Ten Steps To Do Before Going Keto
 

A reasonable and understandable intro to the basics of a keto diet.


Great for those just starting out on this way of eating for life.

https://youtu.be/3jeJ9A8YhI8

Another Internet Keto guru that makes the Keto Diet harder than it has to be. Dr Westman's support group was last night, so his answers are fresh in my mind. You don’t have to measure ketones, urine, blood or any method. No macros. No weighing. You don’t have to avoid sweeteners...there are no studies that prove that hinder weight loss. And on down this guy's list. KISS.

It also reminds me of a post on another keto forum:

and this from that ...


At least on the stories I read on this site, the folks that come and go, most are gone or try to start changing stuff before this MINIMUM time frame. I think 1 year but that's hard to hear.

I've come to that conclusion, that people often just don't give things enough time. The body is a complex mechanism and wanting a neat linear change in weight is just not reasonable, understandable but not reasonable. Patience is necessary.

I liked that this guy presented many ways to maintain enthusiam for the big change.

When I talk to folks about changing to LC, no one wants to change, its too much. I have yet to convince one person.

Dr W's patients are already facing dire health issues, He is their last chance. All his patients have been given the that incentive.


Change requires commitment.
I know I used keto sticks, measured my thigh circumference, put up poster on mirror, posted food list and rules on fridge, and read DANDR over and over..... all to stay motivated.

I particularly like his prompt to ho keto for HEALTH , all the internal chemical changes beyond loss of fat storage.

Seems like an updated and abreviated version of DAND.....R

The segment from last night, he explains how simple the diet can be to a new visitor. She has a PhD in clinical psychology, and is an obsessive reader of keto books and joiner of keto groups, yet is confused and gained weight. I don’t remember him mentioning Time per se, but it will be months before having a clinic appointment, so she can follow page 4 without ketone strips, limiting protein or anything else.
https://www.facebook.com/kyle.skrin...59388515462166/

When I first started low carb, the elimination of so many "foods" was so daunting I cut 350 to 50. Worked great! Wasn't hungry, lost from 220 to 160. Cruised along that way, sticking with no more than a ten pound gain which I would lose by being "strict" again. Even when I got desperately sick and stressed and let it rise all the way to 100 carbs a day, I didn't gain more than that.

But I did get the most awful autoimmune flare of my life.

Such misery is a huge incentive, and so this time I did it the opposite way. I fasted for three days and then three weeks of beef and Montreal Steak seasoning.

It was great! I felt so much better, so fast, the incentive was very high. And then, I tried foods, one at a time: and found most of what I'd been eating WAS part of the problem. Regardless of carb count.

I have a low tolerance for CARBS, and apparently a low tolerance for certain CLASSES of foods, like fiber, lectins, and nightshade toxins, to add to what I'd already sworn off, like most artificial sweeteners, gluten, grain, and sugar.

If you had told 220 pound me that; I probably would have been twice as shocked :)

The KISS advice is so true! And that is why I never succeed at this like I used to. I always nit pick for ways to complicate it or add to the picture. I followed DANDR years ago and did great. Why did the wheel fall off my progress? I started to read too much other info that complicated it. The bulletin boards complicated it with everyone's ideas and advice. But the gist was simple and unfailing. Replace the carbs with fat. The new keto craze also try to complicate it to get folks to spend extra money. They also like to make it look a lot faster on Instagram than the process actually is. Stick to it until the results happen, simple. I do like testing my ketones just because I find that interesting but I know that doesn't measure success. I'm not going to weigh myself or obsess. Just eat low carb fare and nothing else. When I finally return to my doc months from now, I'll see a difference I know. Thank you everyone for this very insightful post!

It is important to stick to one program. AND folliw the rules.

I read every diet book I could find, and compared them. Loved that CAD allowed my favorite desserts ! After two days, sugar cravings knocked me off plan !! Later I did figure out if I stuck to DANDR, I could sneak one dessert in the dinner meal and NOT experience cravings.

The bottom line is find your motivation.

Dr Atkins recommended several tests before starting. I didnt do that for many reasons.....even today I dont discuss LC with my primary. But I do ask for a couple tests, like A1c. SHE did not instigate this test, I did. She told me it was getting high, but nothing to correct it.


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I finally took the time to watch the whole video - well sorta. This guy is very verbose, so I was skipping through so much of it, just wanted to get the gist of what he was saying about each of his points.

Some of it I think is a very good idea, such as understanding why you need to go LC (or keto), what it will do for your health (aside from weight loss), what problems it will prevent in your future, and what will happen to your health if you don't do keto. It's not a bad idea at all to really firm all that up in your mind, so that you never forget that you have really good reasons to stick to it.


Some of it is just toooo much though, especially the way he keeps reminding you that you need to do all these things before you ever start keto, but doesn't tell you until the very end that if you did all these things, then you're already doing keto.

Frankly, if I was new to LC, I would have watched maybe the first 1/3 of the video and been so discouraged by how many things he said I needed to do before I could even start the diet that I would have given up right then. As I was listening to him go on and on about one thing or another, I would have been asking myself - if this is what the preparation is like, how much worse is the actual diet?! That's when I would have said forget it.

Dr Westman has really focused on Keeping Keto Simple this year. The PhD who came to Tuesday’s meeting is a perfect example of what is happening...new folks look up Keto and it is a fire hose of conflicting information...buy this, measure that. Here is yet another new video about why that is not necessary. https://youtu.be/Y23CXVyj3QY

He is particularly concerned about the food quality advice...I think about half his practice are referrals from social services. People who don’t have the time or inclination to read science or measure ketones, and due to local "food deserts" eat fast food. So now everyone’s confused..PhD or HS dropout.

I’m sympathetic to the people just starting out. When I was just getting independent, I could afford a crappy apartment and a motorcycle on minimum wage. Can people even do that now?

These days I’m still saving money with ground meat, minimal veg, frozen berries, and expensive fats. Seeing carbs as a waste of money is a good first step, but when all food is fast food, it’s still a serious challenge.

You need to cook, or have a place that cooks the right things.

Simple is important. I have found with the few people who I have tried to help that simply understanding what is and isn't a carbohydrate can be challenging. They've been fed so much misinformation for starters (fruit is healthy, whole grains are healthy) and their emotional/physiological attachment to certain foods interferes with their ability to truly take in the information. Then there are the issues of discipline and commitment which certainly are influenced by their emotional attachments to food. You have to really want to do this and have some faith that it is going to work at getting you what you want. Otherwise there is so much inner and outer noise just waiting to derail you. It then becomes too confusing and people give up and return to their old habits. So I'm with Dr Westmen, keep it simple, at last at first. You can add the fancy nuances later if you are so inclined.

I find it sad when friends go on IF (for their health) and make a stab at low-carb but don't bother to educate themselves about what it means.

For example - this friend who says she is on low carb - goes on a hike and drinks some carby fluid before she sets out for "energy"

Sigh

Benay.......There is no sugar Gatorade now..... maybe hand your friend a bottle, or a note with that info.

WB..... I was stressing over a lack of vegies for my kids, then realized spending on meat on sale was a better option.
(Supply of Potatoes and butternut squash from garden is plentiful.)