Keto diet - anyone else?

[grumbledoak]

Gretchen said:

Have made a cauliflower based pizza before which I enjoyed but was a laborious process iirc. I’ll just add cheese

Always a good idea.

[Phil.]

grumbledoak said:

Gretchen said:

...trying to find a mild enjoyment in Cauliflower and Broccoli which I’ve always struggled to do.

There is not much enjoyment to be found in cauliflower! Maybe roast with cumin as a side.

Broccoli carbonara with lardons, egg yolk, and parmesan words well though.

Some cheese sauce on the cauliflower improves the taste

[grumbledoak]

CoolHands said:

Stuck between 70.5 & 71& a bit for couple of week

I would just carry on. It is only a couple of weeks, and scales are a crude measure. You never know what is going on inside!

[Ken Sington]

Down 32 lbs so far since June last year. Starting to suspect that this has less to do with Keto and more to do with removing high carb low quality food from my diet eg breakfast cereals, supermarket sliced bread, white rice and mass produced cheap pasta, since I'm still eating way too much chocolate and cheese and still managing to lose weight. Miss fresh fruit, so going to start bringing it back into the diet to see what happens.

[Big Rig]

Ken Sington said:

Down 32 lbs so far since June last year. Starting to suspect that this has less to do with Keto and more to do with removing high carb low quality food from my diet eg breakfast cereals, supermarket sliced bread, white rice and mass produced cheap pasta, since I'm still eating way too much chocolate and cheese and still managing to lose weight. Miss fresh fruit, so going to start bringing it back into the diet to see what happens.

Can you give a quick summary of what you have for breakfast & other meals throughout the day please?

[Ken Sington]

Big Rig said:

Can you give a quick summary of what you have for breakfast & other meals throughout the day please?

Sure thing! A few background bits;

1. Before I started, had a consultation with a qualified dietitian. After a discussion about lifestyle issues and my aims, he recommended trying keto, combined with intermittent fasting. An eating window of noon to 7pm seems to work just fine for me.
2. I WFH and have done so long before WFH became a thing, so much easier to control the eating environment without popping out of the office for a cheeky Greggs, Pret or pub lunch etc on a regular basis.
3. I use Myfitnespal to keep a track of what I am eating, mostly looking at the macros. As with all fitness trackers, I take what it says with a pinch of salt and use it as a guide.

Start the day with a tea or two, and on a workout or bike ride day an espresso as well. The dietitian recommended bulletproof coffee, but I find that stuff utterly rank, so a mid morning coffee with a dollop of double cream is a) yummy and b) keeps me going until lunchtime.

Lunch will be a large multi coloured salad with an olive oil and vinegar dressing, and some protein, eg grilled chicken breast, tuna, hard boiled eggs or blue cheese.

Dinner, mix and match between chicken, pork, salmon, prawn and eggs and veg in various forms including stir fries. Riced cauliflower is a great substitute for white rice as it is filling, full of fibre and low carb.

Snacks if needed, almonds, Greek yoghourt, blueberries and dark chocolate.

I am not monk like about any of this, and I have the occasional derail, but it's working for me, and I don't feel hard done by with what I have stopped eating.

HTH

[otolith]

grumbledoak said:

There is not much enjoyment to be found in cauliflower! Maybe roast with cumin as a side.

Roast with cumin is good.

Grate. A little oil, cumin, chilli powder, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom in a hot frying pan. Add the cauliflower. Fry it almost dry. Substitute for rice.

Boil, steam, or roast. Add butter, crème fraîche, mash and then puree with stick blender. Substitute for mashed potato, either as a side or as a topping for fish pie etc. Roasting gives a firmer mash with a stronger cauliflower flavour.

[r3g]

Ken Sington said:

Big Rig said:

Can you give a quick summary of what you have for breakfast & other meals throughout the day please?

Sure thing! A few background bits;

1. Before I started, had a consultation with a qualified dietitian. After a discussion about lifestyle issues and my aims, he recommended trying keto, combined with intermittent fasting. An eating window of noon to 7pm seems to work just fine for me.
2. I WFH and have done so long before WFH became a thing, so much easier to control the eating environment without popping out of the office for a cheeky Greggs, Pret or pub lunch etc on a regular basis.
3. I use Myfitnespal to keep a track of what I am eating, mostly looking at the macros. As with all fitness trackers, I take what it says with a pinch of salt and use it as a guide.

Start the day with a tea or two, and on a workout or bike ride day an espresso as well. The dietitian recommended bulletproof coffee, but I find that stuff utterly rank, so a mid morning coffee with a dollop of double cream is a) yummy and b) keeps me going until lunchtime.

Lunch will be a large multi coloured salad with an olive oil and vinegar dressing, and some protein, eg grilled chicken breast, tuna, hard boiled eggs or blue cheese.

Dinner, mix and match between chicken, pork, salmon, prawn and eggs and veg in various forms including stir fries. Riced cauliflower is a great substitute for white rice as it is filling, full of fibre and low carb.

Snacks if needed, almonds, Greek yoghourt, blueberries and dark chocolate.

I am not monk like about any of this, and I have the occasional derail, but it's working for me, and I don't feel hard done by with what I have stopped eating.

HTH

Are you doing it for weight loss or just for a better diet? If it's for weight loss then reduce your eating windows as much as you can. If you load up on the protein (which keeps you feeling full for a long time = no hunger pangs) then you can easily go a full 24 hours or more without eating, which in turn produces great results on the scales.

We have been conditioned into eating 3 meals per day from so-called health experts and it's a load of rubbish. I'd argue that such bad advice is the reason why people are the size that they are.

I'm just coming to the end of a 7 day fast - not eaten a thing since last Saturday. It's a breeze to do once you get over that first day and alter your mindset. I could easily do another 7 days.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/not-get-hungry-fasting-...

Over the weekend I will stop the fast with a natural yogurt first to wake up my stomach, then will have lightly scrambled egg with double cream, butter and cheddar. For dessert I will have 2 bananas for magnesium replenishment. Sunday I will have a joint of meat doused in salt including all the fat (max protein + iron + sodium) along with some mixed beans and mixed veg (zinc + iron + vit C replenishment). I may have a tin of tuna or sardines with red onion later if I'm peckish (a long list of excellent vitamins and minerals in these). I can then do another full week fast without needing any electolyte supplements and feel great!

I tend to stick to black coffee with ground ginger for liquids, but also have some fizzy pop on hand when I fancy a change.

[Badda]

Big thread but very useful after skim reading!

I'm going to start this today as I'd really like to lose 5-8kg and have been interested in the energy gains and endurance pros to this diet for a while.

I'm pretty au fait with the foodstuffs and what to avoid but any 'must dos / don't' for the first few weeks? I've ordered some electrolytes and already take multivits etc. My big concern is any initial tiredness or keto flu.

Thanks.

[grumbledoak]

Badda said:

Big thread but very useful after skim reading!

I'm going to start this today as I'd really like to lose 5-8kg and have been interested in the energy gains and endurance pros to this diet for a while.

I'm pretty au fait with the foodstuffs and what to avoid but any 'must dos / don't' for the first few weeks? I've ordered some electrolytes and already take multivits etc. My big concern is any initial tiredness or keto flu.

Thanks.

Eat real food.
Don't snack.
Don't forget to eat.

I never did anything for keto flu. Maybe add a little more salt to meals.

[Badda]

Thanks
Sounds reassuringly simple. First meal of air fired wings and cabbage slaw down, full and satisified.

[Gretchen]

Drink lots and accept the first week you are going to urinate. A lot.

I sometimes struggle to eat, often not hungry, particularly past couple of weeks. I should be stricter on myself.

I’m several months in (did follow Keto for a year a few years back) and this past week have maintained rather than lost so definitely need to start eating again.

[Badda]

Thanks Gretchen. Do you mean you’ve not lost weight this week so need to eat more..

[grumbledoak]

Gretchen said:

Drink lots and accept the first week you are going to urinate. A lot.

I sometimes struggle to eat, often not hungry, particularly past couple of weeks. I should be stricter on myself.

I’m several months in (did follow Keto for a year a few years back) and this past week have maintained rather than lost so definitely need to start eating again.

Even if you don't need the calories you are starving your body of other nutrients.

[Badda]

Day 2 and my normal ferocious appetite has been tempered already. Having delicious meals but feeling a little muggy headed. Lots of energy. All good so far!

[Badda]

Despite good hydration, salt and rehydration sachets the dreaded ‘flu’ symptoms have arrived. At least this means I’m on my way to burning fat.

[Badda]

Badda said:

Despite good hydration, salt and rehydration sachets the dreaded ‘flu’ symptoms have arrived. At least this means I’m on my way to burning fat.

This didn’t last long and things seem to be going ok. Tested my blood this morning and had ketones of 1.7mmol/l so I think my macros are pretty on point.

[Mojooo]

I have found a variation in the rehydration stuff. It would not surprise me if some of the stuff in Amazon is just white powder with hardly anything in it.

[Badda]

Quick and easy Keto breakfasts?

I’m loving a relaxed scrambled eggs with bacon and avocado. However some days I’m up pre 5am and just want a bowl of something easy with no prep. Any suggestions? So far I’ve been having yoghurt and walnuts but wondered if you could recommend any granola that is low carb? I saw some low sugar granola in the supermarket earlier and whilst it was only about 3G per 100 of sugar, it was still about 40g of carbs…

[BigMacDaddy]

Best bet would be to make up a batch of your own; stick to the low-carb seeds/nuts (so no cashews!), use some erythritol as your sweetener/binder and you should be good to go