Like the title says, I need some motivation… that isn’t the hatred I have for my in-laws. Backstory goes like this, my husband and I are newlyweds. He got on medication for the diabetes he was diagnosed with a year ago and has dropped 40lbs and looks so much better. I on the other hand, have gained a few pounds and have tried keto before but fell off the wagon. Around the holidays we went to visit his family out of state. My MIL was showing me a text from my SIL and I read a text above what she was showing me on accident. Boy, do I ever wish I hadn’t. My SIL was saying that she didn’t ask for her son to be watched by the “lard a**” and was clearly referencing myself since I had been the only one watching her son. Not to mention that my MIL furiously scrolled away from the text I saw once she realized it was visible. I was upset about that, but I don’t expect much from her at this point anyway. I did think it was a little sus how comfortable she was saying that to my MIL, who will sing my praises to my face but comes off fake. I never had any proof that she is fake to me though. Fast forward to today and my husband meets his mom and aunt for lunch (I was working). When he gets home he tells that his aunt made several comments about how I have “birthing hips” when she and his mom were talking about their pregnancies long ago. Apparently she made several references to my hips and also called them breeding hips. I see this as another dig at my weight, and I’m trying to not let that fuel my motivation to lose weight. In a sense, I feel like I would be admitting that they are right by sticking to the lifestyle change and that kills me. I’ve always struggled with my weight. My mom had me on a diet at 9 years old and I always knew I was the fat kid in school. I want to do this for me, but right now all that’s running through my mind is them talking about my weight. It’s like I’m back in middle school getting bullied again. Does anyone else have some MIL stories that are similar? Maybe we should form a club lol Please someone reason with me so I don’t fall off track and go crazy.

I was keto for 2+ years, back before COVID, and I've finally found my way back as of a few weeks ago. I avoided the 'keto flu' and the carb cravings are slowly starting to go away, but I'm overeating protein EVERY DAY. I'm struggling to remember how I ate the last time, but this time it just feels like everything I eat is high in protein and not high enough in fat. I'm not a fan of dark meat chicken or other fatty meats, so should I just be adding oil to everything? Help a girl out!

I started keto in mid September 2024, I’ve lost almost 30 pounds and counting, my mental health has never been better, A1c is slowly but surely lowering, and the side effects of a congenital disease have improved (lowered blood pressure, heartburn is gone, less pain), it’s not a cure but I was able to come off BP meds.

In October I noticed my hair thinning, I can’t 100% guarantee it was the weight loss (I know rapid weight loss can cause that), I had also started using a new hair product around the same time I started keto (I’ve stopped using it). I consulted a dietitian, my diet was low in zinc, and sometimes B vitamins and iron, and started a multivitamin. But it seems like the hair loss is still continuing, just maybe slower, and to top it off about a week ago I started my scalp started burning occasionally, constantly for the last 2 days.

Before I started keto, I had bloodwork done, hormones were fine, in fact better than usual, my doctor said I no longer showed signs of PCOS, even had an ultrasound to confirm that.

So what now?

If you experienced hair loss, when did it start coming back? Did it come back?

Looking for some comfort if you’ve experienced this, or any recommendations of things I should ask my doctor/be tested for. I just had a CMP and lipid panel so I’ll be going in soon to discuss the results (only change is total cholesterol and LDL are higher than before, but that’s to be expected).

The overall improvements in my life honestly might be worth going bald for. Between the hair loss and the higher LDL, I’m worried my doctor is going to recommend going off it. She’s been skeptical, but supportive in that she’ll run tests to make sure I’m doing it safely.

Stats if it helps: 5’9, 230 lbs, daily cal 1800-2000, fat 150 g, carbs 30 g, protein 80 g

Hi! I’ve been practicing keto with at least 16 hours of IF each day since 2022. I have a mix of super frustrating chronic medical conditions that keto/IF absolutely helps manage (MCAS, POTS, RA, hEDS, chronic pain). With the biggest benefit being seen with my MCAS & chronic pain. I’ve had a few times where I’ve went off diet and had immediate regrets.

WTBS, the last year my cycle has become very wonky. Pain during ovulation, spotting, shorter periods… and when I consulted with my docs the series of tests they did consistently resulted in literally no progesterone and way-high estrogen. I know tests are sketch, but the symptoms track as well. My nutritionist was like, “yeah, this is why I wanted to start carb cycling in 2023 - progesterone needs carbs.” Okay, heard. But, when I’m not in ketosis everything else gets worse… so, now I’m experimenting with cycling.

I read the Mindy Pelz books, and as a scientist, I find them gimmicky. But, I am also not against the theory. So, I’m going to try the approach before going on HRT of which I know my MCAS will not manage well.

I just started the “hormone feasting” stage yesterday and I’m already up 3lbs and feel gross. Which, I get is water weight, but I’m not a fan. How do ya’ll do this without gaining weight and feeling hungry? How do you manage cravings after?

TLDR: 39yo. Keto since 2022 and effectively treating medical condition with it. Low carbs are now impacting menstrual cycle negatively and need to start cycling. Concern with carb cycling approach. Does anyone do this effectively and not gain weight or struggle with what eating carbs does? Any interest in a support group? 😂

I’m not sure what it is but my period is unbearable during the diet. Last time I felt so sick I could barely stand without feeling like I’d puke and I was half an hour late to my class. I ended up cheating and having some fried chicken which I’m sure kicked me out of ketosis but I felt so much better after and didn’t cheat for the rest of the week if that’s worth anything.

Today my period started again and it’s the same situation it seems. I was in the middle of cooking breakfast, in pain and feeling really tired but mostly fine, until I suddenly felt super sick—dizzy, nauseous, I felt a bit sweaty too this time, cramps felt way worse—and had to turn off the heat. Currently my bacon is on a side burner half cooked and I’m laying in bed waiting for my midol to kick in 😅

It was never this bad before I started keto, so I feel like it must be an interaction with the diet somehow. Have other people gone through this and how did you deal with it? I know a cheat meal would set me back but it’s almost starting to feel worth the setback to not go through this every time 😭 usually I stay under 20 net carbs each day

If you are doing any kind of strength training do you attempt to eat all your calories on those days or still let your hunger cues guide you? I am definitely needing to lose a huge amount of weight (100lbs would be amazing, but 60 is ideal) so maintaining a deficit is key for me.

Has anyone started at a similar weight? What were your results/ average monthly loss? time frames etc? Any tips and advice is very welcomed. :)

Kia ora, 35 F- I've lived with anxiety and OCD most of my life. Symptomatic from 4, diagnosed at 5 years old and medicated from 8. Have tried all different types of medication and am doing alright but never great and seem to have a couple/few significant episodes a year that debilitate me. Have tried all therapy known to man and am now looking into dietary changes that could help. Would anyone be happy to share their experiences with OCD/Anxiety when eating keto long term? I've searched all past comments re anxiety and depression but would be keen of specifically OCD & anxiety combo. Thanks so much!!

I started a keto about a month ago, and I absolutely love it. I’ve lost about 17 pounds and I could not be happier. However, I have noticed that my period has been incredibly irregular. Since I began, I’ve had my period three separate times. Additionally, I’ve been getting pretty bad acne every other week or so. As much as I love weight loss, I don’t think it is worth it. I understand that acne is a possible side effect due to the high fat content that we consume, but I’m curious if anyone else has dealt with this, and the irregular periods, and if it goes away or if I should just stop? I began it originally because I’m going on vacation in February, but I’d rather not have acne and know whether or not my period is coming, than be skinny.

I got over-hungry due to a work meeting that went late. I’m new to keto and wasn’t prepared for it. Ended up binging on junky carbs.

What’s the best thing to do now? Exercise and do a butter fast to get back into ketosis? I can’t do real fasting because it triggers a binge-restrict-binge cycle.

Any help is appreciated.

Does anyone end up carb cycling throughout your menstrual cycle? I have found that I can keep a a keto diet up until around my ovulation. After my ovulation, and the especially the last week before my period, I begin to have uncontrollable carb cravings. After reading a book called Fast Like a Girl, everything seemed to make sense. She advises a keto diet during the first half of your cycle, and then a higher carb diet during the second part of the cycle in order to support progesterone creation.

This sort of carb cycling seems to have worked very well for me. I absolutely love keto and it has had some amazing health benefits for me that go far beyond the scale. But there are days/weeks where I simply cannot go through throughout the day without enormous carb cravings, and indulging them seems to have great benefits for me. Has anyone else dealt with these issues in a similar fashion?

Thanks very much for any responses, I really appreciate any sort of feedback!

Hey keto friends,

Am starting on keto again 😊

When things were going well, I could say no to workplace carbs, just threw away the sugary things people gave as gifts and didn't feel obligated to eat carbs when at someone's house for dinner.

It was like there was a wall between me and carbs. Tell me, how do you deal with what me and my husband call "carb pushers"?

That is, how do you manage how carbs - especially sugary treats - are so ingrained in our culture and often arise as part of relationships with others - especially for women.

TIA

I've been struggling with terrible fatigue for months now. In fact I'm about to get my hormones tested (checking for perimenopause), along with vitamin D, iron, and my thyroid levels.

I couldn't remember off the top of my head if I had more or less fatigue on keto. But I read that gluten intolerance could cause fatigue and I'd been thinking starting keto up again for about a month now. So I decided to just go ahead and start.

Normally after dinner, within an hour or two after eating, I fall asleep so hard on the couch for one to two hours. It's like I cannot keep my eyes open at all, and I have to lie down and nap. Every single day. And this past week or two it's been even worse, I've been taking little naps during the day (I work from home) but never feeling rested.

At the time of writing this, I've been about 36 hours without gluten and doing keto instead. My energy is so stable and way higher than usual. Not jittery just like.... I've been doing stuff all day with little breaks here and there with zero fatigue and no naps. The difference is so stark.

So I'm going to keep going with keto for a while and if I do stop or take breaks, I'm going to have to be strictly gluten-free. The mind boggles.

This is the first time this has ever happened to me in my life, so I'm lost.

I had various events occur in the last couple months that were very stressful. Sickness, horrible back pain, etc. Apetite decreased. I stayed in a deficit for sure as nothing sounded good, often.

Recently I upped welbutrine dosage and my appetite is low still I believe due to that. It never really recovered from it's all time low during stress times so it's been like 1.5 months.

In the past I would stress eat, but because keto has helped so much with cravings, and other mental and emotional work I've done to curb that over the years is working, it seems to have switched to the other end of the spectrum. I don't want anything.

At first I wasn't worried because yay, I'm still losing. However, yesterday I calculated my macros and I ate about 900 calories. F30 and I know that's not enough.

I've never been prone to under eating or anorexic adjacent tendencies, but I'm not mad about having less of an appetite. I want to be healthy so I will definitely make sure I eat enough, but I also want to know how often is this problematic for your metabolism?

I like intermittent fasting and did that a lot when I started keto, and have done it passively amidst this low appetite time frame. Somo is it okay if I only eat 900 calories some days? Is that a similar line of thinking?

Also, because I've done work on not just eating every time my stomach growls, I do try to generally pay attention to the other hunger cues. But it hasn't always worked lately. The other day I realized at 7:00 p.m. all I had eaten was 2 eggs and I was extremely light headed. I was laying around all day though so maybe I didn't need much?

I don't know if this is important, but I really didn't track any calories through the majority of my keto journey since august, just been keeping an eye on my carbs and I have naturally been in a deficit but was eating what felt like enough! Whenever I would count my calories it maybe 1300- 1700.

Edit to add: I'm 157.8 lbs. I started @ 185 lbs @ the end of August 2024 and I'm 5' 5"

Can someone tell me if I’m just making this up. I read somewhere you can reduce anxiety with keto and omg I am feeling the benefits!

Been in social situations where I would normally be anxious and it’s just not there. I’m almost waiting for it and it just doesn’t come. Is this for real!? Has anyone else experienced this?

HOT Chocolate - options hot chocolate (salted caramel flavour 😍) all work.

if you have it with almond milk (bc it has 0 carbs) and cream. the entire mug is only 5g net carbs.

i’m sure there’s even lower carb hot chocolate options available ladies/ others. or with keto approved sweeteners. this is just my fav option personally bc it’s relatively affordable and accessible (it’s in my regular supermarket)

Milkshakes - i just use this ^ with ice and mix it up. 🤷🏾‍♀️fulfils that deepppp craving so bad UGH i love it. u can add whipped cream too for more fat that we neeedddd.

Chocolate yoghurt / mousse. - Y’all i’ve been loving these lidl choc pots. in the protein section. 5-8g carbs per pot. it fits my macros personally . the Alpro protein yoghurts and mousses are the same carbs wise but use natural sweeteners if you’re a bit stricter xx

KETO GRANOLA- OH MYYY THW THINGS THIS DOES TO ME. I ADD some dark chocolate into the warm milk so it melts and it’s crunchy and nutritious and so GOOOODD OH MYMYMYMY. my fav is the Raw Gorilla Peanut Butter Chocolate Keto Granola.

KETO COOKIES- so quick to make and so good. This is the link yall. https://youtu.be/yuWRpKWyhEM?feature=shared i add some cocoa powder and dark chocolate. you know why. ITS SO QUICK TO MAKE.

ALSO i make them personally quite small and get a bowl and douse them in milk and it’s like my keto cookie cereal it’s just hits every spot

DARK CHOC ICE- OKAY YALL this has sugar . i’m not very strict so my strict girlies and theys close ur eyes. ITS only like 8g carbs per ice cream bar. and it fulfils like every emotional need i have plus they’re cheap af 😭 i discovered this randomly. DONT SHARE THIS ONE w the keto gym bros i feel like they’ll PUT ME ON A STAKE for recommending this. BUT IN DESPERATE TIMES (PMS) it comes in clutchhhh.

MILKY TEA + SWEETENER . OOFFF

AGAIN y’all only take what resonates w u. we are all on diff levels of strictness and parts of our journey. i’m personally v broke rn and primally hungry so can’t be super perfect or wait on amazon for hours. NEED SMTH QUICK AND GETS THE JOB DONE YA HURRRER HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE DURING DIFFICULT TIMES❤️❤️

Just started carnivore (0 carbs) 3 weeks ago and have been on my period constantly since day 2. I usually have a pill to completely avoid my period. Anyone else had this effect? Know if it passes?

Im in tears writing this and honestly it's a mixture of keto and getting my IUD taken out. I will preface this and say I havent had a real period in probably 8 years. I was on the depo for 3 1/2 years then I got the kyleena. I barely had periods before maybe spot on and off for a week and that was basically it. I went through 1 box of tampons every year. After I got it removed on Friday the PMS has immediately hit. I became extremely bloated and I've had the worst cramps in existence. I have basically been living on gas-x and ibuprofen. I've been craving sweets, carbs and every no no thing there is. Literally I could kill somebody for some French fries. I've decided not to intermediate fast because I did that and turned into a freaking MONSTER at work. Then I had to apologize to one of my coworkers after I broke my fast. I explained i had a procedure on Friday and it's making me hormonal. I've worked with the same people for 10 years, so they have been super understanding. My poor fiancé said he's going to the store to get "approved" keto sugar snacks so at least I can get some chocolate & carbs that aren't totally unhealthy. I'm still sticking to the less than 30 carbs, but idgaf about my calories this week.

Anywhos, just sharing my post IUD & Keto story. I'm down 18 pounds in 3 weeks and honestly. This is the first morning I woke up before my alarm and I only got 6 hours of sleep. I'm starting to feel like a brand new person--even with the horrible cramps and bloating. (I've been told this will get better after the first one) As someone who spent 10 months killing myself in the gym and eating low calorie with zero success, this forum makes me feel seen. So TY 🖤

How many of you run long distances while fat-adapted? I’m hoping to use keto (which I’m new to) to both lose weight and be able to run a 10 mile race in October. It’s a long-shot as I’m heavy and out of shape. But I’m thinking it might be possible.

I have PCOS & have been trying to do this diet before without a lot of success because of my insulin resistance/hypoglycemia etc. I was determined this time to make it work & thought easing into it would be the difference but yesterday I had an ah ha moment & realized that wouldn't work for my body & also things finally clicked for me regarding the macros; I can't just eat keto food & hope for the best I have to actually follow the macros. So yesterday I decided to jump right in & it was a fairly successful day with only mild weakness but I did have nausea at night & struggled to sleep. Anyway, tmi but my stomach was upset this morning (& again now :/) & I'm feeling too loose gutsy to eat & still a bit nauseas, especially to eat more fat. I already had my waters plus added ginger powder to my spearmint tea. & Forced myself to swallow my usual cube of butter with my vitamin D tablets to see if that'll get my stomach used to fats again. So my question; do I just force myself to eat since I'm worried that if I wait too long or slack on calories I'll experience hypoglycemia which will make things hard to stick to or do I not risk the potential worsening nausea plus runny tummy?? I want to give myself the best chance at succeeding this time, this is basically my last hope.

Hey all,

I have lipedema and gained weight from a brain tumour (Cushings) which put my starting weight at 215lbs. I dropped down to 208lbs without doing anything after the surgery, then started keto.

It's been about 50 days and I've dropped from 208lbs to 196lbs (woot) but I am super tired. Like all the time. I have an active lifestyle but feel like lying in bed all day.

I've been eating roughly 1600 calories a day, and drinking sugar-free electrolyte supplements.

Just wondering if I should bump up my calories or do a carb intake more frequently (once every two weeks I do have a cheat meal with either rice or potatoes)? I haven't hit the high energy part of keto yet, and I am struggling.

Any advice would be welcome. :)

Hello everyone. So I (21F, 20 at the time) started a keto diet in June 2024.

My main goal wasn’t to lose weight, but since I had started lifting heavy I wanted more energy, and I felt like keto was the best thing for me. In fact, the mental clarity was amazing, after an initial period of keto flu (I just needed to get the perfect balance of electrolytes and vitamins) I realized why I was recommended keto. My bloating disappeared, I felt energized, happy and strong.

In the first month my period came earlier, which was a little weird because it has always been regular, but I didn’t think it was going to be a big deal. Well, ever since July 2024 I have completely stopped getting my period. I haven’t noticed any other side effects, only 4lb of weight loss. But I’ve been losing lots of hair too.

My lab tests came back normal, no thyroid issues, no diabetes and nothing else.

I really want to keep doing keto but my doctor keeps telling me I should stop this diet, but I don’t know if I should follow his advice, I truly respect the medical field but my doctor is not a dietician (which I can’t afford at the moment) and he isn’t the most updated person. Keto has a big stigma around it so I never know what to believe.

Any advice if you’ve gone through the same? Am I missing something?

AND NO MEN CAN CALL ME DRAMATIC / WEAK OR EMOTIONAL FOR PRIORITISING MY EMOTIONS. YUP YUP love this FOR ME. I had a lindor egg, crisps, 2 full bars of chocolate and more .

Hey all

I have been on and off keto/Atkins for about 20 years. Every time I stick to it, it works completely reliably.

I fell off this past time because of family caregiving and want to get back to it, but this time I'm in Meno. I haven't had a period in a year and am managing my meno holistically with my naturopath. I was initially on estrogen (turns out I'm estrogen dominant - woops!) and progesterone but switched to herbs and am doing amazing.

Are there any words of wisdom from the Peri and full Meno gals here? I know that if I get a period I should probably make an appointment with my gyno but other than that? Any weightloss/keto trends that the older gals are noticing?

Thanks for any helpful words.

So I've had IBS (irritable bowel syndrom, mixed type) since teenage years and additionally I've always had difficult periods with PMS, water retention problems and gastrointestinal issues flare-up

It's my second attempt at keto with the attempt of weight reduction and I enjoy the diet a lot. However I find it very difficult find a consistent measure of success that will help me going on

• body measurements. IBS causes frequent problems with bloating and toilet irregularities. My waist can go up by 10cm on a bad day
• clothing - similar as above. I usually have clothes of 3 different sizes or size inclusive dresses
• scale - it's a rollercoaster. I try to weigh myself consistently every day in the morning and I'm fully aware that ups and downs are completely normal. Yet when I see over a week of kilograma adding up after keeping diet and working out it's still very disheartening

I don't seek medical advice, I have pretty awesome doctors that help me on my journey and manage my symptoms

I'm looking for advice from fellow women with similar problems

Here are some ideas I've came up so far

• measure/ weigh myself only on the good days. I would simply skip the days I wake up in my swollen, bloated doughnut form
• choose other goals instead like strength goals, km walked, calories burned, anything else outside of body measurements

Last year I made a resolution and did high-fat carnivore. Enjoyed all the benefits, but lost my period. So in January it was light and then did not come at all in Feb, Mar, Apr, May. I was pretty regular befor without major skips. I started experiencing bone pain and hot flashes like my estrogen was non existent. Also discovered low leptin, but normal-range cortisol, low insulin, estradiol and FSH/LH. The Doc diagnosed me with hypothalamic amenorrhea and I was forced to eat carbs. After 1,5 months of carb binges and progesterone tablets I was able to get my period back in July. But felt horrible this whole time. I want to do carnivore again, but am super worried that this will happen again.

So, if your period was gone for a few months after being in ketosis - have you been able to get it back? Or is adding some carbs back the only option here?

FYI- 24yo, 5'6", 125 pounds, haven't lost much weight. Ate about 1800kcal per day, lots of butter and fatty beef, some mild workouts and walking a few times per week.

I am 61 years old and finished going thru menopause 2 years ago (last period was 2 years ago). I've been almost carnivore (spices and 2 small salads) for the last 8 days. I started a period today. I know fat cells can hold excess estrogen (I am for certain estrogen dominate, dr has me on progesterone). Just really SURPRISED. Have not missed the cramps and they are back with ferocity.

Anyone experienced this when you were well into meno but starting keto?

Does anyone else get abnormal water retention after your period ends? This is my first full cycle doing keto. I started right after my last period ended. I haven’t lost weight for a few weeks — since the initial loss. Then I got my period and lost a couple pounds right toward the end BUT it came right back and the amount of water I’m holding in my breasts make them super tender and painful. Is this keto thing or possibly just hormones? I made it through the holidays and my birthday with very minimal cheating. I’m 51 and technically peri-menopausal, but still get regular periods.

My friend M18 been trying to gain more weight since years but it's really difficult due to his fast metabolism. He's 6ft2 (1m88) and is stuck at 145lbs (66kg) and these 3 last weeks he's been eating a bunch of things such as: Shrimps, Meat, Fishes, pasta and "raclette" which is a traditional Swiss dish involving melted cheese served with potatoes, cured meats, and pickles but today he sent me a picture om his scale that show that he hasn't gained any weight and his still stuck at 145lbs (66kg) which makes him extremely mad.

Please, help this man🙏.