To ask your experience of a keto diet?

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Just started this today. It's basically a very low carb diet. I have low carbed before, but not quite to the keto extreme.

Has anyone found it works well for them? And how long is it until results show? And what alcohol can I drink on it?

neron lots of new evidence shows that eating less and moving more is not the panacea for many people, and that our metabolism is NOT as simple as CICO.

Low carb (keto) suits my metabolism and has had huge health benefits (re diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol).

Personally I've not suffered from constipation or breath issues, but then it is all about doing it in a healthy way so that alongside fats and protein you eat loads and loads of fresh green veg - spinach, avocado, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, kale, bok choi, lettuce, cucumber, celery, radish, mushroom.... those veg are where you get essential carbs from. Plus drinking loads and loads of water - and there are some complex biochemical factors which make this essential.

I find it so much easier to eat out in a restaurant, or at friends, eating a low carb diet than it ever was on a low fat diet.

Basically it requires a certain amount of discipline. You cannot just have a 'wee bit of cake^ you have to have none.

Things to be aware of, there have been no trials to see if this is safe long term, there are some doubts as it puts strain on some organs. I tried normal low carb and my cholesterol was raised by a huge amount.

Many people swear by it, but I personally absolutely hated it. Keto and me are not compatible. I didn't do it for weight loss though, lost weight well before trying keto with good old fashioned calorie restricting and was already slim when started keto. I just heard people raving about it, how energetic you feel and all that and decided to give it a go out of curiosity.

I'm very stubborn, so soldiered on through the dreadful 'keto flu' (and it WAS awful!), but even though the sugar cravings eventually went away, I felt no energy rush or any other benefits, just increasing misery day by day.

Then I stopped and asked myself, why the fuck am I doing this crap? I don't need to lose any weight. I feel dreadful and severely restricted to the point I'm going mad, so why? And went back to my normal eating, which is low-ish in carb (but nowhere near keto levels), bit of everything from all food groups, lots of veggies, lots of water and portion control. Feeling tons better.

If I'd need to lose weight again, I'd be willing to try anything (within reason) EXCEPT for keto.

I’ve not done true keto but I eat a fair few keto recipes and I’ve done the bread fast, and generally eat high protein low carb.

I’d say neat spirits are the way to go, gin or vodka ideally.

There are amazing recipes for keto cookies and this morning I made pronuts. You’ll not be short of treats. Try cauliflower base pizza as well.

But be careful. Keto has some weird side effects and never struck me as entirely safe, which is why I only dabble with the recipes.

I've never suffered from keto flu once. Nor had any side effects. Simply eat a healthy diet, meats, fish, seafood, eggs, cheeses, vegetables and you're fine.

Even cucumber has carbs, there is no need to eat bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits, potatoes etc, there really isn't.

It has many proven benefits, inc reversing diabetes, lowering cholesterol etc,

A man I work with is doing it and he had lost an enormous amount of weight. Multiple stone I would guess. He said it is restrictive but he manages. I asked him how long more he will be on it and he said 6mths. In total I think that would be a year and I am guessing he will have lost about 10stone.

There are amazing recipes for keto cookies and this morning I made pronuts. You’ll not be short of treats. Try cauliflower base pizza as well.

The good thing is that I have absolutely no sweet tooth at all. I wouldn't eat a cookie or a piece of cake even if I was offered it. My Achille's heel is bread.

Man at work said the big drawback is that you can't buy much ready made stuff for lunch and the like. But anyone on a restricted diet has that problem. My son has severe allergies and ready made stuff is also a problem. Always checking ingredients etc.

I was on BIWIs Boot Camp.

I wanted to lose half a stone and a couple of inches round my waist. I lost a stone and a half and 7 inches from my waist! I thoroughly recommend it.

I've been on keto for 4.5 months now and I've lost three stone. I have a long way to go weight loss wise and that is my main goal but i have experienced other benefits too. Once I've reached a weight I'm happy with I'll stick with low carb to maintain.

I had keto flu but it wasn't too big of a deal as I kept on top of my electrolytes and drank plenty of water.

I don't eat out anyway because I have young kids and no money = no social life. However, I could easily pick a few meals that I could order from the menu. There is no harm in asking them to adapt it to suit you.

Keto is not a quick fix. Yes you can lose quite a bit in the first couple of weeks so I understand you think this is a good option to prep for holiday, but it will be water weight that you lose and as soon as you start eating 'normally' again on holiday you'll put it back on.

The bloating you describe is most certainly the carbs that you consume and this will decrease massively if you follow even just the basic principles.

Another thing to be aware of is that there are "versions" of keto, i.e. dirty keto - where you consume fewer carbs but by eating rubbish such as 50% pork sausages containing potato starch etc versus clean keto by eating 97% pork sausages with no inflammatory ingredients.
This way of eating is very much about removing the processed, added crap as it is about limiting your carbs.

I'm part of a clean keto group on Facebook and we stick to 20g carbs or lower per day. You can easily eat 3 meals a day but after the first 4-6 weeks most eat 2 meals or OMAD (one meal a day). I'd be happy to send you a link if you want to join the group and research, read the files, look at success stories etc. The group are very supportive and knowledgeable.

Calories in/out is old news - you don't need to be at a deficit to lose weight in a healthy way.

The awful relationship I had with food is no longer an issue for me. I haven't gone hungry, I don't feel I miss out and I have so much more energy.

I'm doing a no processed carbs (and a maximum of one potato every few days, usually in soup) and low calorie.

It's broken my bread addiction and reset my hunger/full signals.

I've lost two and a half stone. I don't like the high fat side of a proper keto diet and the calories are too much for me to lose on it.

I use exante products and then eat fish/meat and veg. I calorie count it all on Myfitnesspal and allow for some alcohol.

There's liads of groups on FB and across SM. You'll get support and recipes.

I use the 'no carb', noodles/rice/pasta and lo dough.

Long term, keto isn't recommended, but you can still low carb or do a 5:2 plan.

As soon as i give up bread my stomach goes flatter. The eat less/move more doesn't work for everyone. It does matter what your calories consist of.

@fookme
How can you possible lose weight without a calorie deficit??

I do eat quite a good diet the majority of the time. I enjoy cooking and even for lunch I eat prawns & avocado or chicken and salad. The carbs I eat are almost solely bread. I have one packet of crisps on Sunday, and have mashed potato on a Sunday, and other than that the carbs are all from wine or bread. I never have pasta or rice.

I'll swap the wine for vodka and prepare in advance for a weekend so I don't have multiple sandwiches on a weekend because I'm hungover lazy. I'll have my Sunday dinner potato free too.

I recommend reading Why We Get Fat or The Obesity Code as they explain how weight gain happens and the role of the endocrine system and the hormone insulin.

Keto is just Atkins rewrapped.

Eat a healthy unprocessed diet including all the major food groups including carbs but below your calories TDEE and you will lose.

CICO is more realistic it's thermodynamics in action.

Have been keto for a while. Lost almost 10 stone and feel amazing. It works for me because I have an underactive thyroid. It's important to make sure you boost your electrolytes (pink salt) , potassium (losalt) and magnesium (capsules etc) each day to avoid keto flu. Most people just don't and its why they get sick. I love it. I eat a much more varied diet, don't struggle when eating out (nandos is great for keto) and don't have brain fog etc anymore. Watch the magic pill!

Unless you have true medical reasons, don't bother. I have a friend who is miserable as sin when she does it and she falls off the wagon all the time. Check out Team RH on Facebook.

So keto do healthy you had to take supplements.

@zenasfuck by putting my body into nutritional ketosis and burning fat. I'm eating over 2000 calories a day, never hungry and I lose weight. Slow and steady 👌🏼

Happy to share info of the group if interested

I recommend reading Why We Get Fat or The Obesity Code as they explain how weight gain happens and the role of the endocrine system and the hormone insulin.

It's not so much that I'm overweight that I'm struggling with, (I've got a normal BMI), it's the size of my stomach. I thought Leto might reduce that. I genuinely look pregnant.

What about something like Blood sugar diet which is med style and relatively low carb? Might be easier to stick to

Placemarking

shadowonthesun many people who find a keto diet effective and energising are those who have some kind of metabolic disease - diabetes, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, diet-related hypertension etc. They will most likely have been suffering from hunger, tiredness, feeling sleepy after lunch, sugar crashes, cravings... all linked to insulin. A healthy veg-rich keto diet will regulate insulin and release them from some of the aforementioned symptoms.

If you already had a normal, healthy metabolism (which it sounds like you did) then you would see no such improvement.

It's a bastard for vegetarians--but seems very effective for meat eaters.

Very effective indeed. I lost 20kg in eight months by low carbing. I could see a difference in my jawline within days. It gets much easier as time goes on but the first few days are a bitch. I did about a month with no alcohol then drank gin and slimline tonic but only at weekends. The real joy of it is being able to eat cheese, butter, etc.