Struggling with losing weight - keto

[Toni42]

After so much hype from family and friends tried keto but I’m struggling. Just broke it with THREE packets of crisps and now having a glass of wine cos so depressed. I’m really down. Any tips on sticking to keto and stop my carb addiction. Cooking food for kids is torture as always carb based and find myself nibbling their food whilst cooking

Breaking it with three packets of crisps suggest a wider problem than just carbs. Pull up your big girl pants, accept that you have set back your keto journey by about 72 hours and get on with it. You are choosing to eat the carbs, they are not forcing you.

Yes you’re right. When I’m sad or down I reach for crisps n biscuits. Have u tried keto? How quickly before you saw results? I lost 2.5lb so far not as quick as I thougt

Not keto but Atkins works for me. Not the same but both carb restricted - more so Atkins. I make sure I have “treats” I like handy such as nice ham filled with Boursin and a coffee with double cream. Or sugar free jelly and cream. After around 4 days if you are strict cravings should go. I would say keto is more sustainable but Atkins gives better results quickly due to no carbs and therefore no insulin spikes which cause cravings. But this is just my opinion.

I say this as having lost 20lbs over the last two months.

1. You will only lose weight in a calorie deficit. It seems as though cutting out food you love is hard for you. Eat them in moderation.

1. Exercise but DON'T eat back your exercise calories. If you burn 500 kcal on a run, you've boosted your weight loss a little.

1. Slow progress is good progress. 1lb a week is 52lbs in a year. That's almost 4 stone.

I follow Jordan Syatt on instagram. He talks a lot of sense. Keto is a fad and won't work long time.

Iv had to remove crisps and biscuits from the house. Buy bread I'm not keen on and generally limit crap on the house. I allow myself treat at the weekend such as chocolate biscuit bar or icecream. I'm sticking to 800 calories during week and allow more at weekends. You will have blips. But put it behind you and start now. The biggest damage is if you carry on eating.

Btw I'm no means perfect. I munched my way through 2 large alrpo soya yogurts when I went into binge mode one evening.

I like making carby style snacks which are keto friendly. Almond flour and flaxseed meal are your friend here! These are some of my favourite savory keto recipes

Flatbread chips (nachos) this can also be used as a 'pizza' base which you can top with regular pizza toppings
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tbsp cream cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup almond flour (or flaxseed meal, or a combination of the two)
2 garlic cloves (optional)
herbs (optional)

Microwave mozzarella and cream cheese until melted and combined (about 1min).
Add beaten egg, flour, garlic and herbs, stir to combine.
Press out on to a piece of parchment paper.
Bake in oven for 10-15mins at 180C/350F .
Slice into nacho sized chips or top with pizza toppings and pop back in the oven for 5-10mins

Microwave ‘Bread’
3 tbsp almond flour (or flaxseed meal, or a combination)
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt
1 tbsp melted butter
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup parmesan (optional)
1 sp rosemary (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a ramekin. Microwave on full power for 90 seconds.

Cheddar scones
3/4 cup almond flour (or flaxseed meal or a combination)
3/4 cup grated cheddar
1 tsp baking powder
1 beaten egg
1 tsp water (optional if dough needs it)
1 tsp paprika or cayenne (optional)

Mix dry ingredients together then add egg/water until dough is formed. Shape into balls.
Bake at 180C/350F for 15 mins

I know a few people who tried keto and gave it up- it is quite an extreme diet and you have to maintain it as a lifestyle. Why not try low carb instead. Much more doable I think and realistic in terms of something you can maintain.

Please please don't do Keto. Cutting out major food groups is not good for you, and whilst it may promise rapid weight loss, it's not guaranteed for maintaining goals. You need carbs, you need fat, you need fruit, you need variety. Just cut down on the amount of the more calorie dense items and aim to always be in a deficit.

Try exercise 3-4 tumes a week. Without exercise you can not keep your wait lost for a long time. Staying at home starving yourself is not a solution. I cut tje carrbs, sugar anythibg faty. Doing exercise 4 days a week. Lost 3 kg last 2 months. It takes time to start loosing in a short time. Ones you started then hou keep dropping constantly. Trust me it works :)

Crisps are also my downfall so I haven’t eaten any since I started my diet at the end of May. I’m still eating carbs and every other food group. I’m recording everything I eat in My Fitness Pal (even when I have a lapse), it’s really helping to keep me on track. I’ve lost just over a stone (6.5kgs) in 9 weeks.

I’ve tried dieting many times, this time I hit my heaviest ever and knew I had to do something. So much is about being in the right mindset. Forgive yourself for the lapse and try again.

If you've been nibbling carbs from the kids meals you've sabotaged yourself.

Those nibbles will have knocked you out of ketosis.

Thank you everyone I just feel so down. I’m starting new job in 3 weeks and look hideous in all my old work clothes. I just need to lose few pounds da quickly so at least I can feel a bit confident in day 1 of work then do healthy eating.

@Sairafina thank you! So lovely of you x where do u buy along flour?

*almond

OP if you find it hard cooking carby foods for kids without pinching some, you have a strong carb addiction. It is impossible to explain to people who haven’t got it. Carb addiction is a common factor with the overweight and obese sufferers. Extremely common.

The thing which makes you reach for the carbs is the same thing which makes you produce and keep body fat. Insulin, or the excess thereof.

Cravings is the consequence, big appetite is the consequence, not a reason. It would be helpful to read up on physiological mechanisms of fat creation and fat storage in the body. It is so easier to stick to your course, then just try some diet without understanding the WHY behind it.

Keto is a very effective way of lowering insulin production, surpassed only by fasting.

Sorry to break it to you, but if you can’t control yourself around bad carbs, carb restriction/avoidance (of easy-digestible kind) is going to be for life. It won’t be a case of ‘great, I have reached my goal weight, back onto the doughnuts!’ It is one of life’s great unfairnesses that some people are more carb-tolerant than others, but everybody’s tolerance to carbs diminishes with aging. It is hard to find a 50- or 60-year-old who can eat pizza and chips all the time without consequence.

It is hard, but it is doable. You will know you have freed yourself when you will feel nothing when a doughnut is placed in front of you. When you feel full of energy, with a sharp clear mind, sound sleep, even moods and no longer ruled by your appetite. It took me over 2 years. I would never go back to eating rubbish carbs, not for all the tea in China.

It's textures that I miss when low carbing, so I try to have things like precooked crispy bacon from the sandwich meats section of the supermarket, it gives you that crunchy crispy texture, whole nuts are good for that too.

I also use the big flat field or portobello mushrooms to replace bread. A couple of those grilled with halloumi, bean, vegetable or beef burger between gives you the feeling of having eaten a burger without the bun.

You can also have for breakfast with scrambled egg on top instead of doing toast.

@Toni42 you can get almond flour in most supermarkets in the baking section. It is pricy, but a little goes a long way.

As PPs have mentioned, it's good to keep keto friendly snacks around the house so you're not tempted by the crisps! I enjoy
Nuts (almonds, pistachios, cashews)
Beef Jerky
Devilled eggs (I make up 2 or 3 and leave them in the fridge)
Baby bell and other snacking cheeses
Avocados - I have a mild addiction and will eat them with a spoon!!
Baked cheese crisps

I also make sure I include lots of green vegetables with meals to ensure a balance of nutrients, spinach, broccoli, courgettes, cauliflower, cabbage etc and they also help in feeling full but without the excess calories.

I’ve followed Keto for a couple of years now and, on the handful of occasions that I’ve ‘slipped up’ (usually when I’ve been on the road with work) I’ve felt so rubbish afterwards (sluggish, bloated etc.) that it reminds me exactly why I do it. It really is a way of life for me.

Keto, or any kind of dietary lifestyle, doesn’t need to be hard work. It’s just like anything; it becomeS habit the more you do it. Plus, you can make some great carb-imitation things if you so wish. I make ‘bread’ quite often from Keto ingredients which actually tastes amazingly similar to regular bread.

If you’re on Facebook, there are some great groups you can join to give you some inspo on recipes. Variety is the spice of life and all that.

Keto isn’t about completely removing anything as such, bar sugars. I eat fruit, a lot of veg and obviously a fair amount of meat and cheese!

Check out Team RH on Facebook

Keto, like every other diet ever, works by creating a calorie deficit.There is literally no reason to stay on keto of you're not enjoying it. It has no magic powers that negate the caloric content of foods.

Up lean protein and veg drastically , eat somewhat less carbs and forget the keto. You!I be happier and actually lose weight.

Honestly, what is the point of keto if one day you're going to crack and have a plate of pasta and gain 4lb?

Sorry op - that's not aimed at you but at everyone who is so evangelical about it.

I know so many people who have lost tons of weight on a very low carb diet - but generally they can't keep it up.

Because on low carb, unlike any other diet, you actually eat a lot of calories (in the form of healthy fat) and you feel full and satisfied. Carb cravings are similar to addiction, in the same way as you don't need alcohol, but you crave it if you are addicted. You will feel lousy after, detest yourself, despise yourself and what you are doing to yourself, but it is not enough to stop reaching for crap (easy-digestible carbs).

It is rooted in physiology. Appetite is rooted in physiology. Bad carbs provide a rush of glucose into the blood - it feels good, until it doesn't.

OP, read up on it. It is important to understand how it works and why. Cutting calories makes you feel hungry and unsatisfied. This is no way to live. It lowers your metabolic rate permanently, too. Which means that as soon as you stop cutting calories, the weight will pile back on in no time.

People on keto and low carb do not count calories, they eat until full, they simply avoid the foods which spike insulin. It is insulin that drives weight gain (among other unwanted things). This is a serious bonus of low carb, never feeling hungry. While losing weight!

Thank u all. I’ve looked at my food diary and I think I’ve slipped up when I’ve had processed low carb foods. I’m not sure if I can name brands but one bread in particular I got from a well known supermarket is marketed as low carb and yes it actually is half the carbs but which ever day I’ve eaten it I’ve had super binges next few days.

Does anyone know which one I’m talking about and any experiences if it? I feel silly I brought 2 loaves and put in freezer as I got happy I can finally have bread. I Didn’t even go crazy I just had one slice every other day.

Doesn't sound like keto is the right eating plan for you. You don't have to deny yourself carbs to lose weight.
Have a look at Intermittent Fasting like 16:8. You eat in a shorter window, but you do still need to eat sensibly. You could still eat moderate amounts of carbs on this plan without denying yourself then bingeing on crisps.

I’ve followed Keto for about 5 years so obviously believe in the way of eating - it’s worked wonders for me and I don’t think I’ll ever go back to habitually eating carbs.

My question OP is: why Keto? I think you need strong whys to do any diet that is as restrictive as Keto (I don’t think it’s actually restrictive I just think carbs are everywhere - but it feels restrictive because of the food options we have). Unless you know what your ‘why’ is (beyond losing weight - that’s a given for any diet), you’re unlikely to feel ok with your choice to do this.

Keto isn’t a silver bullet. I think it’s wonderful but it’s a big adjustment, and can be hard to make work. It also demands compliance - it’s not a good idea to have a “cheat day” or a packet of crisps “here and there”.

I would ask yourself why Keto? And if you don’t have a strong reason for this particular way of eating, perhaps another option (all diets lead to calorie deficit after all) is better for you? Not to put you off but you don’t sound very happy and most people I know who have enjoyed Keto have been on a total high from it in the first few weeks.