Hello... Newbie With Questions About Fast Fix Keto Diet, Please Be Kind!

[Poohstril]

Hello there

First of all please accept my apologies if I have posted this in the wrong place. I am new and don't really know where to start. I wasn't sure if the answer was here or to go to the keto diet forum. My husband of 13 years has been a type 1 diabetic since he was 4 (he's now fast approaching 45). I have had gestational diabetes twice and was diagnosed as prediabetic some time ago. I need to lose a significant amount of weight (4 stone 9 pounds, according to the BMI chart). I have been struggling with this for years and mainly seem to have gained the weight through low fat dieting (thanks very much weight watchers and slimming world).

I watched the Fast Fix programme on ITV recently where people followed an 800 calorie a day diet for 8 weeks, and also got themselves into ketosis.

My question is, can I use the Tesco Ultra Slim shakes I have left over from when I tried the 800 calorie a day Blood Sugar Diet (Dr Mosley) even though they have 25g of carbs per portion, (so that would be 100g a day)? Or would that prevent me getting into a state of ketosis? Unfortunately I have got about 100 of the sachets as I stocked up on them when they were on offer a couple of years ago and I can't really afford to throw them away!

Many thanks in advance for any advice, and again, apologies if I have posted in the wrong place or unknowingly caused offence or breached forum etiquette.

Poohstril

 

[bulkbiker]

If you want to get into healthy and enjoyable nutritional ketosis then I would say probably not.
To "guarantee", as much as it is possible to guarantee anything, ketosis most experienced keto eaters would say you need to eat fewer than 20g of carb per day.
If you did decide to go the "starvation" route then you might get into ketosis using the meal replacements but would it be sustainable and pleasant? For me I know it would be hard and nasty.
So my 2p would be eat two meals a day of very low carb food, fewer than 20g of carbs, and fill up on protein and fats until you feel satiated (not stuffed but satiated). Do that for a couple of months and you should be lighter and healthier.
Others may be of a different opinion but that worked pretty well for me.

 

[Terrytiddy]

Hi @Poohstril welcome to the forum. I agree with @bulkbiker, Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) worked for me. Like you I have a lot of weight to loose, don't go by the BMI stuff! I fast 18/6 so no food after 20.00 till 14.00 next day, only black tea, coffee and water as needed during fast. I'm also on 5% or less carbs per day. I have lost 2 1/2 stone in 2 months and don't feel hungry at all. If you are new to fasting you could try a 12 hour fast to start with. If you do say, 20.00 till 08.00 you will be asleep most of the time. As mentioned try to eat fewer than 20% carbs It should soon fetch your weight down. There are separate threads on the forum that you could look at to help you. "Low Carb Diet" is one and " What have you eaten today?" another one to give you some ideas of food you can try.
You are in the right place for help, advice and support, any questions just ask. Good luck on your journey.

 

[Poohstril]

Hi Bulkbiker and Terrytiddy, thank you both very much for your kind and helpful replies and advice! Much appreciated. Hopefully soon I will get the hang of this forum thing...

 

[kitedoc]

Welcome @Poohstril,
Since NHS has accepted low carb diets you may be able to find a dietician who could help you ensure you are taking the appropriate vitamins, minerals etc.
And after being on insulin for 51 years I am still learning- so we would like to hear from your husband too!
Also having him well on side helps you too !!

 

[bulkbiker]

Welcome @Poohstril,
Since NHS has accepted low carb diets you may be able to find a dietician who could help you ensure you are taking the appropriate vitamins, minerals etc.
And after being on insulin for 51 years I am still learning- so we would like to hear from your husband too!
Also having him well on side helps you too !!

The LC acceptance by the NHS was last week so I doubt there will be much gone on yet and there has already been a huge backlash by the dietician community with their lead body calling LCHF and Keto a "fad " diet so I wouldn't hold out much hope there for the time being..

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome @Poohstril
My first thought is to ask if you have checked the Use By dates on your shake sachets?
I appreciate the desire to be economical, but if they are out of date anyway, you wouldn't be making a saving, because you would need to throw them all out.

My second thought is that real food is going to be far more satisfying, nutritious and filling than shakes - and much easier to ensure ketosis. I've done a couple of those shake diets (back in prehistory) and they may be convenient, but my goodness, I got tired of the blood glucose swings, the tiredness, the hunger and the cloying sweetness. But that is me. If the pros outweight the cons for you, then give it a try and monitor blood glucose and hunger and see how you go.

 

[Colin of Kent]

Hi @Poohstril and welcome!

Keto isn't for everyone, but it works for my wife and me. We have been keto for about four months now. I'm Type 1 and she's overweight. So far, my BG control has improved immensely, and she's lost two stone. So it's working for us, and the value of doing it together cannot be overstated, in my view.

Different people have different levels of 'carb tolerance' and as such can achieve nutritional ketosis while eating differing amounts of carbs; some can tolerate up to 100g per day, but from what I've read, the general consensus seems to be that 20-30g daily is about right for most.

I understand completely your desire to economise; after a few weeks on keto, I noticed our grocery bill creeping up. But, as other forumites rightly pointed out, one cannot put a price on one's health...

My take is, you should just find whatever works for you and your husband, and keep with it -- sustainability is key. Good luck!

 

[Beanzy]

Having tried Keto and now doing the 800 calorie (4 weeks in) I can honestly say it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m losing about a pound a day, from a size 20/22 to now a size 14. My bloods are low apart from yesterday and Friday night which was in the 7’s which, which is okie if I had done something different, but I haven’t changed anything apart from being stressed due to work.

Once I complete the next 4 weeks I’ll do the fasting blood test and will see if it has reversed type 2, however I’m not holding my breath as I have a lot have family history with diabetes. What it has done for me is calm my eating habits down completely. Getting used to not stuffing my face when I get a pang of hunger and I exercise 4 times a week. So maybe, it’s just getting me ready to the next step of assessing my eating habits. I had a shake from the Exante range yesterday and had roasted peppers, onions and mushrooms which was lush. I found the Tesco shakes quite high in carbs and sugars which did spike my readings. But everyone is different, so what didn’t work for me could work for you. Good luck.xx

 

[CherryAA]

For me personally its been a 2 year long journey of discovery. I was diagnosed with an Hba1C of 10.3%. Luckily I found out for myself I needed to go Low Carb and I did that immediately. At first it felt really wierd, trying so hard to get close to 30 g or less of carbs per day.After about a year and 25kg lighter I stopped recording foods and I'v noticed that my carbs are dropping lower and lower, I no longer bother buying any much, just onion, mushroom & tomato for flavouring a source. I don't miss them at all to be honest,now just eating meat/ fish/ eggss feels natural . it took 2 years for that to happen though so don#t be too worried if it takes a while to get the hang of it ! ( my current hba1C is 5.2%)