debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 9, 2018 16:17:45 GMT -5
I started a keto (very low carb) diet three weeks ago because my rheumatologist insisted I lose weight (I have osteoarthritis in my right hip). She said I had to do it for 4 weeks but she hopes I'll see results and be motivated to continue. I do plan to continue past the 4 weeks, but I'm trying to decide how long.
She is a rheumatologist, not a nutritionist, so I have no plans to see her in the near future. DH has an appt next week and I may tag along. (She is also a friend, but not a close one.)
I am generally NOT very self-disciplined, but amazingly, I've really been sticking to it. Unfortunately I don't know how much weight I have lost because our scale was broken and I only replaced it last week.
If you did this diet, did it work? Is it for life (Gd forbid!) Did you cheat? Did you gain back all the weight once you stopped? Most of all, how long did you do it for, and what did you do afterwards? Frankly I am NOT interested in a life with NO pasta/bread/rice/potatos/root vegetables/ice cream/FRUIT.
I have ordered low-carb bread and muesli online but I'm still waiting for it. The stores here don't carry that sort of thing. So far I have cheated twice (once a week in the first 2 weeks). Both times I ate a small bowl of rice at a Chinese restaurant (French portions). I decided it's OK to cheat once/week if it keeps me on track.
Any advice/info/suggestions? I know there are plenty of resources on the web but I wanted to ask my imaginary friends.
From my reading, I think I want to "graduate" to the Atkins 40 after about 6 weeks.
ETA: I'm tagging flutterby because I know she does it sometimes, but I think she never has much weight to lose. I would like to lose about 30 pounds. I *think* I've lost about 9 so far.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 9, 2018 16:48:28 GMT -5
It works but it’s a temporary fix. The minute you start back eating carbs, it’ll go right back on. Plus if you eat a lot of carbs, you’re going to have some withdrawals. It’s not easy for some but it is for others. I used to be able to do it and I just can’t anymore.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Jul 9, 2018 16:51:45 GMT -5
I started a keto (very low carb) diet three weeks ago because my rheumatologist insisted I lose weight (I have osteoarthritis in my right hip). She said I had to do it for 4 weeks but she hopes I'll see results and be motivated to continue. I do plan to continue past the 4 weeks, but I'm trying to decide how long.
She is a rheumatologist, not a nutritionist, so I have no plans to see her in the near future. DH has an appt next week and I may tag along. (She is also a friend, but not a close one.)
I am generally NOT very self-disciplined, but amazingly, I've really been sticking to it. Unfortunately I don't know how much weight I have lost because our scale was broken and I only replaced it last week.
If you did this diet, did it work? Is it for life (Gd forbid!) Did you cheat? Did you gain back all the weight once you stopped? Most of all, how long did you do it for, and what did you do afterwards? Frankly I am NOT interested in a life with NO pasta/bread/rice/potatos/root vegetables/ice cream/FRUIT.
I have ordered low-carb bread and muesli online but I'm still waiting for it. The stores here don't carry that sort of thing. So far I have cheated twice (once a week in the first 2 weeks). Both times I ate a small bowl of rice at a Chinese restaurant (French portions). I decided it's OK to cheat once/week if it keeps me on track.
Any advice/info/suggestions? I know there are plenty of resources on the web but I wanted to ask my imaginary friends.
From my reading, I think I want to "graduate" to the Atkins 40 after about 6 weeks.
ETA: I'm tagging flutterby because I know she does it sometimes, but I think she never has much weight to lose. I would like to lose about 30 pounds. I *think* I've lost about 9 so far. I did it, for about month. Several times, Yes, it works. Big time. However, with this diet you CAN'T cheat. The goal is to make your body go into ketosis and that takes about 3 days. Then your body starts burning fat like crazy. If you have a bowl of rice, you're back to zero and have to start all over again. Be careful with hidden sugar, like in milk. Lactose is a sugar. Oddly, enough, you can drink liquor, but not beer. Your body metabolizes alcohol differently. It used to be called "The Drinking Man's Diet" It's great for a quick weight loss for a special occasion, but I couldn't do it much longer than that. It made me feel unwell. Plus, I'm a bread junkie.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 9, 2018 16:55:09 GMT -5
In the French version you're allowed 2 glasses of red or white wine per day. Which works for me, I hate beer ("liquid bread"). From what I have read there are different degrees of ketosis. If I'm going to do this long-term, frankly I don't really care if I'm at "maximum ketosis" all the time. For me I have to find a way to do it medium term (and then reduce carbs long-term, of course). Unfortunately I can tell by my metallic breath that I'm still in ketosis, even those two tiny bowls of rice.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jul 9, 2018 17:01:14 GMT -5
I don’t know how anyone can do low carb in the land of incredible bread. I turn into a carb junkie the minute I get off the plane in France! So kudos to you for trying this with that sort of temptation under your nose.
That being said, I did low carb for about 2 weeks. The first 4-5 days were the worst, but it worked. I lost about 10 lb., then celebrated with carbs and never jumped back on the wagon.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 9, 2018 17:07:12 GMT -5
I spent an hour in the supermarket and finally found bread that was only 10g of carbs (less net). Had two slices, then bit the bullet and ordered the ridiculously expensive low-carb bread and muesli online. Also, DH and I are leaving for vacation in a few weeks. I think I will stop the ZERO bread/potatos/rice/pasta/one fruit a day phase at that point. Plus, I'm a lot more active when we're on vacation. Except, my hip ... vicious circle. I'm getting an infiltration IN my hip under ultrasound next week, so I hope I'll be able to walk a lot more after that. I've had infiltrations before but not IN the joint.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 9, 2018 17:13:49 GMT -5
I bought a low carb bread in the store. The damn bread was half the size of a regular piece. My DD was hysterical over it. I was NOT.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Jul 9, 2018 17:13:56 GMT -5
In the French version you're allowed 2 glasses of red or white wine per day. Which works for me, I hate beer ("liquid bread"). From what I have read there are different degrees of ketosis. If I'm going to do this long-term, frankly I don't really care if I'm at "maximum ketosis" all the time. For me I have to find a way to do it medium term (and then reduce carbs in the long-term, of course). Unfortunately I can tell by my metallic breath that I'm still in ketosis, even after I've had a tiny bowl of rice.
Yes, sure, you can have a glass or two of dry wine. With Atkins, it's ZERO carbs at first, and then you can slowly start adding small amounts of carbs. In any case, I live in a place with phenomenal French boulangeries on every corner. Nope, can't do it. Give me a fresh, buttery croissant and I'm in heaven. Or a fresh warm bagel from a wood-burning oven.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 9, 2018 17:17:44 GMT -5
This diet too is supposedly ZERO carbs, but even kale has some carbs ... so in reality, it's under 20 carbs/day. Cheese has 1 or 2 (don't remember) and it's allowed. Ditto with eggs and meat.
A ZERO carb diet doesn't really exist ... it's a "ZERO high-carb foods" diet.
The revised Atkins diet is either 20 or 40 per day, depending on how much weight you need to lose. Atkins 20 = 20 carbs, Atkins 40 = 40 carbs. Atkins 20 = basically the keto diet (not Atkins 40 though).
A glass of dry wine has 2. Champagne has even less but it's a lot more expensive.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 9, 2018 17:31:44 GMT -5
Had a guy friend tell me he drinks rose’ because it’s lower in carbs. So not worth it. Now champagne I could do
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 9, 2018 17:33:58 GMT -5
I’ll be leaving for Tennessee tomorrow until Saturday. I always seem to be able to watch what I eat when I travel as opposed to home. No snacks help I’m sure.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 9, 2018 17:37:42 GMT -5
That's funny zibazinski because she told me NOT to drink rosé because it's higher in carbs. ETA: I just looked it up, and it is ... 2.9 instead of 1.9 for white or red.
It's definitely harder when you're home all day. Tomorrow is my last day at work so I'm sort of dreading that as far as the dieting goes.
I just spent two weeks at Job 2 with croissants/pains au chocolat/pains au raisin/chouquettes being served every single day. I didn't even have one, not even once.
This is majorly astonishing for me lol.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Jul 9, 2018 17:41:03 GMT -5
This diet too is supposedly ZERO carbs, but even kale has some carbs ... so in reality, it's under 20 carbs/day. Cheese has 1 or 2 (don't remember) and it's allowed. Ditto with eggs and meat.
A ZERO carb diet doesn't really exist ... it's a "ZERO high-carb foods" diet.
The revised Atkins diet is either 20 or 40 per day, depending on how much weight you need to lose. Atkins 20 = 20 carbs, Atkins 40 = 40 carbs. Atkins 20 = basically the keto diet (not Atkins 40 though).
A glass of dry wine has 2. Champagne has even less but it's a lot more expensive. Well, as close to zero as you can get. I subsisted on eggs, cheese, fish and meat. Bacon and whipped cream. The pounds melted off quickly.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 9, 2018 17:44:11 GMT -5
Same here, minus the whipped cream and plus (plain) Greek yoghurt. Not surprising you lose your appetite LOL.
I asked DH (the breakfast maven) to please make me bacon and eggs every other day once I stop working.
I'm also tagging ❤ mollymouser ❤ , hope you don't mind Molly. I know she lost a lot of weight recently, but I don't know if she did low-carb. Off to bed with me. Thanks for all your comments, please keep them coming.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 9, 2018 17:55:44 GMT -5
I’m watching my cholesterol so it’s even harder to do no carb. I only eat something with a face once a day at the most.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Jul 9, 2018 18:03:06 GMT -5
I’m watching my cholesterol so it’s even harder to do no carb. I only eat something with a face once a day at the most. EVERY day?
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Jul 9, 2018 18:11:21 GMT -5
I have a friend doing it, she makes most of her bread substitutes. I can ask her for some links if you would like.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Jul 9, 2018 18:24:17 GMT -5
It works but it’s a temporary fix. The minute you start back eating carbs, it’ll go right back on. Plus if you eat a lot of carbs, you’re going to have some withdrawals. It’s not easy for some but it is for others. I used to be able to do it and I just can’t anymore. This. I did it for a few months and weight started flying off. I would have cut somebody for a piece of bread though. As soon as I stopped doing it, the weight came right back and then some. It's not a temporary change, it's a lifestyle change.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Jul 9, 2018 19:30:17 GMT -5
You might want to invest into a nutritionist. There are a lot that will work over Skype, which makes it easier and cheaper. They will have better info than the interwebz. I dont think most people understand how our bodies work, and there is a wide variation between people and what works for them. If you are not super disciplined, you may give up before finding your groove.
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flutterby
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Post by flutterby on Jul 9, 2018 19:37:25 GMT -5
Hey debthaven!
I've done the low-carb/high fat thing twice, each time only for about 10-12 days. You're right, I was only looking to lose a few pounds, which probably helped me be really strict about sticking with it, since I knew it wouldn't last long.
I have no idea if I was doing Keto/Atkins/something else?? This is the only diet I've ever tried. I kind of made my own rules which were really just stay under 30g of carbs a day. And I didn't do the whole net carb thing - I'm too lazy - so it was 30g carbs period. I actually thought it was quite easy, but again, it was short term. I was never hungry. Bacon for dinner? Oh and bacon for snack too? How about some bacon with that bacon? Sure, pile it on. Oh I did try Knee Deep in Water Chloe low-cal for a week. I lost nothing. And it sucked.
To be fair, I'm not really a bread, pasta, or sweets person, so doing without those wasn't a big issue. There are lots of work-arounds for say a hamburger bun or sandwich bread (lettuce wrap instead) or a naked burrito or taco instead of having the shell. I subsisted on eggs, cheese, meat, chicken Caesar salads, a few veggies, diet soda, and black coffee. But except for the lack of fruit and potato chips, that's pretty much what I normally ate anyway.
I just finished the last round a couple weeks ago. I'm now eating maybe 50-70 carbs a day? I don't really keep track. I haven't gained any weight back. I think it is a lifestyle. Even when you finish the really low carb phase, you can't go back to eating 200g/day or whatever you did before. You'll always have to maintain at a lower carb level, just not as strict as the beginning phase. If, like me, that's how you tend to eat anyway, then no problem. If not, then I'm not sure how successful anyone would be long term.
Oh, advice: plan ahead!! I always had bacon, brats, sausage links, and hard-boiled eggs cooked and in the fridge to just warm up so I wasn't tempted to just throw in a pizza.
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atlantapenny
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Post by atlantapenny on Jul 9, 2018 19:58:23 GMT -5
I started keto about 3 weeks ago, after my yearly physical. I am down 8 pounds though you can't tell to look at me, but I am hoping I get there. A side benefit after the first week included that I am almost never hungry, and i am the queen of getting hungry and then flipping to hangry pretty quickly.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 9, 2018 20:55:18 GMT -5
I’m watching my cholesterol so it’s even harder to do no carb. I only eat something with a face once a day at the most. EVERY day? Every day. There are days when I eat nothing that has a face at all. That’s easy. Hard is no carbs. Harder is no Face and no carbs. Water is about it!!
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moneyminded
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Post by moneyminded on Jul 9, 2018 22:55:07 GMT -5
Wrap yarn, twine, curling ribbon, etc. around your waist (once) and measure how big around you are. Tape each month's yarn, etc. along side of each other as there will be times the scale doesn't move, but inches off your waist will. This will give you a visual of your hard work to keep you going. As far as recipes go, try "fathead pizza dough" for your pizza cravings. Anything you need bread for use lettuce leaves. Best of luck! You've got this!
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Jul 10, 2018 0:48:56 GMT -5
Thank you all! Some great ideas here!
Yes I think the key is to thinking this is a lifestyle change ... and limiting the carbs to occasional or eating very small quantities of them (I mean long-term.)
flutterby great idea on having cooked food in the fridge. geenamercile I tried making my own keto breads but they all tasted like omelettes. That's why I decided to buy some online. atlantapenny so we've both lost about the same amount. Only my family has noticed here too. Sorry rushing to work now.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Jul 10, 2018 7:06:34 GMT -5
Anybody maintain a workout schedule and still follow this diet? I’d like to loose some fat, but find if I don’t eat carbs I have no energy to work out (or ever stay awake some days).
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Jul 10, 2018 7:45:43 GMT -5
As a runner, no carb or very-low carb wouldn't work for me.
For the past month, DH and I have been doing the 16/8 fasting plan, along with diet changes. You only get to eat for an 8-hour period of time, ours is usually 10 am until 6 pm. It has helped us cut out a lot of unnecessary carbs - because we usually don't do breakfast now, we skip bread/toast/pastries for that meal. Because we don't have time for dessert or snacks, that has cut out things like chips/pretzels/cookies/etc. Meals are usually meat/veggie/small amount of carb.
I haven't been tracking calories/nutrition, but I could check DH's MyFitnessPal. Carbs are probably about 50/day.
If you cut down on carbs and do the fasting, it can be enough to kick you into ketosis as well, without overly restricting carbs down to nothing.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Jul 10, 2018 14:51:54 GMT -5
That's funny zibazinski because she told me NOT to drink rosé because it's higher in carbs. ETA: I just looked it up, and it is ... 2.9 instead of 1.9 for white or red.
It's definitely harder when you're home all day. Tomorrow is my last day at work so I'm sort of dreading that as far as the dieting goes.
I just spent two weeks at Job 2 with croissants/pains au chocolat/pains au raisin/chouquettes being served every single day. I didn't even have one, not even once.
This is majorly astonishing for me lol.
I could NEVER manage that.
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Ryan
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Post by Ryan on Jul 10, 2018 22:59:36 GMT -5
I have never done a keto diet, but for the first 3-4 months or so of this year, the only carbs I ate were from fruits, veggies, and nuts. I went from around 215 to around 185 in that time period. For me, it just seemed to work better and make more sense long term. I've eased up recently, but still largely avoid breads/pastas and have maintained the weight for the last 3-4 months.
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skubikky
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Post by skubikky on Jul 11, 2018 7:25:35 GMT -5
Just going to add my two cents here Debthaven......here we go.
DON'T DIET.... DON'T DIET....
Diet is that which we eat for our nutrition. If you have health issues that require you to lose weight or if you just want to lose weight. Don't DIET...... One can lose weight on any program: Low carb, Low fat, low calories, no calories,.....whatever.
But, as is typical with diets that severely restrict something......over the long term, following that program will become unsustainable.
Dieting is absolutely, for many people, not all, but a good majority, a way to lose and then gain back even more weight.
Start with making small and sustainable changes. Things that you can incorporate into your lifestyle.
Look at what you like to eat and at first just reduce the amount. Slowly make different choices but at least make sure you like the choices.
Keep a log on your smart phone....there are many apps that help you track(i.e. NetDiary). This also becomes a habit and can be very, very helpful.
Start moving or adding activity to your routine.
Don't do anything drastic.....walk more, maybe take a swim as it's summer time if you have access to a pool or other body of water, walk some more...maybe after dinner if time allows. People tend to go overboard and join a gym and get a trainer....and soon enough, they stop going because it just doesn't suit their personality or lifestyle. Whatever you choose would hopefully be able to fit into your schedule.
My GP gave me a list of those things he sees as ordered priorities for helping to maintain health.
1. Regular exercise....you get to pick whatever this is and it can be as simple as walking. 2. Regular exercise 3. Regular exercise 4. Regular exercise 5. Regular exercise 6. Sleep hygiene: This was a surprise to me and he spoke of the need for a good sleep schedule and deep restful sleep. If you have trouble sleeping there are a number of things to do....I won't list them here. 7. Stress management 7. Nutrition..
Just my two cents. Hugs and kisses
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2018 12:16:08 GMT -5
I'm actually in the process of moving myself and my son to a ketogenic diet. There is lots of proof out there that it helps neurological problems.
I don't have any grand illusions of never eating carbs or sugar again, but I do think eliminating as much as possible is a great idea for many health reasons.
I have an idea of what I think might actually be causing all of his daily paralysis, and if so, a diet low in carbs and sugar is one of the most important things he must do to avoid having a heart attack. (It's called thyrotoxic periodic paralysis and he has the tumor that can cause it. Now to get the doctors to listen and test for it...)
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