Keto help

[Theringworm]

I started the Optavia (formerly Medifast diet) exactly 3 weeks and 1 day ago. It is Keto based however they provide food/snack options that can get expensive real quick. Regardless of that fact, I am a 42 yo male, 5’10” and weighted 168lbs. Not obese by any means of the imagination with a BMI of 24. However I had a little bit of a belly that I wanted to get rid of for my upcoming Alaskan Moose hunt and a return trip next summer to compete in the BC Bike Race. In the first 3 days I lost 6 pounds. To date I am down 12 pounds. I drink > 100 ounces of water a day. I eat a 100-110 calorie Keto snack every 2-3 hours. For dinner I have 6-7 ounces of lean meat (fish, chicken, elk, buffalo, etc) and a cup of green vegetables. At first its hard to ignore the hunger. I was very tired. However, while still maintinaing the same diet I have been able to cycle up to 20 miles at a time or ride the spin bike for 30 mins at an aggressive pace and lift weights. Obviously on these days I increase my caloric intake a little and eat a 200 calorie Keto bar to compensate for the strenuous activity. 6 more pounds to go and I’ll convert over to a maintenance meal plan of 3 regular Keto oriented meals with the continued keto snacks every 2-3 hours in between. If you aren’t eating something every 2-3 hours and drinking lots of water you are missing the boat. It’s vitally important no matter the diet or meal plan you are on.

 

[Ditchpanther]

Like previously stated the speed by which you lose weight will be directly related to how over weight you are. I was 260 at 5’9” and lost 36lbs the first month. Scared the shit out of me so I went and saw my doctor to make sure I wasn’t screwing up my health. I stopped losing weight easily at about 210 and it went very slowly to 170. But I was able to get off my blood pressure medication so it’s worth it. I started using the chronometer app to track my macros and blood testing but after about 6-8 months you will know what you can and cannot eat/portion sizes. I can stay in ketosis with around 35-40g of carbs a day now. Just keep at it and you will reach your goal. The main thing is you are eating healthier than you were.

 

[Firemedic710]

I’d recommend the ketogains calculator,

Keto Macro Calculator for Free - Ketogains I Finally get your ratio right!

Easily and accurately calculate your macronutrient and calorie intake. Get help in selecting health and fitness goals. Keto Macro Calculator

www.ketogains.com

It’s a low carb, not so high fat, higher protein keto diet. The high protein helps preserve and build muscle, and forces your body to use more of your own fat reserves.

 

[outward]

Lots of good advice here already. I'll add a couple votes for (1) combine Keto with intermittent fasting (18 hour fast / 6 hour eating window is significantly better than 16/8) and (2) testing your ketone levels. For the ketone testing, forget about the strips you pee on. They're not reliable. You're going to pay a bit for this, but I wouldn't do Keto without testing if you're serious at all (I've been strict Keto for 2 years). Precision Xtra is the gold standard for ketone meters, but there are some new ones that are good and cheaper like KetoMOJO. My brother started Keto when I did and was disappointed on most fronts. I got a Precision Xtra meter and he found out why. He never went above about 0.5 mmol/l. For the first few months I was reading anywhere from 2.0 to 3.5. That's super high and I saw fast results. I'm now stable Keto at about 1.0-1.5. The point is that everyone's body will be different. If you really are running macros at 75/20/5, that's plenty for most people. But everyone is different. To know if Keto is working for you, you have to know if you're in ketosis. The meter will tell you that and help your journey tremendously. The intermittent fasting has also been fantastic for me (and many others) and works so well with Keto. With ketone levels at 1+, take it a third notch up and do your cardio training in your fasting window ("fasted cardio") and you'll shed weight faster than any way I know how and feel great.

 

[dcldcl]

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