Em GI's Journal, 18 July 2018

You can do this! In the beginning the most important thing to do is train your body to use fat as a fuel. Keep those carbs low. 20 g is best & focus on delicious foods you love that are high fat. After "fat adapted" (you will feel different Iike you can go hours and hours without eating) just eat enough fat to keep satisfied so your body uses body fat as fuel. Keto in the beginning was hard for me before it became a habit. When you get frustrated and don't know what to eat, don't forget that you can order lettuce wrapped deli sandwiches, chicken Caesar salads without croutons, fajitas or nachos over lettuce with all the fixings like guac/ sour cream. One thing that cranks up the protein but banishes cravings is a breakfast bowl of scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon & cheddar & you can add avocado/ salsa/ sour cream too if you want. I'm rooting for you! 😊💪 

don't worry you'll new solid with a week or two! May I suggest not worrying so much about fat and protein, but keep those carbs at 20! and plan meals around what fat you'll have, not what protein. that helped me. for example, I had ground beef, so I cooked in butter, ( very different you add butter) then I'd add olive oil to a salad, or blue cheese to a hamburger with Olive oil on a salad. ha. with a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar. I always think, what low carb fat can I add. bacon fat, heavy cream, yada, you'll get there EZ PZ. welcome! I'm now finally at the point I'm having fun with it!  

Ps don't forget to add electrolytes, no-salt with potassium and sodium, and your magnesium, it help with those headaches and keto flu you described in your profile. Like your new photo too. No more beets. 

Thanks so much for the support, encouragement and advice, which is greatly appreciated! Question...is drinking lots of water enough or do I need something else for electrolytes? I do take a magnesium supplement. I’m salting almost everything I’m eating now too (had horrible calf muscle cramps night 1!) 

Drinking water with ACV helps me when I'm feeling a tinge hungry but it's not time for me to eat yet. I'm down to eating two meals a day doing keto/intermittent fasting and eliminated the afternoon snack which I never thought I could do! I love having the heavy cream in my coffee! mmmmmm, so good! I love being able to have the good fats. It really does get easier as you go along and get used to the shift in focus on the different foods to eat and eating more fats. :) 

It's a start! Just keep that pie chart at the bottom of your food diary around 70-80% fat. 15-20% protein and 5-10% carbs. The closer you get your net carbs to 20 the better of course but some people can still lose with them higher. I wouldn't worry about getting an exact number of fat or protein grams as long as the percentages are right you should be ok. 

You'll figure it out. Add pecans and olives as both are high in dietary fats. also starting with butter and coconut oil in your coffee can get you halfway to your numbers first thing in the morning.  

There's also a bunch of zero carb protein additives on the market. I use them when I need to hit my numbers but don't want a meal.  

and was that gross carbs or was it net carbs?? you can set up your food journal so you see both readings. You can figure it out yourself, the fiber gets subtracted from your total carbs. It is easy to not get all your proteins at first. the important part is to keep to your calorie reduction (hopefully you did not go to low) and your NET carbs. You will learn quick things to grab to help balance the differences in proteins and fats. Fat is easy to fix. Heavy cream in your sauces, gravies and your coffee. fry your eggs in butter or quality oil product if you are low. add butter to your veggies.  

coconut oil and Ghee are your friends 

Btw. I get more fat by saving the grease from bacon beef and chicken. I add a table spoon to my ground turkey. Sometimes I do olive oil too. I also use bacon grease on my salds and veggies. ☺ 

You can also make homemade mayo with those pan drippings, add a little olive oil and perfect. Only last a few days as it's fresh mayo but it's very good on everything 

It is hard at first to get used to eating LCHF with moderate protein. Focus on low carb and getting enough electrolytes first. During weight loss, some of your fats will come from your own body stores, so keep fat % around 75 tops. Also pay attention to the quality of fats you eat - don't eat too much veg oils like soy, canola, sunflower. Coconut, olive oil, and animal fats are healthier. 

And make sure to get enough fiber even if you have to add powdered Psyllium.  

Magnesium citrate will keep ya regular taken at night, you get your magnesium and it helps sleep. Watch out for carbs in any fiber. See what works for you, some can, some can't.  

I just recently added oat fiber to my routine, one tablespoon, mixes instantly and zero net carbs and no calories 

Lots of good advice already 🤘FS we rock! I too had an issue with adding enough fat in the beginning. Pecans/ walnuts help a lot and Adding fat to your coffee or tea in the morning help bump up those numbers! 

I just want to correct something I read in these replies. I have done a TON of research on ketosis, have been Keto for 1 yr 19 months, lost almost 100 pounds healthfully, easily. Tracking carb GRAMS (not percentages) is critical, especially in the beginning because your body is in training to "expect" fat as the fuel source. It's converting and needs a clear message that fat is here for energy, it's not carbs any more. Research shows time & again for the vast majority of individuals, staying at/under 20 grams seems to be the magic number to ensure success. For the first couple months you really want to track GRAMS of net carbs carefully, eat REAL whole, fresh food (not processed, packaged) " low carb" stuff and stay under 20 grams of net carbs. Protein: .6g per LEAN body weight. For me that was around 70g or so. After a few months you can experiment and see if your body can handle 25 -29 g carbs (especially if you are exercising). But you want to use those early months to become "fat adapted." I also want to correct that in the very beginning you don't need to hold back on the fats. You can eat a lot of avocado, bacon, eggs, sausage etc. until you feel satisfied, then stop when you are no longer hungry. Watching fat to make sure it comes from body fat is LATER after your body has converted or "adapted" to using fat as the primary fuel source. Again, you will probably start to notice that you can go hours and hours just hydrating, without eating when your body has fully converted. Drizzling good quality olive oil or grass-fed butter on your food can help up the fats. Eating a half or whole avocado a day is a great idea too. Your whole body & skin will thank you. 😊 

may I recommend a you tube keto guru for you that will answer lots of questions...his name is Siim Land. he has videos on everything keto and IF he is a bodybuilder and a biohacker who does conferences and coaching worldwide. his channel is just called Siim Land: body mind empowerment. hope this helps 

Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with me ~ greatly appreciated!