Re kidney stones, no need to avoid calcium...you need to eat what you need.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/5-steps-for-preventing-kidney-stones-201310046721

Also look into complete protein vegetables like soy and quinoa. A lot of soy isn't good for you unless it's fermented...the way the Asians eat it.

A true keto diet is less than 50 grams of carbs a day. Some people eat only 20 grams. I think that would be really hard to do if you're a vegetarian or ate limited meat. Also, minimal dairy on keto. Things like cheese and heavy whipping cream are good, but milk and yogurt has too many carbs. I belong to a site call dietdoctor.com, which is a low-carb/keto site. It's a pay site, but there are things you can access for free. And you can also try it for free. There is a lot of good information on it.

Thanks for the ideas. I love lentils and quinoa but unfortunately they have too many carbs for keto.

My kidney stones are caused by too much calcium. It took me 10+ years to figure out my 4 attacks came after supplementing calcium. I don't do that anymore but I did form another stone after eating too much dairy a couple of years ago. I still eat dairy every day but a lot of the keto recipes I see are dripping in cheese.

Thanks for the site, sleeper. I do think vegetarian keto will be more difficult but I have insulin resistance and pcos and everything I've read suggests low carb is the best approach, so I want to give it a try. I've been using Reddit as a resource and they even have a vegetarian keto subreddit.

Re diabetes, my GF is prediabetic and she went strict lo carb. Then she added a few carbs and found her blood sugar was actually better. The liver will make glucose if you don't eat enough so, while carbs are good to avoid, you can overdo that too.

When you avoid carbs and the liver produces sugar, it can only produce so much, and then alternative fuels, ketones, are produced. When I was doing keto (and I should probably go back to it) I was eating 15-20 g/day of carbs.

I tried a very low carb diet when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but it was too much too soon. I am balancing out my carbs and allowing myself a carb snack if my main meals are low carb. I also found if I totally get rid of carbs, because of my condition. the liver freaks out and produces too much sugar, especially overnight.

The liver doesn't produce sugar from an absence of carbs. Eating too much protein will cause gluconeogenesis, or the making of glucose. So when eating low carb or ketogenic one cannot eat too much protein and thus has to eat high quality fat. The problem with a true keto diet is eating too many calories. Yes, calories do count. I could not maintain a true keto diet because i ate too much and gained weight.

I'm going to try it for a few weeks and see how I feel. I will track calories, because I do remember how quickly they can add up! Especially when you start trying to recreate things like pizza crust and taco shells made of cheese.

For me, hitting my protein numbers will be the challenge within carb limits. I do get tired of eggs!

Liver glucose production

Chi, it's amazing that you quite often eat fewer calories because the healthy fats and protein fill you up and keep you feeling full a lot longer than processed foods do. Some people forget to eat. LOL Today I had my 'bullet proof' coffee for breakfast. I do not like eating when I wake up, so that's my go to 'meal'. No nutrition, but it's full of fat and tastes good: coffee, with coconut oil, butter, heavy whipping cream and a little (a capful) of mocha sugar free sweetener. It keeps me full until lunch time. Today I had two eggs cooked in the microwave along with 2 strips of bacon and a cup of bone broth soup and six hours later we had supper and I struggled to finish my meal. I should figure out how many calories I ate today, but I do not want anything else.

Thanks for sharing, Debby. Do you eat any vegetables? I know some keto people believe vegetables are unnecessary and even harmful (I don't agree) but I love them and I don't think I could give up how many I eat, except for things like potatoes.

I know that a lot of keto eaters will eat a lot of veggies... just not the starchy ones. They'll also avoid fruit except for avocado.

I thought I'd update this thread. I started officially yesterday, so today is day 2. I took a test and I'm already in ketosis, dark purple.

I'm coping fine but I'm really having trouble with my protein. I'm supposed to eat 120g and I'm getting half that. The problem is my fake meat has a few carbs so I have to limit my portions. I can only eat so many eggs, haha. I'm trying to get my veggies up too but they also have carbs. I'm aiming for 20g net carbs a day but I'm not beating myself up if I go over slightly, like I did today.

Yesterday I had coffee with cream, 2 eggs with butter, a protein shake, a cup of broth, and for dinner I made swedish meatballs (veg) and cauliflower puree. 1500 calories, 19 net carbs.

Today I had some cheese, some leftover meatballs, soup with broth, loads of spinach, cream and butter, macadamia nuts and dinner is chicken (veg) with mustard cream sauce and roasted brussel sprouts. 1800 calories and 24 net carbs.

I do feel a little shaky but I think that's partly due to my electrolytes being off and maybe my metformin. I've started using some light salt for potassium (carefully), and I supplement magnesium so hopefully that will help.

I never heard of it. Is it a new weight loss diet?

No, it's just a subset of low carb eating.

I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but I'm on day 6 of my keto journey. I think the dumb flu is behind me as I'm feeling pretty good. I found some low carb tortillas that are making my life a lot easier. I've been experimenting with restaurant food and I've found some good options that keep me in ketosis. I can request no sugar at our local Chinese restaurant, and I found a really good veggie burger at The Counter yesterday and ate it over a loaded salad.

As of today, I've lost 14 pounds in 6 days! I know it's just water weight and that it's not sustainable, but it's still pretty motivating to see the scale move!

That's great, Chi! You're right about it being motivating. Even more motivating is realizing your clothes are starting to have a loose fit!

For a surprisingly good bread substitute, you might want to try making Oopsie Rolls. Made of eggs and cream cheese, they work nicely for those times a person wants a sandwich. I have found that they hold up best if the sandwich contains mostly dry ingredients. Or, if there is something wet like a tomato, put it in between the dry stuff. It the rolls get wet, they start to crumble. They also don't toast very well.

Oopsie Rolls

Good luck, I think you'll find that it gets pretty easy to eat this way once you get used to it.

Thanks Dawn. I'm loving the tortillas because while I can't stomach straight eggs anymore, I can handle a breakfast burrito just fine. I will have to try those rolls. I ordered some bagels online that I am curious about. I also found some cauliflower pizza crust at Whole Foods that was pretty good once loaded with toppings.

I should probably stop trying to replace everything bad that I used to like with low-carb alternatives and instead focus on whole foods, but it's such a drastic change for me that I'm doing what I can to stick with it, even if it's not ideal. Like you said, maybe once I get used to it i'll simplify my eating.

It's funny - I would have thought that it was my sweet tooth that was my downfall but it's clear that it's the bread that I'm missing. I haven't wanted anything sweet, probably because I hate the taste of artificial sweeteners and stevia.

My original goal was under 20 net carbs but i've adjusted it to 30, which helps because my meat replacements all have a few carbs, and I'm able to eat a lot of vegetables (my brussels sprouts were taking up half of my daily carbs). Seems to still be working.

A question about this. Years ago I was having a terrible problem with bad breath and my body actually smelled like I had been drinking. My doctor told me that it was caused by too many ketones. Finally got it under control but have been reading until now comments about this type of diet. Those that have been on the diet has anyone noticed "drinkers breath" on you? I have lost weight but have stabilized so wondering about trying this type of diet/lifestyle.

I personally haven't experienced it, at least not yet, but I know it's a common issue for some people. I do have a weird taste in my mouth sometimes but it's not unpleasant.

I think extra water can help, and I think it gets better in time.

I never noticed that either, unless my husband and friends are too kind to clue me in! I sometimes noticed dry mouth and made a point to drink more water than usual.

Chi, I don't think I would have made it without the bread substitutes, so don't feel bad for using those to help you get through this period. I lost 25 pounds by going low carb and February will be two years.

I have gained back five pounds but that was due to not being able to move around much because of a very bad knee sprain/broken tibia back in August. It's healed enough now that I've been able to start walking and doing yoga and I've noticed that my pants are not as tight so I think that weight gain has started to come off.

Now that I'm on maintenance, I sometimes indulge in a treat like fries, bread, pasta and even something extra special like cheesecake or pie, but I no longer crave those things. It really does work.

Thank you. I must avoid soy if possible but most of the other things mentioned above sound good.

Pinterest has lots of good keto recipes, along with that dietdoctor site I posted earlier. Some decent bread substitutes.

Oh, and great job on the weight loss!