To try keto

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Does this help prevent hunger?
im completely carb addicted and it’s making me feel awful

I'm doing keto for blood sugar reasons, if I get into normal range consistently then I'll start to introduce more carbs and go low carb instead.

Im in the healthy weight range but my blood sugar was off the scale. In 2 and a half weeks I'm down from 19.1 to around 7. There are clear benefits to this beyond just weight loss.

You need to balance out which health concern is the worst and work on that.

I think you need to be careful on keto to make sure you are getting a good range of foods and take good vitamin supplements and drink plenty of water. I'm also doing intermittent fasting which I mostly did anyway.

I've had no sugar cravings of note and I was an addict.

You need to do what works for you. I reduce my carbs as I find eating pasta and bread makes me crave more and eat in a calorie deficit to try and lose weight but try not to go too extreme with cutting out food groups etc as I have got children and don't think it's a good message.

Mumsnet is a bit of a minefield when it comes to diets, lots of extreme views and people telling you the only way to be healthy or lose weight is their way. There's a lot of people with clearly disordered thoughts surrounding food so please be careful.

@Beluowens if you have an air fryer then broccoli and cauliflower are amazing roasted in that with a little oil.

I think as with anything, it depends on you as a person.

I've had success with LCHF, through mumsnet boot camps (thank you ladies) but ultimately, it suits me, works for me, seems to be the only way I can function well and feel amazing and healthy, regardless of the potential weight loss!

Calorie deficit just doesn't help me, I'm miserable, hungry and struggle to function. Whereas my sister thrives on it but doesn't on LCHF.

We're all different. It doesn't need to turn into a (low carb) bun fight every time!

I agree. I had a lot of success counting calories in the past but for me I still craved sugar. I was able to limit myself within my allowance but inevitably I tended to put weight back on as soon as I wasn't logging and being careful. Others seem to be able to keep it off though.

Now that I am invariably insulin resistant, for my health, low carb (but currently keto) is the only option unless I want to be medicated for the rest of my days and never actually resolve the root cause.

Referring to earlier in the thread about the banana, obviously a banana has more vitamins and minerals and fibre, but unless your body can deal with the carbs or you can burn it off, then the carb value will turn to fat in the same way as sugar or white bread etc

So for me I can't eat the mars bar or the banana unfortunately.

I've lost 3st on keto. I have a VERY sweet tooth, so it was difficult to begin with. Being an ex bodybuilder, I was used to reduced carbs but after an injury, I piled the weight on. Its taken me 3months to lose 3st but I'm super strict. I can't see me ever eating bread or pasta again tbh.

The more I read about keto, the worse I think it might be for me. I need low cholesterol too and keto isn't going to help here.

I'll try a low carb, increased veg and exercise regime and see what happens.

@CatchYouOnTheFlippetyFlop do you mind me asking how many calories you’re eating a day? Wondering what my target should be. Thank you 😊

I recommend it. I lost 13 kilos by doing it strictly and now maintain via a low carb diet.

I don’t eat breakfast.

For lunch I have a low carb wrap filled with ham, cheese, lettuce, avocado.

I snack on hard boiled eggs, nuts, celery, green beans.

Fir dinner I have a low carb version of whatever the family is eating. Last night I had bolognaise on steamed broccoli while they also had pasta, the night before was roast chicken with a heap of green vegetables while they also had roast potatoes.

I buy nice cheeses, smoked salmon etc. for treats. I have almond milk in my coffee.

If I want a drink I have a vodka soda or a gin with zero sugar tonic:

If we are out with friends or on holidays I eat whatever I want including all the carbs!

I eat more vegetables now than I ever have.

I feel good and my clothes fit.

Do it!
I'm following the Fast800 Keto at the moment, and signed up to the site as well to try & keep myself motivated. The website includes meal planners & creates shopping lists for you which is really helpful. DD has type 1 diabetes so low carb really helps manage her blood sugars so I double the evening meals for her, too.
Breakfast today was a tray bake - mushrooms, tomato, egg, 1 slice bacon, 1 small sausage.
Lunch - chicken zoodle soup (chicken, stock, peanut butter, courgette, carrot, ginger, spring onion, mirin)
Dinner - chicken satay salad
Total cals 971 / 21g carbs.
Lots of great flavours & fresh food😁

After a few days you really don't feel hungry, which I found really difficult to get my head around. Heaps more energy. I'm peri, and had terrible night sweats. These have now stopped too - unexpected bonus!

I started hrt at the end of November and been bleeding pretty much continuously since. I started carnivore on Monday and now it looks like the bleeding is stopping, just a bit of spotting on and off now for the last few days.

It could be coincidence, it could start up again, or it could be because my body is starting to work better 🤷‍♀️

I'm diabetic/insulin resistant and have gluten issues, so carbs aren't for me.

Left me severely constipated, despite the benefits I couldn't face a poo like that again. Nightmare inducting!

Aren't people worried about high cholesterol with eating so many fatty foods? It's not all good cholesterol in the foods you're listing

I found, through trial and error with my diet, and regular blood work, that it's carbs mixed with fats and trans fats that increased my cholesterol, not fat in meat, cheese, butter etc.

Most people doing it properly will be eating lots of avocado, green leafy veg, nuts and seeds and good fats too. Good quality meat, grass fed etc, organic produce.

As I said earlier, for me I have no choice as I have to sort my blood sugars, hopefully I'll be able to add some "healthy" carbs back in.

For those who are obese then they are already carrying major health risks so being able to burn fat quickly is an advantage.

Long term I'd be looking at 60/20/20 for a healthy diet. No white bread, pasta and rice. Wholemeal/grain only.

Other than Freshwell, can anyone recommend any sites for ideas on low carb vegetarian or keto vegetarian?

@Aerielview - have a look at the Low Carb Bootcamp threads on here. There is a recipe section or thread I think.

I was keto for a year and my weight got down to 9 stone, I was delighted, but when I fell off the wagon I feel like my body piled on an Extra stone just because I had reintroduced carbs. I wish I'd really monitored the effect of the carbs on my weight as I came off keto. I am low carb now and it's so so much easier but the weight loss is a lot slower.

I think that’s a huge issue with low carb or Keto @Fuerza. The original Atkins book recommends gradually re-introducing carbs - healthy whole grains etc - and tracking when you start to regain weight. Then you should try to stay at that level to maintain weight loss.

Surely at a time of environmental crisis, advocating shoving tons more animal products in your face is a little irresponsible?

Surely at a time of unprecedented population obesity, all possible methods to curb this need to be considered.
Low carb doesn't necessarily mean meat heavy, there are other ways to get protein.

You think people should eat the bugs instead?

Avoiding debating the merits of keto, just happy it works for me (former carb addict!).

Sample day’s menu-

breakfast : Greek yogurt with a handful of frozen raspberries and almonds
lunch: scrambled eggs on keto toast (Livelife bread) with cheese on top. Marmite spread on the toast.
dinner: roast pork (crackling-yum!) with celeriac mash and green veg.

My favourite keto recipe book is Lazy Keto Kitchen by Monya Kilian Palmer. It’s great!

Avoiding the koolaid comments about meat, Keto doesn't mean increasing protein unless you are going for a high protein diet which you can do without keto.

You are replacing carbs with fats rather than protein, those fats don't need to be meat or I suppose even dairy though that does it make it harder. I'm presuming that people are eating things such as avocados, full fat greek yoghurt, butter, olive oil, coconut milk, nuts and seeds, oily fish. I'm not eating anymore meat but I am choosing less lean cuts such as chicken thighs rather than breast, fattier mince (as long as it's grassfed) etc.

Fats are more calorie dense than carbs so you need less to get the appropriate calories and feel full.