Is Keto less calorie-focused?

[OoohYes]

Almost two years ago, I started a strict low-calorie, low fat, high protein diet.

I’ve lost just over 9st and have another stone to go.

However, I’ve plateaued. I’ve been eating <1,300kcals/day to lose weight and my motivation is definitely waning.

My doctor has recommended a keto diet- high fat and protein, no/low sugar and carbs.

I’m willing to try it as the research shows it should show results and might reset my mindset somewhat. I will miss bread terribly, though.

For those in the know, does Keto give good results even if you’re at a higher calorie level daily? Just trying to plan and it’s hard to factor in suitable amounts of high-fat foods in such small amounts of calories.

But then that goes against everything I’ve ever learned about dieting- surely the simple mathematical equation of more calories burned than eaten is what dictates weightloss, regardless of where those calories come from?

It is and it isn't- I did keto for about 18mths and at the beginning the advice was to concentrate on being under 20g carbs per day, and not to worry about calories. But after 6 weeks I plateaued, and realised I was consuming far too many calories for my activity level. It's surprisingly easy to stay under 20g carbs and still eat too much, because a lot of the foods like dairy are high calorie. So I cut out the daily bowl of berries and cream, and started losing again. Intermittent fasting helps too when you plateau.

I followed the Diet Doctor app. They have weekly meal plans that have the macros all balanced - I'd have given up if I'd had to work all that out myself.

It does give good results at higher calorie levels though, because it switches your body into burning fat for energy instead of glucose.

Thanks @BrightRuby, I’ll check out that app.

I think I’d manage if I could up my calories, or even just not have to watch them so closely. I’m tired of counting calories now 😂

Ok, today was day one and I’m going to keep this thread as a little diary. Not sure how long it’ll last but one day at a time…

I’m trying to combine keto with some intermittent fasting (which I do now anyway and it suits me- usually 18:6)

So today was-

(Late) Breakfast
Cup of coffee with almond milk

Lunch
2 x sausages.

Steamed mixed greens (spinach, chard, cabbage, kale) with chili and butter.
Mustard.

Dinner
1 x bacon chop.
Green beans with half a teaspoon of njuda stirred through.
Sprinkle of Parmesan.

Snacks
Another coffee with almond milk.
30g Brie (I haven’t had Brie in two years- could have cried with happiness).

Additional-
1 x Huel Daily Greens vitamin drink.
20g collagen peptides.
(I always have both of these daily)

Came out at just under 1,200kcals, 91g fat, 13g net carbs, and 85g protein so pretty much hitting all targets.

To be fair, I need to get to the supermarket as today was quite pork-heavy. Usually wouldn’t eat sausages or bacon, let alone both on the same day so need to prepare a bit more tomorrow.

Day two-

Breakfast
Coffee with almond milk

Lunch
I sautéed greens (cabbage, spinach, kale) with garlic and chili in olive oil and butter then added nduja, some cured meats, smoked cheese, and three eggs (this was far too big and I only managed about 2/3rds of it so will stick to max 2 eggs in future).

Dinner
Full fat Greek yogurt with chia seeds, desiccated coconut, blueberries, almond butter (all portion controlled).
Brie, olives with garlic and chili, pumpkin seeds.

Snacks
Coffee with almond milk
Iced cappuccino with almond milk and MCT oil.

Additional-
1 x Huel Daily Greens vitamin drink.
20g collagen peptides.

Drank 2.5l of water.

Macros for the day came out at 1,120kcals, 87g fat, 14g carbs, 9g fibre, 71g protein.
Happy with that but need to up the fibre a bit.

On my usually diet I stick to c. 1,300kcals/day but I’m struggling to reach that on Keto so far. Feel much fuller on this one.
Keto definitely takes more planning though- finding chatGPT great. I just scan the labels of things I’m not sure about.

Generally feeling ok. Teeth feel weirdly “fuzzy”- apparently, that’s normal.

Day three

Breakfast-
Coffee with almond milk

Lunch-
Port salut with a turkey burger
Olives
Some speck.

Afternoon snack-
Almond cappuccino with MCT oil (in hindsight, I didn’t need the oil and should have kept the calories)
A piece of a frozen yogurt bark I made last night (Greek yogurt mixed with almond butter and topped with almond flakes, desiccated coconut, a small amount of blueberries, small smattering of dark chocolate chips). It wasn’t that nice- won’t make again but have some more left to use up.

Dinner-
Two chicken thighs with skin on.
Two eggs fried in olive oil.
Lots of mushrooms fried in butter and garlic with a big dollop of cream cheese mixed through at the end. Tasty.

Evening snack-
Cup of tea with almond milk.
Two thin squares of dark chocolate with a half teaspoon of almond butter smeared on, topped with flaky salt. Very tasty.

Additionally-
Usual vitamin drink and collagen.

Ended up at 1,450kcals, 117g fat, 22g carbs, 78g protein, 11g fibre.

Higher on the calories today. Should have skipped the MCT oil but by evening I was dying for something sweet so had the chocolate- it was 74% so tipped me over my carb target, but nothing crazy. Bit low on fiber- will focus on this tomorrow. Day generally low on veg.

On the plus side, I stepped on the scales and I’m 3kg down compared to last Friday. I know this isn’t all fat- it’s mainly water and glycogen but great to see the scales move after a long plateau and some of it is fat so woohoo.

Yep you don't think about calories, you just count carbs. And when you are in ketosis, you really won't want to eat very much, as fat takes longer to digest. When I first did it, I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks! You can have cream, butter, steak, cheese, avocado, all good. I also used to make both sweet and savory muffins with almond flour, easy, delicious and a great breakfast. There's so many great recipes online now and the MN Boot camp threads are a really helpful resource. Your menu plans look fine, keep going, you'll get there!😁

If you want to know more about Keto, read Gary Taube's book, "The Case for Keto". Or if you like podcasts, listen to his interview on STEMtalk.

https://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-124/

Day four and “keto flu” has well and truly hit. Have a headache, feel weak and just generally “meh”.

Apparently that’s normal and will pass. Google recommends upping salt.

Today’s food.

Breakfast-
Coffee with almond milk.

Lunch-
Made myself a little charcuterie plate with cheese, cured meats, pumpkin seeds, and olives.
Ended up using odds and ends from the cheese and charcuterie drawer so portions were a bit bigger than I’d usually have and that pushed the calories up.

Afternoon snack-
Almond milk cappuccino and 100g full fat Greek yogurt with chia seeds.
Cappuccino was in a cafe that does amazing pastries so am pleased with my restraint.

Dinner-
Fillet steak fried in olive oil with green beans, spinach, nduja, and Parmesan. Yes, I know fillet steak is probably on the lean side for keto, but I don’t like fatty cuts.

Usual vitamin drink and collagen.
Had a couple of sachets of a salty electrolyte drink too to try and shift this headache.

Calories today just over 1,480
Fat- 112g
Net carbs- 19g
Protein- 95g
Fibre- 14g

Would have liked closer to 1,300kcals but it’s the weekend and I’m not feeling great so happy enough with the 1,480.

Thanks to those offering support, encouragement, and resources- will check out that podcast.

Day five.

Still not feeling great. Apart from sugar/carb withdrawals, I’ve picked up the cold that’s been going around my house all week.

Breakfast-
Coffee with almond milk.

Lunch-
Greek yogurt with chia seeds and a small helping of blueberries.

Dinner-
Salad with blue cheese, bacon, almonds, broccoli, spinach, olive oil and lemon juice.

Snacks-
A piece of that frozen yogurt bark I made the other night. Still not nice.
Two small pieces of dark chocolate with almond butter and salt.

Usual vitamin drink and collagen, and salty electrolytes.
Loads of water.

Scales is showing a 3.5kg loss since last Friday.

Forgot my day five macros.

1,100kcals, 98g fat, 94g protein, 20g net carbs, 13g fibre.

Day six!

Breakfast-
Coffee with almond milk.

Lunch-
Steak burger with cheese.

Dinner-
Made kind of a keto hash. Fried bacon lardons, spinach, mushrooms, and nduja in olive oil, topped with two eggs that kind of fried/poached on top, then added some brie. Was nice.

Snack-
Chia pudding made with almond milk and desiccated coconut.

Usual vitamins and collagen. Have added a daily Magnesium Citrate to help with 💩 as definitely not getting as much fibre as I normally do.

Cals- 1,210
Net carbs- 16g
Protein- 106g
Fat- 80g
Fibre- 16g

Day seven.

On the go all day so not much time for eating. Plus I still have this stinking cold and have lost my sense of taste and just not hungry.

Breakfast-
coffee with almond milk.

Lunch-
Greek yogurt with chia, almond butter, cinnamon, and pumpkin seeds.

Dinner-
steak burger patty with mushrooms, brie, spinach.

Snacks- ice almond cappuccino.

Usual vitamins and collagen.

• Calories: 771 kcal
• Fat: 45.1g
• Fibre: 13.2g
• Net Carbs: 13.9g
• Protein: 63.3g

Everything is far too low for today.

@OoohYes just to give you some encouragement and say you are doing fabulously! 👏

I'm currently low carbing but sticking to around 80g which is low for me and enough to keep my weight in check before my holiday next week.

That's still hard though as the family are tucking into pasta/rice/potatoes and I'm having to make do with a plate of veg (and I'm not really a veg person!)

your planning is looking great, well done

I know keto works for me but I haven't been able to get my head into it recently, may have to start up again though as I've really shifted into another BMI bracket.

Thanks @theriseandfallofFranklinSaint and @QforCucumber! I seem to be getting into the rhythm of it a bit now. FranklinSaint, I know what you mean about others eating rice and potatoes. I can cope with that but it’s the evening cup of tea on its own while everyone else tucks into biscuits I struggle with. I just love biscuits 😭

It’s not an easy diet. I know it’s it’s a lot of people but I struggle with the lack of fruit and veg. Still, scales is showing 4.5kg loss so far so will stick to it!

Day eight.

Breakfast-
Coffee with almond milk.

Lunch-
Omelette cooked in olive oil with bacon, nduja, spinach, mushrooms, and cottage cheese.

Dinner (planned)-
Chicken salad with spinach, rocket, roasted chili broccoli, mushrooms, paprika pumpkin seeds, a tablespoon of hummus, and a little tahini drizzle.

Usual vitamins and collagen and salty electrolytes.

Cals- 1,130
Fat- 67g
Net carbs- 23g
Protein- 101g
Fibre- 8g

The broccoli and hummus (a tablespoon) in my salad are the things that will push me above my carb target of 20g daily, but I really like broccoli and hummus, so I’m keeping them. It’s a big salad and I don’t think I’ll eat the entire thing anyway.

Day nine and I’ve hit a bit of a keto wall

Just struggling to eat so much fatty food. Definitely find I’m eating a lot of pork and ham too so it’s getting a bit monotonous. I’ve been dieting so hard for the last two years that I’m just not used to heavy meals so am finding plates of meat and cheese very unappetising.

Breakfast-
Usual coffee with almond milk.

Lunch-
Greek yogurt, chia seeds, desiccated coconut.

Dinner-
Parma ham and smoked cheese (home too late to cook).

Snack-
Made kind of a truffle thing with dark chocolate, chia, desiccated coconut, and sea salt. Will have a few with tea (with almond milk) and the Taskmaster final.

Usual vitamins and collagen.

Calories - 719 kcal
Fat - 49g
Net Carbs- 13.g
Fibre- 14.5g
Protein- 55.g

Oh wait, forgot I also had two Babybels in the car.

Cals- 845
Fat- 59g
Carbs- 14g
Protein- 64g
Fibre- 14.5g

Day ten- double-digits. Woop!

Breakfast-
2 x coffees with almond mill

Lunch-
Lamb chops with spinach

Dinner-
Roast chicken (dark meat) with green beans, nduja, and parmesan.

Snacks-
2 x Babybel
Very small handful (more of a pinch really) of hot/bar nuts.

Vitamins and collagen.

Cals- 1,200
Fat- 78g
Net carbs- 17g
Protein- 103g
Fibre- 6g

Day 11.

Breakfast-
A fry! Gave the fried potatoes and black and white pudding and toast to DH. I had a sausage, bacon, fried egg, mushrooms. Delicious.

Snack- coffee with almond milk, two Babybel.

Dinner (at a family BBQ)- turkey burger, chicken drumstick, goats cheese salad with olive oil and lemon dressing and pumpkin seeds added.

Skipped dessert but did have a small portion of chocolate hazelnuts.

Also, I’m on my second vodka with slimline tonic. Delightful.
Really want a limoncello spritz, will resist.

Cals- 1,340
Fat- 101g
Protein- 96g
Carbs- 19g (those chocolate hazelnuts made up most of this!).

Jeans starting to feel very loose.

I eat a ‘keto style’ diet, I have been very strict Keto in the past and know it works for me, but I’m a healthy weight so don’t need to be super strict now. If you’re missing biscuits try peanut butter cookies. There are lots of recipes online but it’s basically a jar of peanut butter, mixed with an egg and some sweetener, roll into balls and flatten, bake at gas4 10-15 mins until they are kinda brown at the edges. Great with a brew.

also if you’re struggling with the heavy fats and meat and missing veg, try using cream (single or double) in your morning coffee instead of almond milk, and eat as much salad/green veg as you like, and a few red berries with a squirt of whipped cream as a pudding is good too.

Gah, I messed up today.

Day 12.

Breakfast- two coffees with almond milk.

Lunch- I bought almond flour (the price of it 😮) so had two slices of the keto “bread” I made, toasted with butter.

Dinner- fillet steak with garlic butter, green beans with nduja and parmesan.

Then I decided to utilize the almond flour again and found a recipe for a keto chocolate mug cake. Basically almond flour, an egg, melted butter, baking powder, sweetener, and some dark chocolate. It was basically chocolately scrambled egg 🤮

Couldn’t eat it so decided to just have some dark chocolate instead. Logged it on my app and was happy out. It was only afterwards that I decided to scan the label of that specific dark chocolate and it turns out that it’s very high in sugar and carbs. Blast! So a fairly small amount of dark chocolate has pushed me well over my carb limit.

It’s a lesson.

• Calories: 1,122 kcal
• Fat: 69.2g
• Net Carbs: 34.35g
• Protein: 85.45g
• Fibre: 3.4g

I’ve ordered some keto snacks/biscuits online and they should arrive this week. They’re pre-packed highly processed shite with pretty much no nutritional value, but at least they’re easy for tracking purposes. My sweet tooth will be my downfall.

Also, the scales had me 1kg up this morning compared to Thursday which is very demoralising. I know I haven’t gained a kilo of fat in three days so will keep an eye to see what’s happening. I think all of the bacon/pork I’m eating could be causing water retention due to the sodium. I’ve felt quite bloated all day.

Day 13

Breakfast-
2 x coffee with almond milk.

Lunch-
Chia pudding with Greek yogurt, coconut, and pumpkin seeds.

Dinner-
Konjac noodles with pancetta, mushrooms, nduja, garlic, Philadelphia, and parmesan. Very tasty.

Snack-
A Nick’s chocolate caramel crunch bar. Tastes like a Dime Bar but is keto! Thrilled with life after this discovery.

Usual vitamins and collagen.

• Calories: ~1,219 kcal
• Fat: ~92.65g
• Net Carbs: ~19.11g
• Protein: ~65.5g
• Fibre: ~20.2g

You’re doing really well @OoohYes how are you feeling? Don’t forget to eat some veg, leafy stuff like broccoli & cauli, salad like lettuce & cucumber, or you risk getting constipated.

Thank you @MarvellousMonsters

I’m feeling ok. Work is kicking my ass so a bit run down from that, and finding it hard to not think about food all the time. I’m finding that keto takes a lot more planning than I’m used to so I’m constantly thinking about food and planning for it.

Thanks for the advice on veg. I am definitely struggling without large amounts of fruit and veg as I was so used to them. Find it hard to stomach vegetables with fatty food but need to up it. Think salads are probably my best bet. A daily dose of magnesium citrate is definitely helping to keep everything regular.

I did one of those ketosis urine test strips* earlier, just out of sheer curiosity and it’s showing that I’m in “high ketosis” (over 16mmo/L) which is generally considered too high (I’m feeling fine so not concerned that I’m on the verge of ketoacidosis or anything) so I’m tempted to start upping my carb intake slightly to see if that keeps me at a more manageable level. Apparently, being too high doesn’t mean higher weightloss so I’d like to get to a level where I’m achieving weightloss, but not pushing my body as much. If I’m someone who can lose weight on slightly higher carbs, I’d be very happy.

Going out for dinner tomorrow night with friends so might have a small portion of bread and then test again on Weds to see what impact that has.

(*Opinion on how effective these are varies massively).