Keto Support?

[inkblonde]

So I started the Keto diet a couple of weeks ago, but cheated hard over the first weekend. It forced me to re-evaluate why I'm choosing to eat low carb, so my resolve is a lot stronger; I'm able to find a lot of healthier low-carb alternatives to their high-carb counterparts without sacrificing the taste!

The thing is, after my cheat, I "restarted" last Monday, 8/7. There were a few nights where I went to bed with my stomach ballooned out from bloating, so I've cut back a bit on dairy since I think I might have gone a little overboard on that. But other than that, I've been following strictly to the diet, never going over 20g net carbs, keeping protein at a decent level (80g), and fat high (133g).

I've experienced some "keto flu" symptoms, but they disappeared fairly quickly. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as most people describe it. I am definitely coming from a high-carb, high-fat diet with tons of excess sugar, which makes me wonder if I'm doing this right since I figured the adjustment period would hit me hard. Instead, I'm starting to feel more motivated and energized, of which I'm not sure is from the diet, that I'm drinking coffee regularly for the first time in my life, or the steps I'm making towards changing bad lifestyle habits.

I guess in this small rant of mine, I just want support from other keto-ers and hear how y'all started out. I know it's not supposed to be a quick fix diet, but I definitely expected to see some form of change. My friends and family have all but mocked and ridiculed me trying to be keto, which is not helping my resolve. I'm using keto for weight loss and the energy everyone says they get from it. I definitely plan on moving on to a slightly higher carb count once I get to where I want to be so that I could actually eat some vegetables and the occasional sweet potato. It's been 9 days and I can't tell if I'm in ketosis yet.

[Goingviking]

So I started the Keto diet a couple of weeks ago, but cheated hard over the first weekend. It forced me to re-evaluate why I'm choosing to eat low carb, so my resolve is a lot stronger; I'm able to find a lot of healthier low-carb alternatives to their high-carb counterparts without sacrificing the taste!

The thing is, after my cheat, I "restarted" last Monday, 8/7. There were a few nights where I went to bed with my stomach ballooned out from bloating, so I've cut back a bit on dairy since I think I might have gone a little overboard on that. But other than that, I've been following strictly to the diet, never going over 20g net carbs, keeping protein at a decent level (80g), and fat high (133g).

I've experienced some "keto flu" symptoms, but they disappeared fairly quickly. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as most people describe it. I am definitely coming from a high-carb, high-fat diet with tons of excess sugar, which makes me wonder if I'm doing this right since I figured the adjustment period would hit me hard. Instead, I'm starting to feel more motivated and energized, of which I'm not sure is from the diet, that I'm drinking coffee regularly for the first time in my life, or the steps I'm making towards changing bad lifestyle habits.

I guess in this small rant of mine, I just want support from other keto-ers and hear how y'all started out. I know it's not supposed to be a quick fix diet, but I definitely expected to see some form of change. My friends and family have all but mocked and ridiculed me trying to be keto, which is not helping my resolve. I'm using keto for weight loss and the energy everyone says they get from it. I definitely plan on moving on to a slightly higher carb count once I get to where I want to be so that I could actually eat some vegetables and the occasional sweet potato. It's been 9 days and I can't tell if I'm in ketosis yet.

I recommend buying some Keto strips to test whether or not you are in Ketosis(look on amazon). They will allow you to understand how long it takes your body to get in Ketosis. You can also use this information to introduce larger amounts of protein, while testing to see if you remain in ketosis. Your protein is probably half what it should be for ideal lean body mass preservation.

I am starting a similar diet, but keeping my protein at a gram per pound of body weight. If this keeps me out of ketosis then I guess I will not be doing a "ketosis" diet as muscle preservation is crucial to long term weight management. A high protein, medium fat, low carb diet is actually more efficient then a high fat, low protein, low carb diet. This is because you get a calorie discount when you eat protein due to the high TEF(Thermal Effect of Food). Both diets will provide the benefits of low insulin levels.

What I am trying to get at is that you should try to at the very least to maximize protein(upwards to a gram per pound) as much as you can while staying in ketosis. Testing ketosis levels with the strips will be needed to achieve this.

Make sure you supplement with a multi vitamin and magnesium. Also eat at least one avocado everyday for potassium and add some salt to some of your meals.

I also recommend avoiding the free for all of saturated fats and instead looking at getting your fat mainly from Omega 3's, Omega 6's and monounsaturated sources.

[Mrpb]

Don't bother with keto strips. They're not accurate. You could buy a blood meter but I don't recommend it. It's really not important knowing how deep in ketosis you are. Fat loss will occur anyway, ketosis or not.

80 gram protein would be ok for a sedentary woman. If you're trying to build muscle your protein should be 0.8 gram per pound of lean body mass.

[inkblonde]

I'm trying to avoid getting the strips because I heard of their inaccuracy, but I might crack and get some.

As for the protein, you're definitely right. I use MFP to track and I'm eating at a deficit, but it won't let me change my goals, only percentages (hella irritating). I'll definitely start pulling in a little more protein, I can't even believe I missed that.

Ironically, I hate avocados.

I'm thoroughly new at all of the healthy lifestyle stuff, I'm trying keto at the suggestion of a friend who knows I keep trying to shed the weight I gained in my final semester of college. He's obsessed with keto. I'm mostly using this to kickstart myself into a healthier diet overall. Thank you for your suggestions!

[inkblonde]

80 gram protein would be ok for a sedentary woman. If you're trying to build muscle your protein should be 0.8 gram per pound of lean body mass.

I am definitely sedentary, but I go on long walks on the weekends and occasionally in the mornings. I'm working on finding a gym and establishing a workout regimen, but for now I'm letting my body adjust to the new fuel source.

[Goingviking]

Blood testing is more accurate but strips also seem to be accurate enough to show whether or not you are in ketosis:

https://www.nvkc.nl/sites/default/fi...3-p186-188.pdf

You can scroll down to conclusion.

80 grams of protein may not be sufficient for a sedentary woman who is providing little glucose to their body. Some of this protein will be converted to glucose at the very least at the early stages of your diet. If ketosis is not as efficient as the believers make it out to be you might find that your 80 grams of protein was not enough to avoid stripping your body of a good portion of your lean body mass. There is a compelling argument for increased protein consumption during periods of weight loss even when compared to a period of time where muscle development is a priority.

[Mrpb]

Blood testing is more accurate but strips also seem to be accurate enough to show whether or not you are in ketosis:

https://www.nvkc.nl/sites/default/fi...3-p186-188.pdf

The Precision BHB test strips are the strips used in the Precision blood glucose meter.

"Various studies have demonstrated that blood BHB measurement is more effective for detecting ketosis and tracking the resolution of DKA than blood and urine strip methods based on nitroprusside-containing reagents (1-3). Nitroprusside reacts with acetoacetate and acetone but not with BHB, the predominant ketone body in DKA. Methods that employ nitroprusside-containing reagents are prone to interference by sulfhydryl medications, including the antihypertensive agent captopril. Moreover, nitroprusside test results are qualitative and rely on the ability of the user to differentiate colors. Finally, detection of ketone bodies in urine depends on the ability to pass urine and levels often lag 2 to 4 hours behind the levels in blood. "

And as said, whether you're in ketosis or not does NOT matter for weight loss or fat loss.