First time keto

good luck. I've been 10 days and it's working (with bells on) for me. If it doesn't work for you quite that well (I feel sort of charmed) there's loads of good advice and different experiences here to review. Number one take home message - we are all different.

It is too good to be true, and better. If you can patent this, please cut me in.

I would stick to clean Keto as much as possible. By clean I mean real whole foods with minimal processing.

Mbaker said:

It is too good to be true, and better. If you can patent this, please cut me in.

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I think I started from a quite good place (see my profile for background), I can cook and like cooking, I like food, I can afford good food, my diet as a child looked quite like this, fasting has never given me much trouble, I don't snack (never have), I don't think I had carb addiction (but I might have been developing it). So maybe start with a "where I am now" assessment and find similar people on the forum?

Keep an open mind. Ketogenic diet worked for me.

I lost my excess weight (about a stone) over 4 months, by lowering carbs. I did it gradually, swapping refined sugar products out (cakes, biscuits, sweets & sugary syrups, jams etc), then white goods (white pasta, white rice, potatoes, white bread). Then I cut brown carbs (whole grains) that I had substituted in down to smaller portions. I don’t go by the lowest level to actively remain in Ketosis, but bought a testing kit after a while and noticed I was often in ketosis on the relatively small amount I do ingest each day. That includes a small bowl of muesli with s little fruit and yogurt at breakfast. And I’ve gradually worked out that I can eat a little bit of dark chocolate and the odd sugar-free biscuit. I use a little xylitol to sweeten anything where I’d miss a sweet taste. But as you’ll hear a lot here, everyone is different! This is just what has worked for me. It hasn’t quite been a year yet so I’ve yet to learn if there’s been a further drop in my HBa1c but it had dropped by 1 marker last time. Just 1 more, I think, and I will be considered non-prediabetic. Good luck!

Experiment with food, don’t be confined by conventional rules. Eg breakfast food doesn’t have to be traditional breakfast food

If you struggle ask for help. There are a few common pitfalls that are easily solved. Main ones being stay hydrated, make sure you’re getting magnesium and potassium in your diet, only eat enough fat to feel satiated if you want to lose more weight - you don’t have to eat up to goal. Add fats gradually if a sudden increase makes things a little “loose”

Google recipes just add the word “keto” for loads of ideas

Think about what you can eat, not what you can’t. Positive mindset helps.

My experience of low carb has been brilliant. I did it primarily to get my HbA1c back down to normal after my type 2 diagnosis in May ‘17 when my HbA1c was 70. I initially dropped to 100g carbs/day and gradually over the first 6 months or so reduced it still further to between 30 - 50g/day which is where I stay. I achieved a normal HbA1c and lost 4 stone as a happy side effect in the first 4 months. I have gone on to lose a further 2 1/2 stone, while my HbA1c has remained mid 30s.
I wish you well Swanny, let us know how you get on.

When you see people who are overweight when you are out and about, don't see "fat" see "sugar poisoning", it's very liberating

copilost said:

I think I started from a quite good place (see my profile for background), I can cook and like cooking, I like food, I can afford good food, my diet as a child looked quite like this, fasting has never given me much trouble, I don't snack (never have), I don't think I had carb addiction (but I might have been developing it). So maybe start with a "where I am now" assessment and find similar people on the forum?

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What I can say is that if you have a blood glucose monitor, you can test if some of your choices work for your body. The foods many Type 2's who drive down blood sugars remove are:

1. starchy vegetables
2. beans
3. lentils
4. brown rice
5. brown pasta
6. bread

I have none of the above.

A meter will verify if the above works for you. Some can handle small amounts of the individual items, and many on the list, are staples of alternative protocols.

To reduce the glucose load of the beans you could research fermentation, and for pasta, starches and rice cooking, cooling, refrigeration and reheating.