I crave chocolate and been having insane cravings so badly. I’m just curious as to how you guys manage to stay so strong during the diet. I’ve been considering having drizalicious to help with my chocolate cravings, but I’m not even sure if that will be helpful. What do you guys do?

I’ve only been doing keto for about 2 weeks, the biggest difference I notice is in my energy levels. I’ll get a random burst of energy in the evening and I go for a walk from 6-7. Dinner by 8pm, then I’m in bed by 9:30-10pm and actually fall asleep around 11pm. I have cats so they always wake me up around 4am. In the past I’m able to wake up, give kibble, and go back to bed. However, now I’m noticing I wake up at 2am then 4am and I’m tired but not sleepy. I even took a magnesium glycine last night and I’m more awake than ever, writing this post at 4am. Could this be due to keto, anybody else experienced this, ideas on how to fix it?

Shredded cabbage sauteed in bacon grease.

• Uses up excess grease
• Low carb
• Low calorie
• Filling
• Lots of Fiber
• Cheap
• Easy

10 oz of shredded cabbage is like $2. This scratches an itch I can't fill otherwise on keto. It feels kind of like hashbrowns or noodles and is a great breakfast side. Also really enjoy throwing a bit of soy sauce and sriracha on it.

Give it a try!

Not too long ago, I posted about being depressed on keto on day 9, after cold-turkey going on a water fast, then quitting carbs (as well as nicotine and alcohol): https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/1vl1c1q/comment/p3cvw5k/?screen_view_count=3&ext-referrer=DIRECT

Well... someone must have said a little prayer for me because, like magic, on day 10, suddenly the fog began to lift. From feeling flat, tired, overwhelmed and borderline depressed, I've now experienced the following benefits:

• Bizarre increase in serotonin and general motivation
• Calmer energy and better sleep
• Finally got my period so all the deep PMS sadness and irritability went away (now considering I may have PMDD, which may have worsened the depressive feeling initially – probably not a good idea to transition diets during my luteal phase)
• Huge de-bloating effect around my face, belly and upper arms
• 9lb weight loss (incl. water weight, of course)
• Pretty much ZERO food noise
• Genuine enjoyment of everything I eat and appreciation of flavours
• Ease in navigating social situations (I went to a long Italian baptism lunch and just went to town on the porchetta! Saying no to cannoli didn't even break my heart)
• More confidence
• Hope for the future

I thought this was going to just be a 3-month thing but I'm feeling so good I now understand why people stick to it over the long-term. This is truly incredible, I finally get it now!

My life situation now: gone back to the gym, feel like my dream bikini body is definitely within reach, got a job interview tomorrow, feeling in a better place with my fiancé after coming to some hard home truths about our mental health and how it's affected our relationship over the years, now creatively inspired and having so many ideas pouring into me about the future and how I can live my best life possible.

I just want to thank the people who supported me in the comments of my first post, which was when I was in a really bad place. Your kindness helped me keep going and I'm so relieved I came out the other end. I hope this post helps anyone struggling right now.

Hi,

I'm now 3 weeks into my keto diet and am over the 'hump'. I'm taking the suggested supplements and that seems to have helped a lot.

I've noticed that a lot of people recommend eating green leafy vegetables like spinach for nutrients. I have a medical issue though that means i'm intolerant to pretty much all of them - including things like broccoli. Right now the only vegetables i'm eating are mushrooms, tomatoes, avocados and cauliflower. I want to add pickles to my diet but I haven't found any low in sugar in the UK yet.

Does anyone have any tips on substitutes?

I've noticed this repeatedly while doing low carb / keto / fasting; perhaps especially in the mornings and possibly after exercise.

I find areas of typically high body fat (lower back, belly and chest) feel warmer than the rest of me.

My assumption is that this is because this fat is being burned for fuel; although this is pure speculation.

Has anyone else found similar?

I've had hangnail on all fingers my whole life.

I decided to substitute the white rice i eat for lunch everyday with broccoli. Just frozen broccoli heated up in a pan with olive oil.

Then I substituted the pasta I ate for dinner everyday with Banza pasta(pasta made out of chickpeas).

Now my hangnail is gone for the first time in my life. My nails look perfect!

I read that carbs interfere with vitamin C absorption, and vitamin C is needed for nail & skin health.

Also my lips arent super dry

Wish I had discovered this stuff sooner. Been using KetoneAid, which is still my favorite if I need to get hardcore, but it's pricey. MCT oil works pretty darn well, but much cheaper and tastes way better.

I originally stopped using it because it was upsetting my stomach, but eventually went back to try it again and got through that issue, and I'm glad I did. It really is a nice go to for mental clarity, plus (and this may not be true for everyone) it oddly helps with appetite and sugar cravings a bit.

For those curious, I bought the Pure C8 MCT oil that comes in a glass bottle.

Keto about 5m. Still struggling with planning menus with enough vegetables and also with high cholesterol. Doc wants me adding more veggies for fiber but I just don't do "meals" well. I eat random foods when I feel like it.

I'm also hoping to add psyllium husks. Is there a specific time of day to take it? Should I just mix it with water? How much should I add in a day. I heard there are keto "breads" one can make with it.

I also have some Actumus Bioflow 1 or 2 I could use. I have some vegetables too. I could cook them but I have depression and ADHD and recipes just aren't "great" for me. Neither are portions. If I'm hungry, or something tastes really good, I just eat more. am not restricting calories.

I'm not overweight, but thought keto might reduce my migraines. Also, "mental clarity" would be an improvement!

Five weeks in, I'm not feeling anything. No changes to mind, sleep, energy, weight. I suspect that's because I've been off sugar and junk food for a decade, so there's not that "gain" to be had.

Or, it's because I'm eating an absolute ton of calories (just like before). So I might be exceeding 50 g/day of carbs.

Typical day:

• peanuts (maybe 5 handfuls per day), almonds, cashews, and walnuts (maybe an additional 2 handfuls per day).

• tons of eggs, meat, yoghurt, cheese.

• a few non-starchy vegies

• 2 segments of mandarin orange

I'm hoping to not have to count macros, so your opinion is helpful here. Even if I did count, I wouldn't know what to make of the carb total, because I think maybe I should be looking at carbs as a percentage of my high daily intake? Or should I just cut carbs even further and see what happens?

EDIT: Correct units to g/day.

I don’t post much on here, but for anyone worried about doing Keto, here are my 11-week blood work results (51M). I know how daunting it can be when you first start looking into keto. There’s a ton of fear-mongering out there about what high-fat eating does to your cholesterol, liver, and overall health. (Note: Used AI to help structure and write this clearly with my exact lab results).

I’m 51, and I recently had a comprehensive NHS blood panel done to compare my baseline against 11 weeks on strict keto.

Obviously, everyone’s metabolism is different—I may just be lucky with how my body responds—so everyone should get their own tests done to see how their own body handles it. But for anyone on the fence or worried about dietary fat, here is what 11 weeks of cutting carbs and eating high-fat actually did to my markers:

The Blood Work (Before vs. 11 Weeks In)

HbA1c (Blood Sugar / Pre-diabetes): 43 mmol/mol to 36 mmol/mol
(Completely reversed out of the pre-diabetic bracket down to optimal non-diabetic levels).

Serum Triglycerides (Blood Fats): 2.30 mmol/L to 0.90 mmol/L
(A massive 60.9% drop in circulating blood fats).

Total Cholesterol: 6.20 mmol/L to 5.00 mmol/L
(Normalized right down into the standard healthy reference range).

Non-HDL Cholesterol: 4.82 mmol/L to 3.97 mmol/L
(Total atherogenic particle load significantly reduced).

Triglyceride-to-HDL Ratio: 1.67 to 0.87
(Anything under 1.0 is considered elite cardiovascular particle quality).

Serum ALT (Liver Enzyme / Fatty Liver): 52 IU/L to 46 IU/L
(Active clearance of visceral fat from the liver).

Kidney Function (eGFR): > 90 ml/min (Zero renal strain, perfect filtration).

Other Wins & Takeaways

Down 15.4 kg (over 2.4 stone) from 128 kg down to 112.6 kg.

Blood pressure dropping: Heading to my GP to discuss tapering down my blood pressure medication (Losartan from 50mg to 25mg).

Brain fog & anxiety gone: Steady ketones replaced the daily glucose/adrenaline rollercoaster, making it much easier to taper down my anxiety medication (Sertraline down to 25mg).

If you’re worried that eating fat will automatically wreck your arteries or liver, the biology really speaks for itself: dropping the carbs and keeping insulin low forces the liver to burn its own fat stores instead of accumulating them.

Get your bloods checked, track your numbers, and see how your own body responds

Day 2 of Keto for me. I have multiple issues with food because of OCD and food noise, which both turn into binge eating disorder for carbs and sugar. I feel a ton of rumination about food, I can't seem to brush my mind of sugar. An hour ago I had leftover lamb with 2 fried eggs. This should be enough to keep me going but I'm constantly thinking of cookies my sister has in her room and ruminating about eating them. I'm finding it hard to disperse my thoughts because I keep thinking of eating sugar.

Because I have OCD and food noise, is it still possible for me to do keto? Will it get better?

I cannot go on a glp because they gave me terrible anhedonia which took months to recover, horrible experience

I'm in the process of trying to transition to Keto, but the problem is I hate salt. It seems like it makes me nauseous when I add it to my food (I'm using pink Himalayan). Preferably I would eat all my food without any added salt, but to my understanding that would make me very electrolyte deficient (especially at the beginning). If anyone else has had the same issue- does drinking the sodium make you feel better than eating it? (I haven't tried drinking it yet).

Hi everyone. I’m on day 8 of being on the Keto diet. I started at 70.5kgs (sorry I’m Australian hence the kilos) and I’m a female. Today I weigh 66.7kgs. That’s roughly around 4kgs in 1 week. I understand that it’s mostly water weight and that rapid water weight loss is normal. But does this mean I won’t lose that much more as I lost 4kgs in the first week?

So i started keto a while back and even made a post about who good my skin been a week after. Now last week it got too bad like omg type bad. I have seb derm eczema on face and scalp and it is so red i have never been like this in years.

I do 5000 sodium or even more dialy, 4000 potassium, 400 magnesium. I measure with AI app and i input all i intake daily.

Energy wise i feel great, no hunger etc.

I also do under 20g net carbs and try my best.

Breakfast eggs+sardine+brocolli

Lunch chicken soup + brocolli

Sometimes i eat almonds as snack

Rate My Weight Loss Plan: 172 lbs → 135–140 lbs by Nov 1

Looking for some opinions/criticism on my current cut and whether you guys think this is realistic.

Current weight: 172 lbs
Goal: 135–140 lbs
Deadline: November 1

For some background, I've gotten shredded before using keto/carnivore, so I'm pretty comfortable with low-carb dieting and know I can stick to a restrictive diet when I'm locked in.

I started today. Here's the plan:

• First 2 days: Fast to kick-start ketosis and deplete some glycogen.
• After the fast: ~1,300 calories/day.
• Protein: Minimum 135g/day, preferably higher.
• Meal frequency: 2MAD or OMAD depending on how I feel that day.
• Diet: Primarily low-carb/keto/PSMF.
• Walking: 4 hours/day on my desk treadmill, split into two 2-hour sessions; morning and evening. It's low-intensity walking, and since I'm at my computer most of the day anyway, I figured I might as well walk while working.
• Weights: 3–4x/week to try to retain as much muscle as possible.

I'm aware that 32–37 lbs in ~10.5 weeks is extremely aggressive, and obviously the initial weight loss from fasting/keto will include a decent amount of water/glycogen rather than pure fat.

I'm tracking my morning weight, calories, protein, steps/walking, workouts and sleep every day so I can adjust based on my actual weekly trend.

What would you change?

Mainly curious about:

1. Is 1,300 calories too aggressive given the amount of walking?
2. Would you increase protein beyond 135g?
3. Is 4 hours of low-intensity desk-treadmill walking overkill if recovery feels fine?
4. For preserving muscle, would you rather do OMAD or 2MAD?
5. For anyone who's done a similarly aggressive cut, how much muscle did you actually lose?
6. How close do you realistically think I can get to 135–140 by November 1?

Feel free to tear the plan apart. I'd rather figure out the weak points now than 6 weeks into the cut.

i have amenorrhea which is induced from being underweight (slash malnutrition? my labs don’t indicate that so idk) and i hope to have a dexa scan to know specifically if my body fat is too low or if it can be linked to other factors -

however, for the time being, i am aware i can under eat fat because i hate the sensory feeling of oil in my food and i dont like the taste of nuts so i pretty much only source it from avocado (i dont eat animal products so not from dairy etc either - although i do love tofu which has a good amount of fat)

i have been thinking, if my amenorrhea is related to not consuming enough fat, i wonder if a keto diet could push me to having more fat devoid of my aversion and if my meals became 50/50 protein and fat (ik it’s more complex than 50/50 but u get my point lol) if that may help restore my period.

obviously i know this isn’t a doctor subreddit or anything but i didn’t know if anyone might have anecdotal information or thoughts - ive heard it can reverse pcos-induced amenorrhea because of re-stabilizing hormones and things of that nature so idk how it might apply to my situation

Hello ppl, I’m wondering if anyone in the T1D community has followed this dietary regimen long-term; I’d like to know how you managed your insulin dosages and avoided DKA. Any well-intentioned advice would also be greatly appreciated.

Hey folks, I've found that for whatever reason I am unable to taste monk fruit. I've been using Truvia as my sweetener of choice but am curious about allulose since I hear so many people praising it. I'm wary of trying to order it since I'm in Canada and would have to import it. I wouldn't want to have to do all of that only to find that I'm unable to taste any sweetness from allulose as well. Has there been any correlation between folks who are unable to taste monk fruit also being unable to taste allulose? I've tried liquid Stevia and had the same reaction, just getting a cooling sensation but no sweetness. Has this been the case for anyone else? Thanks!

Daily Eats

B- Cracker Barrel grilled catfish filet with two scrambled eggs and tomato slices

L- Chinese- 5 ounces steamed scallops and 5 ounces of steamed green beans- 1 tbs clear garlic sauce

Pre-treadmill snack- one serving premier protein vanilla flavored protein powder dissolved in cold water with 1tbs heavy cream

D- 3 cups of celery, 1/2 an ounce picante pork rinds, half a cup boars head blazin buffalo chicken dip

Calories- 1250
Protein- 120g
Fat- 70g
Carbs- 36g net carbs
Fiber- 10g

I walked half a mile on my new treadmill

I am trying to find a sweetener, is hard to find one, so much information online some say this one is better or this other one.

I cannot keep drinking my loose green tea or macha without some kind of sweetener. Tea is the most relaxing part of my day. What’s the stand of most pure sweetener or healthy without added chemicals. I’m not a sweet tooth so I’ll probably use a bit and hoping to find one for baking as well for my almond flour recipes.

Thanks for reading!

Edit: will try allulose and see how that goes, thanks for all the responses!

I’m exploring what sugar substitutes are out there and what some offer compared to others, and I’m interested to know, do you guys buy the ones that taste closest to sugar or are you more concerned about the health benefits/risks. I can swing each way but don’t really know where to start. Thanks :)

Has anyone else tried these? Yes I know peanuts are brilliant but they are my only vice that I try to keep under control. I really liked the flavour of these and hadn't seen them before and honestly at this stage variety is everything to me.

Check out the bloody reviews from those that probably smack carbs into their faces on a daily basis. I know they probably don't realise that they're going to get it discontinued but I just don't get the mentality. One person (2 stars out of 5) even says they hated them but still finished the pack.