Keto/Low carb diet

[JDBAK]

Black Friday 2018: 275lbs

June 2019: 165 lbs

March 2021: 198 lbs

Keto works, it’s quite simple really. Where it gets hard is keeping with it given the cultural and social value we place in food. Going to the movies, popcorn! Family has some event or celebration? Pizza and cake.

You have to be willing to deal with FOMO and being the weird dude that just eats meat.

I lost 110lbs insanely fast. It was a year of tracking / weighing all of my food and going a year of absolutely clean keto. However, at 165, I realized that’s just not maintainable for me. In addition to the nutrition, I wasn’t weight lifting but as an avid golfer (and childless husband) I was playing 36 holes a day 3/4 days a week (and waking)

now as a father and someone whose allowed some bad habits to creep in I’ve struggled to keep my weight below 200.

The hardest part is the after plan. Trust me, losing weight is easy and really makes the restriction piece seem easy when the lbs are flying off

Wow, congrats.

Here's something that helped me. Keto, even meat based keto felt restrictive at the time I first did it. Before going full carnivore, I was down to meat and greens. Once I dropped the greens and went full carnivore, the cravings went down significantly. Eating no longer felt restrictive, it was liberating.

I don't have any huge problems with vegetables in moderation (too much and I get gas and bloating) but it took eliminating them for awhile to really stop cravings.
After having adapted to carnivore, the cravings are still really low, and stayed low even after reintroducing a little bit of vegetables. So I can be flexible now, I couldn't before.

No idea why that worked, but it did for me. Carnivore stopped me from caring about all the other foods, and now I can eat other stuff without overdoing it...but I don't really care to. All that other stuff isn't really food to me.
It's liberating.

 

[Hoodie]

Keto is not magic for weight loss. It works for a lot of people exclusively because it makes it easier for them to stay in a caloric deficit due to satiety. That still counts as working though.

There´s a lot of peer reviewed papers out there on this you can check out.

Interestingly enough, keto does have some tangible benefits for high altitude mountaineers. This has much to do with metabolism in a low oxygen environment.

The Secret to Adrian Ballinger’s No-Oxygen Everest Summit

Uphill Athlete’s Scott Johnston explains how fat adaptation training helped mountaineer Adrian Ballinger successfully summit Everest without oxygen.

www.trainingpeaks.com

Fat has 2x more calories per unit of weight than carbohydrates. For extremely weight conscious backpackers/alpinists, fat adaptation could be used to reduce the weight of food for a trip. This would have to be balanced with the fact that most people are very much anaerobic when gaining elevation with a pack on, and performance will absolutely suffer without carbs in that scenario. Carbs also allow for water retention, so in general you will need to drink more and consume significantly more electrolytes on keto.

In short, keto can be very useful for a few highly specific scenarios and it always has at least a couple drawbacks.

If you do it, make sure to get adequate fiber and keep the veggie intake high. I think tracking net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) is more useful than total carbs for that reason. Salami and cheese alone do not a healthy diet make, and carrots aren´t bad for anyone.

 

[Wib]

There is a lot of good advice here. I will say, everybody is different. Not in what their body will do in reaction to any program, but the mind. Some people take poorly to keto and can't stay on it, and some thrive from day one as an example. It's not body but individual mind and spirit.

I did keto for a year and it no doubt works. What was tough for me was my wife is big on fruit and will not eat much for fat so I was doing keto alone. Very difficult for both of us. One thing I really liked about keto was how very strict it is in order to achieve and stay in ketosis. It forced me to simply disregard foods I could not have, there is no cheating. I guess I need that. Mediterranean Diet for example does work, but the ease of cheating forces me to bad eating. For me, doesn't work that well. I've never really been overweight but keto brought me down to my age 18 weight and kept me there.
Lots of good info available on youtube and other places. With keto you really have to be on it. Thomas DeLauer was one I got a lot of keto info from..

 

[Northpark]

So I was the fat kid in high school. Probably weighed about 235 or so at graduation and I’m only about 5’9”. Got to college figured out that I actually wanted to be able to do things and started eating less junk and started running. Dropped to about 200 doing that then working on timber and fire crews dropped me to a low of 158lbs. Then I got married and kids and life and pretty soon I was back to 195lbs which worries me because my family has a long history of heart disease and diabetes neither of which I want anything to do with. I’ve tried a few things over the years and can usually drop to maybe 180lbs but always plateau even working out 2 hours a day and eating lean meats, whole grains and low fat. Last December I stumbled on Peter Attia. His story is that he was a marathon swimmer “eating right” and was still overweight and pre diabetic before trying Keto. After doing a bunch of research I figured Keto would be worth a shot.

So far I love it. I’m down to about 175lbs from 195 at Christmas. I enjoy the food I get to eat. I still eat meat in moderation just fine, and I’m only working out 30-60 minutes a day 4-5 days per week which lets me spend more time with my family and shoot more. I also sleep better, consume no alcohol except on special occasions and generally feel better, eat less and I’m still dropping weight at about 5lbs per month. I started nerding out a bit with it too. Taking blood glucose and ketone levels twice a day and watching how my body reacts to excercise and food.

I can see where it wouldn’t be for everyone (my family does not participate but does support me) but it works for me.

 

[Jdw901]

My experience - I found low carb tough to stick with over the long run. I had more luck with intermittent fasting from a sustainability perspective (doing it for more than a year). I did have some good luck with just tracking calories on the LoseIt app, but then I reverted back. Right now I’m using the Noom app, and so far it seems like the most sustainable in the long run for me. Time will tell though, I’m hopeful, but we’ll see if I can keep the weight off. Good luck!

 

[homers]

Eat less processed foods, low carb, no sugar (especially the corn syrup, high fructose crap) and a bit more protein. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is optimized to feed lots of people as cheaply as possible. Not optimized for health.

 

[Cameron.25]

I am interested in doing a keto/low carb diet and have been tracking my food intake on my Fitbit for the last two weeks and have worked out at least 30 minutes 5x a week. For exercise I have done run/walk on a treadmill, Spin cycling and Kettlebell for weight resistance. I am down 9 pounds in that time which I love but am trying to figure out how anyone can follow a Keto diet.

With what I have tracked over the last two weeks I have only had what is considered Keto macro intake one or two days. For the most part I have had roughly equal Macro's each day which is still low carb since that is less carbs than the Atkins/40-30-30 diet.

I want something that is sustainable and a lifestyle change and wanted to know what those have done Keto what their results are and if it was sustainable and healthy? I am 6'2" 276 this morning down from an all time high of 296 back in April caused by being in Lockdown and aggravating my herniated discs from college football. I was supposed to get an epidural but insurance wouldn't cover it without 3 months of PT and none of the PT places would see me live at the time only people after surgery or car accidents. It was weird. Instead I was put on prednisone and muscle relaxants.

Thanks in Advance!

Ive always been fit and lean but i did keto/modified keto for 2 years, not to lose weight but was hoping for the mental clarity and the diet seemed appealing to me at the time. I did get leaner and had amazing mental clarity for quite a while, probablythe first year or so. Then i started doing mtntough and working out harder and eventually realized i needed more clean carbs and protein than i could eat and stay in ketosis. Felt better and gained muscle immediately.

Now i just work out hard at least 5 times a week and eat clean, trying to avoid sugar, most alcohol, most glutens and industrial seed oils like canola and soy. Within those guidelines i pretty much eat whenever, whatever, and as much as i want with a cheat meal like once or twice a month.

Bottom line, im not an expert at all but if you really like fatty foods, meat and broccoli or other lower carb veggies then keto could be a good one to try for you to lose weight. Seems like theres tons of other ways to get to your goals too and keto just doesn't agree with some peoples pallets and stomachs. My wife hated it and does better with carbs.

FWIW i did get a full lipid and blood panel done after a year of very strict keto and everything looked great, including cholesterol, so yes its possible to be healthy on it. I do take supplements and vitamins tho. I just found i didn't have as much gas in my tank at the gym, not much noticeable difference in endurance activities like backpacking or running once my body adapted to fat. And yes you would definitely have to be the weirdo anytime you eat with other people

 

[JoeDirt]

Eat less processed foods, low carb, no sugar (especially the corn syrup, high fructose crap) and a bit more protein. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is optimized to feed lots of people as cheaply as possible. Not optimized for health.

I like to say no "sweeteners" Wish artificial sweeteners amounts were listed like regular sugar.

After cutting out almost all sweeteners i cant stomach any of it.

 

[James Sanders]

So I have done Keto on and off for a few years, I normally do it the first 4 months of the year to loose weight from winter..

For me I normally loose about 8lbs first month 5lbs second month 4lbs third month and after the 4 months period it starts slowing down..

All keto diets to slow down after a month or so. One thing though you certainly can't continue with high impact training or doing runs.. your body actually needs more carbs to rebuild muscle damage than protein and you can cause muscle tear issues if your on a keto diet whilst doing high impact

What you have to do instead is carb cycling, where you are low cab say under 50gs a day for 4 days then you intake carbs for 1 day and then get 2 days worth of exercising.

Be sure to only have the carbs for one day and a break of atleast 4 days in-between this will spike your glucose levels so be sure to exercise on those two days to make use of it.

Keto generally works great. You can eat almost as much as you want, energy levels are fine after the first week, memory normally improves as well..

Your one issue will be, being a vegetarian, I tend to do a high protein keto diet which works well, but being a vegetarian, your prob going to have to do high fats.

I would recommend getting some keto specific products to help you out as well, as your fibre will be love and keto diet food can get a bit boring, I have used sites like amazon or the carb free zone in the past.

Good luck and hope it all goes well.. a plus point whiskey is carb free

 

[SMOKYMTN]

I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’ve done Keto for years, it works great, you can lose weight quick.

However, dumping carbs means dumping water, and dumping water combined with too much meat can wreck hell on your kidneys. Many guys develop kidney stones or gout on Keto (myself included) because they neglect some of the basics.

So here’s my 2 tips:

-Drink a gallon of water day. Force yourself if you have to.

-Limit the red meat intake where you can. Eat a ton of seafood and chicken.

Those were the 2 kickers for me developing gout. Once I addressed those 2 things, it went away and trust me, kill it before ever starts because it sucks.

 

[Cameron.25]

I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’ve done Keto for years, it works great, you can lose weight quick.

However, dumping carbs means dumping water, and dumping water combined with too much meat can wreck hell on your kidneys. Many guys develop kidney stones or gout on Keto (myself included) because they neglect some of the basics.

So here’s my 2 tips:

-Drink a gallon of water day. Force yourself if you have to.

-Limit the red meat intake where you can. Eat a ton of seafood and chicken.

Those were the 2 kickers for me developing gout. Once I addressed those 2 things, it went away and trust me, kill it before ever starts because it sucks.

You're right, i totally forgot to mention that i took creatine and electrolytes everyday while on keto to help with that. I never had any issues and got over the keto flu very quickly

 

[SMOKYMTN]

You're right, i totally forgot to mention that i took creatine and electrolytes everyday while on keto to help with that. I never had any issues and got over the keto flu very quickly

That was my only downfall with Keto. Otherwise I lost 60lbs and my lipid panel was flawless. I felt good, looked good, my mind was clear and had great energy.

I will say 2 things about the gout debacle, I ate straight red meat for a week and I knew I was getting dehydrated. I was working in an area that only had a food truck for the nearest meals, and the only Keto friendly meals they had were burgers with chili and no bun. So admittedly I wasn’t eating red meat within reason. However, when I switched my water intake, added Nuun electrolytes, and cut out red meat for a few days, it went away.

With that said, gout and kidney stones are known to be more frequent in Keto diets for the reasons above. Much of the water stored in the body is in carbohydrates which is why folks dump a ton of water weight on Keto. You have to make sure you’re hydrating properly.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’ve done Keto for years, it works great, you can lose weight quick.

However, dumping carbs means dumping water, and dumping water combined with too much meat can wreck hell on your kidneys. Many guys develop kidney stones or gout on Keto (myself included) because they neglect some of the basics.

So here’s my 2 tips:

-Drink a gallon of water day. Force yourself if you have to.

-Limit the red meat intake where you can. Eat a ton of seafood and chicken.

Those were the 2 kickers for me developing gout. Once I addressed those 2 things, it went away and trust me, kill it before ever starts because it sucks.

It’s funny you mention this. I have basically eaten 1/3, 1/3,1/3 for the macros and developed gout last month. Went to my wife’s rheumatologist yesterday and my left big toe he said was crazy swollen. It was easily double the size the day before. He drained it and gave me a shot of cortisone and gave me two prescriptions and wants to see me in 3 week.

The crazy thing is with all the pain I was in the day before yesterday I shot at my 3D league the highest score I have shot in about 6 years. I almost didn’t shoot because of how much pain I was in. I think I just concentrated on my shot execution and blocking out the pain.


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[SMOKYMTN]

It’s funny you mention this. I have basically eaten 1/3, 1/3,1/3 for the macros and developed gout last month. Went to my wife’s rheumatologist yesterday and my left big toe he said was crazy swollen. It was easily double the size the day before. He drained it and gave me a shot of cortisone and gave me two prescriptions and wants to see me in 3 week.

The crazy thing is with all the pain I was in the day before yesterday I shot at my 3D league the highest score I have shot in about 6 years. I almost didn’t shoot because of how much pain I was in. I think I just concentrated on my shot execution and blocking out the pain.


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Yep, it sidelined me for a bit. Individually, eating too many purines (red meat) or dehydration are the biggest risk factors for gout because red meats increase the amount of Uric Acid in the blood which is the cause of gout, and dehydration causes the kidneys to not be able to process the Uric Acid out of the kidneys. Keto compounds both causes into one, because a.) we tend to eat too much meat and b.) a lot of the water our body holds is due the carbohydrate intake and glycogen levels. When we dump carbs, we dump water, our body dehydrates and we fuel it with purine rich foods. It’s a recipe for foot pain.

My doctor told me that he wouldn’t put me on medicine for the first attack because it was acute and the cause was very evident (i.e. Keto). He said to up my water intake and eat more white meats. So far so good.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

Yep, it sidelined me for a bit. Individually, eating too many purines (red meat) or dehydration are the biggest risk factors for gout because red meats increase the amount of Uric Acid in the blood which is the cause of gout, and dehydration causes the kidneys to not be able to process the Uric Acid out of the kidneys. Keto compounds both causes into one, because a.) we tend to eat too much meat and b.) a lot of the water our body holds is due the carbohydrate intake and glycogen levels. When we dump carbs, we dump water, our body dehydrates and we fuel it with purine rich foods. It’s a recipe for foot pain.

My doctor told me that he wouldn’t put me on medicine for the first attack because it was acute and the cause was very evident (i.e. Keto). He said to up my water intake and eat more white meats. So far so good.

Not sure how much water I could increase. I drink at least a gallon and if I don’t have meetings I try and get two but then the bathroom is every 15 minutes.


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[SMOKYMTN]

Not sure how much water I could increase. I drink at least a gallon and if I don’t have meetings I try and get two but then the bathroom is every 15 minutes.


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Lol. I knew I wasn’t getting enough. I remember noting the color of my pee about a day before my toe went from 0 to 100. How’s your red meat intake? Some people who have chronic gout can’t even look at a steak without having a flare. Seems like yours was like mine, in that the cause was pretty evident: diet changes.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

Lol. I knew I wasn’t getting enough. I remember noting the color of my pee about a day before my toe went from 0 to 100. How’s your red meat intake? Some people who have chronic gout can’t even look at a steak without having a flare. Seems like yours was like mine, in that the cause was pretty evident: diet changes.

The first time it happened a month ago.

Looking back over the weekend we went away and met clients for dinner. It was the perfect storm of what not to eat if you have gout.

As I said I never had any idea about it before. But that weekend I had crab cakes 3 or 4 meals between Friday and Sunday, filet mignon with a crab sauce and shrimp cocktail. The next day for lunch a crab cake sandwich. That night a bunch of beers, some bourbon, a pork chop with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, asparagus and cheese cake for desert. Sunday had eggs Benedict for breakfast that had crab cakes in it. And stopped on the way home at a rest stop and had Burger King for the first time in years.

The next day I ate clean having a salad for lunch with grilled chicken breast that night I don’t remember what I ate for dinner but it was healthy and later that night I felt some pain in the ball of my foot and thought I was having my plantar fasciitis act up. The next morning my toe and foot were swollen. Took some Tylenol, put some ice on my foot and kept it elevated. Drank almost three gallons of water that day.

This time we went out for dinner Friday and had a burger and some beers with friends, ate normal healthy the next day. Think I had two beers with dinner, Sunday we had chicken on the grill. Monday had hotdogs and hamburgers because what we took out for dinner didn’t defrost in time. Tuesday had a salad, some string cheese, almonds and a pear and went to my archery league. I felt a twinge in my foot on the way. When I got there I almost fell on the ground when I went to stand up on that foot to get out of my truck.

I don’t think I ate anything this time so bad to have gotten a bout like I did. The first time I thought it was a fluke but this seems like something I am going to have to deal with and figure out a better diet.


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[SMOKYMTN]

The first time it happened a month ago.

Looking back over the weekend we went away and met clients for dinner. It was the perfect storm of what not to eat if you have gout.

As I said I never had any idea about it before. But that weekend I had crab cakes 3 or 4 meals between Friday and Sunday, filet mignon with a crab sauce and shrimp cocktail. The next day for lunch a crab cake sandwich. That night a bunch of beers, some bourbon, a pork chop with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, asparagus and cheese cake for desert. Sunday had eggs Benedict for breakfast that had crab cakes in it. And stopped on the way home at a rest stop and had Burger King for the first time in years.

The next day I ate clean having a salad for lunch with grilled chicken breast that night I don’t remember what I ate for dinner but it was healthy and later that night I felt some pain in the ball of my foot and thought I was having my plantar fasciitis act up. The next morning my toe and foot were swollen. Took some Tylenol, put some ice on my foot and kept it elevated. Drank almost three gallons of water that day.

This time we went out for dinner Friday and had a burger and some beers with friends, ate normal healthy the next day. Think I had two beers with dinner, Sunday we had chicken on the grill. Monday had hotdogs and hamburgers because what we took out for dinner didn’t defrost in time. Tuesday had a salad, some string cheese, almonds and a pear and went to my archery league. I felt a twinge in my foot on the way. When I got there I almost fell on the ground when I went to stand up on that foot to get out of my truck.

I don’t think I ate anything this time so bad to have gotten a bout like I did. The first time I thought it was a fluke but this seems like something I am going to have to deal with and figure out a better diet.


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Sounds about a right. My first attack was after a week of eating burger patties out of a food truck. After that, I had a couple episodes where after some strenuous exercise I felt that dull ache of a pending attack, and I just began hammering water, as much as I could hold down, and I’d wake up to my foot feeling fine.

Ever since then, I’ve been really careful on watching red meat and water intake, and thankfully no more issues thus far.

 

[TradLife406]

Why avoid the carbs? Especially if you're training hard and especially on a hard hunt?

I know there's a few people who can keep with with this style of eating.

Most people though I know who reference keto is in this context "I need to get back on keto". Well if it's a great diet then why did you stop?

I started losing 60# a couple years ago. And I've kept it off. I also eat 300 grams of carbs a day. Not even all clean carbs.

I don't think it's a carb/sugar issue. More of a portion control issue.

If you're already tracking your daily calorie/macro intake then set yourself up with a deficit of 100-200 cals to start with. You'll lose the weight. 47% carbs, a bit of fat and some protein.

I dunno it's just easy to follow. Especially hunting you're body needs the carbs for fuel. You'll feel better and won't bonk.

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[Northpark]

Ok So I’ve been watching this thread for awhile and I just want to say that it proves that everyone is different!

Some can run on carbs and be in excellent health and some like me simply can’t. Since I started watching my blood sugar and trying to avoid diabetes (which everyone else in my family has) I learned why I gain weight so easily and couldn’t loose it and the science behind body chemistry.

I mean this time last year I was eating 200g of protein (elk, antelope, etc.) 150g carbs and about 40g of fat per day. Ensuring a very steady calorie deficit. Running 6 miles, 12-20 mile bike ride, body weight training. I had time to work out 3-4 hours a day thanks to Covid. I lost some weight got to a low of about 175lbs (where I plateaued) down from 190lbs after 3 months of this. But it was exhausting and unsustainable not to mention i got back to where I didn’t have 3 hours a day to work out if i actually wanted to sleep. I never was able to get back down to 160lbs. Which was where I was as a single dude. I cut out the carbs and 5 months later I’m back to 160lbs and can do some pretty serious workouts. I admit my ability to go hard in the gym was hampered for probably the first 3 months but now I feel like I can really push again. I’ve got a 3 mile run I do that has A LOT of hills (nothing is flat where I live) that I did in 28:30 the other day which is the fastest I’ve ever run on that route.

Low carb is probably not for everyone! But can be useful for some.