New to Keto

[happyseal]

Hi everyone, I restarted keto diet again. I did try it last year but I was eating too much nut and it did not work for me. So this time I am balancing the nuts and everything. Last year I tried a vegan keto, which is really hard. This year, I added egg to my diet so I can reduce nuts and cut beans and grains. I am basically doing the Ketotarian diet. I am enjoying it, but I feel like the withdrawal addiction to sugar (grains, and everything) is really hard. How long did it take you to get used to the diet and stop having the keto flu? Oh, and what keto flu symptoms did you have?

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador]

I'd say vegan keto is impossible.

If you want to eliminate animal products, you might be better off just with a low-GI diet; essentially, you'll still be getting most of your energy from carbs, but you eliminate the really unhelpful ones ("white carbs"- sugar, rice, pasta, bread) and you make up the shortfall with non-starchy vegetables and legumes. However this is very, very hard, because those substitutions are not very nutrient-dense and you'll have to eat very large meals.

Frankly, I'd do a bit of introspection and ask yourself why you're limiting animal products, and if there might be some workaround. For example, if you're concerned about the treatment of factory-farmed animals and don't want to give those guys your $$$, there are an increasing number of farmers who make a point of giving their animals a fulfilling life. They can be hard to track down (they may fly "below the radar" to avoid the Men With Clipboards who might shut them down), but they're out there.

As for keto side-effects ... apparently, I was pretty lucky! A bit of constipation, a day or two feeling a bit light-headed, and that was it. I had no carb cravings. The key, basically, is to get your carbs as low as physically possible. Once your body understands that there are no more on the way, it stops complaining. However, you DO have to introduce enough fat, otherwise you're basically just doing low-calorie; and without dairy and/or meat, your choices are severely limited.

[happyseal in reply to TheAwfulToad]

Great suggestions. Well, this is the second time I am trying keto. The first time a vegan keto, but it didn't work for me because legumes aren't easy to digest, and if I eat too much nuts I get some digestive issues too. So this time I am doing it as a vegetarian keto. To be honest, it is hard to keep the carbs down as a vegetarian. So I have been thinking about compromising something. I will not eat meat, but I could eat fish or perhaps seafood since supposedly oysters and so on don't have a nervous system. I did get cravings, interestingly on Fridays and Saturdays. It must be a mental trigger, some sort of habit I ins consciously had and now I'm able to notice. I have more awareness about my eating behaviour. But what about water, how much more are you drinking? And what about your electrolytes? I've been constantly thirsty and I seem to crave salt and foods with minerals.

[TheAwfulToad Ambassador in reply to happyseal]

A good fraction of the people here are vegetarian (which, incidentally, disproves the "har har low-carb? You mean lots of meat and nothing else?" criticism of LCHF).

Yes, it is hard, but it's definitely doable. IMO, the key is to try new sources of fats that you may not have considered before: say, virgin palm oil (most of it is actually produced sustainably, despite the propaganda against it), coconut oil, and mustard oil.

Are you OK with eggs and dairy? If so, you'll probably be fine.

Personally I avoid fish and seafood precisely because there is no humane way of killing them (or at least none that is routinely used). Crustaceans and molluscs don't have a brain, but they have a chain of ganglia (a distributed brain) which is most likely capable of experiencing pain and distress.

As for salt etc: just let your body decide what it needs. If you crave salt, add salt. Salt is one of those things that has a very effective homeostasis loop - it's quite hard to disrupt it with bad diet. Most people naturally consume exactly the right amount of salt. On low-carb, your body uses salt in different ways and you will naturally need more of it. I was doing some building work last week and had massive salt cravings. I solved that with beef soup - not an option for you of course, but I'm sure there's a vegetarian workaround.

[Lytham]

Hi I started the lchf 3 weeks ago and had a bit of constipation and a headache for one day, then it went and I feel great ! Probably better than I did before as I dont have aching legs now ! Good luck x

[happyseal in reply to Lytham]

That's great, good to know things are working out well. I had some fatigue Which has subsided. Ohh but I have been sleeping so much better. I used to wake up with everything and not being able to go back to sleep. Now I close my eyes and then is morning. It is definitely helping me with my hormones.

[Lytham in reply to happyseal]

Oh thats brilliant ! Have you lost much weight ? x