Need Some advice

I’m in the same boat.... almost 7 weeks (I did cheat, however) and same weight as I started. Ugh!!

Hi Christy! I am much newer than you but was on a very similar plan in the distant past. While everyone around me dropped pounds like crazy, over 5 years I lost somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds. At that point, I added in 1/2 cup of oats in the morning and for some reason the weight just fell off of me! I'm NOT suggesting you do that!! But during that time, and now again, I decided to stay on it for other reasons. Presently,  I am worried because I have to take liquid medication for seizures that is filled with sugar, and medication for my kidneys that has maltodextrin.  I'm concerned I'll never get into ketosis! I am seeing, though, that in this short time I already have more energy, I feel better, much happier, and have more clarity. These make it so worth it! My partner said, "This is a lifestyle change for us and it's for the quality and longevity of our lives" and it is. Not saying I don't want weight loss, but just not to forget all the benefits.  Just a thought. 

Some high fat foods that will help you meet your macros without going over in protein and carbs: New York strip and porterhouse steak, pork ribs, fatty pork chops, bacon, salmon, avocado.  There are lots of great recipes for fat bombs which are almost all fat, very low carbs and protein that you can use at the end of the day to round out your fat macro. Just don't make a meal of them.  😀

Something it seems that people don't think about is adding fats to your plate. Add butter, coconut oil, coconut butter, MCT oil, herbed and seasoned butters, or olive oil to your finished meats and vegetables.  If you live near an H-E-B, they have a bunch of different seasoned finishing butters.  The black and white truffle one is admittedly expensive, but superb. I recently found that Walmart carries some seasoned butters, not as strongly flavored, but a lot cheaper than the H-E-B versions. Of course you could make your own seasoned butter and store in the fridge or freezer as well.  I freeze all kinds of things by the tablespoon in silicone candy molds, then pop them out and put them in labeled Ziploc bags.  That way they are always at my fingertips.

Both Macadamia Nuts and possibly Olive Oil can help catch-up on fats.  Or Fat Bombs. 

Moondrake Is it possible to have too much fat? My progress wheel almost always tells me I've gone over my fat grams. Sometimes by a lot! I keep trying to eat low fat things now b/c my fat goes up so fast. I've always loved tons of fat, but I'm wondering if there's such a thing as too much even on keto? 

Me too! Very frustrating! I’ve spent the last 2 months making changes to my macros thinking I’m just not doing it right. Either I’m eating too much or too little so I go and change it up again just hoping I’ll see a better weight loss. So, today I joined the challenge group starting tomorrow hoping it will force me to be more strict and CONSISTENT with my daily goals and stop me from wanting to change things and hooefully I’ll see the loss Im looking for;)

Sarah You want to stay within your calories, so in that respect it is possible too have to much fat.  You want to stay below carbs, equal to protein, and equal to or slightly above fat.

Moondrake So this is important, thank you! But also will be hard. It feels nearly impossible to get them all just right, or even close! My protein is always WAY low! I was surprised to see that. I'm seeing it's all about ratios and putting food puzzle pieces together to make that happen feels really difficult. Thanks for letting me know though - important info! I think I'm going to dump some of my Keto products because I have higher protein products with less fat. The keto products are throwing it off! 

With you Rosie! Curious about challenge group . Don't know what that is but I wish you success!!

Moondrake HEB Butters and Freezing by Tablespoon!! You are awesome! Thank ou! 

Rosie Please keep us posted about the Challenge Group and if it helps you.  Maybe it could be good for me too, but I don't know. Really just passed my first week and still on learning curve. I may be expecting too much too fast. 

Sarah  Will do! Staying positive that any loss is better than no loss! Slow loss will be easier to keep off;) This is a lifestyle change not just a diet since Ive lost the weight before only to gain it back. My hope is the challege will stop me from making adjustments when I’m impatient! 

It helps me to look at macros of my meal or snack before I eat.  You can enter it on CM first to see what effect it will have on macros for the day.  You can always delete it and change to something else.

Moondrake Hi Moondrake (or anyone else that may know)! Quick question since you've been really kind in helping me figure out this progress wheel. If I'm over (only slightly) in calories, but under in my fats and slightly under in carbs (and for the first time, over in my protein), what should I do?  Leave it alone or be sure to get the rest of the fats and not worry about the calories or protein? Thanks!!

What you want is to try and keep your percentages balanced.  So you want to be sure your carbs are below 5%.  You want to try to meet your protein percentage and meet or modestly exceed fats.  If you occasionally are high in protein and low on fat it won't hurt you.  But you don't want to consistently do this.  It's useful to enter your food before eating it to check yourself before you wreck yourself.  It's good to keep fat bombs and bone broth on hand to make up shortfalls.

christy mcgrew Christy, I woke up to your reply and when I say it is a blessing I'm not exaggerating! I do have some serious medical problems. One of them is a rare kidney disease that causes mineral and electrolyte (and some vitamin) wasting. The result is a lot of terrible stuff but it's been mostly under control, except the osteoporosis, now severe. Since I've been on keto, I've been having terrible cramps every night that wake me and put me in a pretzle. Last night, my tooth fell out. I've been beside myself! This morning I decided to have a half cup of kefir and half cup of raw milk with my low carb shake even though it will put my carbs way over at the end of the day. I'm worried I'm not getting enough of what I need. I typically eat enough vegetables to put a goat to shame, and lots of raw milk, yogurt, and kefir. All carbs! So they've all been dumped except the small amounts of vegetables we seem to be allowed. Now I'm wondering if I should consider the "Low carb - moderate fat" instead of keto. Recording my food has been enlightening. I can see that my main problem (aside from sweets) has been that I eat a lot (healthy) carbs but also a ton of (healthy) fats which together have probably been the source of weight gain. I always go over on my fat very easily. For me, this food puzzle is harder than I thought it would be.  I'm VERY grateful for your reply!! I'm still not sure how to proceed, but for today, I have to find a dentist. 😔 Thank you again! I really needed this jolt of priorities! Health first! Then weight. Thank you! Thank you!

 Sarah Reading that you have a problem retaining electrolytes even on a normal diet concerns me in regards to keto. Keto is really hard on your electrolytes, I'm in excellent health and I have found it nearly impossible to keep my electrolytes up on this diet, suffering from Foot & Leg cramps quite often. I would suggest you do some research into electrolyte management and talk to your doctor about this matter. I don't want to chase you away from keto, It's a wonderful solution for many problems. But please make sure that it's a safe path for you. That said, my personal electrolyte plan is a multivitamin in the morning, a 99mg potassium supplement at noon, 6 p.m., and bedtime, and a magnesium supplement at bedtime. I also take a herd of other supplements (biotin, b complex, c, d, probiotics, psyllium husk), which diet gurus poo poo but I like the insurance.  Additionally I eat at least 4 oz of spinach and 2oz avocado most days.  But what seems to actually be the most effective is drinking 16 to 32 oz of Keto snake juice daily. 16 oz  water, 1-2tbs apple cider vinegar, 1tsp lemon juice, 1/4tbsp pink salt on ice.  It's recommended to include 1tsp nu salt salt substitute but I can't stand the taste.  This drink sounds awful, and it was a bit of a shock at first taste.  But after the first sip it started tasting pretty good, and now I crave it. I suspect that my body knows it needs the stuff and that's why in the afternoon it's all I want.

You might want to think about Dr Berg's version of Keto. You need to watch his you tube videos to make sure that I'm accurately reporting, but he suggests limiting carbs to 10 net grams daily and not counting cruciferous and leafy green vegetables at all. He recommends I think 7 to 10 cups of leafy green vegetables daily. If you were to give up most of your dairy carbs and consume a mountain of high mineral vegetables, I think you might be able to keep up your electrolytes. I'm skeptical of being able to lose weight without counting veggie carbs, but I'm planning on switching to this method once I reach my goal weight. Like you I used to consume a ton of vegetables everyday, it's been hard for the past seven months getting used to only having a few ounces of vegetables at each meal. Those are the two things I'm looking forward to once I reach my goal weight, fitting into my swimsuit and being able to eat all the broccoli.  🥦🥒🍎🥑🍄🌶

Moondrake Dear Moondrake, first, thank you so much for your very clear compassion and concern! That really touches my heart. Actually, I was on a low carb-moderate fat plan for five years about 15 years ago. It was the only time in my life I had no seizures and stable blood sugar! It was amazing. That said, it was also the time I was first diagnosed with osteoporosis, and later this kidney disease. It's a balancing act no matter what! I think I will be adding a few small things and experimenting but one thing I did today that I hope to continue is to double my calcium and break open the capsules in my potassium water and drink it. Same with Vitamin C. I'm adding back in my B12 even though it has mannitol. I'm taking magnesium as well - so far it's all OTC. My potassium is not however. That's prescription. I'm told by NORD and my pharmacy that I take more than anyone in the US and likely the world. That wasn't quite the claim to fame I was hoping for growing up ;) 

I think this is going to be at a day a time venture but I am very interested to listen to the videos you recommend. I too have concerns about eating so many carbs - albeit veggiess, and losing weight but frankly I don't have much weight to lose. This is only partly about weight for me and largely about health. I am also doing it for my partner whose health is very much in jeaopardy with 9 heart blockages and having recovered from colon cancer not that long ago (not long enough to be considered remission). 

Anyway, I seriously can't tell you how strongly I felt your caring and I am always so thankful for people who are real human beings with great hearts! Thank you so much!! Oh, and btw, I love your beautiful babies (doggies). I had a Great Dane mix that I loved with all my heart. I had others as well. They are all precious! 

I'll keep you posted!! Thanks again!!! 

christy mcgrew Thank you Christy!! I am pretty overwhelmed by the kindness I have received here.  You don't find that much of it in the world anymore. I appreciate your concern very much. You can probably see by my reply to Moondrake that I am going to do a tiny bit of experimenting but my health will definitely come first. This diet is mainly about health for me! In truth, I haven't spoken to my doctors but they're pretty good about trusting me. Possibly my nephrologist would have something to say about it that I might need to consider. Thank you again so much! I'll be walking a thin line but hanging in there for now. 

christy mcgrew  you are right and I am one of the odd balls that did not buy strips or a meter for keto checks.  If I am losing weight I am happy.  Planning my meals the day before or close to it becomes a game of balancing on the beam.  Today I was under 15 g of fat but hit protein and carbs. We are all on a journey and I hope it last a life time :).

Sarah 

I read somewhere that when you exercising your body accesses carbs first, before accessing your fat... so maybe you can schedule your exercise routine directly after you take your medicine so it will burn the carbs up asap.  Just a thought.