Love2Craft

My husband and I are contemplating going on the keto diet. What I am looking for is a book or website that lays out the meal plan for a couple of weeks plus recipes. I’ve been looking but thought someone might be able to point us in the right direction. Thanks for your help

Iceblossom

I'll have my husband weigh in on the topic...

He does have any number of books and websites to recommend. As someone who isn't Keto herself but lives with someone that is, I can share a few things.

First thing, keto is a bodily process more than a diet. You train your body to burn fat instead of carbs -- if you continue to eat carbs you will fail at keto. It won't work, yes one piece of toast means you failed the entire day. It's not a temporary fix, most people don't succeed in keeping the weight off if they just go Keto for awhile, it's a lifestyle and its mostly meat. There are high fat options like nuts, olives and avocados, and extremely low carb/calorie options like pickles and the basic lettuce, celery, onions and mushrooms.

Try going low carb/high protein first... when I am eating well I'm around 60 carbs per day. Right now I'm probably over 100 but that's still within my guidelines. Any low carb/high protein diet will work, I mostly use diabetic guidelines because while I've lost 100 pounds, my goal was to reduce my blood glucose level -- which I've done very well. My guideline is "nothing white -- no wheat, no rice, no potatoes, no pasta, no baked goods..." Once you get those things out of your diet, going keto won't be such an abrupt change.

Starting about 3 years ago, my husband was basically 400 pounds and is now about 180... He lost the weight the first couple of years and has maintained for a year now. He has combined Keto with intermittent fasting, that is he has an eating window. He still weighs and records every mouthful he takes, you can use a notebook but we used
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

My husband had a supportive doctor and went in for regular 3 month check-ups, including blood work and self-paid DEXA scans. While mostly prescribed for bone density, they also tell you a lot about the amount of fat and how it is distributed. It was much less expensive for him to buy a package of multiple scans from the private company for the same cost as one through the hospital (which insurance wouldn't cover anyway).
https://dexascan.com/

Watson

This is really good advice: My husband and I went full on Keto and did it for 2 months. I lost 20 pounds and then I just could not sustain it. It was making me crazy. I went off of it and have gained 10 lbs back already. I wish I had done it the way Iceblossom suggested and in fact, I am going to start doing that Aug 1st.

Not to scare you from Keto if that is what you want to do because it is a good way to lose weight fast, but don't let it become all-consuming like it did to me.

Now, to actually answer your question: There is a really good page on Facebook called Keto Diet for Beginners that has good information and is helpful for newbies without shaming you for asking basic questions. Keto FB group

Watson

Elise1

I have never done Keto. I looked into it and decided I love my carbs too much, so I eat 1200 calories a day, tracking what I eat on https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

Here are some forums on keto

https://www.reddit.com/r/100DaysofKeto/
https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/

tallchick

High fat
Low protein
20 grams or less of carbs a day

I’ve lost 40lb, my energy level is amazing, I sleep wonderfully, my aches and pains are gone.
There are many online forums, this is my fav:
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/
And many Apps to track your daily intake depending on your device. It took me 9 months to lose those 40lbs but once your body adjusts it’s easy!

Jingle

Eating a high meat diet may not be good if you have high cholesterol. I would certainly talk to a doctor first. Same for high fat.

Dieting is really easy = eat less food than you burn and you will lose weight.

UncaToddly

And here he is.

A little background on what and why a ketogenic way of eating works.

She has seen me through my full journey and has been very supportive. And she is absolutely right on the idea that you can't cheat and stay in ketosis because your body can use 1 of 2 sources for energy, glucose or ketones. Glucose is made from the breakdown of sugars and carbohydrates while ketones are made from the breakdown of fat. The body can run on one or the other but it can't run on them both at the same time. The key to this switch is insulin and among other things it does, insulin is a fat storage hormone. If insulin is elevated your body is unable to access the fat cells to break them down into ketones. When your insulin is kept very low, your body will access your fat stores for energy it needs by breaking down the triglycerides.

The one macronutrient that doesn't stimulate insulin is fat. Carbohydrates require insulin release as glucose is toxic to the body when in the blood stream and insulin's job is to get it out of there and once the liver and muscles are full it goes to fat as a form of energy for later. Protein also produces an insulin response but not nearly to the same degree as it is an essential nutrient and is used for many other processes, primarily muscle building and maintenance. Whereas fat and protein are essential nutrients in that the body must have them, carbohydrates are not. The body does perfectly fine without getting any.

So the key is to keep your insulin need low for as long as possible. If you are diabetic you need to keep in mind that reduced carbs means a reduced need for insulin shots as simply giving yourself what you are used too can cause problems with low sugar. Type 2 diabetics and pre-diabetics who go on ketogenic diets will end up severely reducing their need for exogenous insulin (that which is not produced in the body) and it is typical to see the need for it go completely away in pretty amazingly short periods of time but again, you really need to monitor your blood sugars tighter.

One of the mistakes that many people make is that they have the understanding that a ketogenic diet is a lot of meat. It can be but meat isn't the key. You can do a ketogenic diet as a vegetarian (easier due to eggs and dairy) and even as a vegan though that is much tougher but then again.... so is being a vegan for most people.

The keys are two... primarily keeping your carbohydrates very low (under 20g net will get pretty much anyone into ketosis) and eating high fat. The standard ketogenic diet is a goal of keeping to the 20g carbs range (preferably from above ground leafy greens, misc ones like in eggs and not starches) with 20% protein and 75% fat. Carbs are about keeping your insulin levels very low, protein is about having enough to maintain muscle mass and fat is about satiation and is the primary source of energy as most people will find that fat is the most satiating, carbs are the least which is the reason you can completely dorf out at a buffet, eat 6000-10000 calories and then be hungry 3 hours later.

For a great resource in a forum setting I highly recommend ketogenicforums.com just as TallChick did. You can look around without creating an account but creating an account will let you post. There are tons and tons of recipes and advice there that cover pretty much all aspects of it from people who have very long histories with using a ketogenic way of eating as well as people just starting. It was started by the the guys who started the "2 Keto Dudes" podcast which is a great resource even if it has stopped now. The same is true of The Obesity Code podcast as far as understanding the power and mechanisms of both a ketogenic diet and fasting (both extended and intermittent fasting/time-restricted eating).

To Watson:
At 2 months in is is very possible that you weren't even fat adapted yet. For most people, the switch from being a sugar burner to a fat burner takes between 3-6 weeks but some can take longer. Also, if your only reason for it is losing weight, women have it a bit tougher there in the beginning. For women, they tend to lose inches more than pounds to start with and it can seem disheartening. Karen Mangiacotti of the Keto Families Podcast (ketofamilypodcast.com) talks about this in regards to when she and her hubby Mark Miller started. She kept with it for the health reasons but said it was really irritating to see him lose 15 pounds in a couple weeks and she lost nothing eating the same way in the beginning.

Again though, when you get over the hump of getting fat adapted and your body making the switch from using glucose as it's primary fuel to ketones (that period people typically get the electrolye imbalance known as "keto flu") it is easy. That isn't to say you won't want some of the things you used to eat all the time but from a hunger standpoint, your body doesn't need to send signals making you think it is dying if you don't eat a donut because it used up the last meal you ate. It looks around and says, "OK, I am not being given the fuel in a food form.... I will just use some of that Krispy Kreme they ate 3 years ago and got stuffed in her hip.

To Elise:
And if this works for you that is great. The problem with most people is lack of satiation and that leads to feeling deprived and people don't like to feel deprived. When I first started trying to lose weight around 4 or 5 years ago I was doing Low Carb/High Protein which for me was 85g/160g respectively. My basal metabolic rate was calculated at roughly 2100 calories so I was walking 2-4 miles a day, eating back roughly half my calories burned and eating at a deficit to keep it between 1500-1800 calories. I was eating small snacks every 2 hours with protein (hard boiled eggs, protein bars, etc.). I felt like I was always eating but didn't really enjoy any of it and always felt deprived and my day revolved around food. Eventually I found it unsustainable. Hit the holidays and I was down from 405 to 295 and then it was 2 pounds here, then 5 pounds there then the next thing you know I am back at 356.

Keto and daily 20:4 intermittent fasting/time-restricted eating.... feels like cheating it has been so effortless.

To TallChick:

I would disagree that it is "low" protein. I would classify it as moderate protein and shooting for between 0.6-0.8g per pound of lean body mass. In lieu of getting a body composition scan done (such as a DEXAScan or BodPod) you can roughly figure your lean body mass is about 75% of your total weight.

To Jingle:
This is really out of date information. I highly recommend you look into books like "The Great Cholesterol Myth" by cardiologist Dr. Stephen Sinatra and Jonny Bowden PhD with regards to cholesterol.

I also highly recommend you read "The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet" by Nina Teicholz. Nina spent a decade going over the studies that lead to the food guidelines we currently see and found there is zero evidence that shows proof of reducing high cholesterol, saturated fat or meat consumption decreases your risk of heart disease and more importantly, all cause mortality. You can find much from her on youtube as well as others like Ivor Cummins and Dave Feldman. So many others.

Again, not true, it is what you eat that matters and on top of that, satiation is a key factor with regards to hunger (which makes you want to eat) and what you eat has completely different reactions in the body. The energy balance hypothesis is way out of date despite how many people want to cling to it because it seems logical on it's face. Whether I eat roughly 2 pounds of duck or 3 pounds each of broccoli and potatoes or a large Blizzard and medium dipped cone from Dairy Queen they are all roughly 1750 calories. I can assure you that if expended the same amount of energy daily but ate nothing but the duck or nothing but the broccoli/potatoes or nothing but the Dairy Queen..... the results on my weight, and more importantly my health, will be completely different despite the fact that the calories in and the calories out don't change .

GingerK

UncaToddly you are definitely wordy and that's okay because you gave a lot of really good information. My DH went keto 20 months ago for health reasons. His Dr. was not fully on board and monitored his progress very carefully for the first year. DH is type 2 diabetic and his diabetes is now diet controlled. He no longer takes Metformin or Januvia. He has lost 45 pounds and kept them off for a year. His Dr. is amazed at how his body and metabolism has changed.

DH also bakes for himself and makes his own greek style yoghurt using Half and Half (and it is wonderful!!) I refused to 'control' his diet and left the research/decisions to him. I think this was the most important contribution I made to his success.

Edited to add: "Lies my Doctor Told Me" by Ken D. Berry MD is a great book that everyone should read. Just because my doctor said it does not mean that it is right, or true or the best thing for me. Knowledge is the best medicine.

UncaToddly

The thing is, his results are not unusual, they are the norm. When you stop putting carbs into the system (again, that biologically are not required) you don't need to deal with them by producing more insulin or giving shots of it to get the glucose out of the blood. It is so common sense it is mind blowing. When you are diabetic and having to give yourself insulin after what you eat, they teach you and you learn that if you eat this piece of chocolate cake or a couple slices of pizza or this sandwich from Subway, you need to give yourself X number of units of insulin to deal with the carbs in it. Well, what if you just don't eat the things that require you to compensate with insulin? Or at least severely reduce them. You reduce the need right?

It is much like having a cabin in the woods in the winter and you keep throwing wood on the fire. The house gets hotter and hotter so you open a window. You throw more wood on the fire but it is still too hot so you open another window. Then that isn't enough so you open the door and turn the fans on too to help pull the cold air in because it is so hot. The solution isn't to keep opening the windows and doors and adding fans..... maybe you stop putting wood on the fire. Or put less.

And I love Dr. Berry. I am well familiar with his work and his book from podcasts I listen to him on such as Diet Doctor, Low Carb MD, 2 Keto Dudes and many others. I listen to audiobooks and this is likely one I am going to have to buy as I am not expecting it to magically appear as available in my local library.

Congrats to your husband and his success.

Iceblossom

It is hard to find supportive doctors. I admit, I have concerns about some of the Hubby's cholesterol numbers but he has gone to a specialist for more in depth testing and perspective and believes things are ok when you look at the particulars and not at the rounded up categories. While his arteries give me concern, overall at half the size he once was I see an active healthy man who is much more likely to outlive his previous self.

His weight is pretty stable now, and he has introduced certain cheat days, maybe 1 every month or two -- we might get pizza and dairy queen. At this point I'd like to see him put on maybe 7 pounds of targeted muscle mass, primarily chest, back/shoulders, and thighs. That's the nice thing when you add exercise into the equation is unlike fat you can decide where to put it! We were hoping maybe August but gyms not open here (sigh... maybe February??) and he's been working extended hours anyway.

You know those cartoon ads about the woman who complains about losing weight and how easy it is for her husband? Well, it's pretty much like that around here. I still struggle, he has found his way of life/eating and is very happy. We both maintain what is important is finding what works for you. You still gain benefits from being low carb/high protein, even if you eat that extra piece of toast even if you don't go into ketosis.

I am not quite the success as he is, but the thing is I am keeping consistent. Yo-yo dieting is much worse than maintaining a weight. Like many of us, I've put on a few pounds in the last couple of months. It's time for me to start logging my food again and being accountable. Once you get the white foods (and how could I forget sugar on the previous list?) out of your house and your diet, just don't let them back in. I keep telling myself that Little Debbie is not my friend.

When we were both out of control of our eating, I got sick (severe allergy attack leading to lung congestion) and ended up with my blood glucose in the mid 400s and was put on insulin for the first time after several years of metformin. I almost gave up because I believed that once on insulin/always on insulin. But I decided to fight back with what I could and with the changes I had made previously and the 50 pounds I had already lost, I really got deep into the eating and the concept that some things are just gone for me. It's a very simple equation, that yes -- I can kill myself by eating that chocolate cake (plus the one after it and so on) or I can choose to live by what I eat.

With no insulin, no metformin, just by diet I can maintain around 130 which while not ideal is not so bad. Goes down to 100 with metformin simply and easily and there may be other benefits I receive from it.