Good for you, Lucille! What a great attitude and intelligent way to do it.

I, too, woke up with a resolve today. So I'll join hands with you in this project!

I'm planning on doing the keto diet with my daughter. My husband is in on it as well. She's lost 75 pounds eating bacon, sour cream and cheese. And no fat free foods. All full fat. I said I would give it a go for about a week. If I can do it, then I donate the food in my kitchen cupboards to my boys who live together in another house.

I just need her to help me figure out how much fats/protein and carbs I can have in a day and I'm off. But if I did the math right, it's a lot. ;)

She has more energy now than she's had since she was a kid. She smiles more. She has so much more self confidence. And she's HAPPY!

Keep us posted with your progress.

Sounds similar to Atkins. Be careful - I lost a lot with Atkins but cholesterol shot up to 333. Dr. warned me to get OFF right away. I did and cholesterol returned to normal.

I'm doing keto before my wedding. I don't eat meat though so it's more vegetable/plant based than a lot of keto diets. I'm down about 20 pounds in the last month and a half. You'll lose a lot of water weight the first few days.

All my blood work has improved since I started it and my doctor is supportive. It's a good idea to be monitored though as people have damaged their bodies - I guess it depends on individual body chemistry. I have insulin resistance so I do much better lowing the carbs, though it's really really hard!

You have to drink a ton of water. I think I've seen 4-6 liters recommended. I find that really hard too but I think you can damage the kidneys while in ketosis if you don't drink enough.

I'd skip the fad 'diets'. There's no magic about getting to a healthy weight and maintaining a healthy body. You already know how this works. You just wish it was easier and faster. Excess weight didn't form in a few weeks; it won't drop away any faster than it arrived.

What we eat IS our *diet*. Eat a variety of healthy foods. Stop buying and eating stuff you already know is not healthy. Eat *less* -- of a variety of foods. Sit down and eat smaller portions at meatime, then get up and go DO something. Plan small portions of something for any 'snacks'. Don't 'eat distracted' -- reading, watching TV, etc. When you are eating, EAT, and eat slowly to give your stomach time to send the message to your brain to stop. Real food is not the enemy.

Start getting at least some dedicated exercise, like walking. You can build up to more. The point is to just GET STARTED with something you will continue to do.

Exercise is 'food' for your body and your brain.

I don't think "fad" diets are necessarily bad. Everyone is different. Everyone knows to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume. The problem is everyone's body and everyone's psychology is a little bit different.

In theory, if everyone was able to eat moderately, there would be no overweight people. I know plenty of people who know how to eat a balanced diet and cut back when they need to, and they never have a significant weight problem in their entire life. I find it's very difficult for them to understand serious weight issues.

I can only speak for myself, but it's not a simple "just eat less" for me. I think about it ALL day. It's an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol, but worse in some ways because you can't just stop eating.

I've been trying to lead a moderate lifestyle for a decade with no real improvement. For me, it's impossible to just have one cookie, or just have a small portion of pasta, or a tiny bit of ice cream. I don't do well with just a little bit, because all I can think about is that container sitting there with more in it, because then I go back for seconds and thirds and sixths. And then I feel miserable, like I already cheated so I might as well eat that other thing, or I'll start tomorrow, or Monday, or next week, and so on, and so forth.

I do much better on a severely restricted diet, like low carb. I have been on it for about a month and a half and have not cheated even a single time. I no longer focus on food all day, or daydream about ice cream or emotionally eat like I used to, because there's no pleasure in it like there used to be with my best friends Ben and Jerry. :) I think it's important if you struggle with weight to try to disconnect food with being happy, like I tend to do, and instead look at it as a way to fuel the body.

I plan to do a moderately low carb diet for the rest of my life, though not keto, and not as strict. I miss fruit like crazy and will eat that again, but don't need all the excess sugar and wheat that I was eating before. I have a lot more energy without it. But I will also make exceptions on special occasions, like my upcoming wedding and honeymoon where I do not plan to diet! :)

But, like I said, everyone is different, and each body responds in a different way to different food. I think everyone is intelligent enough to do their own research, get MD sign off and try it out.

DH and I need to get back completely on our diets. We've been pretty slack since we went on vacation.

chi83, my DH is very much like you. Low carb seems to work better for him than anything else. He was able to lose 30 lbs by going low carb and even though we haven't been really strict in he last few weeks, he's only gained about 5 lbs back. We don't keep any cookies, ice cream or anything in the house because it is very difficult for him to not keep going back for more. I also don't send him to the grocery store unless absolutely necessary for the same reason. We also think that he may be somewhat gluten sensitive. We weren't really trying to go gluten free, but following Atkins does that anyway. We found that DH has a lot less digestive problems when he avoids foods containing gluten.

DH's doctor lost a lot of weight on Atkins. He is very supportive and he's also been in the same situation. His view is that if helps you get your weight loss started that it can't really be any worse than just remaining overweight.

I, on the other hand, have found that regular Atkins does not work for me. I consume way too many calories for my body on that diet. I haven't even been successful with losing weight while in ketosis. I've found that a moderately low carb but calorie restricted diet works best for me. I stay away from bread, pasta, and similar carbs, but do eat fruits. It also helps me to eat three meals plus two small snacks during the day. Exercise is also a big component for me.

We stay away from processed foods as much as possible. We also try to focus on eating lots of fish, with some chicken and a little pork, while limiting red meat. Both of us have found that if we find too many occasions to not follow our diet, it becomes a pattern and we fall back into the same bad habits. We also have to severely restrict dining out.

You are right; everyone is different and their body responds differently. You have to figure out what works or doesn't for your body.

Keto isn't a fad diet. It's a life style change. Your bad cholesterol goes down. Your good cholesterol goes up. You want your good one to go up. There's been sooooooo much research done on it, that I'm confident it's the right thing for me. I watched a documetary online the other day and the guy in it did the keto thing for a month under a doctors supervision. His health was greatly improved by the end of the month. Even the doctor was surprised by that.

ANY diet will work. And ALL diets fail when you stop doing them. The thing with the keto diet is: it doesn't cost me any money. If I stop doing it and I gain it all back, it's no $$ lost. But I've lost hundreds of dollars by not keeping up with Weight Watchers. They are the only ones who benefited from my weight loss.

Atkins is similar to Keto. Keto is stricter.

I have lost a total of 45 lb. from my all time high. I was in a size 18...got down to 16 and stayed there forever. Then I went to a 14. I bought some size 14 jeans, and before I could wear them but once, I went to a size 12. I bought two pairs of size 12's and they are already too big for me, so I guess I am an 11 or 10.

I have not been on a diet, per se. I eat anything I want, but I eat very slow and eat less. If I want ice cream...I eat ice cream. I don't eat very many sweets...and once I clean my teeth in the evening, I don't eat any more because I don't want to get my teeth "dirty". I quit drinking diet soda and only drink regular now, if I drink it, and I do...and that is a lot of empty calories that I should cut out, but I think it is an addiction...hard for me to quit. I'd probably lose a lot more if I did cut it out. I don't care if I don't lose any more weight though. I am okay with where I am now.

Marilyn, that's how I keep my weight down, too - eat what I want, but in small amounts. For instance, when I fix a cheeseburger, I eat exactly half of it and put the rest in the fridge for another meal. Instead of potato chips, I eat raw snow peas. I eat one piece of french toast with syrup and real whipped cream, but only one. In other words, I eat until I feel satisfied, then I don't eat again until I'm hungry. If I think I feel hungry, I drink a bottle of water and see if that fills me up - most of the time, it does.

I am very active normally, walking the dogs twice a day, working in the yard and house, but these past few months, I've still put on about 7 pounds, which is normal at my age.

I will continue to monitor what the amount of food I eat as long as I am of sound mind. I LOVE sweets, so I don't have a choice - I have to limit the amount of food I eat - PERIOD!

Yes, it is hard to understand if you are not "addicted" to food. I have always watched what I eat and have been a lifetime WW member for years. I know people who are addicted and very over weight. What they don 't understand about me is that although I am a normal weight, it is a daily struggle. I would love to lose five pounds. At my age, it's very difficult.

I think the Keto diet is extreme. Any diet that is very high on one type of food and low on others to me is an extreme diet. I would be under a doctors care with this one and I would make it my religion to drink, drink and drink that water,
I am not a drinker and find it hard to incorporate water every day.

Chi, I hear where you are going from. you want to look your best for your wedding. But, what is your long range plan?

Portions:
I found my scale that is accurate in weighing food portions. I decided I wanted pasta and tomato sauce for dinner and guessed at what a portion of uncooked pasta was, then weighed it. I was WAY off. (My guess was about twice as much as what a portion really is).
So just for now while I get going, I am leaving the scale on the counter and also have a measuring cup to help me know, not guess, what a portion is. It's hard to face the truth but if I want results, that's what I need to do.

Ellendi, my long term plan is keto to lose the weight I want to, and then a maintenance plan of low to moderate carbs. I will bring back fruit and things like legumes and possibly rice. I will continue to try to minimize sugar and wheat products as I think that's healthiest.

I also will be trying to get pregnant later this year so I will re-evaluate my diet then as the baby's health is the priority. I also made sure to clear Keto with my doctor and she had no concerns as my blood work is all normal, and actually better than it was earlier this year. She'll continue to monitor me every 6 months, and of course I'll go by how I feel.

I think for keto there are some huge discrepancies in approaches. I read forums on it, and have seen people who have literally eaten nothing but steak for years, even bragging about not eating any vegetables in over 3 years. I think that is extreme. I like to take a more vegetable focused approach, and get my fat from as many plant sources as I can, via olive oil, coconut oil and avocado. Here's a typical day - I haven't calculated it but just an example of what I might eat if it hits my macros:

Breakfast: 3 eggs scrambled with lots of spinach and mushrooms and salsa, 2 veggie sausage
Lunch: Gigantic salad with vegetables, cheese, avocado and some kind of dressing
Lunch: Thai curry with curry paste, coconut milk, tofu, broccoli, cauliflower and other assorted veggies
Snack: nuts

This post was edited by chi83 on Sun, Jul 13, 14 at 18:06

Lucille, years ago WW weighed everything. They seem to be bringing the scale back. At a few meeting, the leader had a scale and did the talk around portions.

If you want results, you can't guesstimate. Like tonight, I used catsup. One TBS is 50 calories! If I went for two that would have been 100 just for a condiment.

We are used to very large portions. Again at WW they explain that a portion could be as big as your fist, which isn't really big at all.

Interesting too as we age we lose inches in our height. For years I thought I was 5'2''. I am actually only 5". I think I never really was 5"2'' and it was rounded up. I can understand losing 1 and 1/2 inches. A weight that seem okay way back when, really doesn't look the same on a shorter body.

My blender broke a while back and I have not replaced it. I was thinking of making some blended creations that might be good for snacks. Guess what I found? They now have mini blenders where you can drink from the same small container you just blended up your snack in!!!

I have been on every diet in the world. Some pretty strange ones...like the Shangril diet...where you drink oil before every meal. I actually lost weight and kept it off on that one...lost 11 pounds. I have been to WW and Overeater's Anonymous. I have done Diet Center, Chamberlain, cabbage soup, and on and on. Every diet you can think of...I have probably been on it. I found that when I try to diet, I become obsessed with food. I will pull out cook books and read them and spend my time looking up recipes on recipe sites. I have eaten until I thought I would have to throw up...although I didn't....I have never been bulimic but I was anorexic for a short while in my life, where due to stress, I stopped eating and got down to 103 lb. and wore a size 1. Oddly enough...that was when I started dieting and the more I dieted, the more I gained. I remember only having 4 pounds to lose to get down to my ideal weight and I couldn't even do that. So, I think I have been addicted to food, as I gained more and more, the more I tried to lose weight. If I had cake or pie in the house, I would just keep eating it....going back for one more bite. Just one more. I am not sure what tripped the lever for me. Well, I did want to lose to take pressure off my knees and I bought a new horse to ride. The way I started was to just eat slower. And then I realized that when eating out, the portions are much too large anyway, so I started sharing with my husband or bringing half of it home to eat later. I can truthfully say that this has been the only thing that worked for me over the long haul. And I can't believe that the solution has been so simple....at least for me, because I honestly did struggle with my weight for about 40 years!

Lucille, thank you for the motivation! I have gotten out of control with my eating! It's actually sickening to me how fat I am. I think I will give it a kick to the curb too!

Lucille, I've been using the NutriBullet for over a year. I whiz up a variety of fruits and veggies and other healthy ingredients every single day.

I started it not to lose weight, but to try to get control of my inherited predisposition for hypertension, high cholesterol, and type II diabetes. I've been eating a healthful diet for many years, but just couldn't make a big enough change in all of those problems! The NutriBullet made the difference.

Adding a protein powder enables the 'shake' to be a complete meal.

As for portion size, using the small plates will help. That's what I do for my husband who is working on shedding some pounds. It's been hard for him because he's surrounded by junk food opportunities at work all day. :-(

With Keto, you're supposed to eat a variety of food. Not just steak. That's stupid. I eat eggs, bacon, salads, veggies and meat. yeah, I know bacon is a meat, but it deserves a category of it's own. I bought some fresh raspberries today because I do need a little sweet, but will watch how many I eat. I'm down 4 pounds since Monday. I'm sure 90% of it is water. And it's been so hot here, I may have just sweated off the other 10%.....

Rhizo,

Thank you for your shake description. I've sent off for some protein powder, I'm going to make protein shakes as a nutritious snack. The powder comes in several flavors including chocolate:)

One thing I've found already is that weight loss for me is more difficult than when I was younger. If I try to eat too few calories I get tired and headachy, which impacts my ability to exercise more.

Those who point out that it is all a lifestyle change have made a good point. There is no question in my mind that it takes thought and planning to be more active. The elliptical I bought showed me just how much of an exercise wimp I have become, the first day I was only able to use it for a little while.

Success is a journey not a destination, just because my older body demands I take the slower scenic route instead of the freeway doesn't make the journey any less important.

You've got a tough but rewarding challenge ahead of you.

Set a time limit for yourself and the elliptical, something that is easily achieved. Every three days, increase the time by a couple of minutes. In a couple of weeks, you may be able to increase your time by 5 minutes every third day! Too much? Just scale back again.

I have a neighbor who started out just being able to walk a few feet around her house. Then, she started walking her driveway....a year later, she's walking swiftly around the whole block a couple of times!

Fighting the fat here too, pre-menopause and steroids for asthma make shedding the pounds a lot more difficult! I've dropped the 10 I gained over winter and am working on another 10 or 15. About the same for hubby. Good luck to everyone here, it's difficult but it can be done.

My cute mini blender arrived and I didn't want to wait for my Walmart order to get here (next week, shipping was free but slow) so I went to Walgreens and got some of the same kind of protein powder. Body Fortress (I think they were aiming at the sweatsox and weightlifting set with that name) Whey Protein. 21 servings a can for around $20 depending where you get it.

I got the powder in chocolate and I feel like I'm cheating on my diet.
1 scoop of powder, and I added a little no calorie sweetener, ice and about 12 oz water, blended for 30 seconds and flip blending container over, unscrew it and drink right out of it!!
I am ordering guar gum powder, a tiny bit (1/8 teaspoon) will make it thick like an ice cream shake.
Anyhow I thought I would review the blender, it is so cute, in case any of y'all want shakes as snacks.

I am eating small portions, writing down what I eat and its caloric value, and then not eating again until I'm hungry again.

I wish every success to any of y'all who have decided to change your lifestyle with exercise and eating less (and drinking shakes:)

I drink protein shakes too. I used Trader Joe's Whey Protein Powder. I don't like and won't use any kind of artificial sweetener. I also don't like stevia. I like making mine with 2% milk, but to make it lower calorie I've started using a coconut almond milk blend. The whole thing only has 175 calories, but 18 grams of protein, which I really need.

I've found that I must eat enough protein and snacks. If I ever let myself get really hungry, it's like I can't get full.

Now I just need to get back to exercising. Running and weight lifting are my preferred exercises. I won't have any problems with the weight lifting, but will have to ease back into running. Planning to start the Couch to 5k program very soon. Even though I stopped running due to an injury, I hate that I've lost that stamina. I used to run three miles with no problem and actually looked forward to it.

I found an interesting article about body response to weight loss. After researching a bunch of articles it is apparent that both regular exercise and cutting calories will initiate responses by the body to lower metabolism to prevent weight loss.
I saw in the article that some athletes will have a weekly 'refeed' day (Pie day!:) to help counteract this loss of metabolism.
I like the focus I've seen in many articles on slow sensible weight loss, and for me, becoming more fit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Body response to attempts to lose weight

Sigh. I'm sure that the changes I've made take some getting used to, it seems a mite discouraging to have gone through the first week and only lost a pound, but I guess my body doesn't care how much work it is to change bad habits.

I want a magic weight loss wand!! (jk)

I'm on day six of the Keto plan, and down 6.2 pounds. I find cutting calories, and counting points the WW's way was harder than this. I was always hungry on WW's. It's hard to live off of 22 points a day, even when I did use my bonus points on top of that, which worked out to 5 a day. I know they've changed it up a lot since my last meeting but the only people who seriously benefited from me going to WW's was WW's as they made $18 a week off of me. And I stopped going and gained it all back. With Keto, I don't spend any more money to lose the weight. I'm eating full fat food and am not hungry between meals. I'm actually having a hard time getting in the amount of fats I need. I've retricted my carbs to 20 a day. Yesterday I found a low carb store in Calgary and they carry no fat/no sugar pudding. The chocolate has 8 carbs per serving (1/4 cup), so on the days I can't get all of them in, I can make some pudding. I'm thinking of freezing it in 1/4 cups containers and eating them like pudding pops later. I'm getting my veggies in each day. We usually have ceasar salad with our meals instead of rice or potato. And I feel better already. I haven't had bread or cereal, rice or potatoes since Sunday last week. The best part is: not one Pepsi. Not one bag of chips. No popcorn. No bad chocolate (I do have one square of Lindt 85% dark chocolate every other day). I even tried a coffee bullet this morning. I think it's something I'll only have on the weekends. It looks like a latte, but has a nutty flavour and is very filling. I bought a whipped cream maker thingie (they use them at Starbucks), because I LOVE whipping cream in my coffee and that is something I grew up on and can have with Keto without feeling guilty.

My next adventure: trying a quest bar. I can feel the texture through the package and I'm already thinking I won't like it. But it's the cookies & cream one and it's the #1 seller and my daughters favourite so I said I would give it a shot. I've been staring at it since 6:30 this morning....... ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Quest Cookies & Cream bar

Lucille, thank you for starting and sharing this thread for everyone to share their stories. I hope next allows you to see more pounds off. It is so hard to be patient when we work so hard.

Debby_ab, I looked in to the keto diet after you posted about it and your daughter's photos. That would be a tough diet for me! I love my carbs, and I am not a huge carnivore. I could maybe live on cheese though. :) It's great you feel full between meals. Snacking is a difficult battle to win.

I'm down 10 pounds in the last month or so. I started in mid-June, but I don't know the exact date. I'm walking, cut back on soda, drinking lots of water, having smaller meals by eating only until full and only when hungry, and I am having a lot less sweets. I know I have to eat regular meals and foods, but I don't have to eat until I am going to pop. It's seems to be working for me so far, and I feel better.

debby_ab, I actually like the Quest bars. I haven't tried any of the ones with sucralose because I can't stand the stuff. These are one of the few products I've found with stevia that doesn't really have a stevia aftertaste for me. I don't eat them on a regular basis, but I do keep a couple at the office for those days when I just didn't get any lunch together. They're certainly a better choice than anything from our vending machine! I like the lemon, coconut cashew and banana nut ones. The cinnamon is good but has a little too much stevia aftertaste for me.

I like the thinkThin bars too. They are comparable to the Quest in protein (20 g) and sugar (0 g). They do have app. 24 g of net carbs, though, so a lot more than the Quest. If I'm pretty low carb at breakfast and dinner it's not an issue. They are also much lower in fiber than the Quest. They are more like a candy bar, so it's like a treat without the guilt. I really like the chocolate espresso.

debby_ab, I admire you. 20 grams of carbs daily is difficult to stick to. I don't crave pie, cake, bread or pasta when I go that low carb. Instead I crave fruit. Doing the grocery shopping is torture, especially if I go to Whole Foods, because they often have samples of their fruit out. That, plus the fact that really low carb doesn't seem to work well for me, was why I decided to moderate my carb intake but watch my calories more. I think I was actually eating too many calories on the low carb plan. I was definitely in ketosis but not losing the kind of weight others describe. I stayed below 20 g of carbs for two weeks and still lost less than five lbs. DH's weight just drops right off when he's that strict about carbs.

This post was edited by kittiemom on Sun, Jul 20, 14 at 20:27

I am trying to get back to a " normal" portion size, since my bicycle trip is over. It's such a hard thing to do, after one was able to eat HUGE portions for a month.

Moni

I thought I would try keto. It's just not for me. There is an induction phase and many call it the 'induction flu' because the body needs time to gear up to burn fats instead of dietary carbs and during this time, there is for many a loss of energy. I could not get through it. I felt ill, could not do anything, could not even walk the dogs. Enough of that.
I'm back on my regular diet and have a pile of mulch to move into the garden for exercise, it's about 2/3 moved. I'm going to stick to reducing caloric intake and increasing exercise.

I started Keto last week Monday and feel fine. I wasn't a fan of the texture of the Quest bar. I did give it an honest try, eating about 3/4s of the bar. On Wednesday, I went into work late and woke up really early, so I scrambled 3 eggs with 1T whipping cream and fried it in 1T grass fed butter. I hate butter. So I added a 1/2 tsp of saracha sauce on it just as they were almost done cooking in the pan and mixed it well. They were so good, and kept me full for hours. I find with this, I don't obsess about food the way I did on Weight Watchers. I am on Pinterest a lot looking for more new recipes to try. Today it was boneless/skinless chicken breast marinated in Franks hot sauce then grilled. I even dipped them in Ranch dressing, which I've never been a fan of, then realized today: it's good. ;) I cannot get past the taste of sour cream. My daughter throws it on everything to get her fats in. I need to find a way to make it taste better. I'm down 7 pounds this morning, going up and down a pound here and there, but that's okay. I weight 7 pounds less than I did 2 weeks ago.

For me, the hard part is eating enough fat to lose the weight. And keeping the protein down. Too much protein turns into carbs and I'm able to keep the carbs down quite well.

Woody and I started the low carb/high fat keto "diet" about 10 days ago. Within 3 days, I was in ketosis. :) I had one day early on where I felt head-achey so I upped my caffeine and that made it better. Neither one of us have a lot of weight to lose, fortunately, but I have to think that not eating bread and sugar will only be good for us. So far, I'm down a couple of pounds and so is he. The best part is, we are not hungry at all between meals, we aren't thinking about food much and we are enjoying trying new recipes. I made some chicken wings last night that were SO good with a fresh salad with blue cheese dressing, we were stuffed and happy. I've never made wings before and probably have only eaten them twice in my life, but these were really yummy. I think it's important to not get bored with your meals.

I'm glad we have a Sam's Club membership because the price of heavy whipping cream is way high at the regular grocery! HWC is used a lot when eating this way. It's weird buying things that I've avoided for years, but when I think about it, I've only gained weight while trying to eat the "healthy" way, whole-grains, low fat, lean meats. So it makes sense to try this way. I've seen hundreds of photos of people who have dropped enormous amounts of weight by being on the keto diet. It obviously works!

I am glad that the keto diet is working for y'all. It did not work for me.
I think as chi83 posted way back at the beginning, everyone is different.
I personally think it is OK to post our failures as well as our successes, so that those who come after us can realize that if they have difficulties with one method, that's OK, and they can try something else.
Knowledge is power.
I hope all will be successful at their weight loss /new lifestyle adventures.
I'm 2 pounds down now. Maybe it will take longer for me than for others. I'm happy for them, and I'm going to keep up my efforts on behalf of myself.

For those not in the 'know' of the Ketogenic way of eating, this is an informative site.

Here is a link that might be useful: Keto

Congratulations everyone for losing weight! I weighed in this morning, and I am down another 2.6 pounds for a total of 12.6. I bought 2 new pairs of jeans, 1 size down just the other day as I start back to teaching in just a couple weeks. I find that if I listen to my body, eat when I am hungry, stop eating when I am full and keep myself busy with other activities that I am not hungry in between meals. Next, I need to ramp up the exercise, which is the plan starting this week.

Isn't the Keto diet exactly the same as low carb? If so, I can tell you that it's a fantastic diet both for weight loss and blood work improvement!!