Starting Keto Diet tomorrow

[JustMoved123]

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

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

Welcome @MattBerrysHair sorry to hear about your skin! Have you increased your dairy consumption on keto? If I go too crazy with milk and cheese I find my eczema is much worse- I have no idea why!

@MattBerrysHair welcome. I have eczema too and it’s definitely not improved. Because of keto I’m more or less gluten free which I was hoping would be helpful so maybe I’ll try dairy next 🤷‍♀️

Thanks for the welcome! I have increased my dairy so I'll scale back on it again, which is a shame as I'd just discovered the joys of fathead dough pizza crust.

@MattBerrysHair

Thanks for the welcome! I have increased my dairy so I'll scale back on it again, which is a shame as I'd just discovered the joys of fathead dough pizza crust.

Almond milk is the lowest carb milk. Do butter and cheese set your symptoms too? That must be so frustrating.

Welcome! 🌞

I managed to quote the wrong post!

Argh fell off the keto wagon at the pub last night
Burger (with bun) fries and a creme brulee. Felt bloated, full and uncomfortable all evening. Back to it today.

See it as a good thing. 🤣 i hope you enjoyed the meal! I think falling off the wagon occasionally sends the signal to yr body that 'hey, food is not scarce', 'made a mistake, we are not in a famine, repeat, not in famine'. And the pancreas says, roger that. 👍👩‍⚕️

I stepped on the scales today and i am 9,5lbs
So ive lost 2lbs since last week. Surprised by that tbh.

After 3 weeks at 9,13lbs i thought id be back to plateau stage.

I'm about 2lbs away from being NOT overweight!! So those last 2 pounds could take a while.

Just posted this on the wrong thread but actually I'm now 24.8. I'm only 5'1'' so considerably shorter than all you willowy five foot two beanpoles :-p

So happy to be medically not overweight. I want to get to nine but this feels like a big goal too. To get back inside those ''normal weight'' parametres

Yay ketowinnie that's great news, we'll done. And thank you for that amazing spin on my carb bonanza! The good news is that I've realised how sluggish a carb heavy diet makes me feel, so am v motivated today.

Well done @KetoWinnie you’ve done amazing! So close to goal too!

I’ve lost another 2lbs this week although it’s been a real slog. I really struggled with carb cravings and was really lacking in energy but I put it down to being the time of the month. Interestingly I normally really struggle with period pain, to the point where it sometimes makes me sick and this time I’ve been fine! Might be a fluke but it’d be great if keto was the answer!

Not a fluke i dont think. I know period pain is not PCOS but I keep seeing low carb suggested as a treatment for PCOS. It is all connected.

Very impressive losses! Well done!

I was too scared to weigh myself yesterday after my carb blowout on Saturday. Stepped on the scales this morning and another 3lbs off. I'm very happy with that.

Wow that's amazing! Well done. Monday is the day for most people here on the thread so who is next?
No pressure. 😍🎖

I'm next but a bit scared. I don't think I will have lost as I've not been weighing or counting calories, just low carb really. But probably too much dairy. Wish me luck!

🍀
Good luck

@Turkeydrumstick

You do get carb cravings around your period. And there is a school of thought in the keto world that you really should listen to that. The woman who does the ‘Keto for Women’ podcast for example is adamant that women are different to men and since our hormones fluctuate throughout the month, and keto is all about balancing hormones, that you should have some carbs when pre menstrual.

Unfortunately she doesn’t advocate pizza, it’s eating some sweet potato or an apple at that time.

See you feel next month. It might be you need some natural carbs.

No loss for me this week I’m afraid. I need to stop drinking wine at weekends, it leads me to bad choices! Back on it today and I’ve made the bread mentioned on this thread.

We enjoyed our meals much more last week but this week I stupidly forgot to cancel Hello Fresh so I will try and adapt the recipes to be more keto friendly.

Hope everyone has done better than me!

Down one kg to 81.7. But... I normally weigh in the evening so I think it's probably realistically about a 1lb loss rather than 2. We'll see. I'm not doing strict keto. (Do I have to leave? Everyone seems so nice!) But I could definitely cut back on some dairy, and nuts. I have been using recipes from the BSD book and just no processed carbs and maybe a couple of biscuits.

Roll on next week Winnie Shame you'll have to ditch the wine though. But being aware of when you make the wrong choices is good. For me it's when I'm tired, I automatically go for sweet carbs, so I'm trying to at least grab a handful of almonds or an apple or even some cheese instead if I really can't resist.

Sorry, I meant JustMoved123, not Winnie!

@hamstersarse Thanks I will give that podcast a listen and next month might try a bit of fruit or something to see if that makes a difference!

@JustMoved123 oooh let us know how the bread turns out! Sorry to hear no loss but definitely better than a gain!

Well done @justgoingforanap I don’t think you have to be super strict, finding what works and is sustainable is best, which it sounds like you have!

@KetoWinnie

It's too late now, I've eaten it, but leeks are not low carb I just assumed they would be because they're not starchy and they're not sweet at all. But however many carbs a leek has, the net carbs are nearly as high.

So I got caught out with that today. Leeks fried in butter are good though.

For work I've been eating a babybel and a sachet of pitted black olives with sea salt, in a handy 70g pouch from tesco. Fewer calories than a bag of crisps. No carbs. I also had about 20 grams of macademia nuts. They're lovely but they're not carb free so you can't eat too many.

Please inspire me people !! What do you eat at work? If you're going to work. Now that a sandwich is out of the question.

It is really hard to get Keto food on the run. The world is totally carb laden!

However, my go to snacks and lunches at work are:

• Boiled eggs. Tesco sell them in little pots, think M & S do too
• Subway salad - steak and cheese. Not totally carb free but acceptable
• Cheese pieces
• Pret a Manger - they have a crayfish salad which is amazing
• M & S have loads of keto snacks - pork scratchings, ham & egg salad, nearly low carb sausages, chicken pieces etc.

TBH though, having done keto for many years I tend to fast most of the time at work. I find I am much more productive and then just look forward to a giant keto feast when I am home. And because you don't get hanger when you are keto, it is all just fine!

@MattBerrysHair

Hi, room for another? I started keto last friday, so only a week in, but I'm noticing some side effects already. My skin is getting very dry and sensitive on my face. Is this just dehydration? I'm topping up my electrolytes and drinking plenty. I've got a history of eczema and dermatitis on my face which has been settled for 2 years now. I'd hate to have to stop keto because of eczema flare ups because otherwise I feel amazing.

I hope things are clearing up for you.

My experience of keto is that your body goes through a healing process for the first few weeks / months. So conditions seemingly get worse for a week or so, then they magically cure. Eczema is definitely one of those.

Your body heals on keto, that is my experience - all the little things that you have lived with start to clear up - skin, hair, gums, periods etc. I would bear with it, but perhaps like other posters said, just watch your dairy if you are prone to eczema because there is no doubt that this can aggravate it for some people.

@justgoingforanap

KetoWinnie yes I get what you mean. I worry that strict Keto could get into disordered eating territory for me. It needs to be a lifelong change for me I think and calculating carbs in everything is just not going to work long term (and I'm rubbish at maths).

But first I really do need to lose the weight for health reasons, and then decide what to do. Personally I want to understand about the effects of carbs/sugar on my body once I'm a healthy weight. Will a Sunday morning croissant tip the balance and send my blood sugars high, or if I'm healthier will my body respond differently.

I have been doing 'keto' for many years now.

I got to my goal weight pretty quickly and here is where I am with it now.

I know keto is my healthiest way to be. I feel on top form when I am in ketosis, of that there is no doubt.

However, the world around us is not keto or anywhere near it and sometimes you just want a bit more variety. So I know my body is well adapted to use fat for fuel, I know I can easily go in and out of ketosis so it really doesn't bother me to eat some carbs every now and then.

BUT, what I have found is that carbs no longer really have the pleasure they used to. I feel bloated if I eat carbs. Usually I only eat them when the social pressure is high, and then I can't wait to get back into ketosis so I don't have the carb hangover, bloaty feeling so I usually do a fast to quickly reset.

What I am saying is that there is no way eating carbs every now and then is a problem when your body has been trained to use fat as energy which you are doing in the early days of strict keto. Your body can be flexible, but I am keenly aware now of the addictive qualities of carbs. So if you do a binge, you have to tune into the 'intense hunger' that follows the carb binge and break the cycle before you fall off the wagon completely.

Hamstersarse When I lost 10kg last year by cutting out processed carbs it was almost like my body just does not process them and turns them straight into fat. The weight literally fell off. Since then, I don't know why, carbs crept back in, but I'm determined to lose another 10kg, and then ideally another 5-10. I'm 53 and my sister has lost a similar amount of weight but by calorie counting so I know it can be done, even though people always say it's harder the older you get, and she is 2 yrs older than me. She does not have PCOS like I do. She lost it very quickly. I'm aiming for a slower loss because I want it to be a way of eating, not a diet and I'm hoping that my aged skin might then keep up with my weight loss and not end up baggy! And I really don't want to weigh food or count calories/carbs etc.

I don't know if this is a coincidence, but since I've cut out carbs my menopausal hot flushes have stopped. Or it might be just that it has cooled down. In any case they are not so bad as they were a couple of weeks ago, thankfully.