Lost Male looking to start Keto diet

larosenthal

Hello All, I'm interested in starting the keto diet, I've read my doctor's notes about the do's and dont's but I'm struggling to create a meal plan for week1 and beyond. I was hoping to find a resource that mapped out suggested meals for break/lnch/dnr to simplify this. Didnt see anything on the forum - perhaps theres meal plan book that folks would recommend or something?
Thanks in advance. BTW - I'm 52 yrs old, 6'1 and 245 lbs. TMI? :-)

tcolvinOH

@larosenthal - This may get involved, so I apologize for its length in advance.

I havent done any google searches to see what meal plans are specifically available. Thats usually where I like to start. A lot of it depends on your goals. Do you have a certain calorie goal in mind? what are your target macros set to?

I personally dont do strict keto, but according to what Im logging, Im getting about 65% fat, 30% protein and 5% carbs. On a usual day, this equates out to about 2500 calories a day with approx 160g fat, 160g protein and no more than 40g of carbohydrates. At the moment, I eat fairly simplistic meals - eggs, meat (bunless burgers with mayo, cheese, guac/avocado, sausage, pork chops, etc), green veggies (leafy greens, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower - I know not green). I also keep nuts (walnuts, peanuts, cashews) around for the occasional snacks. This helped a lot when transitioning into a different way of eating, in case I was hungry.

What I generally do is write down at least once a week what meals Im going to eat each day and then specifically write down what Im going to eat for those meals. Im going to paste what I did a couple weeks ago. This process helps me plan out better what I want to eat.

Monday
• Taco meat, sour cream, cheese, guac
• Beef liver
Tuesday
• Eggs, guac, cheese
• Sausage, mashed cauliflower
Wednesday
• Taco meat, sour cream, cheese, guac
• Pork Chop, mashed cauliflower
Thursday
• Eggs, guac, cheese
• Scallops, broccoli

A lot of this will depend on what kind of food you like to eat, also. There are going to be a lot of meal plans available, but I tend to find that some of the food on those meal plans either requires entirely too much prep or just isnt appealing. I find both of those to be a detriment to achieving my goals.

What kinds of foods do you like? Do you enjoy cooking? There are a ton of options available. and there are lots of ways to translate a good portion of the foods that you likely now enjoy into a more compliant option (such as fathead pizza crust, mashed cauliflower - dont knock it until you try it. Its not mashed potatoes but its pretty delicious). Perhaps we can help you come up with a meal plan, at least to get you started. There are lots of ways to approach this, and certainly doing something that gets you plenty of nutrients as well.

Jepne

Larosenthal - I have been working at the Keto diet for some months and were I able to go back and begin again, I would invest in Miriam Kalamian's book, Keto for Cancer (even if you don't have cancer), and, The Ketogenic Kitchen, so you can see the fantastic foods that are available.

Having the background of studying these books and watching the wonderful interviews with Dominic D'Agostino, Ellen Davis and others on youtube, I was thrilled to find this Cronometer website - it has done everything to get me on track and I am forever grateful, as I DO have cancer, so it is a matter of life and death. Also, doing the ketogenic diet might just prevent you from getting cancer, so I am very happy for you.

I would say to tcalvinOH that 160 grams of protein is probably way above what is recommended for Keto unless he is very heavy. The guideline says to divide your body weight (in pounds) by 2.2 and multiply that by .8 - I weigh 140 and my recommended protein intake is 51 grams. Anything over that will be converted to carbs (which feeds cancer). It haas been found that eople on low-carb/high protein diets tend toward kidney problems from too much protein.

There is a Dr. Berg on youtube whose videos may help you to get started. I pray you have a wonderful journey with this diet!

tcolvinOH

@Jepne - I agree that 160g is above what is recommended for strict keto. All I was trying to describe was what my basic plan looks like, not necessarily make a recommendation that he do the same.

Having said that, Ive heard good things about Dr Berg and have heard of people having some success with his approach to keto. Its always interesting to see how others approach their journey. Sounds like you've found some success

@larosenthal - as I mentioned, lots of resources available. I would check out what @Jepne recommended, perhaps see if the authors have resources online or visit a bookstore before you go out and spend the money - make sure it is something that you feel you can use. Anytime I purchase a book anymore, I always try to go read some of it first to see if its actually going to be useful for me. Thats just how I approach things and not necessarily the right way. Just one way.

Jepne

Right - you were just relating what you do. Seeing that Rosenthal was wanting to do Keto, I felt I should say what I did. Also, I was just saying what I would do if I could do it over again. I look at reviews on amazon and watch youtubes of the authors etc. Wonderful how many ways we can research things these days, eh?

tcolvinOH

@Jepne - there are so many resources out there and so many ways to adapt a diet to meet a persons individual needs. I think part of the challenge is that there is SO much information to sift through. It really does take some trial and error, and commitment to at least trying a plan for a period of time.

larosenthal

Thanks so much for the feedback. I confess I've been pretty cavalier with my protein intake - i love meat so trying this diet out didnt feel like a huge hardship. I guess I better do that math that you mention and start logging my meals into cronometer to get a sense of what i'm actually doing. Just been doing eggs, chicken, beef with leafies... Thanks again!

tcolvinOH

I would absolutely log your meals consistently and honestly. You'll be surprised how much information you'll get about what you're actually eating.

Protein is definitely worth paying attention to, but until you know exactly what you're eating, its hard to decide what adjustment to make. I personally find small adjustments are easier to maintain in the long term.

Adrienne

Dr Berg is definitely worth a look. Hood luck I have been learning to follow Keto since 15/12 and have lost 15kg not massive but a start getting easier and intermittent fasting is magic.

closet_librarian

There are also a lot of easy recipes and meal plans on dietdoctor.com.