Easing back off keto

[ChubbieChops]

I've been trying to follow keto meals but I am getting fed up with them, finding them too rich. Yesterday, I made a chilli con carne with kidney beans and had a smaller portion than I would have had before and obviously no rice. It was delicious. Today I'm making a chicken casserole and I'm going to be very naughty and put some carrots in it. I also went mad this morning and had a pear. Is this going to stop ketosis?

[Hidden]

Love it. Went mad and had a pear. 🤣🤣🤣

Apparently it’s quite normal to want to ease back on the richness after a spell of keto. The answer is just less fat rather than more carbs. Whether your carrots & pears actually stops Ketosis is going to depend on your body & the other stuff you eat. Even if you no longer need keto to feed your brain (it doesn’t work off fat) - the carrots stepping into the breach - you’ll still be using fat to do everything else.

[ChubbieChops in reply to Hidden]

I have cut back on fats - the novelty of that has worn off. But I want more variety. There's only so much you can do with celery, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers.....unless I'm missing something. Before LCHF, I would eat 8 - 10 portions of fruit and veg a day. I'm beginning to whine and whinge!!

[Hidden in reply to ChubbieChops]

Leeks? Sugar snap peas? Celeriac?

[ChubbieChops in reply to Hidden]

I had leeks the other night after my whinge as an act of rebellion- I thought leeks were naughty!! I had forgotten about mange tout, thank you for that. Never been keen on celeriac but will reconsider!

[Hidden in reply to ChubbieChops]

Oh. I’ve been eating leeks & staying in Ketosis...

[ChubbieChops in reply to Hidden]

Excellent. I love leeks 😋

[Hidden in reply to ChubbieChops]

PS it’s a Tiggerr idea and I add cheese to mashed celeriac which gets it past my husband...

[Tiggerr in reply to Hidden]

...and that's how I get it past myself

[ChubbieChops in reply to Tiggerr]

Lol, will give it a go

[PandQs in reply to Tiggerr]

I’ve made chips with celeriac in an air fryer with chilli oil. I like them but Im the only one in the house that does

[Tiggerr in reply to PandQs]

I tried making them on a tray in the oven and they were soggy and unappetising. I never thought to use the air fryer... Doh!

I'll give them a whirl once we've moved home and I find the fryer.

[PandQs in reply to Tiggerr]

Swede works well in air fryer too

[ChubbieChops in reply to PandQs]

That sounds interesting, especially with the chilli oil

[moreless in reply to ChubbieChops]

I eat 8 - 10 portions of veg every day, berries on occasion.

Avocado

Artichoke

Aubergine

Asparagus

Beans

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage (red, white and green)

Celeriac

Chicory

Chard

Courgette

Cucumber

Endive

Fennel

Greens

Jerusalem artichoke

Kale

Leeks

Lettuce

Marrow

Mushrooms

Ochra

Onions

Radishes

Swede

Tomato

Watercress

I hope this helps

[OilpainterUS in reply to moreless]

Great list! Thanks for posting this!

The only item I see on my list, "Eat A Carb, Crave a Carb" is tomato. I can't stop at 1, it just sends me!

[ChubbieChops in reply to moreless]

Thank you! I guess I got stuck in a rut!

[moreless in reply to ChubbieChops]

It's easily done and often takes a different pair of eyes to see it

[ChubbieChops in reply to moreless]

Definitely. I have also discovered a passion for aubergine fried. Oh wow 😋😋😋😋

[PandQs in reply to ChubbieChops]

Courgettes fried in with bacon - gorgeous

[Subtle_badger in reply to ChubbieChops]

Interesting, I am eating more veggies than before. That's because I was following the eat well, and with oats for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch I got all the grains I needed but barely a serve of veggies. At dinner, there isn't room on your plate for a serving of rice, pasta etc and 10 veggies. It literally did not occur to me to omit the bland carbs to make room.

[ChubbieChops in reply to Subtle_badger]

Haha. I love veg and generally plan a meal around them. Although I like meat, I could become a veggie if I didn't have a carnivore for a husband. In fact I could go vegan as I'm not bothered about eggs or cheese. Before LCHF, I would often cook a vegan meal and stick a pork chop on the side for him and bung nuts in for me. No I couldn't go vegan as I love butter and cream! I must try out more veggie dishes again

[Cooper27]

I listen to a podcast by this lady and she had some good tips. I've not closely read this article, but it seems to touch on points she mentioned in her podcast so I hope it helps you:

healthtoempower.com/transit...

[ChubbieChops in reply to Cooper27]

I've skim read it. I've ended up quite confused now! My understanding is that you either stick with keto or you stop keto - doesn't seem to be a little bit of keto 🙁

[Cooper27 in reply to ChubbieChops]

Not necesarily. Many gradually ease up their carb allowance until they reach a level that works for them. I think most people that follow "keto" are typically just on a lower carb diet in the end.

Some people do keto intermittently as well, maybe a couple of days a week.

[ChubbieChops in reply to Cooper27]

Thanks for that. I'm certainly not sticking to it as strictly now as I was when I first started. I'll watch the scales for the next few days and see how it goes. And if the weight starts to creep on, I'll tighten up again

[OilpainterUS]

So funny to read "I'm going to be very naughty and put some carrots in it. I also went mad this morning and had a pear". Who would have thought of eating carrots as naughty or eating pears as mad? 😂

Dr. Jason Fung says that even a couple of teaspoons of sugar can take you out of ketosis. My thought is that I will just get back into ketosis within 24-48 hours. He has a diet plan in his book, The Obesity Code. It's less heavy and looks to be pretty good. I found it on Amazon.

The goal is fat-burning but also to stay in the game. Hang in there!

[ChubbieChops in reply to OilpainterUS]

I know, it's bonkers, right? I'm assuming that as I haven't been going crazy on loads of grain carbs, I can get back into ketosis quite quickly 🤞 I've also been trying to find a guide to a less strict LCHF diet so I'llcheckout Fung's book, thanks. But at the moment, I am savouring the prospect of eating a gorgeous looking clementine!! Hang keto!

[OilpainterUS]

I sent out a copy of The Obesity Code to 3 friends (none overweight but all pre-diabetic!) for gifts. They were all so torqued with me! They couldn't get past the title! 😅 Finally, they did understand my motive of getting them out of the pre-diabetic and read the book and implemented Fung's advice. Happily, all 3 are out of the danger range. Yikes! A good turn... 😂

😂 You are so charmingly fun, ChubbieChops! Enjoy that clementine! Yum!

[ChubbieChops in reply to OilpainterUS]

What a good friend you are 🤗. It's great that they're no longer pre-diabetic and thank you kindly! 😊😊 The clementine was delicious - really sweet and juicy but I've been busy busy busy since then to try to use up those carbs!

[OilpainterUS]

Aw, so sweet you are.

[Hidden]

Although LCHF I have never gone down the root of restricting ANY vegetables, mostly because the veg selection isn't great where I live. I just don't have carrots with every meal. Fortunately there's plenty of courgette and locally grown purple sprouting, which I love, at the moment. I do find myself wondering, if you never eat carrots, are there still lumps of carrot in it when you vomit?

[ChubbieChops in reply to Hidden]

🤣🤣🤣 do you eat beans like kidney beans, haricot etc? I made a chilli the other night. You can't have a chilli without kidney beans, can you!

[Hidden in reply to ChubbieChops]

Occasionally. I made a bit of a bean stew the other day because veg was low in the shops. And I'll have baked beans occasionally. In that situation, I just eat less of whatever it is. So, add beans to chilli, but sparingly. I have to think a bit more because so much is down to availability. If the cargo hasn't been because of the weather, fresh stuff is hard to come by, and I reason that beans (maybe not baked beans, but in general) are better than other packet/tinned stuff at least. At the moment, there's eff all fresh meat, and hardly any frozen either. Diet's still working (well, it was until I ballsed it up with biscuits this week) so it is adaptable.

[ChubbieChops in reply to Hidden]

Where do you live??? Are you in the middle of absolutely nowhere? Yes I reckon - how can beans be bad? If I have time, I make my own sauce for baked beans comprising onions, celery and tomatoes and no form of sweetening. How can that be bad for your diet?

[Hidden in reply to ChubbieChops]

Isle of Sark. Only accessible by sea

[ChubbieChops in reply to Hidden]

Ah, that makes sense now.

[Hidden]

Hi @ChubbieChops,

I have just been reading this thread with interest. I am doing some kind of plan between low carb and keto, with many wobbles along the way. I vacillate a lot, or is it oscillate??! I identify with what you are saying re the lack of variety. Or rather, just having to work really hard to create variety. How are you getting on with it all now?

I try really hard to be as low carb as I can manage, but yesterday I had some caramelised onion with other veggies and mozzarella cheese for supper. OMG, it was so nice! First time I have had any onion for about three months! And I have tomatoes fairly often too...It's just so hard sometimes!

[ChubbieChops in reply to Hidden]

I can't cook a meal without onions! I also use tomatoes a lot. I eat some carrots and include beans and lentils in meals too so I am not hardcore keto. With this approach I am hovering around my target weight although I would love to lose another half stone but I figure to do that, I need to go really hardcore keto and then stick with that and I know I won't maintain it. We went out for a meal last Sunday - first time eating out since before lockdown. I ate all the bread (foccacia) that came with my starter, spuds with my main - they were cooked in cream so they were fine wine of course and I had pudding with a dessert wine. Oh my goodness - it was delicious. But I was a very good girl for the rest of the week - apart from onions and tomatoes - and a little piece of fudge a couple of evenings. Yummm. I am happy to stick with my weight as it is if I can indulge occasionally but not pile more weight back on. Good luck with your vacillations or oscillations