Keto diet experience

[dizzy864]

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd post my experience with the keto diet.

Firstly, I am a 65 year old woman. I've been hypo for over 20 years. I am prescribed 100mg levo and 60mg liothyronine daily for the past ten years. I have been a vegetarian for over 40 years.

When first prescribed lio, my weight stabilized at 9st 2 or 3 lbs. I could pretty much eat what I wanted and it did not vary. I followed a low carb diet with lots of fresh berries, salads and vegetables. This was because I felt well on this regime. Three and a half years ago, it changed. We lost a much loved cat on her 7th birthday and I think I just went to pieces. It was not planned, it just happened. My diet changed completely. It included lots of sandwiches and convenience foods.

We have been visiting my son in Germany for a week every four or five weeks from early Spring to late Autumn for the past 8 years. We have lunch and dinner out almost every day. Initially, this was not a problem. I would gain 1 to 2 lbs in the week, which I would lose within a week or ten days of being home as I followed a low fat, low sugar diet. But over the last three to four years it's become a bigger and bigger problem. I now gain 3 to 4lbs each visit and am not able to lose it all before returning to Germany.

Last year I gained 9 lbs, which meant I was then over a stone and a half heavier than I used to be. Dieting is difficult for me because my excess weight is not caused by lots of sugar or fat. There's little I can cut without being really hungry and that makes me feel really unwell as my blood sugar crashes. I've been buying everything low fat, low sugar, low salt for many years. I don't have a sweet tooth and rarely eat cakes, biscuits or crisps. I was very dependent on meal times as I felt really unwell.

Over Christmas, I decided it was time for drastic action! We are going to Orlando in 12 days. I did not want to come back even heavier.

I'd read a lot about keto. It fits in with my life style. Craig Rules had published a new vege keto 14 day diet plan, so I thought I would give it a go.

I have stuck to it for the past 5 weeks. My problem was that several breakfasts consisted of raw egg smoothies. There is absolutely no way I could ever eat raw eggs!! Several of the meals included mushrooms and olives - I can't eat them. The guide did state that substitutions are allowed. I could easily make vege substitutions but this threw out the macro proportions completely. After several days of trying to balance the proportions of fat, protein and carbs and keep the daily calories at 1500 - 1600 a day, I had to give up. It's far too complicated for me. I could never make them balance. Apparently, this is a problem with vegetarian keto.

I have continued with keto foods. I lost 3lbs in each of the first two weeks. Not as much as some people, but I was really pleased. But then my weight stuck. I knew the problem was fluid retention because my fingers swelled badly. I read that this meant I needed to drink more water - so I did. In the past three weeks, I have only gone down another 4lbs. It's very disappointing. I believe my calorie intake is well below that suggested. I am always full and never hungry. I just don't want to eat more. I drink 3 lts of water a day. My measurements have all continued to go down slightly but my weight is barely moving. My clothes are all lose and baggy now, but I have not gone down a size, which was what I really wanted before my holiday.

I have had barely any problems with keto flu - just really tired one afternoon at the beginning of the second week. I feel so much better. I have loads more energy. I am no longer desperate for the next meal. I have been doing over an hour x 6 days a week of various types of exercise. I know I went into ketosis in the second week as I had a bladder infection and the nurse practitioner was concerned about it and telephoned me. The infection was not related to keto as I get them every so often.

I will continue with keto for the next 12 days. I will resume keto on our return, in the hope that I can lose the remaining 10 or 11 lbs of excess weight.

I, personally would recommend keto to anyone who has tried and failed to lose weight. I have found the meals very nice and different but a little repetitive, which may be because they're vege. Unlike most diets, the aim is not to be hungry. A big attraction for me was that I can still have tea and coffee.

If anyone has any suggestions on what I can do to lose weight quicker, I'd be really grateful. I don't think I should eat any less and I don't want to exercise any more as it does make me tired.

Sorry this post is so long. I hope someone out there finds it helpful.

[AlisonL]

Hi there. I managed to lose about a stone by eating a keto diet and found it really helped with digestive issues too. I still need to lose quite a lot more but after a year of eating this way have been yoyoing a bit for the last few months (and haven't been quite so strict, so that hasn't helped!).

I find that if I have any alcohol at all it stops weight loss completely for days, even though a little red wine or clear spirits are allegedly OK to have. Other than that I don't have too many tips, apart from to try and keep it simple and eat lots of veg, cheese, eggs, etc. rather than recipes with things you wouldn't normally eat, such as strange flours. I just found it hard and expensive to do that. Also have a look at the diet doctor website if you haven't already. It has loads of useful tips and may just help. The website is dietdoctor.com.

Good luck and hope you continue to feel the benefits of the diet!

Oh and just for info, I take 150mcg thyroxine and 40mcg liothyronine daily.

[AlisonL]

Oh and the other thing to add is that I've got to the point now where I just like this way of eating. I'm always mindful that I'm at risk of getting diabetes because there is a family history of it, and I feel this type of diet is a good way to minimise that risk. I also feel that it's probably a way of eating I'll keep doing for life now, with the odd day off every now and then. If I lose more weight, then great, but if not I'm not going to get upset about it because I've beaten myself up enough in the past about not being thin enough ☺

[dizzy864 in reply to AlisonL]

Hi Alison,

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond.

I decided I would forgo all alcohol while on this diet. I wanted to lose as much weight as possible in the 6 and a half weeks I had before going to Orlando. So I can't comment on the affects of alcohol on keto eating.

I looked at dietdoctor.com, they have some very interesting info. Unfortunately, not too many vege meals. I have really been suffering with tummy pains recently - mostly wind and griping pains. I have found these are greatly reduced since I went keto. I have decided that when I do lose my extra weight I will follow a low carb diet but I find, as a vegetarian the Keto way of eating is too restrictive for me. I am really fed up with keep eating eggs in particular. I just keep telling myself that it is only for another couple of months!

I have not had the problems with cravings that I know a lot of people experience. I do have a couple of squares of dark chocolate every morning. I don't know if this helps or it's just that I do not have a sweet tooth. I must admit that the last few days I have really been craving a crusty cheese roll. I have managed not to give into it!!

[AlisonL in reply to dizzy864]

Hi again. I can imagine it's very hard being vege and trying to stick to a keto diet. As you say, there are only so many eggs you can eat! I think cravings are minimised because of the amount of fat on the diet, but I have a terrible sweet tooth and every so often just have to have something non keto. I think if I let myself do that once or twice a month it means I stick to it the rest of the time, but that's definitely easier said than done

Good luck and hope you manage to find something that suits you.