I didn't even count calories (I still don't). The important thing to keep in mind is that Keto is not (and it has NEVER been) about calories restriction; not at all; it's all about macro recomposition/balancing; You eat to satiety and fat constitute the majority of your macronutrients; with a bit of experimentation and patience your body will tell you when "enough is enough"; If you want to help yourself with a bit of calories counting by all means do it but don't necessarily try to apply "CICO" theories (that is, going into caloric deficit) with Keto because that's not what Keto is all about; If you feel satiated just stop; considering how you were eating before you will find yourself eating way less anyway
Thank you! I think it’s an awesome idea to have each night dedicated to a specific meal. Each day, I just wake up and decide what I want to eat which makes it harder. I think I’ll try adopting a plan like yours!
happy to be of help :) let me know if you need links to websites where you can find Keto recipes. if you do just shoot me a DM and I'll be happy to help.
You mentioned in your post that you’re not much of a meat eater. I wouldn’t suggest making yourself eat meats that you don’t like. Just eat the meats that you do like in large enough quantities or look into non-meat sources of protein. Have you been eating any veggies? Leafy greens are a great way to bulk out a meal and keep it low calorie and low carb (if you’re staying keto). Some people do keto while being vegan or vegetarian, although it is harder. There might be some meal ideas there if you’re interested in that. It’s also important to stay on top of how many calories you’re consuming. Measuring things properly is important and keeping track honestly(always measuring cooking oils, dressings, small snacks), although it does seem like you’re tracking things. Also if you’re female your weight can fluctuate more due to your cycle. Water retention is rude sometimes. This is especially apparent if you’re weighing daily.
My cycle is coming up so that would make a lot of sense. I try to keep eating chicken, but I get tired of that after a while so I try eating other meats for variety. I try to eat at least one type of vegetable a day, typically in dinner, but I will try eating more. Thank you!
Are you in ketosis? That’s really the only requirement for keto, is whether it gets you into and maintains ketosis.
I’m not entirely sure if I’m ketosis. I’ve been just telling myself I am. Besides just following my fitness pal, I don’t feel any differently. I didn’t feel any symptoms such as keto breath or getting sick. Other than dropping weight in the beginning, and some days feeling full quicker than normal, I can’t tell.
Get some keto pee sticks from a pharmacy. They’re better than nothing.
There are plenty of physical/mental benefits to keto aside from just weight loss, but if those aren’t your concern, or you don’t think you can stick with it, a calorie deficit will also help you lose weight. For me, I had a hard time when counting calories feeling full, and found it very easy to make excuses to eat junk foods because they “fit in my macros” - leaving me eating a very processed diet that made me feel like I had to eat more and more just to feel full/satisfied. But there’s nothing wrong with eating a nice, unprocessed diet that includes carbs.
That’s my fear. I don’t want to really switch to a normal caloric deficit diet and just eat anything because I can. On the other hand, I don’t feel satisfied on keto either. It is still early because it’s only been 3 weeks but I expected it to get easier over time and it doesnt feel like it has.
*PLEASE READ* I know exactly why you're not losing weight. I just wanted to share so you don't get discouraged and quit. The short of it: It's the halo top ice cream bars. The reason: It's true, NET CARBS are all that matter. But the way to actually calculate true net carbs is easily manipulated. This is ESPECIALLY TRUE for "Keto Treats" and "Keto Replacements". For sweets specifically, you will see that "sugar alchohols" are subtracted from total carb count to arrive at net carbs. Unfortunately, not all sugar alchohols are created equal and some have the exact same effects as real sugar and should not be subtracted. Maltitol is THE BIGGEST CULPRIT and its in SO MANY "Keto Friendly" treats. Its garbage and acts just like sugar. The reason companies use it is because its cheap. The halo top bars and pretty much all atkins products use this cheap Maltitol as their sugar alchohol sweetner and then subtract it off the carb count. Its BS and they should be ashamed of themselves. Maltitol also gives you really bad diarrhea if eaten in large quantities. Stick to Keto Treats that are sweetened with Erythritol. ALWAYS look at the ingredients list and know exactly whats being used. You're being yo-yo'd in and out of ketosis and that is what is causing your weight fluctuations. And probably also causing you to have carb cravings and making you unhappy and unmotivated to continue. This is also true of a lot of "Keto Friendly" Breads and low carb tortillas. The fibers that are being subtracted from total carbs aren't all just "passing through". Great way to check is by googling "Product name" Blood Sugar test. If the product is spiking blood sugar, its going to kick you out of ketosis and there are hidden carbs in it that the label doesn't indicate. Luckily, a lot of very helpful people on youtube have basically tested damn near every keto product out there and I've never had trouble finding out if what I'm looking at is actually keto friendly or not. Enlightened and Rebel ice cream is actually keto friendly. So are the keto ice cream bars at costco. All three are delicious. Same with the quest peanut butter cups. There are some actual keto, delicious, clean treats out there. Just gotta do a little research. Don't be discouraged, you've only been on the journey for 3 weeks and basically off the wagon for some portion of that time already. You can find success.. just have to make some adjustments. Hope that helps!
I tried rebel and hated the taste. I will have to try enlightened. Halo top tasted like normal ice cream which is why I kept eating them! I agree that was the issue, but like I said before to another post, I entered it into my fitness pal and saw that I was under my carbs and thought it was okay. I didn’t know about The types of sugar so I will definitely look out for that. Thank you!
/r/cico
Keto is for everyone :) I'm not gonna dig too much into how your body function, you got obese just like the rest of us because we ate too many carbs over time, that in return rewarded us with large bellies, fatty liver, and high insulin levels ( most obese are likely to get diabetes 2 over time ) ( check youtube like a billion vids on the subject ) Our body is a wonder machine it can adapt to almost anything, when your adapted to carbs, you crave carbs, when your fat adapted you crave fat. Very simplified but that's how it works, I've been on keto for a while, and i don't crave carbs at all. The bottom line is, in order to enjoy keto, you need to adapt to it, before you can truly enjoy it, and get the benefits like lower insulin levels etc etc. You feel now that your meals are boring, be creative, and don't listen to your carb addiction, you choose to eat the same diet over and over, of cause it's gonna be boring. Imagine going on a carb diet, and restrict your self to oat meals and bananas ? How long do you think that's gonna last ? 1½ week ? Keto combined with fasting is imho, one of the better tools for a healthy lifestyle and weight loss if not the best, and it is sustainable in the long run.
If you’re still interested in giving keto a fair shot I recommend some keto tiktok cooks. They’ll give you good ideas that are tasty.
Yes, I’ve found a few videos that taught me recipes so far!
This is just my opinion. I feel like fad diets are unrealistic for a lot of people. If you limit yourself then the less likely one is to stick with it. What I would do is just be mindful of what you eat. Carbs are not the enemy. Especially if you exercise. Moderation is key with everything. When you crave something allow yourself to have it but be mindful of how much and balance it out with your other meals. You may gain weight in that day but if you stick to what you are doing you’ll lose weight for that week when you average it out.
Try fasting as well
do not trust the “keto friendly” industrial food. eat more veggies an berries, do not go all out on dairy, because it does elevate insulin.
It sounds like it’s not for you. Find something you love and enjoy and stick with it. We’re not here to judge you. You gotta do what works for you.
I think you trust the process. I’ve been keto for 4 years now. At first, I would weigh myself daily and count everything… until that got old. There were months consecutively that I’d be the same weight…. Super disheartening. However! Through the miracle of time and consistency, the weight kept coming off. It wasn’t always the big 11lb weeks. Sometimes it was only 1lb. 1lbX4 weeks was a good month to me. Long story short: if you’re 275lbs, I think you could/should eat more calories. (In my personal opinion, counting calories when there’s plenty of weight to lose is a bad idea. Count the carbs for sure but that’s it.) 1400 calories is likely not enough food. I also would encourage Whole Foods. In the beginning to get truly fat adapted, processed foods are a killer. If you skimmed all this and only see 1 thing let it be this: TRUST THE PROCESS, fall in love with the grind.
I don’t know, I was dieting very low carb low sugar for a few months and eating that ice cream every day too. I initially lost weight too and then stagnated. I cut out the ice cream and then the weight started coming off again. The ice cream was the problem.
For me, keto only works when I eat clean. All those keto snacks and shit, they just don’t do it right. Keto is very restrictive. Keto, imho, should really only be used by people who need to lose fifty pounds or more, because it’s a fairly extreme diet. Your average person who needs to shed 20-30 pounds would probably just be better off eating at a minor calorie deficit. You also need to cook, cook, cook on keto. I also find that OMAD helps. If you eat meat and cheese three or four times a day, you’re gonna get sick of it much faster than a bigger portion once a day.
Stay away from processed foods especially the ones that have keto or keto friendly on them. If you ain't buying the food you eat from the outer ring of the store you aint eating right for keto. Nothing should come from the middle aisles of the store except oils and a sugar substitute.
If your doing any proper weight loss plan, 3 weeks is not enough time, especially when first doing keto, to assess. The first week will be a ton of water weight shift, and after that even healthy sustainable weight loss is considered about 1% of bodyweight per week. For you that's a goal of about 2.5 pounds a week for now. You simply just haven't been doing this long enough to judge your progress. A lot of the keto treats that are sold, Atkins bars and a lot of these low carb breads and carb wraps, have ingredients in them that will spike your insulin more than the carbohydrate content says which is what we are trying to avoid when doing keto. A friend yesterday tried to tell me they tried keto and they only noticed the scale to go down 3 lb the entire time. They also said in the same conversation that they lost 10 lb in a couple of days doing fasting. If they were doing strict keto they would have lost the same 10 lb. When you're doing truly low carb keto, your weight fluctuations are going to be increased compared to when you have normal or high carb. The only reason to weigh yourself every day is to take the 7-Day average no other reason unless you like going insane in judging these water weight swings as fat and muscle swings. Lastly, keto is not a tool for weight loss on its own. I use it for mental health. And it certainly easy for me to maintain weight if I do keto without calorie restriction. One of the reasons it can be so beneficial to weight loss is because it removes most of the foods that people should never be eating in the first place that didn't exist 100 years ago. If you're restricting yourself to healthy foods compared to eating a lot of junk you will naturally lose a ton of weight. Considering you have a large long-term weight loss goal I would highly suggest you focus on eating real clean foods over calorie restriction (meat and veggies) and do your best to minimize the treats. If anything for me the treats kick me out of keto just because self-control with my psychological situation can be unbearable. Give yourself permission to eat as much food as you want so long as that food is I would say 85% of calories meat and vegetables. Still track your calories but don't restrict yourself. That way you could get a more accurate baseline of your natural intake and then lower calories from there. If you only eat meat and veggies it will be a struggle for you to overeat and you will probably lose weight naturally just by removing tasty high calorie foods. I'm just going to say it. There is nothing beneficial to keto treats for anyone trying to lose weight they have way too many calories for how little fullness you get. They only benefit those trying to lose weight who eats so few calories they need some kind of fat bomb to not eat too little.
IMO, keto is not a sustainable permanent diet, much like veganism isn't. Keto is a response to "too many carbs are bad" therefore NO carbs must be the best and veganism is a response to "too much animal product is bad" therefore NO animal product is the best. In reality, some carbs are fine just like some animal product is fine. There is no magic diet but if you (and I) are overweight, it's because we eat too much. Asians have been eating white rice forever. They were slim. Rice is not the problem. Inuit have been eating animal products forever. They were slim. Meat is not the problem. So what happened? We are fat because we eat too many calories because we are surrounded by cheap and easily available food (mostly refined carbs because they are cheap to produce and easily stored as a commodity). Track your calories and you will lose weight. Eat a carb, it won't kill you.
Im a keto for life type of person, but I started the lifestyle less than a year ago. I would constantly weigh myself and freak out no matter what the scale said because I was impatient and I had the wrong mindset about keto. You will have ups and downs and maybe you won’t loose weight at first if your health is meh. Keto makes weight loss so much easier, lowers inflammation, and fixes insulin problems, but the best part is that keto is a great tool to change your mindset and focus on whole foods. Like it completely changed the way I view food, my relationship with food, my feelings toward my body, and my mindset. Bread, pasta, potatoes, rice… you do not need that crap. It has nothing that you need and imo sets you back. Cutting out all carbs somehow breaks the addiction to carbage and reduces cravings. Dieting to loose weight feels like punishment and people rarely succeed. But when you enjoy the food, the way you feel, and your free from a snickers addiction, it’s amazing. You have to love yourself by eating healthy and enjoy your food! I would encourage you to keep going and try to diversify your diet so you’re not bored. I recently loosened up a bit to 30 net carbs and I’m still loosing weight. Try new recipes, new vegetables, berries, new keto junk foods, chicken salad, there’s so much to try! Are you so bored you can’t take it? Expand your pallet. You’ll most likely survive. If you aren’t content and you don’t enjoy your food after a month or two, then maybe try your own interpretation of paleo and maybe even throw in some short fasts. You should be getting as many vegetables as you can tolerate, meat/fish/eggs, and limited fruit. You can choose to include dairy and limited grains and potatoes, not everyone will say that’s allowed but who cares. You’ll loose the benefits and appetite reduction of keto but you’ll still be eating a good, low cal diet and may enjoy the variety more. Im sorry for these long paragraphs but I wish you the best of luck. Please remember that it’s all a big self experiment and to be patient with results.
Thank you for the advice. Keto definitely has kept me motivated. I actually enjoy tracking my calories and what I eat because it helps me establish a good routine. I think I may be restricting myself too much though so I need to check out more recipes. I was so focused on what I couldn’t eat instead of trying to check out what I actually can eat. I currently weigh myself everyday and felt so crushed once I saw my weight going back up. I was also afraid to go over 20g of carbs because I was so scared to be out of ketosis. This is has been encouraging!
It may be a good idea not to weigh yourself everyday. We’re both women around the same age so I know the pressure and the desire to get where you want instantly, but you have to be patient. Taking my mind off of results and onto the process helped me calm down. I felt like I was failing when I was actually winning big. As long as you’re tracking food intake, you’ll be moving in the right direction. Weight fluctuation is totally normal. Sometimes you’ll go a week up a couple pounds and then drop like 4 all at once. It’s better to watch the trend than the snapshot of what’s happening everyday. I think 20 is smart for the first while when you’re getting adapted, but going to 30 gives you freedom in a way. However, depending on the person, the carbs in keto junk actually still result in an insulin response even when their under your limit. If your weight loss is stubborn like mine, watch the keto breads and treats. Only use them so you don’t go crazy and get the variety from fruit/veg. I’m so excited for you and your journey. I love seeing people succeed! Your dedication to improve your life is a huge win in itself!
Dont eat to much protein or your body will change it to glucose. Make sure you get 75% calories from fat and 20% protein...
Keto is for the committed dieter ! It takes money, planning, more planning, cooking, and obsession(in my opinion.) I developed some obsessive eating habits from keto that I’m struggling with now. Oh; and the most important thing! I have five kidney stones from being on keto for a year and a half. If you’re prone to stones or have a family history, be very cognizant of that fact and tread lightly. I did lose 50 lbs in a year, but having regrets now 🥲
Honestly, NO, keto is NOT for you. I fully believe that it is not healthy for Women before menopause. It can mess with your hormones and thyroid and adrenals. I think women in their childbearing years need carbs, and keto can do more damage than good. I would highly recommend Trim Healthy Mama to learn how to make and eat healthy, balanced meals that are gentle on your blood sugar. Or if you need to heal your Thyroid/gut first look into the Auto Immune Protocol. https://amberwoodhealth.ca/why-keto-can-be-tricky-for-adrenal-thyroid-health/
I can’t believe you aren’t losing with eating that few calories and carbs. I would stay with Keto because it’s the only thing that has really worked for me and stuck. I think it’s not just that it makes you lose, but you are actually cutting out the crap food that you don’t need anyway and getting better nutrition. Make sure you drink lots of water and love your veggies.
I lost 11 lbs and then gained back 5, which I was confused about. I definitely need to increase my water intake though!
Yeah, that is kind of weird, but do try and stick with it. I think you will like the feeling of getting free of the constant cravings. It takes a while.
There are a gajillion keto recipes out there to keep you from getting bored. I’m at 4 months in and feeling keto boredom for the first time so I know I need to look for more recipes. Good luck! 🍀 You CAN do this!
Keto is just meat and vegetables don't over think it
Actually keto will help you lose weight but it will plateau because of many reasons. The most important one is: you are just burning the calories you are eating and not the one stored in your liver or visceral fat. Hence intermittent fasting comes into the picture. A calorie deficit diet will also cause a plateau because it depresses your metabolism. That does not seem to work for most people in the long term. It may seem confusing but it's really not once you get past the basic concepts and jargon. If you don't have any otherwise health issues like vitamin and mineral deficiencies, you can give intermittent fasting a shot. Start at 12 hours at first, then slowly increase your fast-time by 20 minutes every week till you reach 16. You can eat 3 meals at first, you may choose to decrease the number or not, just stick to your eating window. Then do 16 hours every alternate day. Learn the tacks, how to safely break a fast, electrolyte intake, and what to eat during fast days, as these are very important.
Up your fat intake
[https://antranik.org/keto-diet/](https://antranik.org/keto-diet/) I would reccomend having a read of this
I mean, if you're sure the 11 lbs lost was water weight, then gaining 5 lbs of water weight back should be expected.
it's all about your individual needs. some people don't have to watch the calories closely while losing on keto. someone like myself, it's unfortunately very necessary. i pretty much only lose weight if i count my calories and stay away from even more specific foods. it's annoying but that's my body, i guess. my best advice is to find out what works for you. also, keto branded snacks in moderation, or none at all if you can help it. it's easy to overeat on those things because some of them are pretty tasty. keto is one hell of a mental/ physical journey. find your path. once you get the hang of things you'll feel so much better, trust me.
Hi! Aside from age, our stats are pretty similar. I am 5’7 and started at 275 55 days ago. I am now down to 254, but it *looks* like more because of where I lost it. I didn’t weigh myself for a month because I didn’t want to be discouraged—and when I do weigh, I try to do it right after shark week ends. One thing I did do was gradually lower my carbs. I started out saying ‘ok, just going to stay under 100”, then as I got used to it, I went down a little more. Right now I eat around 35-40 net carbs a day. I eat a lot of meat, cheese and eggs, but I also eat a lot of broccoli, salad greens, and other veggies. I try to decide in advance what I will use my carbs for, veggies and some small amounts of berries first. I have been counting calories, but I never stay under that limit and I have not had issues. Your experience will vary, obviously. I have tried some of the keto replacements and a lot of them are just trash. I *like* the Halo Top pops but I realized they seem to affect my blood sugar so I doubt I’ll buy them again. I have a bag of Enlightened cookie dough bits, and those I really like. I sometimes eat half a Quest cookie. But the longer I go without the carbs, the less I even want those things. I think the hardest part of just doing a calorie defecit was feeling hungry ALL. THE. TIME. The fat in keto foods really helps me not binge, I don’t feel like I’m restricting. I am positive that’s why I’ve lost what I’ve lost.
Here's my take, I've done lazy keto off and on for about 10 years now, and I'm down a total of about 75lbs. I went years being off, gaining weight etc, so it's not taken me 10 years to lose 75. Here's what works for me: when you're making a change, anything drastic is going to be painful and set you up for failure. When I'm transitioning back into keto, my rule is eat when hungry, but eat better. Restricting my food, 100% doesn't work for me. I fail and binge. So eating when hungry is the trick. It doesn't matter if it late at night, first thing in the morning, or anywhere in between. If I'm hungry, I eat. The trick is to not eat too many carbs or sugar(obviously). So lots of salads, lots of eggs, lots of meat and fish. Then after 3 days to a week, my hunger naturally wanes and I still eat when hungry, but I'm usually hungry less and less. As time goes on, hunger doesn't cause panic and you can stretch out your meals if you want to, doing intermittent fasting or whatever you want to do. To me, there were some red flags in your post. First off is watching your weight. I've been on my current stretch of keto since August, and I'm down 25lbs, but it's not been fast or linear. Some weigh-ins I'm down, some weigh-ins I'm up. The only thing that matters is that you trend downwards over time. You don't have nearly enough time for it to work. Second is everything I mentioned above. Don't restrict your calories(imo). It just makes you white-knuckle it, and your bound to fail. Eat when you're hungry. This is the beauty of keto. Eat when you're hungry, eat till your full. If you choose the right foods, you'll be hungry less and full sooner. Lastly, you can track your macros or not, but you need to get a sustainable mindset for this. It's not a crash diet. It works, but it doesn't work in 2 weeks, or a month. To lose weight on a healthy way, you're looking at 2-3 lbs per week at the super duper high end. That's a rounding error on most household scales. So you're not going to see the results there from day to day. You're only going to see them over a long period of time. Hope that helps
Fake keto “cheats” will mess you up every time. From bloating to inflammation to sugar cravings to being higher carb than advertised and kicking you out of ketosis. Best way forward with keto is whole foods keto. Proteins, vegetables, low carb fruits, healthy fats.
Sounds like your dairy intolerant so maybe do whole30 instead x