Keto Diet

Has anyone tried this plan?

After losing my house, I lived with my sister in town. She’s an excellent cook and there is fast food all around. I managed to gain 12 lbs and my blood sugar has risen into the 150s. I have to get it back down. Losing weight is a key factor.

If anyone has tried Keto…how hard is the plan to stick to.

I did Keto a little over a year ago, and I lost 17lbs in about 5-6 weeks, with some regular exercise. The pro's you get to eat fatty foods, the con's very very little carbs... I ended up going back to a regular diet, just cut my carbs (potatoes, rice, pasta, etc..) down a bit and started eating more vegetables. I'd do some research and see if it's something you think you can adhere too. You may want to look at intermittent fasting as well, if you think you can do it.

My wife has used it successfully in the past. It seems to work once you get into ketosis. I would think it may not be good on your heart though.

No I have not.

However, I'm sure I mentioned my current regiment in another topic somewhere in the fitness forum.

"Stress and no eating!

Trust me, it works and helps you lose weight.

I do NOT truly recommend it, but it DOES work!

...!

I did Paleo several years back before Keto became popular and lost 35 lbs. Did not eat potatoes or bread for 6 months. Eventually weight came back after I got tired of it. Later did Keto and lost 25 lbs although I never got into full ketosis. My Cardiologist does not favor the low carb diet and prefers some Low Fat action. But he liked me being skinnier so go figure. I never lost weight on a daily walking plan although I still do it. BMI charts always like the word obese but my docs never said I was fat. If your doctor has lost weight on a diet plan he or she will likely tout it to you! IMO lol. I agree with Stuntman about cutting back on carbs and I never use processed sugar or any soda pop.

Lost 50 on it back in 2018. If you stop the "lifestyle", it will all come back. Currently back at it again, and thankfully, there's more options available at the grocery store.

I did it about 4 years ago, and lost about 35 lbs. If you make the decision to do it, and then stick to it, it is basically a foregone conclusion that you will lose significantly. The best thing about Keto is that you never have to be hungry. Name one other "diet" that if you get hungry, you can go to Sonic and order a bun-less chili cheese dog. Believe it or not, getting enough fat is the hardest part. Protein and fiber are everywhere, but you actually have to work to get enough fat.

After I did it, I came up with two pieces of advise for anyone who wants to try it.

1. Keto works on macros. You literally count the number of grams of sugar in everything you eat. You keep that number low enough, you enter ketosis. Just one gram of sugar too high, and you pull out of ketosis. Once you come out, it takes 2-3 days to get back in. Understand that one bite of a desert is going to push you over the line. So if you are going to cheat, go ahead and cheat big. Eat the cake and ice cream too. Whether you are 1 gram of sugar over, or an entire bag of oreos over, it still takes the same amount of time to get back into ketosis.

2. If something says "Keto Friendly" on the package, you probably don't need to eat it. First, it will taste like [censored] anyway. Second, it will have some sort of alternative flour that still has more carbs than you need. You can eat about half a keto friendly tortilla. Likewise you'll hear a lot of tricks you can do to make some concoction that "tastes just like _____." Don't even mess with them. You can try to trick you mind into thinking this diet coke with heavy cream tastes just like a coke float, but it is a sad sad trick.

Low carb is better about not feeling hungry between meals-at least it was for me. Some good cookbooks available. I was eating so many eggs my LDL went up so Cardiologist talked me into using egg whites which are actually pretty good with a few things added.

It's the fats that keep your hunger down.

The yellow in the egg is the most healthy part of the egg

Since I have heart disease the doc wants my LDL below 70. It was running about 80 when I was having 2 eggs a day. Thats great but by using what I call “fake eggs” I am getting LDL readings in the mid 60s. If you put onions and bell peppers with the Bob Evans “fake eggs” or egg whites the taste is ok. I miss the egg yolks a little I admit.

I did the Keto diet for a few months and lost 35 pounds. Went in to full ketosis and shed the weight. Almost pure carnivore diet. However the night sweats from my body trying to breakdown all that meat and fat was not desirable. Then I got to a point where I thought 1 cheat day wont hurt. Then vacations, etc. Gained it all back. I still don't eat bread, only drink unsweet tea, but not full Keto. Not working the second time around.

Sorry to be blunt, but you were not doing the Keto diet correctly. The main premise of Keto is for your body to adopt fat as its primary energy source. The Keto diet is supposed to be comprised of 75% fat, 20% proteins, and 5% carbohydrates. This is tweaked a bit for weightlifters and such, but not nearly as much as you'd think.

What you described above, JJ4MEL, will likely still induce ketosis, and you can definitely still lose a lot of weight that way. But there is such a thing as protein starvation where you consume only meats and not enough fat, fiber, and other micro nutrients to sustain yourself.

All that said, the Keto diet is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. Our society has been told that fat is bad for as long as any of us can remember. Try to make a meal comprised of 75% fat, and let me know what you think.

It works. You have to plan your meals ahead and stick with it. Same as any other avenue for losing weight. I keep beef jerky in the car. I've started intermittent fasting and the best thing about that is not having to "worry" about eating. I eat 1 big meal a day. I don't have energy dumps and I don't get those hunger pains like I used to. It boils down to self discipline. When I read your post it says "my sister cooks" and "fast food all over" insinuating that is the reason for your weight gains. You need to own up, take responsibility, and control your eating. Its soooooo easy to go down the convinient (and cheap) path. Just gotta plan ahead and prioritize your health.

Keto isn't a diet it's a lifestyle

I have a friend that says he has been on it- or low carb anyway- for ten years. That is when it is definitely a lifestyle. He falls off during the holidays then tries to get right back on it. Not real skinny but has a great deal of hate for carbs!

I'm on Keto for controlling diabetes, went from 9.5 A1C in April down to 5.8 this month. My family and I are utilizing these cook books and I highly recommend them. Dirty Lazy Keto (Getting Started) by Stephane Laska, Dirty Lazy Keto (10carbs or less), Dirty Lazy Keto (Dirt Cheap), Dirty Lazy Keto (5-Ingredint). Yes it's a life style change, but do able and doctor indicated that a cheat day once and a while is OK.

I did Keto a few years back and had a lot of success dropping about 35 lbs but my affinity for carbs (chips/salsa, korean noodles, rice and tortillas) ultimately derailed me after a short period of time.

Doing Adkins here. Down 21 so far.

Just a quick note on cheat days - ketosis happens when your body thinks that carbs and sugars are not going to be available as a fuel source. While in ketosis your body actively uses fat as its primary fuel source, which is what allows for the dramatic weight loss. For the average person, you can consume no more than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day to keep your ketones triggered. Once you go over the mark, it takes 3-4 days to get back into full ketosis.

So thinking about it - if you take a cheat day every Saturday, then it is sometime the next Wednesday or Thursday before you get back in to ketosis, and you are only burning fat for 2 or 3 days out of the week. If you can limit your cheat days to 1 or 2 per month, you get 10+ days in a row in ketosis and will see much more dramatic results.

Also, if you are going to cheat, you may as well CHEAT. As far as ketosis goes, there is no difference in 21 grams of carbs and 200 grams of carbs. So if you end up at a party and the only thing to eat is pizza, go ahead and make yourself a Dr Pepper float, and have a slice or two of cake as well. Then get ice cream for desert on the way home. The next day be disciplined.