LADIES! Keto diet ADVICE!

[Mamas104]

I'm really trying to shed the jiggle on my hips and lower my body fat so I can see those abs and get cut!!! I'm hearing the Cyclical Keto Diet is most effective for ridding those subborn areas. I'm 5'6, 140lbs, and eat pretty clean but love my carbs (and need them for ENERGY!)...Any advice or diet samples from anyone? I've seen a few, but they were posted by men (too much food!). If anyone has experience or feedback about this diet...how long and what to eat, please let me know. I train well, but can't seem to rid this last jiggle. Ugh. Plus I'm a mom so I know the temptation to eat carbs is going to be over whelming!!!

[vvilliam]

Keto is a good diet, and I've been able to get to about 11 - 12% bodyfat last year with it. It's easier to manage what you eat with a keto diet vs a regular 40/40/20 diet because your meal plan is simplified and preparation can be quite minimal ( how hard is hardboiling eggs eh?).

It does take hard work like any other diet but the results are SO worth it. I remember dieting without real guidelines and doing a sloppy 40/40/20 and even after all the work it was hard to stay motivated because fat loss was slow.

With keto, when you hit that sweet spot, you shed fat. Especially when you up the cardio. Then the fat melts. ( wow this is making me realize I gotta get zealous again).

Check out blindfaith's guide to keto, it's real good and tells you the basics of the keto diet in a single post.

[afh5073]

Fat gives you all the engery you need.

For me it came down to mentally training myself. It is hard losing weight but you just gotta tough it out. You have to draw a line somewhere, you can't just eat whatever you want and expect to lose weight. Eventually you have to do the hard part of eating certain things and eating less if you wnat to lose weight. It aint easy for anyone.

This diet litteraly means no carbs so quite simply.. you can't eat carbs. Fat become your main source of calories, don't be afraid of it you need it, especially on low carb. You say too much foods, can't you just eat the same kind of food but just less of it? Meat, cheese and eggs are the staples but you can do any low carb veggies. Or salads with like tomato, avocado and cheese and some meat or hard boiled eggs with olive oil. I think nuts get some people into trouble with overdoing them, plus I never feel great after eating a ton of nuts. There are all kind of low carb products in supermarkets, but most of them are full of crap and preservatives which I personally would rather do without. Stevia is a good sugar alternative for sweetening stuff when you crave sweets and for drinks. You could always eat like cottage cheese with spices like cinnamon and sweetener. It does have a little bit of carbs but as long as your limiting them your doing good. Even pure cocoa doesn't have that many carbs at all and you can mix it with sweetener in hot water or cottage cheese. Google low carb whatever and you'll probably find a ton of recipes.

So if you want to do keto, you just have to tough out your carb cravings and eventually it gets easier, as with anything. Now I crave a huge plate of only eggs or meat with no bread carbs and I'm fine with it. It's weird at first eating like only a plate of meat with no bread or potatoes but you get used to it. And I personally don't think carbs has to be an all or nothing thing. I feel like as long as you limit them as much as possible, even if you have some brown rice, bread, fruit or w/e once in a while then your still doing yourself good for losing weight and becoming healthier. It may not be optimal for weight loss, but you don't HAVE to never eat carbs and then say it's too hard which is what it seems like a lot of people do. You may not technically be in ketosis but your still limiting crappy carb calories, while replacing them with fat and protein and that's always better.


anyways yeah just read up on it from experts lol what do i know

[Mamas104]

Yeah, I should stop acting like a big ass baby and just tough it out...(lol, easier said than done) Stress is the biggest reason I mess up my diet...or just too much temptation. So you can eat carbs, just VERY FEW, right? What about creatine ( I use SuperPump 250) before workouts? Can I eat sausage and bacon or would it be better to eat good fats instead? Flax, fish oil, olive oil, etc...

[afh5073]

Contrary to what everyone has been telling us our whole lives, if you look it up sausage and bacon are apparently the good fats. Most people advocate eating plenty of low carb veggies (which is probably most veggies). For me, decently prepared broccoli is the easiest/best tasting thing to pair with meat or eggs. I like to microwave some broccoli and throw cheese on it for a snack or with a meal. If you only eat low carb veggies and keep under like 50 carbs your on the right track. I don't know what exact numbers are best for which situations but generally the lower the better.

[rockstar55]

Coming from another female, I just started Keto, and to me is the easiest diet to stick with, it completely elliminates all carb cravings! I thought it would be nearly impossible to eat that much fat, but there's a lot of good **** you can eat! My veggies are mostly a salad with some avocado and ranch dressing, and everything else, meat, cheese, eggs, bacon, chicken, mayo, and oils. Just make sure you read the stickys and get your macros in check!

[jaim91]

Yeah, I should stop acting like a big ass baby and just tough it out...(lol, easier said than done) Stress is the biggest reason I mess up my diet...or just too much temptation. So you can eat carbs, just VERY FEW, right? What about creatine ( I use SuperPump 250) before workouts? Can I eat sausage and bacon or would it be better to eat good fats instead? Flax, fish oil, olive oil, etc...

I would limit your carbs (at least at first), to only coming from "trace". That means, even though you're "allowed" 30g per day, don't have 1/2 cup of oatmeal. Have 3 table spoons of PB (about 12g carbs). See what I mean?

I would scrap the superpump, and go with a no carb creatine or NO product.

Sausage and bacon and good, and the oils you suggested are better

Plus I'm a mom so I know the temptation to eat carbs is going to be over whelming!!!

Temptation is a psychological thing. You can will it away. I know, I've done it

[BeejGrpA]

Temptation is a psychological thing. You can will it away. I know, I've done it

Dedication:The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action without question

Self Discipline: Telling that little voice in your head to shut the **** up.

[jaim91]

Dedication:The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action without question

Self Discipline: Telling that little voice in your head to shut the **** up.

I'm gonna go rep 100 random people just so I can rep you again sooner for that post. Thanks Beej!

[BUBBLETHIGHS]

I'm a mom, too. Yes the first 2 weeks were killer for me but soon after, I really don't feel like eating the carbs my kids are eating. I just want eggs, cheese, bacon, beef, steak, etc. You will find in the third week, it will get much easier.

Don't eat carbs until after your second week to get your body used to being in ketosis. It's okay to have saturated fat.

I also found that I am getting stronger and muscles are peaking out! Best feeling!

Good luck to you!

[WaistofSpace]

As mentioned before, you want to eat your carbs from fiber rich vegetables. Broccoli, Spinach, avacado, etc. Pretty much the green ones. Use a site like Fitday.com to track what you are eating, plus it's free. I use fitday and find it easy, there are others out there of course. It shows me the calories I eat and breaks down the percentages of what I'm eating so I can stay spot on. I sometimes pre put foods in there to see where I will end up at the end of the day. You might be tired the first couple days, but since going to the gym is pretty much a routine for you, it will be easy to get there and workout.

[Mamas104]

Thanks to everyone for their reply and help! But ok so what happens after a few months when I re-introduce starchy carbs on a regular basis? Does this mean I gain all the weight back? Am I better off keeping carbs in the mix, and keeping my overall calories low (being super clean)? I know I won't be able to go keto long term! I just really want to jump start that fat loss and do get rid of that jiggle...ugh...I hate it! Plus, I'm hearing about these side affects...bad breath, constipation, flat muscles!!!

[jg_girl088]

Thanks to everyone for their reply and help! But ok so what happens after a few months when I re-introduce starchy carbs on a regular basis? Does this mean I gain all the weight back? Am I better off keeping carbs in the mix, and keeping my overall calories low (being super clean)? I know I won't be able to go keto long term! I just really want to jump start that fat loss and do get rid of that jiggle...ugh...I hate it! Plus, I'm hearing about these side affects...bad breath, constipation, flat muscles!!!

I don't know if you will want to re-introduce starches once you see how good life is without them (haha on a regular basis, the carb up is a different story), even if you dont stay true keto long term, I think you will have much better long term health if your carbs were mainly from veggies and fruits if you plan on going back to eating carbs regularly. Just another girl's opinion

[taf1968]

Thanks to everyone for their reply and help! But ok so what happens after a few months when I re-introduce starchy carbs on a regular basis? Does this mean I gain all the weight back? Am I better off keeping carbs in the mix, and keeping my overall calories low (being super clean)? I know I won't be able to go keto long term! I just really want to jump start that fat loss and do get rid of that jiggle...ugh...I hate it! Plus, I'm hearing about these side affects...bad breath, constipation, flat muscles!!!

Don't psyche yourself out because of the "side effects" . . . I think everyone has varying degrees of those, and some not much at all. As you are on keto longer you get more fat adapted and produce less excess ketones, so the breath thing tends to fade anyway. I frankly don't think the breath thing is all that bad, as my wife would not hesitate to tell me so. If you are getting enough fiber and/or fat & oils, and drinking enough water, you can mitigate or avoid constipation issues.

Best advice I can give is to give keto a fair shake--take a few weeks and see if you like it. If you give it an honest chance and stay on track with the nutrition, I think you will probably be pleasantly surprised with the results. And if not, you can always go back to something else.

If you are worried about flatter muscles, you could also consider the TKD approach where you take in additional carbs around your workouts. The fat loss may be a little less dramatic compared to CKD with carb-ups, but it still sheds the pounds pretty quick and I think it helps me to not feel as flat and to recover.

From your profile pics, you don't really look like you have very far to go at all (you're being a little hard on yourself) . . . so keep in mind that if you do try keto, you will want to go by pictures and tape measure quite a bit to judge progress. You may not drop as much weight as you imagine you would or want to, but the scale can be very deceiving.

So that's a bit long winded from someone who has only been on keto since Jan 1 . . . and also not a lady. But thought I'd chime in.

Good luck with whatever you end up doing!

[Mamas104]

I am hard on myself...but pictures are different than real life of course! I have been trying to see my lower abs for so long...and can never get the definition b/c I can't shed that last bit of fat! I'm nervous about giving up carbs because I NEVER have before! I definitely agree its worth a try...but also think a balanced diet is so important! No oatmeal or cereal in the morning is gonna suck, but as long as I get a carb up on the weekend, I think I can do it. I'm STARTING MONDAY! Thank you guys for your help!!! Hope I can stick with it and stop being a damn wuss.

[jaim91]

I am hard on myself...but pictures are different than real life of course! I have been trying to see my lower abs for so long...and can never get the definition b/c I can't shed that last bit of fat! I'm nervous about giving up carbs because I NEVER have before! I definitely agree its worth a try...but also think a balanced diet is so important! No oatmeal or cereal in the morning is gonna suck, but as long as I get a carb up on the weekend, I think I can do it. I'm STARTING MONDAY! Thank you guys for your help!!! Hope I can stick with it and stop being a damn wuss.

If you find that you're getting leaner EVERYWHERE else except your lower abs, may I suggest Yohimbine? It REALLY attacks those stubborn fat pockets women have.

I also reccomend 1-2 days a week of hiit.

[Mamas104]

If you find that you're getting leaner EVERYWHERE else except your lower abs, may I suggest Yohimbine? It REALLY attacks those stubborn fat pockets women have.

I also reccomend 1-2 days a week of hiit.

I've heard of Yohimbine...Tosca Reno (Eat Clean diet) also recommends that...I just posted this question in FAT LOSS--
Ok, so I love circuit training and high intensity cardio when I'm not weight training. I know that cardio is best on an empty stomach to burn more calories/fat...except I can't do intense cardio on an empty stomach b/c I get dizzy and can't end up finishing my workout! I know that your body uses carbs when engaging in high intensity workouts...if none are available then it starts eating up muscle tissue....right? So how do I shed the fat while PRESERVING muscle tissue??? Please someone help clarify...

So if I'm on keto then what??? I'm started keto on Monday so I've been pigging out on carbs since last night...please someone tell me to stop!!!

[jaim91]

I've heard of Yohimbine...Tosca Reno (Eat Clean diet) also recommends that...I just posted this question in FAT LOSS--
Ok, so I love circuit training and high intensity cardio when I'm not weight training. I know that cardio is best on an empty stomach to burn more calories/fat...except I can't do intense cardio on an empty stomach b/c I get dizzy and can't end up finishing my workout! I know that your body uses carbs when engaging in high intensity workouts...if none are available then it starts eating up muscle tissue....right? So how do I shed the fat while PRESERVING muscle tissue??? Please someone help clarify...

So if I'm on keto then what??? I'm started keto on Monday so I've been pigging out on carbs since last night...please someone tell me to stop!!!

You need to get your hands on some Xtend, or any branched chain amino acid powder that you can sip on throughout the day so that your body has a constant supple of aminos going to preserving muscles.

Don't worry about fasted cardio on keto...you're ALWAYS in a fat burning state if you don't eat carbs and if your protein isn't too high. So you can do it pre workout, post workout, end of the day, middle of the day, middle of the night, lol...anytime!

DON'T PIG OUT ON CARBS! That's a command, not a suggestion!