/r/keto
The Ketogenic Diet is a low carbohydrate method of eating. /r/keto is place to share thoughts, ideas, benefits, and experiences around eating within a Ketogenic lifestyle.
Helping people with diabetes, epilepsy, autoimmune disorders, acid reflux, inflammation, hormonal imbalances, and a number of other issues, every day.
Posting Rules
1: Read the FAQ before posting. A post is subject to IMMEDIATE deletion and locking if it is clear the poster has not read the FAQ before posting.
2: Stay on topic. Off topic posts include: cheat posts, posts about other diets/others that are not eating keto, "farewell" posts, posts asking how to stop keto and resume a "normal" diet, etc. Off topic discussions will only be allowed in the Daily Community Support thread and will otherwise be removed and locked.
2.a: Why no cheat posts? In addition to being off-topic, cheat posts are specifically against the rules of this subreddit because they are negative, defeatist, and can serve as a trigger to those who are struggling.
3: Be respectful and accurate. Personal attacks, threats, inappropriate/sexual comments, threadcrapping, intellectual dishonesty, posting misinformation, excessively aggressive posting, and sexualizing/insulting/minimizing posts on progress pictures will not be allowed. These sorts of posts may result in a permanent ban with no prior warning. Please see the Community Guidelines for a more detailed explanation of what types of comments are in violation of this rule.
3.a: Zero tolerance will be afforded to posts containing racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or other identity-based slurs (i.e., insulting a person's ability/disability, looks, etc.).
4: No low effort posts. Low effort posts are: title-only posts, posts with under 200 characters including those that contain only links to articles or images/memes, and posts asking questions that are explicitly answered in the FAQ. Save your memes for r/ketocirclejerk
5: No self-promotion. This includes posts linking to or containing: personal blogs/channels/websites/social media pages, affiliate/referral links, or surveys for market research or educational purposes. If you are posting progress pictures with a watermark we ask that the watermark contain your Reddit username only.
6: Do not ask r/keto for medical advice. Reddit is not a replacement for your doctor. Do not solicit or offer medical advice on this subreddit.
** Read the Community Guidelines **
Where to start
Macro Calculator - Keto Macro Calculator
How to Start - Checklist for starting Keto.
Keto In A Nutshell - Brief overview
FAQ - Please, use it!
[Keto Chat] - Join the discussion
Host: irc.libera.net
Channel: ##ketochat
Tags for your posts, click to search
Useful Links
Related Subs
/r/keto
Been on keto for some time now and feel amazing.
Sometimes I cheat and having some drinks (beer/wine) and even get drunk.
What I noticed is that my hangovers are so much easier when on keto. Before my hangovers was terrible, I mean really bad. Was bad even with 1-2 beers.
Anyone else having this experience? How come it is like this, any theories?
Hi everyone
What do you think about the Brooklyn creamery’s keto ice-cream ?
I saw in the total carbohydrates 6.5g « plant based sweetener », they deducted it from the total carbs for the net carbs count, but I don’t know much about it because usually it’s only dietary fibers.
https://www.thebrooklyncreamery.com/collections/keto/products/keto-caramel-pecan-crunch-1
Thanks
It's an Australian store-brand low-carb bread. The website has the nutritional breakdown on it Says 2g carbs per slice https://www.coles.com.au/product/coles-85percent-lower-carb-high-protein-loaf-500g-4654155
I sarted keto 2 months ago i am down 12 kg, no cravings, and all is great. But, two weeks now i started having the most severe cramps on my hamstrings, at about 10 minutes and no potition i can mitigate the pain. Every cramp is only on my left hamstring. Can it be electrolyte deficiency why is it in only one place?
I work hunched over a lot , in construction,and my hamstrings get quite tired. So I had small cramps on the past after overuse, but now it's only one leg and really severe.
Idrink an electrolyte supplement from the drug store and extra magnesium from my physician for the sciatica (cause muscle contractions help it a lot)
How important is it to try to be in a calorie deficit or be fasting to lose weight on keto? Can I just follow under 20 grams of carbs a day & still lose weight quickly or do I need to be restricting calories and or fasting on top of the ketosis? TIA. I’m a newbie. I’m on day 5.
I am on day 31. My diet every day is:
Water and black coffee until 6pm. Dinner of only meat. 2 hours later some macadamia or brazil nuts. One hour after that a gulp of olive oil. PSA is down from 5.22 to 3.8 Lipids are-
Cholesterol, Total 01 217 High mg/dL 100-199
Triglycerides 01 213 High mg/dL 0-149
HDL Cholesterol 01 32 Low mg/dL >39
VLDL Cholesterol Cal 39 mg/dL 5-40
LDL Chol Calc (NIH) 146 High mg/dL 0-99
T. Chol/HDL Ratio 6.8 High
I recently did keto, mostly red meat with some cheese, sour cream and a small amount of avocado. I’ll probably go full carnivore once I’m fat adapted. After 11 days I switched back to eating whole foods with carbs for 4 days, and now I’m back keto. My ketones are already 1.6 so I think my body wants to run off fat now.
My anxiety since switching has been the worst it’s been in a long time, but my autoimmune and other mental issues have gotten better. My anxiety is mainly coming from it being a major change, and a fear of getting the symptoms like the muscle twitches and leg cramps like last time. Also I feel kind of stuck because when I switched back to carbs I felt much worse than I did eating carbs before. It almost makes me wish I waited a bit longer before starting.
Anyways I know this diet increases gaba at 4-6 weeks, but I really don’t know if it’ll be enough. I’m having the hardest time I’ve had in years.
Any success stories with anxiety? I’d also like to hear from people that had extreme anxiety that did not need to lose weight because that’s the position I’m in. Thanks
Chia seeds are generally regarded as a fantastically healthy addition to any ketogenic diet because it is omega 3 dominant. Digging into omega 3, its benefits are centered in DHA and EPA. Chia seed omega 3 is ALA with a low conversion rate into DHA and EPA, to the point getting sufficient amounts of these from chia seeds isn't realistic.
I now supplement DHA and EPA w/ concentrated omega 3 fish oil (4g daily). Still put a big scoop of chia seeds in my daily smoothy, wondering if these calories and bulk should go somewhere else.
Any thoughts?
Typical daily diet-> macadamia nuts, black olives, avocado, ground beef, hard cheese, eggs
I really wanna add kimchi to my diet I know how good fermented foods can be for your gut and it just sounds so good honestly but all the ones I find have added sugars I would just make my own but I don't have time
First, thanks to all y’all that advised me to tell my MD I am on a low carb diet instead of Keto. I live in NorCal. For the rare times I eat out for lunch, any suggestions on fast food? Restaurant are easy. It’s about choices 😉
I tried their smoked brisket bowl yesterday with keto friendly options. The brisket tasted like pure sugar. Sure enough, checking my ketones today on a meter, I am kicked out of ketosis and my stomach has not been happy. YMMV
I need some encouragement 😭... I started Keto a month ago, after being diagnosed with insulin resistance. I've done Keto about 4 or 5 times on previous years, but was never strict enough, ate a lot of processed food and "Keto desserts" and eventually I would go back to my bad eating habits, I've been through a very nasty cycle of binge eating and gaining lots of weight in the past 5 years. All that to say, this time I've been very strict with Keto, because I'm determined to get healthy, I'm tracking my macros daily, counting calories and exercising 3/4 times a week, without cheating, not even during thanksgiving. I'm sleeping 8 hours at night, drinking a good amount of water and also taking supplements... But the scale hasn't moved much lately, I dropped about 6 or 7 pounds the first week and now my weight fluctuates so much, some weeks I gain 2 pounds, the next week I lose half a pound and the next one I gain 1 pound. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but I feel very discouraged 😢. I understand that the closer you are from you ideal weight the hardest it gets to lose weight, but I'm just starting my weighloss, I have about 60 or 70 lbs to go, I feel like I should be losing more weight, not gaining, with all the radical changes I've made....
I currently only really eat eggs with ground beef or chicken, green bell peppers, and red/green onion. Occasionally I top it with some primal kitchen special sauce.
Any more suggestions for easier, whole food keto recipes, as well as “fast food” and “sweet treat” suggestions. All the things that have helped y’all stay under 20g of carbs :)
EDIT: Also any pre-workout meals/drink suggestions
Hello /r/keto Community!
Please use this support thread to talk freely and support each other. **We've switched up the format to last 2 days so that there's more time for interaction on questions and answers.**
All visitors, new and old, are kindly reminded to observe the sidebar rules, check the FAQ, and use the Search Bar before creating new posts.
If you're new to /r/keto and need some info, start with Keto in a Nutshell and the FAQ. Or, if you have a question that doesn't seem to be covered, head on over to the Community Support thread (pinned to the top of the subreddit) and ask the community!
Hello /r/keto Community!
You've all been working so hard and we love hearing about all of your personal victories! Clothes too big? Friends and family noticing a difference? Skipped over something unhealthy? Please use this thread to share any of your Scale or Non-Scale Victories with us!
Make sure to give us some background - what brought you to keto? Do you have any specific goals that align with your victories? Have you tried something new that led to your success? What's the next step for you?
Since this thread is likely to fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts and support your fellow community members.
If you're new to /r/keto and need some info, start with Keto in a Nutshell and the FAQ. Or, if you have a question that doesn't seem to be covered, head on over to the Community Support thread (pinned to the top of the subreddit) and ask the community!
Hi all, I wanted to see if anyone could help me clarify some things re estimating portion sizes.
So I'm 107kg, aiming to eventually get down to 65kg for health reasons. I'm trying keto to help me, and I am aiming to lose at a moderate (or high-moderate) pace - hoping for around 2-3kg a month. So far (it's been about a week), I feel that my energy is more even and I'm feeling a lot less food-obsessed throughout the day, more stable etc, so that's been a big relief!
I'm using an app to track my foods, I won't say the app in case that's not allowed but it has a database of foods and their macros and cals, and you can also enter custom foods, putting the nutritional info from the packet. I'm trying to do custom as much as I can, so that I can ensure accuracy, and for unpackaged fresh foods, I simply google the nutritional info and sort of take an average of what various sources say.
I'm aiming for 1800 calories/day, which I know may seem a little restrictive to some, but I can't exercise much due to chronic illnesses so I need the deficit if I'm going to lose anything.
My concern is that, when I enter my meals and snacks in, and look over what I've eaten in a day, some days I still feel like what I ate looks pretty light and yet is reaching or exceeding my calorie aim - so I'm wondering if I'm mis-estimating my portion sizes, or if the database on the app is perhaps inaccurate (it's crowd-sourced), or whether my perception of appropriate food portioning is just really off or what.
I'm also not quite getting my carbs low enough for keto, but I'm ok with that because I'm a beginner and I'm sure I'll get the hang of more keto recipes as I go.
For example, here's what I ate the first half of today:
Breakfast - salsa made of 1 1/2 avos, 1/2 a medium tomato, 1 tsp chopped red onion, with 2 medium poached eggs, a dollop of whole-egg mayo (low sugar), and a small drizzle of olive oil (about a tsp). According to the app, this was around 650 calories, which seems high to me?
Snack - a ketone IQ shot, 70 calories.
"Lunch" - small bowl of jalna lactose-free greek yoghurt (probably a little smaller than the size of a tennis ball, I estimated 200g but unsure if accurate), about 12 blueberries, and a dash of thickened lactose-free cream (no added sugar or carbs). The app thought this was 312 calories and 10g carbs.
Snack - a Carman's low-carb chocolate nut bar, 6g carbs 167 calories.
So for the first half of the day, I've already eaten 1199 calories, even though breakfast was pretty light and I didn't have a proper meal for lunch. Sure, I could've had a lower-calorie snack, but I had a hunger headache at that point and knew I needed it. This leaves me only 600 cals for dinner, which to me sounds like a fair amount, but if my light breakfast was more than that then I don't see how I'll have enough energy from this...
The thing is, I just don't understand how these seemingly small meals are adding up so fast, or how to remedy it if I am making inaccurate estimates. If you're doing keto for weight loss, do you weigh everything you eat to make sure? I'm just worried that I'm going to accidentally overeat, because I underestimate how much energy things are for their volume. But according to the app, I'm not even meeting my fat targets or protein targets.
So basically my confusions are - should I be weighing things instead of estimating, for accuracy? Is my perception off, and are these really not particularly light meals? Should I cut out things like red onion, tomato, nut bars, greek yoghurt that have a bit more carbs in them? I just can't tell if I'm on the right track or not!
I have osteoarthritis and have been doing keto on and off for about 6 months. I would say about 50/50. Like doing really great for 3 weeks and then decide to have a “cheat day” which set me off into a cheat week, and then 2 or 3 cheat weeks. So, basically breaking even.
Anyhow, at the beginning of November I really committed- weighing and measuring everything and really sticking to the whole plan- less than 20g carbs per day and IF 16/8 plus a minimum calorie deficit of 750 cals/day.
I also gave myself a movement goal. I had ankle surgery which really set me back in the exercise department and am waiting for surgery on my other ankle as well so I’m not running marathons by any means but I set a goal for 3000 steps a day to start. Now I know that probably doesn’t seem like much for the average Joe, but at my worst I couldn’t do 1500 steps without severe pain and swelling by the end of the day.
So get this- not only was I able to reach my goal by the end of the month- I had a personal best day of 7000 steps one of those days. Again, for all you Gym folks, I get that’s not a lot- but for me it is. Also had a HUGE reduction in pain in my knees and ankles. Heck, I can even do a few stairs here and there. At first I thought I must be eating crazy pills and could be imagining things but nope this is the real deal.
Never in my wildest imagination did I think that doing Keto and taking 3000 steps a day would make such a difference but here we are!!
Just thought I’d share.
Hey guys, I have done keto before with much success but have fallen off the wagon. I want to do it again but my only problem is that I LOVE to start the day with home made juice. Does anyone know how I can do a green juice for keto??? I’m at a loss. A recipe would be great as I’m terrible with portioning.
I just got up to walk my dishes to the sink where I usually feel a little embarrassment for the way I limp/waddle due to joint pain at 38 years old! Several weeks ago I was at the hospital getting X-rays on my foot for severe pain. I was unable to walk by the end of the evening for many, many months. Luckily no injury but Podiatrist said it's tendinitis/inflammation. 4 days of keto and it's magically gone after many, many, months. I just walked to the kitchen with no waddle, no pain. I can't believe it!
A concern I have currently is that I am the one making meals for my partner and I, and while I am definitely willing to make concessions if needed (such as adding a carb side of mash potatoes/rice to meals, etc), I'm a little concerned about the fat-focus of the meals being too much for someone who will still be consuming carbs as part of their diet (I can't count on them joining me in keto just yet). I keep seeing all these delicious recipes using tons of butter, cream etc and I'm all game for it, but I'm feeling like I may be sabotaging their own fitness/weight goals somewhat.
Obviously I will have an informed discussion about this, but I'm also just wondering whether this is even much of an issue to begin with or I'm just overthinking things?
Hear me out. Usually on food labels / the general consensus is that you subtract the grams of erythritol from the total carbs (and fiber) to get net carbs. But when I look at the nutritional facts on Lakanto pure erythritol, it says it's 8g of carbs, 8g of erythritol, therefore 0 net carbs per serving. So when I read a label for example, and it says 20g carbs, 10g fiber, 5g erythritol, wouldn't the net carbs be 10g since erythritol is 0 net carbs and not -5g?
Hi I’m new to keto, I have been keeping my weight down by just eating at the end of the day, not breakfast no lunch, just dinner, but sometimes dinners would vary and sometimes the things I would get for dinner (I live in a share house) . when I wouldn’t cook the meals would not be very healthy but now I’ve just started cooking my own meals and they have theirs. But I’ve decided that if I were to do keto diet at the end of the day I could loose a bit of weight whilst still fasting my days and only eating dinner. I’m wondering tho for it to work I can still have a big meal ? As long as it got the right food on the plate I can eat enough to get full. Is there anyone else that does this and if so what tips do you have ? And how many grams of meat do you have for that one meal at the end of the day?
Hi everyone, I'm day 4 on keto, so far I can't even measure how many carbs I'm eating, but probably no more than 20 grams. I haven't taken any electrolytes or vitamins yet, but I wondered if I need them. How critical would it be to start taking electrolytes and vitamins after two or three days? Will there be damage to the body if I stay on keto for a week without supplements in the form of useful substances? In the same topic a question, is it true that on keto hair loss or healthy fats on the contrary should stimulate hair growth? I forgot to add that judging by the test in the morning on an empty stomach I have quite a lot of ketones, but I don't know if I've already entered ketosis. Every time I went into ketosis for a few days, I didn't feel any change in my body
So I’m super ADHD and tend to get overwhelmed with options. When I used to grocery shop, I would get like 4 different types of pasta and a bunch of crap, and vegetables/sauces that I had no clear plan for. I also live alone.
Now that I’ve gone keto and have been exploring a handful of recipe books, I find grocery shopping so much simpler now that I have limited options that fit my diet: I’ll usually get avocados, cauliflower, zucchini, spinach, olives, eggs, chicken, shrimp, salami, whipping cream, and cheeses! Those tend to unlock a wide range of recipes. Then I order more specialty items (lupin/almond flours, psyllium husk powder, xanthan gum) from amazon or I’ll make the pilgrimage to the 1 whole foods in my city to try more unique snacks.
I’m really thriving with having more limited options, and it feels easier to make healthy choices when basically the only thing you have to focus on is limiting trans fats/processed meats. I’ll have red meats when I’m out and about but I feel good focusing on fish/chicken while at home.
I have been off/on with keto for a little over two years with lots of back and forth on the weight loss. I am 5 ft 2 and 34 year old female. I have been trying to get back into keto hardcore again because I had tons of success when I was serious. Plus it completely cleared up my HS (skin condition)
Here’s my problem: I have recently had braces put on, I have a plate in my mouth that prevents me from biting down. I am unable to eat solid foods and have been for almost 2 weeks now. Unfortunately my food options are soooo slim. I’ve been eating cream cheese, peanut butter, keto yogurt, premier protein shakes, and of course keto chow. Does anyone have any other soft food suggestions? Cauliflower mash is a good option I haven’t tried yet due to it being pretty high in carbs for as little food as you get. Right now due to limitation my carbs are usually at 10g but my calories and fat are majorly suffering so right now.
Keto flu is happening for sure… I am CRAVING those carbs. Please tell me this gets easier, cus my stomach is hurting. I’m feeling sick and malnourished. I’ve been eating lots of meat, eggs, some veggies and cheese. Trying to drink plenty of water.
I searched around for a long time to find easy, lazy, or intricate meals that I wanted to cook for things I liked to eat. I looked over this subreddit a ton, random YouTube videos, and random trials and errors to find things that work for me, taste great, and I look forward to making, most of which are stupid easy to make and require little prep. So, I wanted to give back and share everything I buy from the grocery store, what I do with it, and what I buy from takeout. Gave a lot of friends advice and helped them lose weight with the below info, now it's time for me to do it myself again, and this time I wanted to share it here too.
Stats:
- 26m Currently
- 256 LBs in 2018 -> 185 LBs in 2019, kept it off until 2022. Was on Keto to lose the weight.
- Got depressed in 2022 and had a lot of bad things happen, focused entirely on work etc. and consciously gave up health
- Decided to go back to the real me that I liked and focus back on my life recently.
- 260 LBs start Dec 1 2024 -> currently at 250 LBs.
- Eating between 1200-1440 calories a day, based on if I worked out or not, how I'm feeling, hunger levels, etc. I listen to my body and eat more if I'm hungry. 30g of Net Carb MAX, but mostly stay below 25. I try to eat high protein, but during a cut like this I'm ok to not eat a ton of protein if it means things are easier.
- I plan out what I will eat that day in the morning in my head, or maybe the night before, based on what's in the fridge, expiration dates, etc.
- I go to the gym 3 Days on, 1 Day off, and lift with light cardio. Outside the gym, incredibly inactive.
Anyway, on to the good stuff I hope will help someone.
I can't believe I made it this far I'm really happy that I stayed consistent and loyal. I might start to incorporate some body weight strength training to preserve muscle mass and make my body consume more fat. I didn't notice anything has changed in terms of appearance besides my face look a lot cleaner and brighter than before also ppl talked about how this diet make body ordure worse personally I don't smell I think I was stinker before the diet. I had some cravings at first but the weight loss and the cheers of you guys and my family made me wanna commit to it and just forget about that food until I get lean at least. Thank you so kuch for your support and advice on my last post I wouldn't call this a success just yet but it not a lose either I don't know is this mentally or not but getting up from the ground feels a lil easier on my knees I don't know does 7 kg or 15 lb make that much of a difference specially that a lot of it was just water.
Well, not exactly, but it sounded poetic. Twelve days ago, I drew the line in the sand. Go perfect keto. I’ve done it several times before but after a good bout of success, I start cheating and before you know it, I’m saying I’m on keto but am nowhere near. So, I got tired of one pound down, 2 pounds up, 2 pounds down, one pound up and decided I don’t care if it’s December and holidays are coming, it’s time to get serious.
I want to commiserate with everyone who finds it hard, or misses this and that, or puts it off until they are in a better place. It happens. I started 12 days ago and the first 5 were INSANELY hard because there were carbs all around at school (teacher here). Neighbors sharing treats. Invitations to dinner. Every day, things were stressful, things going wrong. You know – everything seems to stack up against you. The next 6 days were better, but I would still have fleeting moments when I thought “oh, just one…… (insert your imagination here). “ But, I stayed the course. I also did this with intermittent fasting 20:4 or 19:5. Ugh, was I being cruel to myself – yep but I just wanted to rip the band aid off.
That brings me to today. The 12^(th) day. I was running late, as I walked into the school 5 tables of DONUTS with parents all trying to hand me a donut. Guess what! I was O K!!! I was able to resist, it finally didn’t physically hurt anymore. The smell didn’t make me feel sad, or hungry, or whatever it is when we have a carb addiction.
So, I just wanted to post my happy story. Thanks for reading.
I am already chronically unwell with POTS and various other things . It appears I have some sort of bug. Except I’m really hungry, but I don’t think my body can take fat or protein (I had some Vietnamese chicken mini patties and eggs earlier today and that was a no 😵💫). Before I would head for some toast, GF crackers and maybe a banana to keep me going (BRAT diet). So I’m really stuck what I can have to get a little bit of something in. I wish I’d already bought some keto ready-made crackers and cookies.
I can feel my blood sugar dropping even though I’m laying down. I’ve got the shakes and I’m hot and cold.