Diabetes Forum banner
  • Welcome! Are you ready to join the discussions? Click here!

Who Wants To Learn More About The KETO Lifestyle?

5K views 29 replies 9 participants last post by  NSDad126 
#1 ·


This thread is for those that want to learn more and ask questions about the KETO lifestyle. Is it something you are currently doing? Is it something you want to learn more about?
 
#4 ·
Are there many recipes that I can portion out and save in containers?
PhoenixFire, there are many recipes that can be portioned out. Soups and stews typically are ideal for this and most of them will freeze and thaw well. VeeJay links to some recipes on her Pinterest site (check the signature on her posts). There is the Recipes forum on this site and many Web sites devoted to low-carbohydrate or ketogenic recipes.

I prefer to make meals which will provide leftovers for at least a couple more meals in the week, so I'm used to cooking this way. But I'm not beyond, say, roasting a chicken (or even buying a rotisserie chicken at the market), which will serve as chicken pieces for a couple of meals, chicken for a salad topping, and (later, with other chicken pieces) chicken soup. You could do the same with a pork or beef roast or a salmon filet.

Just a couple of ideas...
 
  • Like
Reactions: chargette
#3 · (Edited)
There are many, many recipes for keto eating on the internet. To be called keto the caloric ratios of fats/proteins/carbs need to be about 70-75% of calories from fat, 20-25% from protein, and 5-10% from carbohydrate on a daily basis.

There are many good resources for keto, the one below is one of my favorites because it goes into the bioscience behind this way of eating. For me, the why is as important as the how. And if I know the why, then I'm more inclined to stick to it.

https://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/index.html
How Do Ketogenic Diets Work?
The digestion of carbohydrates (sugar and starch) releases sugar (glucose) into the bloodstream. Greater carb intake results in rising blood sugar and insulin, a pancreatic hormone that manages blood sugar. Going keto replaces dietary carb with fat and protein. Over time, your cells switch metabolic pathways, and burn stored and dietary fat as a primary energy source instead of sugar. As more fat is burned, some of it is converted into ketone bodies. As blood glucose and insulin levels fall, and ketone levels rise, your muscles (skeletal and heart), use the fats in the bloodstream as fuel, while your brain uses the ketones. The result is more energy, clearer thinking and better health. Ketones are beneficial in many different ways, and being in this metabolic state of "nutritional ketosis" (where blood sugar is low and ketone levels are moderate) has some powerful effects on your metabolism.
 
#13 ·
Not for most people. Back to my favorite keto resource, there are some medical conditions that if one had, keto would not be a good idea:
https://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/support-files/who-should-not-follow-a-ketogenic-diet.pdf

One of the things on the list is "impaired fat digestion" For the benefit of anyone reading this post who has had their gall bladder removed, like I had, there is a way to supplement bile to aid in digesting fats. I take a supplement of ox bile after every meal with a moderate to high fat content and have had no problems at all eating LCHF.
 
#14 ·
FWIW I had my gall bladder removed several years ago (before LCHF/keto) and have rarely had an issue with metabolizing fat. If I "overdo" it (that is, too much fat in too short a time) I'll suffer a bit digestive-wise but time and an anti-acid take care of it. As they say in the ads, "your mileage may vary".
 
  • Like
Reactions: chargette
#15 ·
...I'll suffer a bit digestive-wise but time and an anti-acid take care of it.
Yours is a more mild reaction. I suffer from the runs. For a long time I didn't make the connection and couldn't figure out what was doing this to me.

The bile supplement doesn't just stops the symptoms, but I feel it aids in digesting the fat so that more of what I eat is utilized.
 
#18 ·
I had my gallbladder removed over 10 years ago and I recently started taking Pancreatin. My doctor asked me who my "other" doctor is to prescribe it to me. I told him I buy it as a supplement and it helps me from having indigestion. Which is true and I don't keep eating trying to "settle" my stomach. I also don't have to take Omeprozole anymore.

I've been eating mostly keto for over a year now. I still binge carbs on occasion but I have created controlled carb up days and my binging happens less often now.

I'm mostly learning how to balance keto and intermittent fasting, but weight loss has been a super struggle. I've had a "bad" knee for a long time and recently a specialist ordered a back x-ray. It turns out that the pain is likely caused by a pinched nerve. I decided to test this out and started walking. I use a rollator so I can sit when I need to. I dropped another 7 pounds which is nice.

So, I'm starting physical therapy at the end of January. I watch physical therapy videos for common back exercises and that helps too. My whole future is changing for the better. I'm hoping with walking and mindful eating I going to get a whole lot better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VeeJay
#24 · (Edited)
The more I read about keto, the more I think it's too restrictive for me. I was trying to view junk food like a former alcoholic views beer..."Never touch it" and I may be able to do that with the worst of the foods but now I'm wondering if this is the way to go with things like strawberries with cottage cheese and pasta salad and bean salad.

I don't know if it's feasible to have that mindset for the rest of my life. Then again maybe the idea of moderation is a myth too since 95% of diets fail and, for many people, having one cookie leads to the whole bag being devoured. I snacked too much today (on nuts and cheese and crackers).

Also, the magazine I'm reading (I got it from the drugstore) called "The Complete Guide to Keto" talks about the flu symptoms I will get during the switch over. That doesn't sound fun. :(

Also, I can't afford to eat organic or buy things like almond flour (I got rid of the Wheat Belly diet book when I calculated the cost for making one loaf of banana bread—it was absurd...$14 Canadian I think). The fact that I don't like veggies that much doesn't help. Also the prep time was described by someone, who cooked regularly, like "a full time job." I don't know if this is true. The magazine doesn't recommend staying on keto for a long duration either (yet it won't say exactly why or recommend a length of time to do it).

Has anyone here done keto for years?

I think that I might like Whole30 or Paleo better.

Anyways, I'm rambling. Just had to get my thoughts out there.
 
#25 ·
I think that I might like Whole30 or Paleo better.
Measuring aside (even that gets easier over time), going low-carb/high-fat or keto is about as complicated as you want to make it. You don't have to eat organic. You don't have to make keto bread or muffins (if you can live without baked goods).

My breakfast most mornings is eggs and some meat (like bacon) on the side. My lunch most days calls for opening a bag of salad greens, cutting up other vegetables that look interesting (like peppers and mushrooms), and adding some protein (leftover hamburger, maybe canned tuna). Simple and easy (if a little boring, but I'm making that trade right now).

These people on keto Web sites or writing books about how to make keto sushi and keto pudding parfaits and "fried chicken" with keto ingredients, IMHO, mean well and it's great that those recipes exist. But you don't have to use them. You're not making money when you cook dinner like they are. You may not care about pudding parfaits at all. You don't have to cook what you don't want to eat.

The Way I See It, Pt. 1: I have a condition that makes it difficult for my body to manage carbohydrates. It means that certain foods are now off-limits to me. It stinks, but it is what it is. If I had a peanut allergy, I would avoid peanuts. I don't think I'd spend lots of time forming virgin pea protein and free-range egg whites and ground-up organic almonds into little peanut-shaped pieces just so I could eat "freanuts" or whatever somebody wanted to call them*. Organic food is fine (for lots of reasons) but it's not clear to me that eating is a waste of time unless I eat totally organic. *shrug* But that's me.

The Way I See It, Pt. 2: IMHO any eating plan that reduces carbohydrate levels and takes some processed foods off your plate is A Good Thing. Eating according to whatever those rules are will leave you better off than you are now.

Not everyone can do keto. I flirt with it (and, now that keto is popular, use the term as a shorthand for low-carbohydrate/high-fat) but I got great results just going low-carb without going to keto. Others have not gotten the results they wanted until they went keto. Everyone's diabetes is different.

If even low-carb/high-fat is too restrictive right now as you balance medications and changes in activity levels and the rest of life, then try paleo or Whole30. Maybe once you've got those down and you start seeing results, you'll want to take the next step. But I'd hate to see you go down the diabetes-complication-and-medication rabbit hole just because keto didn’t work for you and you never did better than the "standard diabetic diet".

Does that make sense?


* no idea if this actually would work
 
#26 ·
Keto is certainly a good way to eat. But not everyone can or even wants to go that restrictive. As Steve mentioned, for some diabetics, if they want to stay off meds or not use insulin, that HAVE TO go keto. But most don't.

Because this thread is about keto, of course there's more discussion about keto. Don't think that everyone on this forum does keto just because it's the topic of this thread.

I tried keto, found I didn't stick with it very well, and have gone back to what worked for me in the beginning. A maximum of 30grams of carbs per day - give or take 5-10g here and there. How I ended up with this level is by testing.

I can't stress enough how important it is to test. It's way more important than choosing a "diet". If you test, you KNOW what you can and cannot eat, irregardless of what any diet guru says.

I think choosing a diet plan is helpful in the beginning to take a lot of the guess work out of meal preparation and to discover what you like within the limits of that plan. But once you get the basics down, as long as you test, you can expand your food choices beyond it. (Or, you may discover that the plan is too generous with carbs for your own body to handle.)

One of the reasons I don't use "diet" to describe how I eat is because my way of eating is for life. It's not a temporary thing - because diabetes is not temporary.
 
#27 · (Edited)
#28 ·
Hello again. I have been eating keto for nine years. My last post on this forum was 5 years ago, so please forgive me if I am out of context. Since then I have been running my food center and doing some work with the international keto scientific community. I ran a conference last year and we thought our keynote speaker video was lost. Well, we found it (long story) and just today we posted it to YouTube. I am pleased to provide this link to Dr. Tim Noakes' personal and professional experience with LCHF for all to see. Your critique is welcome.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top