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Originally Posted by wufwugy
Start here. This book is where most info on keto comes from http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/the-ketogenic-diet/
You are right that it is tough to get good information by reading blokes on the internet. But if you don't want to read a book, you will get a lot of quality info from FAQs on r/keto, r/ketogains, and some articles that top google.
This happens to most people when first starting keto. When the body is used to getting its energy from glucose from food (carbs), it doesn't go down without a fight when it doesn't get that glucose. The switch to fat oxidation and ketones for energy can be tough for some and easy for others. It comes in stages, with generally each several days being easier than the previous. Carb cravings during the early phase of the diet do come, but they're infrequent and short-lived, and they're often also a product of consuming too few minerals, too little water, or simply not eating high enough calories. After about a week, most people experience hunger blunting and a distaste for carbs. The ketosis state makes the body not crave food like it used to since the body doesn't use food for energy directly anymore. This is the main reason why it's effective as a weight loss tool; keto-adapted people often find it hard to eat enough food because they're just not hungry since their bodies get energy from fat cells primarily. This also coincides with a distaste for sweets. After being a good 3 weeks deep into keto, I found that I really did not want to eat breads and desserts, not because they were not a part of my diet, but because they didn't seem appetizing. Everybody experiences this to a degree.
If that works, then go for it. The important thing about calorie counting is to do it very slowly. Very, very slowly and consistently. Like, plan on only losing half a pound every two weeks or something. The reason for this is that dropping calories too much triggers major cravings. This is probably the main reason people fail on diets. They drop calories too much and their body panics. Keto sidesteps this to a significant degree by blunting hunger.
If you choose keto, this is pretty much all you need to know: keep below 50 net carbs (carbs minus fiber) a day, but try for below 20 at first. Make sure you're getting enough electrolytes: sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium. This typically involves adding Lite Salt and a mag supplement, which are things people should typically use even on a traditional western diet anyways. Drink a little more water than usual. Consume about 1.5 gram per kilogram of lean body mass in protein and the rest in fats. Don't cut calories that much (or at all) during the adaptation phase (first 3 months). Calorie cuts happen naturally during the adaptation phase, but that's when bouts of hunger can also come, so respond to them by upping calories with fats instead of breaking the diet. It's after you feel good on keto, when your hunger is blunted and you have no energy swings and have constant mental clarity for a couple weeks that it becomes easy to cut calories.
Try to do this for 3 months. If you don't want to do that, try for at least 1 month. If you can only give it 1 week, well, you're going to have a pretty jaded view of it because people who quit then do so because it's "too hard." But nobody quits after 3 months because it's too hard, since by that time the hard is completely gone. There is a large range of reaction to keto. Some people feel fantastic after just one day; others need the full 3 month phase to get there.
So I've counted calories for 8 days now with no intention on losing a lot of weight and I'm at 1427kcal average. I account that to being lazy as fuck and when I have to weight, look up, multiply and write down everything I eat I'm more likely to go: fuck that, I'll just drink more water instead.
No major cravings. Except for gummi bears, so I bought gummi bears.
I still want to try keto since Joe Rogan has such a hardon for it, but I'll get down to my ideal weight first.
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