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Low-carb diets

Share advice and experiences of following a low-carb diet.Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Starting Keto Diet tomorrow

539 replies

JustMoved123 · 21/06/2020 05:46

Hi, I’ve not tried Keto before so any advice welcome.

Anyone else just starting out, we could support each other.

OP posts:
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lardass88 · 03/07/2020 20:46

Can we eat hummous? 👀

KetoWinnie · 03/07/2020 20:57

I think so! Not a whole tub but it's 12 grams of carbs per 100 grams so if you just have a spoon of hummous mixed in with 3 chopped up cherry tomatoes, that is delicious with .............eggs Grin

pontiouspilates · 04/07/2020 08:58

Am I missing a trick not counting my carbs? I lost 3lbs within the first 3 days, but am now Day 7 and have stayed the same. I think I've got a bit 'hack happy' for example making the peanut butter cookies two days in a row and eating two of them each day Blush I think I need to get a bit stricter with myself!

MarkRuffaloCrumble · 04/07/2020 09:43

Pontious - it’s tempting isn’t it, to try and recreate what you’d normally have but in a low carb version. But I think the key to it working well is to try and change your mindset as well as the diet, so cookies are no longer an every day thing, they’re a special occasion thing.

Some people are fine eating all that stuff and maybe once you're maintaining instead of trying to lose weight it will be fine, but for now the first few weeks need to be about reeducating your body to stop craving sweet things.

On the BIWI bootcamp the first couple of weeks are quite strict - no nuts, no berries, don’t overdo the dairy, no processed bars/treats etc so it’s mainly just natural food - meat, eggs, fish, veg, salad, fat, some dairy eg Greek yoghurt etc. As long as you stick to that you shouldn’t need to count carbs as it will always be under 50 ish grams. If you’re trying to stay under 20g that might be harder but you will then automatically end up excluding more veg and eating more meat which is where the unhealthy image of low carb comes from.

Once seeds and nuts were allowed we were warned that they can tip the balance as they’re quite easy to eat and relatively high carb. More importantly once you allow them in, your previous habits of eating bread, cake, crackers etc are easier to fall into, as you can recreate those things easily and tastily!

I stalled for several weeks after my first two weeks of amazing losses. Then I eeked out another 2lb and stalled again. I’m now stuck at 1 stone (+ 1lb!) loss after 7 weeks. I’d lost 12lb in the first fortnight Grin. I’m beginning to feel frustrated but I’m sticking to it for now, as I like not feeling hungry.

The key is to stick with it, maybe up the exercise a little too, as that MUST help right?! I’ve committed to 10,000 steps a day (on weekdays - I’m having the weekend off!) and will double down on the food and try not to get swayed by the promise of almond sponges anymore Grin

MarkRuffaloCrumble · 04/07/2020 09:46

Also make sure you’re drinking 2-3L of water depending how much you weigh. I’m a heavy weight so need 3L apparently! It’s hard to squeeze that much water in, but it’s necessary to flush out the nasties.

pontiouspilates · 04/07/2020 10:24

That's all very helpful thank you. As I was gleefully mixing almond flour with a shit tonne of peanut butter I knew that the calories for those ingredients would be super high, 'but its keto, so all good right?!' 😂 you are right markruffalocrumble it's Day 1 of re-educate for me today. More water. Less dairy and keeping it as simple and unprocessed as possible.

daisychicken · 04/07/2020 12:54

I agree with what MarkRuffaloCrumble says. It is very easy to inadvertently eat more carbs than whatever carb level you choose to stick with, hence why I tend to keep track. I also find I don't loose weight if I eat more than 20-30g carbs hence why I aim for 20g/day. BUT, I don't worry if I go slightly over. It's more important that I eat well with plenty of veg and don't feel restricted.

BIWI's bootcamp threads are well worth following and BIWI gives so much useful information and tips. I tend to lurk on bootcamp threads as it helps keep me on track and there are some good recipes!

KetoWinnie · 04/07/2020 14:31

@pontiouspilates i agree wrt to almond flour.
The first time i broke a 36 hour fast, i made a keto pancake and the calories in that yoke wiped out the good of the fast, and made me feel sick.

The last two fasts, i broke with a tin of mackerels, i rinsed off the tomato.

3 months ago i hadnt ever eaten tinned mackerel and i would have screwed up my face in horror! But the protein/fat is perfect for breaking a 36 hour fast. They dont taste too bad when they're the first thing you've eaten in 36 hours!

Im cutting myself slack for making mistakes at the beginning though.

KetoWinnie · 04/07/2020 14:54

Now i know that non starchy vegetables' net carbs are between 1/3 and a 1/4 of the ... gross carbs, i can stick with myfitness pal and tweak the answer.

Now i understand it a bit better i realise that the reason i haven't been losing weight isnt because i wasnt in ketosis, but because i was just consuming too many calories. Almond flour, nuts, butter, cheese.

But I get it now. calories still matter.

I dont want my body to get used to too little calories!!

My fitness pal suggests 1200 per day for weight loss. I prefer to do 1200 x 7 ÷ 6 = about 1400 per day for the 6 eat days.

I have read that that stops yr body getting used to 1200 cals per day.

But, my love of the science and maths hasnt lead to the needle heading left!!

I have so much hope for my weigh in tomorrow

pontiouspilates · 04/07/2020 15:33

Good luck for tomorrow ketowinnie I'm feeling much better prepared going forward, my first week has been a learning curve and ultimately I'm still 3lbs down, so I'll take it as a win. As markruffalocrumble said its about learning not to have the cookies etc on a regular basis. I'm focusing on reeducating myself.

Dulcedelecherocks · 04/07/2020 18:44

I agree carbs can creep up on you and especially at the beginning it's useful to track until you learn how much you can have of stuff. When I first started I didn't track and didn't lose much, so I tracked religiously for about 2 months and it turned out I was eating way too much! No wonder the loss was very little.

Today I've had tuna mayo olive cucumber boats for lunch and chicken fajitas (without the wraps) and vegetable rice. I feel quite full and satisfied.

I made some coconut milk lollies but they didn't come out as sweet as I wanted so I don't like them very much. Think I'll turn them into a shake tomorrow morning.

Well done on the losses and good luck on the weigh ins tomorrow.

MarkRuffaloCrumble · 04/07/2020 19:13

See I say all that and then went and made a keto fathead pizza for dinner today Grin

It was pretty tasty but still clearly egg and cheese not bread as the base! No matter how often these recipes say “it tastes just like the real thing” - it doesn’t! But it was nice none the less.

Starting Keto Diet tomorrow
Turkeydrumstick · 04/07/2020 19:59

@MarkRuffaloCrumble that looks delicious!

I’ve not been very hungry today (probably because I ate enough for a small family yesterday Blush). Just been grazing most of the day and going to have chicken and veg for tea. It’ll be the end of the first week tomorrow and I feel a bit slimmer- much less bloated.

KetoWinnie · 04/07/2020 20:42

@MarkRuffaloCrumble

See I say all that and then went and made a keto fathead pizza for dinner today Grin

It was pretty tasty but still clearly egg and cheese not bread as the base! No matter how often these recipes say “it tastes just like the real thing” - it doesn’t! But it was nice none the less.

That looks like pizza!

Something that would make egg taste like bread would be a great discovery!

KetoWinnie · 04/07/2020 20:46

@pontiouspilates

Good luck for tomorrow ketowinnie I'm feeling much better prepared going forward, my first week has been a learning curve and ultimately I'm still 3lbs down, so I'll take it as a win. As markruffalocrumble said its about learning not to have the cookies etc on a regular basis. I'm focusing on reeducating myself.
yes, 3lbs down is a win, definitely.

Thanks! I'm feeling a bit slimmer. I have been taking my teenage daughter's orders to tuck in shirts, and I feel better doing that now. So, staying positive! I threw myself in to keto without really researching the pitfalls and carbs v net carbs. I'm feeling more on top of things now.

KetoPenguin · 04/07/2020 21:43

I am totally going to make that pizza soon, just need to get some almond flour.

MarkRuffaloCrumble · 05/07/2020 00:52

Top tip: I’d recommend making several small ones rather than one or two large, as the edges were definitely more convincing than the middles.

wildthingsinthenight · 05/07/2020 07:36

That looks awesome MarkRuffaloCrumble so impressive!
Thanks for the link.
KetoWinnie pontiouspilates well done on your losses.
I'm happy to just be maintaining at the moment as I have a few things going on and my head isn't 100% in the game this week. So good to try on jeans that are baggy though!
Have roast lamb and veggies planned for Sunday lunch today.

KetoWinnie · 05/07/2020 08:14

Ooh, i havent weighed myself for a week but Im going to now. I had 3 weeks in a row at the same weight. In fact it went up one week! It was 9.13lb, 9.12lb, and then last week 9.13lbs. So i have high hopes. Going for a wee now. Dont need a p00 Flowers but maybe i can blow my nose!

KetoWinnie · 05/07/2020 08:53

🎺🥁📯

KetoWinnie · 05/07/2020 08:56

a 6lb loss! WOW

I do not understand this tbh, it's not a linear process, it's circuitous with road blocks, but anyway, 9.7lbs this morning and feeling glad I didn't give up. Was tempted to give up a few times over the last 3 weeks.
This week I FELT different. I felt like it might be working.

I switched to soya milk about ten days ago so each tea/coffee was not adding a whole gram of carb in, that helped. Maybe the science had a chance to kick in.

Anway, I'm delighted, and I must go to tesco to get more soya milk later as that obviously made a BIG difference.

KetoWinnie · 05/07/2020 09:01

@Shinyletsbebadguys just reading back and your graph was spot on for me.

wildthingsinthenight · 05/07/2020 09:10

Fantastic news KetoWinnie! So pleased for you!

pontiouspilates · 05/07/2020 09:16

ketowinnie fantastic loss, you must feel great. What motivation and confirmation to keep on keeping on.

Turkeydrumstick · 05/07/2020 09:22

@KetoWinnie that’s an amazing loss well done!

It’s fantastic to be on a diet that’s working! I’ve lost 4lbs this week so I am 12 stone 9- 1 stone 4 to get to my healthy BMI. I’m shopping for my wedding dress 4 weeks on Saturday, if I could be 12 stone or under by then I’d be over the moon!

This post is really helping me- the tips and comments have been so useful!