My Keto-ish Journey (so far)

I was replying to another thread for awhile, but I think responses are getting lost so I'm going to start a fresh thread so I will get notifications if anyone asks me a question :)

01/10/18:

I had RNY in September 2005. SW was 280, lowest I got to was 148. I then fluctuated between 160-170 for years and was okay with that. I started peri-menopause a few months ago and my weight climbed to 192. Waaaay too close to 200 for my taste, and it scared me. I did a lot of research as well, and the Keto diet seemed very similar to what my diet looked like post-op. I started Keto on December 11, 2017, and as of January 1, 2018 I have lost 15 lbs and am down to 177. I would like to hit my original goal weight of 140 again.

02/20/18:

I am now at 171, down 21 lbs since December 11th :) My macros set in MFP are 5% carbs (11g), 30% protein (68g), and 65% fat (65g), and my max calories per day is set at 900. However, I rarely hit that many carbs and my protein is usually more like 70-75g. I enjoy making my own beef jerky so I can control the ingredients, eggs, cheese, bacon, chicken, shrimp, etc. I have a bit of veggies with dinner. I wouldn't say my energy has "surged" but it's longer-lasting for sure and I sleep harder but for a shorter amount of time. I'm actually about ready to start an egg fast tomorrow with a group of Keto ladies on FB. I will come back and let you know my results!

02/26/18:

I did Keto with my macros at 5% carbs, 65% fat, and 30% protein when I first started. I lost 21 lbs then stalled for 3 weeks. I just finished my 5-day egg fast and lost 7 lbs, for a total of 28 lbs gone since December 11th (EDITED TO ADD - I gained back 4 lbs of the 7 lbs of my egg fast). It was explained to me by a very kind admin on the egg fast group on FB that I most likely stalled because I was eating too much fat. She said because our bodies are now routed differently, my body was using the fat I was EATING for energy, not the fat I was STORING. I have readjusted my macros to 5% carbs, 45% fat, and 50% protein on 900 calories. First note, for me Keto has given me major constipation. I went 9 days without a b.m. and had to resort to taking laxatives. To be fair, I've had constipation since my RNY 12 years ago, but not this bad. I had hoped all the fat would make things move better. Second note, the perimenopause was giving me major hormonal cystic acne, and not just on my face My doctor had me on antibiotics because it was so bad and painful, but even that wasn't working. Since going Keto my acne has almost completely vanished, with only the occasional pimple popping up when my body does decide it should have a period (really, it can stop anytime, but it's being stubborn). On a third note (LOL), my hair is fuller. I lost so much of it after surgery, and only some came back! I hope this helps!

03/02/18:

My calorie limit is set to 950 (I stall out over that, it sucks but that's just the way it is), and my current macros are 5% carbs (10g), 45% fat (40g), 50% protein (100g). My carbs ONLY come from veggies and most days I do not have more than 5g TOTAL carbs. I count total carbs, not net carbs, I feel like that is a trap for me personally. I also have been limiting my dairy quite a bit lately (very little cheese, only 1 tbsp HWC in my coffee in the morning). I feel like I am between Keto and Paleo. I hope that helps!

05/08/18:

I have now been on this new WOE for almost 5 months. I am down to 158 and have lost 34 lbs as of this past Saturday, with 18 lbs more to go to reach goal.

EDITED TO ADD: I've been asked about my menu, so here is what a typical menu looks like for me. I tend to eat the same things over and over and just change up dinner during the week. On the weekends I usually make a protein-type salad for dinner to get my veggies in:

? Morning Coffee: 6 oz. black coffee, 1 oz. SF Torani zero carb syrup, 1 oz. heavy whipping cream
? Snack 1: 2 scoops Isopure Zero Carb Creamy Vanilla protein powder, 1 cup water, 1 cup ice blended
? Lunch: 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, seasoned with salt & pepper or Tajin.
? Snack 2: 18 slices Hormel Turkey Pepperoni, 3 slices Swiss cut into 18 pieces
? Dinner Options: (1) one hamburger patty with cheese, (2) one hot dog wrapped in bacon, (3) 4 oz. pot roast, or (4) five slices bacon
? Snack 3: 1 oz. cheddar cheese

I do not do cheat days. A friend of mine, who is a CPT, said only dogs get food for good behavior LOL, funny but kinda true. I exercise for 30 minutes 5 days a week (also Mon-Fri, first thing when I wake up so it energizes me for the day and I am too sleepy to talk myself out of it haha!)

07/02/18:

I am now down to 152, for a total of 40 lbs lost since I started on December 11th :) I am also Intermittent Fasting on a 16/8 schedule, so I eat between noon and 8pm every day.

08/15/18:

I am now down to 148, for a total loss of 44 lbs. My macros current are set at 2% carbs, 33% protein, and 65% fat with a maximum daily calorie count of 970. My surgery is on August 31st and I am hoping to be at 145 by then. I am very excited!

10/23/18:

I had my PS almost 2 months ago and am so happy with the results! I am down to 144 lbs now. They removed approximately 4 lbs of skin from my arms, thighs, stomach, and bra roll. The BBL made my butt look much better - not perfect, but better. I don't want implants so I am satisfied. I am now in maintenance and my macros are currently set at approximately 15% carbs, 45% protein, and 40% fat.

If anyone is interested, I did start a group on Facebook called "That Low Carb Life" where I share my recipes and tips :)

I am far from an expert on the Keto diet but I thought there were different ways for your body to go into ketosis? In Canada there is a popular diet called Bernstein that is very low fat, low calorie, low everything and you get vitamin injections. They focus in n your body going into ketosis and test your urine 3 times a week. I did lose weight very quickly but of course gained it back. This is their statement -

1. Reducing your overall caloric intake while providing the right food combinations helps stimulate your metabolism to provide additional calories from fat stores. The process of breaking down fat into useable calories is called "Ketosis". As long as you don't take in any excess carbohydrates, fats or excess calories, this process works very efficiently at releasing stored energy and food value from your fat cells

Like me I said not an expert by any stretch but maybe there are other ways to lose weight by going into ketosis?

Sorry this post doesn't make much sense now as it was in response to a deleted message:)

LOL, I wasn't quite sure what you meant at first but I didn't realize there was a deleted post!

But yes, from what I understand there are other ways to reach Ketosis, such as fasting. Since I still have Keto breath I feel like I am Keto, however to be fair I don't pee on sticks to be sure. Again, this is MY journey and experience ,and I am not trying at all to say it is the only way, I just wanted to share my continuing story in case it helps someone else struggling with regain years after their WLS that was why I wrote in my OP that I felt I was more in between Keto and Paleo at this point.

I did rename this thread "My Keto-ish Journey (so far)"

Thanks for this post! I need to lose about 50 lbs of regain and have been struggling to get motivated. I really wanted to go paleo/keto and this was just the inspiration I needed! Thanks for all the updates, it really is encouraging.

Sounds like hard work and that you're doing great. Congrats

Honestly despite all the health benefits from losing 100 or so pounds one of my biggest motivations for keeping the extra weight off is the fear of having to go back on a diet.

I've been keeping mine at 40/40 20 so far and it is helping cravings for crap foods. my carbs come in the form of flax/chia/etc for digestion more than anything.

Your macros are very similar to mine (950 cal, 40-65 fat, 85-100 pro, less than 25 carbs) -- with the notable exception that I eat around 20 total carbs a day (largely due to my vitamin regimen which is 12 total carbs) -- and it has worked for me to prevent re-gain and maintain my loss.

Good luck with you continuing to your goal. You must be very proud of your hard work!

Thank you for posting this, I am only 20 months out but already worried about carbs creeping back in. Very inspiring.