Beginner with Keto, check this over please

jmson23 · 05-28-2009, 09:35 AM

Hi all. I've decided enough is enough. After seeing my Dad almost die recently after having an aortic aneurysm (related to obesity and smoking cigarettes) I've decided to get rid of my chubby 250 body and slim down to where I belong. Since I have so much fat to lose, I think some sort of keto diet will be the most beneficial to me.

I've browsed through these forums on the basics of the diet, but I still don't feel that confident so in what I should eat, so I would like some help please. I just went to the grocery store and bought:

Cucumbers
Salad mix
Carrots (these apparently won't work, too many carbs)
Celery
Frozen veggie mixes (also have lots of carbs)
Chicken breast
Bacon
Turkey breast cuts
Frozen sausages (surprisingly high in carbs)
Colby jack cheese
Mozzarella string cheese
Eggs

If you could give me feedback on the above list I would appreciate it.

So it is my current understanding that I should be eating roughly 10x my body weight in calories, 50-60% coming from fat 25-35% from protein and about 5% from carbs. What I want to know is a good upper limit on carbs per day? Is it 30g? 50g?

Thank you so much for reading this and hopefully giving me some help. I have a new sense of motivation and desire to do this for real and nothing will hold me back!

Eileen · 05-28-2009, 09:53 AM

Don't worry, not too bad for a first shopping trip. Keep the carrots and mixed veggies for your carb-up, or feed them to your father. I'm guessing he should be eating lots of assorted veg.

Throw the sausages into the freezer, pull them out when you have friends around who will eat them for you.

Everything else looks good.

Next time you go shopping, get some broccoli, spinach, kale, dark coloured lettuce, cauliflower, green beans, avocado, stuff like that. If you have a garden, pick some dandelion.

Also good is rib steak (this is the cheapest type of steak they do) or cheap ground beef.

Chicken breast costs more than you need to spend. Chicken thighs or drumsticks, or even a whole chicken are a lot cheaper.

Get some fish as well. Salmon is great, but can be pricy, sardines and mackerel is usually cheaper.

Oh yeah, aim for less than 20g of carbs a day. That allows for a lot of veg, almost no other carbs.

jmson23 · 05-28-2009, 10:14 AM

Thanks for the advice.

I don't know how I can eat less than 20g of carbs a day though! Today the only things I have eaten are eggs, cheese, turkey franks and turkey breast and I already have 14g of carbs down with only 600 calories! What am I doing wrong?

Eileen · 05-28-2009, 10:21 AM

Where are you getting those carbs? Eggs have only trace carbs, turkey should have none, real cheese should have less than 1g.

jmson23 · 05-28-2009, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eileen

Where are you getting those carbs? Eggs have only trace carbs, turkey should have none, real cheese should have less than 1g.

I have been recording everything on FitDay to keep track of what I eat. I created custom foods for everything based on the nutrition facts on the back of each product.

Eggs have 1g of carbs per egg according to my egg carton. Oscar Mayer turkey franks have 2g carbs per link. Publix reduced fat string cheese has 1g per serving. Publix turkey breast has 3g of carbs per 5 slices.

lost1700 · 05-28-2009, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmson23

Thanks for the advice.

I don't know how I can eat less than 20g of carbs a day though! Today the only things I have eaten are eggs, cheese, turkey franks and turkey breast and I already have 14g of carbs down with only 600 calories! What am I doing wrong?

make sure you are subtracting fiber grams from carbs to get the correct amount of carbs you are taking in.

Carbs - Fiber = >20g Carbs

mistercakes · 05-28-2009, 12:58 PM

The processed stuff i think is hurting you... drop the hot dogs.. and get beef,chicken, etc.. from the butchers freezer. Keep eggs, there staple Keto Food. 3g in 5 slices of Turkey, tells me they are adding something with carbs.

I have heard many times on the boards that your carbs should primarily come from green veggies.

Eileen · 05-28-2009, 04:21 PM

What he said. Lose the processed meat, eat steak and chicken and fish. Count 1g of carbs per 6 eggs, not per egg. If your cheese has carbs, it's crappy processed stuff. Proper cheddar has less than 1g of carbs per 100g of cheese.

Eat lots of vegetables. Broccoli, celery, cabbage, kale, lettuce, spinach, green beans, cauliflower, rhubarb.

jmson23 · 05-28-2009, 07:16 PM

I made it through my first day of keto! I ended the day with 30.3g of carbs, around 2200 calories in total and macro ratios of 62/31/6 fat/protein/carbs.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Eileen - would it be safe to say that if I switch to non-processed meats like chicken breast, steak, ground chuck, etc. that I could eat all the veggies I want? I bought whole broccoli stalks and two cucumbers but I've been unable to find how many carbs are in each.

Eileen · 05-29-2009, 01:54 AM

Count your overall calories, eat fresh meat etc, and fill half your plate with green vegetables at every sit-down meal. If you do that, you don't really have to worry about specific numbers or amounts.

Bags of washed salad or spinach are very handy, incredibly low cal and carb, and easy to turn into a big salad in seconds.