Keto diet question

[BoodaGazelle]

I understand the relationship between carbs and sugar, especially how blood sugar affects the body's metabolism.

I do pretty well eating LCHF (or Keto or Paleo), but sometimes, I do have a very small sweet. I am talking about 2 or 3 peanut M&Ms! Or sometimes, a small piece of 70% dark chocolate. I may do this 4 times during the week (I love a small sweet with coffee).

And most days, I do not exceed 1500 calories. I also walk 4 miles about 3 days per week.

My question is: is my minimal sweet tooth able to pretty much cancel out my LC diet? It seems to! I have not lost more than 5 lbs in at least 3 months.

 

[braumeister]

Not enough information. I think you need to look at everything you eat and calculate exactly how many carbs you take in each day. That would be the only way I could try to answer.

 

[audreyh1]

Track the daily carb count.

 

[Sniggle]

As others have said, it is all about total carbs. If you are keeping total carbs below 50, you will lose weight. You may even lose weight with total carbs under 100, depending on your metabolism.

So the bottom line if you chose to eat 50 grams of carbs from M & M's, you should still lose weight, as long as everything else you eat is pure protein.

(Hint: Lots of things have carbs, and if you are not being very deliberate, you may be eating more carbs than you think. 1500 calories a day is low for most, but for you that may put you in a calorie surplus)

 

[Aerides]

And most days, I do not exceed 1500 calories. I also walk 4 miles about 3 days per week.

1500 calories for an average sized man is not much food. Your current height/weight and goal weight should help you find the right amount. Usually, with low carb/keto, calories aren't really something to consider so much.

If you eat too little (on any type of diet) your body works against you and adjusts your metabolism, and you'll be shedding lean muscle mass even if you are dropping pounds.

 

[mpeirce]

I understand the relationship between carbs and sugar, especially how blood sugar affects the body's metabolism.

I do pretty well eating LCHF (or Keto or Paleo), but sometimes, I do have a very small sweet. I am talking about 2 or 3 peanut M&Ms! Or sometimes, a small piece of 70% dark chocolate. I may do this 4 times during the week (I love a small sweet with coffee).

And most days, I do not exceed 1500 calories. I also walk 4 miles about 3 days per week.

My question is: is my minimal sweet tooth able to pretty much cancel out my LC diet? It seems to! I have not lost more than 5 lbs in at least 3 months.

A lot depends on if you are trying to lose weight or maintain.

I generally eat LCHF/Keto and am usually trying to maintain my weight - I'm 6'6" and around 195 lbs. I've been eating this way for over 10 years now.

I occasionally eat Aldi dark 85% cocoa bars. They are small (25g per bar) and have 6 net carbs (9g - 3g of fiber). After a while the 85% tastes pretty good.

I weight in every morning when I get up and it's pretty easy to connect eating certain items and blips in weight. I don't worry too much, but when I hit a "trigger weight" I will skips the extra carby foods (like the chocolate bar) and the weight will blip back down.

If you are trying to lose weight, watch the carbs more closely. Maybe just eat the chocolate bar on the weekends if you're trending in the right direction. Otherwise skip it.

 

[mpeirce]

So the bottom line if you chose to eat 50 grams of carbs from M & M's, you should still lose weight, as long as everything else you eat is pure protein.

LCHF/Keto isn't about protein. Eating too much protein can make you hungry were as eating plenty of fat keeps the hunger at bay.

Being hungry will not help you lose weight.

 

[twaddle]

I have not lost more than 5 lbs in at least 3 months.

Let's assume those 5 lbs were pure fat (not a great assumption BTW). If 1 lb of fat burned = 3500 kcal, then you had a total deficit of 17,500 kcal, or about 200 kcal/day.

That's pretty sustainable, but let's see what those 4 peanut m&m's are doing. Each one contains about 3 kcal, so that's 12 kcal/day maybe.

Avoiding those m&m's for 3 months might have meant losing another 1/3 lb of fat.

 

[braumeister]

LCHF/Keto isn't about protein.

Yes, but it's not well understood by a great many folks.

There are three macronutrients: fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

Most people eat a reasonable amount of protein without even trying, no matter what kind of diet they follow. It's pretty much self-regulating.

So that leaves fat and carbs. The standard American diet (SAD) is heavy on carbs, while the LCHF/keto/paleo/Atkins/call-it-what-you-will diet is heavy on fat.

The one little wrinkle in the system is that if you consciously eat a great deal of protein your body will essentially turn the excess into the equivalent of carbs. So be careful of that.

 

[Aerides]

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/low-carb-diet-questions-107991.html

You might want to check the calendar, it's been less than 2 months according to your prior thread. But a lot of the responses here echo what we said then (which is why I looked, because deja vu).

Typically, LC diets start with a period of being super strict for a few weeks, before you start sneaking back in the treats. If you went into a "maintenance" plan instead of a kick-start, that might also be something to look at.

 

[BoodaGazelle]

Thanks to all. I have NOT tried to count carbs, only total calories. I am trying to not have to be too obsessive about counting anything. I would like to lose another 10 lbs, so I am not grossly overweight but it seems like I am "maintaining" and not losing, hence my question about whether sugar, independent from carbs or calories, could be preventing my losing.

 

[audreyh1]

In the keto diet no distinction is made between carbs from sugar or starches. Fiber carbs are often ignored since the body tends to eliminate fiber, not turn it into blood sugar.

You really can’t do keto without counting carbs. And you probably need some indicator that you are in ketosis - urine strips, blood drop. I never counted calories.

On very dark chocolate bars, if you subtract the fiber from the carbs, you get net carbs, and you can see that a small amount doesn’t add much, but sweeter chocolate will.

Keto is supposed to really cut back that sweet tooth.

 

[mpeirce]

it seems like I am "maintaining" and not losing, hence my question about whether sugar, independent from carbs or calories, could be preventing my losing.

I doubt it. Carbs *are* sugar (and sugars *are* carbs), starch is just long chains of sugar molecules that break apart as part of digestion. Even some sugar does this - sucrose (table sugar) is a short chain made up of a glucose sugar molecule attached to a fructose sugar molecule which digestion breaks apart.

If you are trying to maintain ketosis, you need to at least be aware of how much carbohydrates you consume.

 

[BoodaGazelle]

Okay I think I get it now. Thanks again to all!

 

[donheff]

Thanks to all. I have NOT tried to count carbs, only total calories. I am trying to not have to be too obsessive about counting anything. I would like to lose another 10 lbs, so I am not grossly overweight but it seems like I am "maintaining" and not losing, hence my question about whether sugar, independent from carbs or calories, could be preventing my losing.

Interesting, the different approaches. When I went on a LCHF diet about 7 years ago, I quickly dumped 35 pounds and got to my target weight. I did not count calories. I counted carbs religiously and initially kept them below 50g and later 100g. I ate as much as I wanted without restricting volume. With the LCHF macronutrients my body seemed to achieve homeostasis at a lower weight. Since then I have been able to add back a fair amount of carbs and even pig out on chocolate now and then. If I bump up a couple of pounds, I cut back the carbs for a few days.

 

[Time2]

The question is, Do the sweets you eat take you out of Ketosis? You need to buy a blood test device and see if you are in ketosis, how high the number is, and do you drop out of ketosis after you satisfy your sweet tooth.
I could never stop at 2 or 3 frozen peanut M&Ms, it's 1/4 of the Share bag or none.

 

[EastWest Gal]

The question is, Do the sweets you eat take you out of Ketosis? You need to buy a blood test device and see if you are in ketosis, how high the number is, and do you drop out of ketosis after you satisfy your sweet tooth.
I could never stop at 2 or 3 frozen peanut M&Ms, it's 1/4 of the Share bag or none.

Yes. Sweets will take you out of ketosis. And it can take a few days to get back into ketosis.

 

[audreyh1]

Seriously, low carb and ketosis is supposed to stop those sweet cravings after a few days. If you are still struggling with sweet cravings, you are probably not eating low carb enough.

I have a blood meter that I occasionally read my blood ketones from a pin prick. I also used urine strips when I was early in the process, and those clearly showed that I was in ketosis and staying there.

 

[flintnational]

Thanks to all. I have NOT tried to count carbs, only total calories. I am trying to not have to be too obsessive about counting anything. I would like to lose another 10 lbs, so I am not grossly overweight but it seems like I am "maintaining" and not losing, hence my question about whether sugar, independent from carbs or calories, could be preventing my losing.

Dr. Atkins advice on "amount of carbs" has been helpful to me and my DW. During the weight loss phase, carbs should be kept very low. Once you reach your goal, more carbs can be added back in until your weight rises. This is your individual carb threshold. It will vary between individuals. My DW has to eat more carbs than I do to maintain a healthy weight (she is thin). I have to eat fewer carbs than she does to keep from gaining weight. Neither of us count carbs. She simply eats extra fruit, sweet potatoes and beans. I eat less of these items. She and I both let the scale determine if we need more or fewer carbs any given week.

 

[Chuckanut]

LCHF/Keto isn't about protein. Eating too much protein can make you hungry were as eating plenty of fat keeps the hunger at bay.

Being hungry will not help you lose weight.

+1

Same with me. If I replace carbs with fat I don't get as hungry. If I eat a BIG salad, I get hungry again in 2 hours. If I eat the same Big salad with an avocado on top, I don't.

 

[sengsational]

Let's assume those 5 lbs were pure fat (not a great assumption BTW). If 1 lb of fat burned = 3500 kcal, then you had a total deficit of 17,500 kcal, or about 200 kcal/day.

That's pretty sustainable, but let's see what those 4 peanut m&m's are doing. Each one contains about 3 kcal, so that's 12 kcal/day maybe.

Avoiding those m&m's for 3 months might have meant losing another 1/3 lb of fat.

Except that kcal math ignores appetite, which is huge component. As mentioned, go out of ketosis and the sweet tooth (appetite) surges. People are not machines and if you think you are in control, read "The Righteous Mind"; we humans have an amazing ability to do illogical things and then make perfectly logical reasons for why we did what we did. I think it applies well to dieting.

 

[Time2]

Yes. Sweets will take you out of ketosis. And it can take a few days to get back into ketosis.

Yes, I know that, but the OP, doesn't have any idea if they are even in ketosis without a blood measurement.

I spent several months doing Keto, lost 22lbs. My ketone levels ranged from not in ketosis 0.2 up to 5.2. I went off and have regained all I lost.
I also had very much improved blood tests while on Keto. My triglycerides dropped from 397 to 82, and LDL dropped from 106 to 54.

 

[ls99]

The only time I am likely to be in Keto is when I fast for 2 or more days. No I don't measure it. In fact just completed an 80 Hour fast this morning. Normally I try to limit food intake to 8 or 9 Hour period.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, I know that, but the OP, doesn't have any idea if they are even in ketosis without a blood measurement.

I spent several months doing Keto, lost 22lbs. My ketone levels ranged from not in ketosis 0.2 up to 5.2. I went off and have regained all I lost.
I also had very much improved blood tests while on Keto. My triglycerides dropped from 397 to 82, and LDL dropped from 106 to 54.

Urine strips are good enough to see if you are in ketosis, cheap and convenient. No needles.

 

[RetireAge50]

Get in Ketosis. Stay there. You will be a lean, mean fighting machine.