Starting Keto Newbies

[lukiebebe]

Hey!

Starting Keto from tomorrow. Wedding is in 7 months! I lost a bit of weight before Xmas, but in these last two weeks it's piled back on quite drastically :/ saw a photo of myself today and I looked like a balloon!

My cousin started keto in May 2023 and has lost over 2 stone. From 11st 4 to 9st! This gave me the kick up the butt to do this. I'm not only doing this for my wedding, as I genuinely want to feel slimmer but it'll be a bonus if I can lose a stone or 2 to fit nicely into my wedding dress. Currently - 12st 13lb (might as well call it 13st) mummy of two boys (3 and 2) so tough to lose baby weight!

I'm so new to it though and trying to educate myself on what I must do. I'm trying not to put too much pressure on myself though or fixate on numbers because that tends to freak me out and I give up.

Would love to meet anyone else on here who is thinking to do the same this year.

Speak soon.

Do you have some full fat Greek yoghurt, a couple of spoons would be a nice snack if you get peckish and good fats. Or if you have cream 8n the fridge you could make a decadent coffee.

@FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain this is the thing though, i just feel like i don't need it. Happy with dinner and then can happily fast all day till the next dinner. X

Well done 👏 OMAD (one meal a day) is where I'm aiming to get to, previously my hunger has dropped off to that, and I felt best eating around 10-11 surprisingly, rather than dinner time.

I'm just over 48hrs into my current fast and my blood glucose was 9.7 this morning, which has encouraged me to keep going to the 72hr mark. Slightly hungry but I'm OK. Im definitely planning what I'm going to have tomorrow evening though 😂

Weight wise,it's been a bit up and down obviously, after the meal out.
Saturday: 14st 0lb 3oz
Sunday: 14st 3lb 8oz
This morning: 14st 1lb 4oz.

Everyone is doing so well 💪

@Gobolina thats great you have managed 48 hours! I think i could go longer but have the guilt of wanting to have a meal with my fiancé . I am going to try it soon in a few weeks though! I like going for long walks and find if im ever feeling peckish exercise completely gets rid of that. By the time
I have done that its only a few hours till dinner so i think i may as well just wait! Keep up the good work!! Xx

Ty. What I've struggled with more is WANTING to eat, rather than NEEDING to eat. I've wanted something and not even been hungry.

@Gobolina i had this a couple of evenings ago! Had not long finished my dinner but was just craving! I knew i wasn't hungry! Its like my body was just craving flavour! Everything i have read say if your craving sweet have some salt! Its probably your body needing that. So even just some salt in water! I gave in and had some chorizo and bacon with garlic mayo! Just needed something to satisfy the craving!! But i also find exercise takes the cravings away also! No way i was going out at 9pm at night though in this cold!!

@MorningWalk Yes I've had the odd grain of sea salt and yesterday I had a little stock cube for the salts. I know thats not technically a clean fast but Jason Fung reckons you can have a bowl of vegetable soup during, and it still count.

I love exercise as a distraction, I have a cross/elliptical trainer in my front room and do my steps on that, I haven't been doing them at the moment but once I come out the fast I will start again. I really need to start weights again, I'm not good at doing those at home, but I might go back to the gym I was at when I get paid.

9.2mmol again today but 13st 13lb 4 oz for me today. Keep going everyone, make good choices 😄

@Gobolina i need to start weights also but just prefer a walk in the fresh air! Xx

Yes getting outside is much better. I prefer being outside but I don't like walking where I am though, theres no pavements and its really hilly/mountains.

@Gobolina oh wow where abouts are you?

@lukiebebe I'm very lucky to be in Europe, up a mountain, with lots of coves and mountain walks around. We are on the edge of a national park. Once the weather/light gets better I'll walk outside, or go back to my gym classes in Feb, but you shouldn't really walk where we are when its dark/early morning/late evening because boars could attack you. Generally they'll only attack if they have young with them but I don't fancy finding out.

@Gobolina oh wow! That's amazing! (Maybe not the boar attack haha) but where you live! I'm UK on flat land pretty much so nothing exciting haha. Where abouts in Europe? It's great using mumsnet, so diverse!!

Had another good day today. My midday open fast was boiled eggs, almonds and berries. Dinner is in a bit and it's tray bake chicken with cauliflower and zucchini. Yum.

I had my bestie, mum and dad comment on the weight I've lost which was a great boost today! I didn't even ask "hey do I look like I've lost weight?" They said it themselves! Yay.

How's everyone doing today!?

@MorningWalk I heard this about when craving sugar have salt too!! I had a handful of salted peanuts earlier seemed to his the spot!

@Gobolina that sounds lovely to be in the mountains!!

@lukiebebe is have electrolytes in my water daily so think I'm getting what i need. Don't tend to crave sweet or carbs really. I find it hard at times when my fiancé gets out treats in the evening, but its just after i have had a bug meal so never get that tempted!

I think i was silly not meeting some of my macros. After all i have said in my last few comments i found today really hard! Wasn't able to fast till dinner as i have been doing! Got very hungry around 2.30pm. I have stuck to my macros although it made me realise i do need to keep my fats up. Eating to little caught up with me today! Still managed a walk today and got steps to 15000.

I am starting to get bored of the same old recipes and need quick easy meals to make for dinners if anyone fancy's sharing some of theirs. I do scroll online a lot, but interested to hear your ideas xxx

Hi @MorningWalk which electrolytes do you have??
That's so good you don't crave them! I have this wired in me that I need something sweet 🙈 so I end up having a cube of dark choc thankfully it's hitting the spot.

I'm not tracking so I don't think I hit my macros to be fair! I don't feel like I'm hitting my fats need to work on that too! I worked out for first time in ages last night and felt like I was going to pass out.

Amazing your walked 15000 gosh I need to sort my steps out haha.

I had Konjac rice today with my chicken. Home bargains had packets of it for quite cheap! I hear it's good for keto. Was 28 cals for 250g and low carbs and low fats. It stank so bad when I opened the bag but once I rinsed it (for ages) and boiled it the smell went. I'd deffo have it again. Good benefits when reading online too.

@lukiebebe i have never heard of Konjac rice, what for it taste like? I do tend to get a lot of steps in daily as i have a very active job and also try and walk for at least an hour a day!

I have a mixture of the 'zero' and order the pink grapefruit ones. I read this so take note not to get citrus -

You need to ditch the Citrus one but the Berry one is fine. I take them everyday myself.
The Citrus flavour contains Maltodextrin as the sweetener, whereas the other flavours use sucralose, which is OK on Keto.

I also have the LMNT electrolytes occasionally but these are very pricey xxx

I had the konjak pasta and hated it. Think I ate two pieces and binned it.

Others seem to enjoy it no problem though.

The cauliflower rice was better imo but I find it tastier when done in a pan and chucking in some butter rather than microwaving it. I think I'm overly sensitive to smells though so I'm often put off things before I even eat them. I'm the same with avocado oil.

I've used shredded iceberg lettuce as a base for curry too. Cabbage just cooked in a fry pan with butter is also tasty to soak up sauces. I make a lot of creamy/mushroom or keto cheesy sauce.

Anyone caught in a bind and need a quick supermarket ready meal, a butter chicken curry is usually under 8g carbs for the recommended portion (not the ones that come with rice) and you could always just get some cooked chicken pieces to add more meat into it. Serve with cauli rice or you could use the keto naan breads if you have some you've made earlier.

I hate konjac too, really awful texture made me feel unwell. I find it better to just accept I can't have pasta/noodles and have a completely different side like green beans rather than try to substitute with a look alike.

@MorningWalk thanks for the electrolytes info! You've also motivated me to go for a walk/run tomorrow morning before work! What is it you do for work?

Konjac is an Asian root vegetable. It stank so bad so I totally understand how it could put you off. It smelt like fish food haha. But I persisted and once rinsed and cooked and tossed into flavourings with veggies and chicken it was fine. However, as others have said it may not be to many peoples likings and there are better substitutes instead.
It was small like rice, but texture a little slimier... I don't think I'm selling it to be fair 😂

I could imagine the pasta would be rank because it's quite slimy! I wouldn't run to purchase more but if I walked passed it again I'd grab a bag for those days I fancy a different meal.

@BigBoysDontCry thanks for the lettuce tip!!!

Butter chicken we made some on the weekend was delish but great to hear we can buy it ready made if in need of a quick dish!

@FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain yes it's very unique texture isn't it lol. How did it make you feel?? I'm okay so far (I'm quite full) but luckily feeling fine. I hear it's also a natural laxative .... I hope I'll be alright during the night lol

Yes, it's much easier when you low carb rather than keto as I will have a little bit of wholewheat pasta or brown rice. The pasta is basically 1g of carbs per piece of fusilli. And a quarter of a pack of micro brown basmati is 17g carbs. That's for half the recommended portion.

It just makes life easier when you are catering to a family rather than just sorting yourself.

@lukiebebe i dont tend to eat pasta often so i dont feel like im missing out. I am a nanny/housekeeper so on my feet all day x

@lukiebebe I don't think I managed to swallow enough of it to have any kind of effect to be honest. A couple of bites was enough to tell me I wouldn't be able to tolerate a whole serving.

Yes definitely a smell/texture thing.

I'll qualify by saying the reason I had to stop keto was that I ended up so disgusted by the smell of everything, including the smell of meat cooking, so I ended up barely eating at all. The less I ate the higher my blood sugars were going and I had no energy to the point I needed to use my lunch break for a nap and got exhausted even just going upstairs. My resting heart rate was around 90.

I ended up getting sent to hospital as my heart rate wouldn't go below 140 when I went to see the GP.

So I think it definitely has its purpose and I think it is a brilliant way to kick start a weight loss and great for those who need to get blood sugar down. Just take care not to get too obsessed like I did. Especially if you are already a fussy eater.

My problem was that I wasn't overweight when I started, I don't enjoy fatty foods so generally ate a lean meat/veg diet. But I developed diabetes even though I wasn't a big carb/sugar eater. It definitely worked and even though I've increased to low carb, my last hba1c was top end normal and I can be confirmed as in remission if I get another OK one in 6 months.

I'll never be able to eat a non low carb diet but it is sustainable long term even with my fussiness.

Oh God, don’t get Konjac noodles or rice. They taste like absolute shite. Usually come vacuum packed, and the smell when you open them is atrocious. They suggest you soak them for ages and then add sauces, as the Konjac will absorb the smell. It doesn’t! Definitely better off to make vegetable rice or veggie spaghetti.

I've not tried the konjac because everyone always says she same about the smell lol. Though Aldi have some low carb fettuccini and soy bean pasta type things atm which are meant to be good. Tbh I'm not missing them as yet and trying to stay away it doesn't make me want the "real" thing id you see what I mean.

I've been ok. Hunger is def less tho I'm still grazing on the dark chocolate but figure it's helping with the fats as I'm not great at that either. Tonight was salmon with broccoli cheese and asparagus was absolutely lovely. Have made some homemade coleslaw and Nando's chicken for tomorrow's lunch. Think we're going to try making a lasagne for tea as kids will eat a version of that too.

Everyone seems in the zone now which is great. A sign it's working 👏🏻