Hi Tru, so sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you are getting massage or acupressure or something nice for your neck.
Is this an ok time to ask more about keto? If not, please let me know if you need time to heal, and I'll ask another time! Anyway, in case you don't mind, I looked at a cookbook on Amazon by Dr. Berg, and it was sooo much bacon and dairy, and dairy makes me break out. Just looking at this page of your diary it doesn't look like a big grease-fest, so looks like you could do it sensibly. I used to incorporate a lot of paleo into my cooking until my fuss-pot kid noticed the coconut flour. I have managed to sneak almond flour back in though. Anyway, where would you recommend someone who doesn't care for much dairy and grease start, especially if the idea of fasting while trying to increase exercise sounds scary? I am currently doing about 30 minutes of jogging and 20 minutes of resistance weights about twice a week, and will increase to 3 times a week soon, so not sure I am up for a lot of fasting at the moment. I have been doing about 1,400 calories of pretty healthy food with an occasional bread product thrown in, so I am pretty good at eating healthy in general. Also do you have to eat like this for life? I would miss fruit! Thanks in advance!!!
Keto Basics
The only absolute in keto is your carb limit, staying under 50 grams will keep most people in keto, I like to stay under 20 grams but if I go slightly over it is no big deal. Most of those carbs should come from green veg and you only count net carbs from green veg so that is a lot of good healthy nutrition right there.
next is protein, which is crucial for maintaining lean mass, you don't want to loose a heap of weight and still look flabby. The amount you need will depend on how much lean mass you have and what exercise you do, so you should have your bodyfat % measured. by this stage you should be hitting most of your nutritional needs.
Lastly fat. fat is a lever, it controls how fast you loose fat or gain muscle, it provides calories and some of the nutrients which are fat soluble.
you do not need to pack up on fat bombs, bacon or even dairy if it is a problem. I do eat bacon, but not every week, it is a treat and good smoked bacon is expensive lol. you want you body burning your excess bodyfat for energy, not fat you put in your mouth.
When changing to a keto diet, the big loss you see in the beginning is water loss, often people make the mistake of thinking they have lost a heap in the first couple of weeks, go back to carbs and put it all back on again.
for keto to work you need to be consistent, it takes time to fully adapt (1 month minimum) as the body adapts to become more efficient at converting fat to energy. Once adapted there are advanced forms of keto which make use of a very controlled addition of extra carbs but they are of benefit for those doing extreme exercise and building muscle, CKD and TKD should only be done after being fully adapted to a regular keto diet.
While adapting this is where you see some of the problems. Firstly lack of energy, this is not from lack of carbs but electrolyte problems, in keto you flush a lot of water out of the body and it takes a lot of electrolytes with it, don't try for a low salt diet, salt is needed and to little salt can cause problems. Magnesium is another electrolyte which often needs supplementing, especially if you find yourself getting night cramps. Potassium can occasionally be a problem also, I salt my food with light salt which deals with any potassium problems, so long as you do not have any medical conditions which can be made worse with potassium.
A little fruit, or better berries is ok in small amounts just remember your limits
While keto is a lifestyle choice (fat loss. maintenance or muscle building), it does not have to be for a lifetime if you don't want to lol, when you stop keto you will gain water weight back but you will not be regaining a heap of fat unless your over eating.
so in summary
Carbs are a Limit
Protein is a target
Fat is a lever controlling the rate of loss/gain
