This is all anecdotal, my opinion and based on what has worked for me. I’m a software engineer, not a nutritionist. You’re free to disagree with me and it’s highly possible that what works for me may not work for you.
How to start:
Figure out your calorie goal (ie, how many calories does it take to maintain your current weight, how many to lose 1 lb/wk, 2 lb/wk) (for figuring calories I like the calculator here: http://www.mydreamshape.com/keto-calculator/).
Figure out your body fat % (visual guide: https://ketogains.com/2015/09/how-to-estimate-your-body-fat-percentage-bf/)
Figure out your protein gram minimum (Good to start at 0.8*lean muscle mass in lbs = grams of protein)(Aim for at or above this to preserve muscle mass and prevent hair loss)
Figure out the rest of your macros (1g fat = 9 calories, 1g protein or carb=4 calories. Normally start at ~20g carb, protein you figured above and then eat fat to fullness without going over your calorie goal amount. If you’re not hungry, stop eating. I don’t care if you’re not at your macro percent and still have calories left for the day, just stop.)(I like the calculator linked above, otheres prefer the ketogains calculator).
Aim to drink at least 48-72oz of water per day. More is better.
Because you’re drinking so much water (and for other reasons) your electrolytes (sodium, magnesium and potassium) may get out of whack. Be liberal with your salt, and consider adding no-salt and/or supplements especially if you suffer from keto flu or frequent leg cramps.
Stalls will happen. They’re normal. Don’t panic. Trust the process.
What is Keto:
Low Carb, High Fat, Medium Protein, lots of water.
Figure out your macros and calorie limit.
I like the calculator here: http://www.mydreamshape.com/keto-calculator/
Or here: http://ketodietapp.com/Blog/page/KetoDiet-Buddy
My personal rules:
Keep your carbs down (I aim for 40g net carbs max, 25g or less goal)(Net carbs is carbs – fiber),
Eat protein based on your lean body mass (0.7g protein / lb of lean body mass) ( I aim for 60-80g),
then eat fat to fullness.
If you’re not hungry, stop eating. I don’t care if you’re not at your macro percent and still have calories left for the day, just stop.
Above ground leafy veggies are good. Veggies look like a lot of carbs until you remove the fiber. This is #keto, not Atkins. Eat your veggies.
Use Intermittent Fasting as it fits with your life. For me this means M-F I’m not eating breakfast getting more “fasting” time for fat processing.
This is a way of life, not a diet. Diets are temporary. You are on a diet or cheating on your diet. Once you go off the diet and back to “regular” eating you gain back everything you got rid of. Keto is a change to your way of eating. If you go back you backslide.
I highly recommend MyFitnessPal for tracking and attagirls. It’s free.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nibuca
Once logged in, click on goals, then customize and use your personal macros from the Keto Calculator to update your new goals!
MFP Hints:
– Foods are entered by Joe Public so be skeptical about their values. If a food seems odd, find a different entry to use.
– Update your settings to make your diary “friend” or “Public” accessible to keep yourself accountable.
– Scan your vitamins and save them as a meal. Then record the for the same meal everyday. It serves as a reminder to take your pills. I add mine to “second breakfast”.
– you can rename/add meals in settings.
– Add https://github.com/Surye/mfp-keto-userscript to show net carbs on the desktop version.
FB Keto Groups:
keto for grown ups and poop Medium traffic group good info, decent folks. Highly recommend.
Adapting to Keto High traffic group. Militant Keto. Lots of recipes and helpful advice. Also a lot of strict adherence to rules (no cheating, no sugar ever, no wheat ever, etc). Lurk for the recipes, roll your eyes at the militant mods.
Keto Recipes Low traffic group. Not as many recipes as I’d like.
What is Ketosis?
ke·to·sis
kēˈtōsəs/
noun MEDICINE
a metabolic state characterized by raised levels of ketone bodies in the body tissues, which is typically pathological in conditions such as diabetes, or may be the consequence of a diet that is very low in carbohydrates.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ketosis
What are ketones?
Ketone is the exhaust created when the body is processing fat for fuel.
Intermittant Fasting
http://burnfatnotsugar.com/intermittent-fasting.html
https://idmprogram.com/power-comparison-fasting-vs-low-carb-fasting-26/
Ketosis vs Fat Adapted
http://www.tuitnutrition.com/2016/01/dont-be-a-ketard1.html
Other links:
Eating less does not make you skinny
Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients scientific paper.
Not losing weight on low carb ketogenic diet
Technical discussion of fasting vs fed state and how glucose works
Eating carbs/protein raises your glucose.
Your body can either use glucose for energy or store it as fat.
If you have glucose in excess of your energy needs your body responds by adding the hormone insulin to your blood.
Insulin instructs your fat cells to take in the excess glucose and store it as fat.
IDM: The Fed and Fasted State
There are really two different places where our body can obtain energy
1. food
2. Stored food energy (glycogen in liver, or body fat)
You can only get energy from one or the other, but not both at the same time.
When you eat, and your glucose is spiked and you have insulin in your system, your body cannot pull energy from fat stores.
In order to pull energy from fat stores you need to be beyond the glucose/insulin spike. This means leave large windows of no eating.. and not snacking.
The dips in glucose (which follow the spike) are characterized by cravings. Normally for carby foods. Diminishing the glucose spike (by focusing on protein/fat) also diminishes the cravings.
Calorie cutting, while still keeping glucose/insulin high by having lots of small means every day, causes the body to shift to a lower metabolic level so that it uses less calories (you feel tired, cold and your weight plateaus) . The fix for this is to get your body to spend lots of time in the fasting state and allow your body to use stored energy instead of relying on food energy.
It’s possible to do this on a high carb diet. This just means that the “fasted” times will also be accompanied by HUGE cravings making it harder to stick to the plan of not eating. Following a low carb diet will cut back on these cravings.
James Smith July 22, 2017 The Unspoken Elements of Female Fat Loss
The Unspoken Elements of Female Fat Loss
Posted by James Smith on Saturday, July 22, 2017
What if I have to eat non-keto foods? (dinner with boss, special opportunity, etc)
Eat the things. Live your life. Make it a treat (a rare occasional splurge). Just accept that this will probably push you over your daily calories and over your suggest carb limit. Accept that you’ll probably see a weight gain.. and it will probably take 2-3 days to get back into ketosis and you’ll take a while to lose the gain.
The Gods of Keto will not descend from on-high and take away your birthday. The admins of all the Keto groups you’re in will not follow you arround dressed in grey ringing a bell chanting “SHAME SHAME”. You will not have “failed” unless you fall down and don’t get back up.
Loose skin
Intermittent fasting is touted as a way to tighten loose (crepey) skin. I can’t yet personally vouch for it.
Acupuncture or fascia blasting are also touted. In theory they are breaking up fascia (connectivity tissue in your skin) and causing your body to rebuild it. An acupuncturist I know scoffed at the fascia blaster wands and says that in the hands of amateur you end up with amateur results. She (of course) suggests you get professional acupuncture. Again, I have no experience with either.
Eat your protein. Fascia is made of protein. If you have your protein set too low your body will break down fascia as well as muscle fibers.
Building muscle. I’ve just started following the video linked:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAGfBjvIRFI
Ask me in 3-5 months if it works.
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