toctheyounger wrote: ↑3 years ago
cryogen wrote: ↑3 years ago
I started back on keto again since I wanted to lose 20 pounds and instead gained 20 more pounds. I didn't actually do anything to try and lose the weight, and Thanksgiving/Xmas happened, but still. So yeah I'm trying to relearn how to eat on that diet.
What can you tell me about it, if anything? My wife and I are somewhat interested in losing some weight, but she also has a whole lot of allergies that make it hard to eat anything that isn't predominantly homemade (allergic to corn, intolerant to gluten). We've looked a little at keto, but it's hard to know where to start putting together a list of foods you can/can't eat and how it all fits together to achieve stable body weight.
Well keto avoids bad starches and carbs, so no corn or wheat grain! It's easy to go off the deep end and get intimidated by going keto since there are lots of calculations when you go down the rabbit hole. The wife and I never did. I just stayed very simple and aimed for target daily carb intake of 20-30, and then tried to guesstimate to hit 15ish. That way since I wasn't measuring exactly quantities (like cream in my coffee for example) I would probably stay under my target maximum.
As far as stocking your kitchen and what you can eat, it wasn't that bad depending on what you like to eat and learning which veggies are bad. The initial stock of replacement flours, oils, and sugars sucks, but once you have your basics it isn't too bad. We go through eggs and cheese like crazy though. There are some good recipes out there and decent replacements. I found a really good bread that is mostly eggs. It's moist and dense and taste like you're eating French toast, which honestly is awesome. I can eat an entire loaf worth of sandwiches in one or two sittings if I'm not careful. I also found a fathead pizza crust that is mostly cheese, and it is really good also. We do a lot of chicken and burgers (wrapped in lettuce). Shredded cabbage with bacon and cherry tomatoes sautéed in oil is really good also.
Worst part is the constant prep work and everything is fresh so I feel like we are constantly going to the grocery store (which sucks juggling work and two kids). Also it is disheartening to see something that you want to eat and and being like, "man this is 8 carbs, can I swing that?" And of course looking at things you used to eat and cringing when that glass of egg nog you drank was 60 carbs.
Don't get intimidated by it is my best advice. There are plenty of charts showing what to eat and avoid, so start there since allergies is a concern. Then figure out your target carbs and Google some recipes. Plenty of good cookbooks as well, most of which have an intro giving you a crash course in going keto.
Edit: And the nice thing is that since it just takes a few days to enter ketosis, you don't have to feel guilty if you have a cheat day. Some people do a cheat day once a week. I tried to avoid it, but if I caved I didn't sweat it and lose all my willpower to quit altogether.