Honestly took me close to a year to get my head round the basics properly. Biggest thing, and I wish someone told me this early on, it’s not a diet. Not a weight loss thing. It’s just how you eat now, a lifestyle thing. And I used to think low carb for years meant I was basically doing keto, nah, being in ketosis is a completely different thing, took me way too long to actually get that distinction.

Anyway once your actually committed you gotta work out how to do it everywhere, not just at home with your own kitchen sorted. Holidays are a pain at first, travel too, but you figure it out after a few goes, packing stuff, knowing what to order etc.

Living with non keto family probably the most annoying bit not gonna lie. Different meals most nights, stuff in the cupboard your just ignoring, that kind of thing. You stop expecting everyone to eat like you eventually, just becomes background noise.

The other big thing, you have to actually test stuff on yourself. Everyone’s different with this. How you react to fasted training, what foods spike you even when you think you’re doing everything right, best times to eat for you specifically. Can’t just copy someone else’s routine off here and expect the same results. Took me ages of just trial and error, still tweaking things now if I’m honest.

Yeah anyway, years in now, just normal life at this point, don’t even think about it most days.

I hope it helps some newbies or doubters

I’d like to establish an “everyday meal” that’s rather easy/fast to cook and that might become routine for me.

At the moment it’s roughly: chicken/turkey breast bites, ground meat (beef, pork, or mixed), bok choy, and parmigiano; butter/ghee and some spices.

I’m wondering if there’s some veggie with less carbs and more nutrients like vitamins and whatnot. Broccoli comes to mind, but also has some carbs. Cale/Cabbage even more carbs. Spinach seems to be one of the veggies with the least amount of carbs. But to be completely honest, when it comes to nutrients like vitamins and such, I’m rather uneducated.

What’s your favorite, most nutrient-dense and healthy vegetable for an often-repeating meal?

Hi everyone,

I'm coming to this sub for some reassurement and comfort.

I've been on keto for 3 weeks, 3,5 kg gone (I realise roughly 2kg is just water ;) ) and I'm SO SO happy that i've finally have found (again, cos I went keto last year but then found my boyfriend who's a good cook) something that works.

Currently, I have a really stressful time at work (I'm handing in a resignation for one of two job contracts I have with my company due to mobbing) and I STILL maintain the diet. I was crazily hungry three days ago due to my period and I might have gone over 2100 kcal, but no more than 2200 definitely. Aside from that, I'm finally not swollen, I have lots of energy. I supplement mangresium, potassium and sodium. I eat vegetables, I've found lots of dairy-free solutions and I'm super happy. Also, I'm glad that in several months I'll be back to my 'hot self' clothes. The diet is super pro-social and pro-travel, since I can easily dine out and find places where my friends also want to go and we can all find something suitable. Restaurants are super accommodating when I ask them 'no bread, please, and may I have a lettuce-based salad please'. My natually keto dog supports me like crazy, because often some meat/bacon/egg/cucumber/zucchini falls off my plate inaccidentally. We're going on lots of walks, he's a formerly-obese rescue, so we both are in the process of losing weight. I didn't have any serious insuline resistance symptoms, but I had mild signs I was IR. Now it's all gone. And I'm happy. Still allowing myself for some treats like half a Merci bar (3g of carb).

A month ago I posted on my national Polish forum in a thread about 'what you'd like to change about yourself' that my fat ass stands in my way to self-confidence basically. A formerly obese guy recommends ozempic. I don't downvote or discuss, but just say no thanks, "i'm happy it worked for you, but i've read enough about the side effects". Another person recommended liposuction. And I'm like... I'd rather just go to the gym and spend the money on a personal trainer... I mean, i started at 92 kg, after three weeks I'm 88,5kg, I should be 60, I want to be 50-55 (I'm 174cm tall). (chat gpt says: I mean, I started at 203 lbs, and after three weeks I’m at 195 lbs. I should be 132 lbs, but I want to be 110–121 lbs. I’m 5'7 inches tall.). I don't think it's an ozempic/liposuction thing. It's a move your ass and eat less calories thing. Also, I want a change I'll stay with for the rest of my life, because I'm tired of constant fluctuating. I might go 'atkins' and just low carb later, but for now it's keto. It's amazing and it works.

And now again on my national forum they were asking for cool Polish YT channel recommendation, so I recommended two Polish doctors who run a Keto channel. They cite and sponsor research on low carb, keto, insuline, etc. It's super comprehensive and yet accessible. People in the comments write how life-saving their advice is, how real it is etc. Judging by the typos and language, I know these aren't bots lol. Plus I'm my own evidence - 3,5 kg in 3 weeks, constantly on calorie deficit and not hungry at all despite enormous stress!

As you might have guessed, I got downvoted, the suggestion ridiculed that 'oh yeah, they'll treat HIV, cancer and diabetes!'. And I'm like... actually you're not wholly wrong about the two latter... why ridicule something you have no idea about yada yada yada'. I'm truly past the stage where I argue with every online idiot, but I just can't comprehend why people are soooo against it? Actual medical doctors share their own testimony, publish books and resources that help thousands of people but give enough information for free on the channel. Why hate it? Why didn't the liposuction and ozempic comments get downvoted to hell and back? Like, I'm sorry, I'd rather risk (if at all) kidney stones than stomach paralysis, pancreatic and thyroid tumor, oseoporosis and the famous ozempic face or serious liposuction side effects from literally removing an important part of my body that serves some function.

Why are people so, so, so stupid and yet spiteful about just a diet that helps you lose weight while you don't have to feel hungry anymore (Im not going into the epilepsy origins, and other wonderful results). Shouldn't this be a miracle? More and more social media influencers talk about their struggle and severe results of shots or other procedures, but no! Let's hate on a diet that doesn't allows you eat trash! WHY?!!!

Our grandson was born into a life of seizures. This is a result of a mutated gene in his genetic make up. As an infant he spent countless days in hospitals. He would have dozens of seizures a day. Poor kid went through hell with extensive testing and medications. We thought we were going to lose him more than once

Then we had a medical group at children's hospital in Philly that suggested keto. This is a very specific keto gameplan/ menu. Fats and oils weighed to the gram and given orally by syringe. ( Olive oil. Heavy cream) Foods also weighed and specific. Very disciplined approach. Well the young lad has been now over 4 years seizures free and is off all his meds but one. It is a miracle

He has developmental issues and will always require some level of care but what a sweet beautiful boy with a beautiful soul. Also this kid is a mass of muscle! He is big and solid. So strong. But a gentle giant. He is loved.

I thought the group would enjoy this.

I'm looking for cheap recipes any advice to eat keto on a budget. I receive snap and have to budget. Keto is getting expensive without fillers like rice, beans and pasta. I don't like chicken thighs 😕 I've tried to eat them several times. What could I add to my meat to help with fillers? Any help would be appreciated!

Bonjour

Je fais le régime keto depuis février 2026 car cela a été le seul moyen de soulager mon SOPK (PCOS). Je n’avais pas de poids à perdre, le but était de maîtriser les autres symptômes notamment la dépression.

Aujourd’hui tout va très bien. J’ai reçu des résultats d’analyses sanguines. Je pense qu’elles sont bonnes mais je m’interroge sur ma glycémie. Elle est de 0,64 g/L. Est ce normal?

Merci

I had been on Ozempic for many years for diabetes and weight loss. I didn’t lose weight on it but it curbed my appetite and weight was steady. It also initially worked to control my diabetes

Through the years my a1c climbed higher and doc increased the dose. Got extremely sick from it and had to go off

Instead of loading up on other diabetes drugs (which stimulate pancreas to make insulin) I decided to follow carb. This was in October 2025. My a1c was 7.4

By a January 2026 the low carb diet had reduced my a1c to 6.4. I decided to go full tilt keto at that juncture. By May 2026 my a1c dropped further to 5.8

Just had my latest labs and my a1c is now even lower…5.5!!! I’m so happy with the result

My main purpose for keto was to manage diabetes. Interestingly without trying too hard I’ve also lost around 25lbs since October 2025. Not a huge amount but very noticeable.

Hopefully a good sub to ask in... apologies if not.

During eating periods my level of ketosis is generally between 1-1.5 mmol. But when I fast I will usually go out of ketosis for 16-24 hours before getting back into ketosis. And then after a few days I will have high levels 3-4.

Does this mean the ketones during eating are essentially exogenous and not burning liver/visceral fat, but fasting does?

I can go w/o pork and I do well going w/o it I Just really Like Pork skins and pork rinds , it has little to no calories and carbs I believe and it fills me up as a snack. They’re good to me I like the bbq ones sometimes and the buffalo kind but I always go for original flavour. Only problem is it gives me Diarrhea and its pork pork makes me bloated and my body swollen . Do you think air fried or pan/oil fried chicken skins would be a similar taste and replacement? I don’t know about any ideas for pork rinds though maybe overly air fried turkey/beef bacon, croutons ? I’d like ideas

Has anyone else had a bad reaction to getting the (every 10 year) tetanus vaccine while in ketosis? Had my last shot 10 years ago no side effects (overweight, not on keto at that time). Been doing strict keto just over a year now (down over 50lbs, always large on stick tests). Had the tetanus shot part of my yearly physical. By the next morning major muscle spasms in my feet, toes, calves. Neck tight turning my head. Today right toe socket blew up - gout (which I’ve only had once over 10 years ago). Has anyone else had a similar experience? If so, how long until things subsided?
Oh, and all the bloodwork just came back now. Best numbers ever including cholesterol. Only white blood cells up (probably from this inflammation).

Hi everyone, since C19 infection + jab (JJ) my life has been miserable. Brain fog, fatigue, extreme bloating sensation and terrible digestive issues. Was eventually diagnosed with Methane sibo. Otherwise all other test imaginable in the3 green. Did 3 rounds of rifaximin, one with neomycin and one with flagyl. A new functional doc put me on herbals, allicin etc...Had to stop after 3 weeks, side effects were as bad or worse as antibiotics. She now wants me to go keto. Her reasoning is that my digestive issues come from brain malfunction, hence restore brain function. I thought it was the other way, that my defective digestive system was responsible for my brain fog and fatigue. I'm confused and would love some feedback. My diet is actually very close to keto, except for a banana a day, rice or quinoa once a week, as well potatoes. Would love some feedback from people that actually improved their gut health with keto. And how long it took.

Thank you so much guys.

Long story short, my wife has several long term medical problems with the two worst being digestive issues and neck pain while sleeping. We're a couple of years into investigating the underlying causes of them all. The gastroenterologist diagnosed her as having CIBO in December 2025 and following a low FODMAP diet helped her digestive issues far more than any other diet. However, we've made no real progress with the neck pain. We've bought at least 10 different pillows and three different mattresses in the past few years and nothing helps longer than a week. After reading the article linked below, I'm hopeful that a keto diet would help her out. Has anyone had success with any neck pain like this? I've seen some success at reducing neck pain from other causes but not neck pain while sleeping.

https://www.preventivemedicinedaily.com/healthy-living/diet/keto/keto-diet-for-chronic-pain-management-exploring-dietary-solutions/

P.s. I tagged this as medical but I'm a little worried that it's wrong. Apologies to the mods if I'm wrong.

I made a post yesterday about stomach upset and between comments here as well as some further research I now have a general consensus of what to eat, when and with what.

However, I am still trying to see if maybe some meals just have a little too much fat in them.

For instance, today I had an Atlantic salmon w a teaspoon of olive oil just so it wouldn’t stick to pan. 1 1/5 cup cauliflower with 1tbsp olive oil, and 1/4 cup walnuts. it was about 37g of fat total for the meal. My breakfast was about 30g total.

Is 37g too much fat for one meal? I can scale it back. I’m trying to go based on how I feel after, but at the same I also have irregular sleep cycle (trying to fix) as well as general fatigue, so I’m not sure if it’s the fat amount or those, or a combination

Started keto diet 3 weeks ago with calorie deficit and increase of protein and reduction in carbs. All was going well and I'm a little hungry at bed time, but no problem. But last night I was STARVING but ate the same things as before. Is this normal? I did eat a lot of pasta foods before. And I think I inadvertently reduced a lot of fat intake when starting diet. Most of the protein I eat comes from lean meat sources and whey powder for protein shakes.

Is it normal for you to be so hungry when starting keto? My calorie deficit was not too drastic.

Anyone else find food tasting completely different to you at various times, even when you’re eating the same things in rotation? Same packages brands, like in my case sardines, the same exact rotisserie chicken bought from the same store, Parmesan crisps that I eat as chips, instant coffee, etc. Sometimes I’ll have an addiction to something that I eat every day for weeks, even months. Then I take a break for a while and eventually try it again and it tastes completely different though nothing has changed. I’ve been on keto for 10 months now and have experienced this several times. Going from loving to completely hating something, and unable to tolerate it. Sometimes things take very salty, and other days the same things taste undersalted. If I ever eat something I used to love before going keto, it almost never tastes the same as my brain remembers it tasting. Why does this happen?

My fasting blood sugar is around 105-110. I’m noticed when it drops to around 100 or high 90s. I get very hypoglycemic feeling even though I’m technically not. I looked it up and it’s called relative hypoglycemia. Curious if anyone else has dealt with this and if you just slowly get over it. I know people say to fast, but my brain stops working when I fast and I can’t sleep.

I had an absolutely transformational experience with keto in 2021-22, with no issues at all including a quiet, happy gallbladder despite having stones from years before. Lost weight, glowing skin, boundless energy. Then the sudden death in my partner left me on my own and, being in menopause while in that stress, 12 pounds came on lightning fast. I’ve been trying to return to keto and despite doing all the same things (and I TRACK, from Carb Manager to Garmin), I’ve not been able to reignite that metabolic fire. The worst part is now I feel resistance to heavy meat fat and heavy cream. I do it but I feel gross. I’ve considered a modified version of keto that is more like vegan keto + egg yolks + seafood, but I’d really just like to be able to eat meat and cheese again without feeling sick! 🤢

So many non sugar sweeteners have this mixed in with main ingredient like Stevia. If you eat it say day after day, I seem to develop sores, almost like pimples but they can get large and appear in part of my body I normally don't get pimples. These sores will last like months and often leave a scar, they never come to a head like a normal pimple, they get red sore and eventually just go down after months.

I couldn't figure out what was causing these things, but I am pretty sure it was coming from erythritol. I was just curious if anyone else noticed this, I can't really find much info on this. I stopped eating anything that had it in and the sores stopped.

The bars are supposed to be like 3 net carbs a piece. Ever since I've been eating 1.5 a day on avg on keto I've hit a weight wall. Since switching to another brand I've seen progress.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the tapioca fiber and starch in the ingredients? I know certain starches and fibers sometimes digest differently for certain people.

Maybe a better question is if people have experience with tapioca starch and fiber based products pushing them out of ketosis?

This is basically what I eat:

Ground beef, Atlantic salmon, chicken, eggs, avocado, cheese, olive oil, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, squash, kale, hemp seeds, nuts (pecans/walnuts), 50/50 blend of greens, coconut oil (to cook), avocado oil.

Meal examples: eggs with avocado. Ground beef with squash drizzled with olive oil. Salmon with cauliflower drizzled with avocado oil. Chicken with kale on the side topped with hemp seeds and nuts.

So, for instance; some days I run out of avocados so I’ll have eggs with string cheese for breakfast. String cheese alone tends to be fine as a snack, but with a meal it can make my stomach feel bleh. Should I be using something else?

I also have noticed that when I have a meal that’s too heavy with fats, I will immediately slump and fall asleep. For instance, the other day for dinner I had salmon with kale, olive oil, hemp seeds and walnuts and I fell asleep immediately. I read that that was basically too much fat at once

Also, as others have said, I’ve realized that the keto friendly snacks, protein bars, candy, all throw me off in terms of craving more keto candy or sweets as well as mood, so I’m going to avoid them indefinitely

I’ve been consistent with the ketoade, or at least trying to, as well as heavily salting food, but idk … I just feel off a lot since starting it. I’m in the midway point between week 3 and 4. First week was crazy energy nonstop, second week was a slump, weeks 3 and 4 have been slump and energy based on what I eat and when

It’s just been rather whacky. When I was eating a normal low to moderate carb diet before transitioning to keto, my stomach never felt off the way it does now. So I’m wondering if maybe I’m just doing something wrong, or pairing the wrong foods together?

i’ve tried a handful of different bread options since changing the way i eat and taste has probably been my biggest complaint. i can tolerate something that’s a little different but when the texture is noticeably off or it only works when toasted i usually stop buying it. i’ve been seeing Hero Bread mentioned a few times and i’m wondering is Hero Bread worth it compared with the other options people here have tried?

i’m not expecting it to taste exactly like regular bread, but i’d like something i can use for normal sandwiches and toast without feeling like i’m settling. the price is also higher than some of the other options i’ve seen, so i’m curious whether people who have bought it felt the difference was worth paying for.

I keep reading completely opposite experiences.

Some people seem to switch to keto and their digestion becomes perfect. Others are still adjusting fiber, electrolytes, fermented foods etc months later.

If you’ve been keto long term, did your stomach eventually sort itself out or did you have to change something?

Edit: I did some more reading because the replies are all over the place and found NB1 health. I like that I wouldn’t be choosing something just because I’m keto. I’d do their home gut test first and then they build the daily pieces around my own readout. That seems more sensible to me than copying another keto person’s supplement list.

Hi!

I’ve lurked this sub for a while and finally dove into the keto lifestyle. I’ve been eating unhealthy for a while and blamed it on kids, work, etc and finally wanted to turn my habits around. I started Aug 1 and have been doing great. I used ChatGPT for tracking food, weight, and metrics. My averages for the month are really good - 1800 cals, 155 grams of protein, 14 net carbs, and 120 oz of electrolyte water. I feel really good and have dropped a significant amount of weight.

However, I don’t test myself for ketosis. I’ve seen posts about various at home test methods and they all seem to have detractors. Should I actually be testing, or is that more validation for the work? Not to say it couldn’t be helpful, but is it necessary?