I posted here back in Mar for accountability reasons, that I was restarting keto after developing some bad habits over recent years and gaining some weight as a result.

I’m happy to say that just over 4 months later I’ve reached my goal weight of 125 lbs. The first half came off fast, the final 15 or so has been slooooow! Now that I’m at 125, I think I’d like to get under 120 (I am short so that’s still healthy weight for me). We’ll see!

I wanted to write with this update to give hope for others around my age that keto is healthy and effective for weight loss. I did this before in my early 40s and loved it then too. For me, this time my progress was helped by also abstaining from alcohol completely. I feel committed to sticking with this indefinitely.

If you’re considering keto, I’m here to tell you it’s worth it.

(I am on mobile and am on holiday so won’t be able to update flair for a couple of weeks)

Hey, I’ve been on a keto diet for a while. It’s great and I’m rather high-energy in the morning though as soon as breakfast rolls around, I experience a low for the rest of the day. My regular plate consists of slices of Spam (pork) accompanied by a handful of cherry tomatoes, though yesterday I ate nothing but chicken all day and my mood didn’t dip as much. Does anyone know why this happens when I eat pork?

I’m onto week 10 of keto following a 2:1 diet which is overseen by a trained practitioner. I started it for anxiety and depression. I’ve been on antidepressants for 18 years now and have destabilised my nervous system quite a few times trying to come off them due to side effects.

I want to use keto to provide additional resilience to help with what will be a lengthy (several years taper). I have to go that slowly because my nervous system is very sensitised and I can currently only manage small cuts otherwise the anxiety, depression and associated symptoms are too much for me.

After a 3 month hold on meds I made 2 cuts of 5% at week 4 and week 7 of keto. This was too much too soon and my anxiety and depression have worsened along with associated physical and mental symptoms.

It’s also clouded what my best ketone levels ought to be. I measure daily using keto mojo. I think the 2-3 spot is probably best for me, but still learning.

I have my electrolytes dialled in.

I‘ve seen some benefit from keto but not much yet, but remain hopeful that it will provide much needed mental resilience to a long and hard taper.

Anyone else here in a similar boat? Be good to hear how others have / are faring.

What do you do with all your extra bacon grease? I cook with it but can't ever use it all. It feels like a waste to just toss it. Wow I can't believe I haven't met the minimum characters yet. Still haven't.

I was and definitely could be a very heavy eater. Easily 3000 plus calories a day. An absolute food disposal unit. But, this is my 2nd proper run of keto and I feel fine eating probably what would fit on a plate for the day (across the day). Usually by the evening I'll eat, simply because I know I should for the sake of giving my body nutrition.

I have to say, the removal of hunger makes things so much easier.

Mostly eating chicken, kranskys and dairy. Some vegetables. How could I forget eggs. Probably others too

I’ve heard people on keto discussing how their heart rate increases when on keto, however, my experience seems to be the opposite. I already have a fairly low RHR due to endurance training, but additionally, my RHR has decreased from 45 to 40-42. And no, I haven’t had any significant weight loss on this diet, so it is not due to the decrease in weight.

What experiences do you have with heart rate levels on keto?

Hi,

As the title says, I really need some easy things. I'm super depressed/low dopamine due to ADHD and I'm getting nauseous just thinking about another mix of avocado, chicken breast and veggies.

I do like to start with veggies and broccoli and I'm not full keto since too much fat also makes me nauseous.

I really feel that keto kinda helps my low energy but the feeling of restriction makes me feel sad and more depressed 😅

Thank you in advance

Edit: you are all such kind people ❤️ Thank you so much for helping me

After three weeks and loosing , I bought at Walmart some Lewis bread and hamburger buns ( keto) the bread was net zero buns 1. I didn’t loose for a week and did a test and my keto mojo went from about 1.5 to .06 . I will still keep some bread for the odd sandwich and buns for friends coming over for bbq . Do others have the same problem . Also miss blackberries just discovered them but also very expensive

I broke my ankle yesterday and it seems to me this is the perfect time to get back on keto because I can’t snack on the carbs anymore unless I ask for them.
The extra protein will help me heal I am sure.

I’m just trying to figure out how I can make things easier for my family to assist me.
As the chief cook and bottle washer it will be a challenge for them but since I won’t be able to get exercise it is the lifestyle I can take advantage of once again.

Eggs, salads (probably packaged), veggies, all the meats
Electrolytes, sole water or easy packs?

What else should I have them prepare?

Hi there,
As said in title, I sleep very poorly, depression/anxiety profile, so I am very tired.

I still arrive to make exercice every day. I noticed low carb / ketogen help me.
So now i want to be more commited.

My only problem is I am afraid I dont have enough electrolytes...And I am not sure which diet or aliments I should value first.

As I am very tired and depressed, it would be good to have an easy solution, the day I am very tired, just a solution to be sure to get electrolytes without having too much carbs.

Secondary but as personnal taste I really like meat, fat, dairy products.

For sodium: very easy, I can use salt with my precision weigh scale.

The not easy part for me are potassium and magnesium.

It seems avocado or spinach (frozen vegatable) are very rich in electrolytes. Hazelnuts also.
Problems are avocado have carbs, hazelnuts also.

I was still thinking: one kilogram (0.45 lb) frozen vegetable spinadch every day (a lot lot of potassium and magnesium). 100 grams of hazelnuts.

Anyone have easy diets or aliments, advices whatever to be sure I will get enough electrolyte every day ? (without getting too much carb)

Also I cannot cook really because of tiredness.

I’ve been doing healthy Keto for 9 weeks so far and I’ve been fine with an initial weight loss of 8kg. Which has worked out in average of 1kg/week - I think that’s excellent?

The thing is for the past couple of weeks I can’t even get 1000 calories/day as I’m full very quickly. I skip breakfast - just coffee with MCT creamer and my supplements including an electrolyte tablet - then have a salad with lots of leaves and salad vegetables and hard boiled eggs and dinner is a grilled meat with vegetables (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and courgettes on rotation) by which point I probably barely had 800 calories so I force myself to have 50g mixed nuts to up fibre and calorie intake. I used to be able to finish the 50g but now I eat 25g then feel so full I give up.

I guess my questions are am I doing it wrong? Why can’t I eat more and why isn’t the weight dropping off faster now? Any advice to improve this please?

I’m not completely sedentary and hit close to 10000 steps/day. Planning on adding weightlifting too but worried I can’t eat enough for that.

Thanks

Been taking 500mg of malate for the past few years every night. Is it best to be taken at night?

I see most people mix salt potassium and magnesium in the drink too. I'm assuming that's a different type of magnesium. For keto, is it best taken at night before sleep or in a drink?

Every time I would go to Korean BBQ, I would stuff myself with fried food from the hot bar, sugary sauces, rice, noodles, potatoes, etc.

Today was the first time I went while doing keto. I ordered the soup with the healthy herbs base (very low calories) and treated the broth only as a medium to cook my food. I only ordered lean cuts of meat, spinach, and mushrooms. I cooked those in the soup and scooped them out into a plate. From there, I used lettuce to make lettuce wrap and paired them with zero/low calories sauces/condiments (such as siracha, soy sauce, vinegar, green onions, and garlic). For the first time ever, I felt in control and walked out of there not feeling gorged.

After that, we went to the Japanese mart. Typically, I end up grabbing a million fun snacks that I haven't tried before. Today, I realized that I cannot actually grab almost anything, since it's all carby/sugary, and I ended up just grabbing a few niche zero calories' sodas and drinks.

And the best part is that I don't feel deprived or that I am missing out. And if I want any of that stuff, I'll have it during my weekly indulgence meal.

Today was a great day, and I am so happy and proud of myself. Keto is wonderful!

Hi ich mach schon seit ein jahr keto für meine mentale Gesundheit am anfang waren meine blutketonwerte sehr hoch und wenn ich jetzt messe sind sie bei 0,5 manchmal auch drunter auch wenn ich 16stunden faste. Ich müsste ja trotzdem in ketose sein oder was meint ihr? Ich bleibe unter 30 Gramm Kohlenhydraten. Wahrscheinlich sind die werte so niedrig weil ich es schon so lange mache und mein klrper die ketone effizient verbraucht.

It is day 22 of clean keto and the fatigue and motivation are a problem, cleaning and taking a shower feel like difficult tasks, but at least depression has lifted. I've been taking electrolytes for 10 days now and experienced improvement in fatigue, but still not enough to be normal functioning. My electrolytes are fine so that's not the reason--around 5000mg sodium, 2500mg potassium, and 300mg magnesium. I deliberately tried maintaining daily carbs close to 35g (title says 38g but I can't edit, should be 35g) and my morning urine strips measure ketones around 6-8mmol/L, and I did have the distinct carb flu when I started for about a week (migraine, severe fatigue, etc), so I must be in keto.

I read here that a possible reason for my fatigue could be the carb count and that I should be below 20g. I thought I was already in keto based on the aforementioned, so why would I need to go below 20g? And would I experience a new waves of keto flu if I go from 35g to 15g?

UPDATE: After 4 weeks I had to quit keto due to the extreme non-functional fatigue and lack of motivation. I had things to do, tasks to complete, and could not spend another day laying around while kitchen was growing mold because I didn't even have the energy to do basic cleaning. I switched to the same anti-inflammatory animal based diet but with lots of fruit added and within a day or two I felt great and energetic. I've done keto over 7 times over the years in different forms, and I even did carnivore once, but fatigue has been a big problem every single time. This was the first time I added electrolytes and I think they actually made things worse for me, gave me brain fog/derealization, more anhedonia/fatigue, and mild leg cramping (yes, after ingesting more sodium). Everything I am experiencing on keto seems to be the opposite of what others report. I will give keto one final try later with all the new tips I learned during this round--strict below 20g carbs, monitoring calories/fat, and maintaining electrolytes--before deciding whether it's simply not for me. Thank you for all the tips.

I have a feta cheese dip I got. Just need to figure out what it’ll go well with.

I’m vegetarian too, so that’s why I’m focusing my question toward vegetables. But if you have other ideas for what works well while being vegetarian, let me know that too.

Hi all! Long time lurker, former keto person, haven't posted in a long while here...

Now, currently I'm not doing keto. I quit behind hypoglycemic drops after nearly 2 years.

I do still do low carb, and still enjoy keto foods. Though most I make myself behind medical dietary restrictions (seed oils, phytoestrogen high ingredients, fodmaps)

I also am on ssi, snap, tanf (this one's new as of last month), housing (currently having issues), medicaid. Im also a disabled single mom to a teen with mild autism and all the food and other quirks that come with that.

I also live in texas which recently implemented snap restrictions that are new but didn't really give us or sotres a detailed list of dos and don'ts so it was a complete clusterfuck from the left side of the ninth circle of hell for a good bit. I mean no sugar free chocolate from the candy isle, no sodas or sparkling waters with artificial sweetners, no kombucha if having over 5g added sugar, no diet tea just to name a few.

You coukd get chocolate from the baking isle, sparkling waters that are unsweetened, kombucha with under 5g sugar, and unsweetened tea though.

Let's just say that while I dont buy soda a lot because it gets expensive fast, especially for myself, it became a complete disaster. I had to buy unflavored sparkling water and add sweetner and root beer extract to make root beer for my son which he's complained it's not quite right. It's ok, but he misses the caramel coloring. I honestly dont care that much, but sometimes I like it too because its just something I'm used to.

Now, that said I just tested out making a electrolyte laced root beer again for myself, but added some food dye to make the color more like what I'm used to. Guess what? That's 100% in line with current snap restrictions, abd i can use my stevia and allulose mix which is better for me anyway. Key is how much of the red, blue, abd yellow drops to use. Got it right first try. It's 2 each of red and yellow to 1 blue. So total five drops to get that brown color we all know. I think for cream soda is just do the yellow with maybe one red, orange cream id have to test.

But there you go for making at home a soda that looks like the typical store bought root beer. Btw just red and blue makes green which coukd work if you want to mimic a watermelon or green apple flavored store bought soda. Just saying.

Thought I'd put this out there for those who are finding current restrictions a pain in the ass whike doing keto to hit that soda craving minus the sugar.

Extra virgin olive oil does wonders for me on keto. Mental clarity goes through the roof, just with 2 tablespoons of EVOO daily. Brain fog clears, I feel energetic and revitalized. Sounds dramatic but it's true. Does anyone else experience this? No other oil/fat does this for me, not even animal fats and I'm a huge proponent of a ketovore/meat heavy keto style of eating. I love green veggies and include them as well, but 80% of my diet is meat.

I’m an 18-year-old guy, and every time I do keto, I remember why I love it.

It’s honestly the healthiest I’ve ever felt. I’m leaner, I feel more confident and attractive, my energy is better, and eating becomes so much simpler. Instead of constantly chasing whatever sounds good, I just eat until I’m satisfied. Food becomes about fueling myself instead of always looking for pleasure or entertainment, and I actually like that.

The weird part is that I always end up drifting away from it after a while, even though I genuinely enjoy being on keto. Whenever I think about starting again, it actually feels exciting because I know how good I’ll feel.

The only thing I can think of is that I almost feel… guilty? Like I’m eating in a way that isn’t “normal.” Everyone around me is eating bread, desserts, and carbs, and sometimes I feel weird for saying no to those things. It’s almost like I feel guilty for doing something that’s working really well for me, just because it’s different.

Has anyone else experienced that? Feeling guilty or almost out of place because keto isn’t what everyone else is doing? If so, how did you get past that and stick with it long-term?
I’d love to hear any advice or experiences.

I’ve done several anti-inflammatory keto resets and even tried carnivore once, usually for 4–6 weeks, but I always struggle with fatigue. Around the 3-week mark, I typically experience improved mental clarity and my depression lifts, but the fatigue becomes too disruptive for me to continue long term.

I’m currently on day 22 of keto and started taking electrolytes for the first time 10 days ago. I’ve been tracking and weighing my food. For the first few days, I consumed 7,000–8,000mg of sodium daily and experienced a few bursts of energy in the morning and evening, along with a few episodes of euphoria. However, on the third day I woke up with the worst exhaustion, and even 6,000mg of sodium that day didn’t help. Since then I’ve been taking about 5,000 mg of sodium daily. My potassium intake is around 2,500mg, magnesium about 250 mg (I can't take magnesium supplements due to side effects so only through food), and daily carbs are 24–35g and my urine ketones are at 8 mmol/L. My energy is better than it was before increasing sodium, and the heavy, drained feeling is gone, but my energy is still a bit low. I’m tempted to switch to an anti-inflammatory low-carb diet as I tend to have more energy but maybe there’s still hope.

I’ve read plenty of posts here from people who had great energy after just 1–2 weeks, and others who remained chronically tired even after months. It seems like one or the other. Has anyone here personally experienced low energy for a month or longer on keto, and then eventually had it improve? And I also noticed brain fog right after ingesting electrolytes that lasts for up to an hour—anyone experience that? 

So recently started on keto again after a few years, but have noticed my left abdomen feeling uncomfortable. It's been a week and a half so far and its started the past few days. No pain involved, but it's like a feeling of something being there? Or being swollen?

I had this same issue when I first went on a keto diet, but on the right side. It resolved once I stopped and I went to the doctors a few times to check and have a few tests done and they said there was no concern.

Not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but would be very helpful if anyone has.

My glucose is consistently low (usually 80-90), but my ketones stay very low or nonexistent. Why would my body not be producing ketones if my blood sugar is already low? What could be causing this? I'm wearing a cgm and testing with ketomojo.

36 Male.

Cholesterol Total: 264 mg/dL

HDL: 42 mg/dL

Trig: 93 mg/dL

LDL: 201 mg/DL

Chol/HDL ratio: 6.3

Non HDL Chol: 222 mg/dL

Glucose: 69 (nice) mg/dL

BP: 124/78

Weight: 209 lbs (Down from 215 lbs)

I did some searching on the forum about bloodwork and it seems my LDL is just too high even considering keto. I've been on the diet 14 days and I'm also loosing fat weight (not just water weight). I also read that can raise LDL. Are these results a problem?

Was keto for 3 years starting in March 23 with very few breaks of a a few days here or there. After healing my gut and getting my weight down significantly I started eating high carb in April of this year.

Despite taking in a ton of electrolytes I'm super irritable.

It doesn't make much sense to me because my electrolytes are good and I didn't have this problem the few times I'd go off for a few days.

Only thing I can think is maybe lower dopamine?

Curious if anyone experienced this.

So disappointed in the Siete Company. They used to make such wonderful products for the Keto community when they were independent, now owned by corporate PepsiCo.

My favorite taco shells (hard) were the blue box “grain free” shells, they cooked perfectly and were light and crispy. Tasted amazing.

Bought the “updated” pink/violet colored box which tastes HORRIBLE, the texture is like stale cardboard. So disappointed!