Made some progress but now need some advice

Danger781

Hey everyone, hope Monday is treating you well.

Earlier this year around February / March I switched to eating low carb and followed a keto orientated diet. If you haven't heard of keto it essentially a Low carb, high fat diet. It worked wonders for me as I was never able to maintain a 'standard' healthy eating / weight loss regime. I dropped from a 36" waist to a 34" waist. It was a good feeling to feel comfortable in chinos that were always tight on me.

Since then I have gained more willpower and learned a lot.

However, I have since stopped following keto and for the last couple of weeks have essentially just been eating whatever I want (within reason obviously). I'm now at a bit of a crossroads. I can't decide whether to continue on with low carb again (perhaps not as strict this time) or just keep limiting sugar intake. The reason I'm at a crossroads is because of the practicality of low carb. At my new job, the canteen lunch menus are usually carb orientated.

Average day:

• Beef stir fry with vegetables, noodles, and potato cubes
• Standard irish dinner - meat and veg with gravy
• Curry & Rice & Chips
• Salad / Sandwiches

When I was eating low carb I would usually just go for the salad or stir fry and avoid potaotes / noodles / rice / etc.

If my target is fat loss - Am I best off avoiding the above?

Stench Blossoms

Fair play on your progress so far

Do you have to eat the canteen lunches?

Could you bring your own lunch in instead? If Keto-ish works for you then I would stick with it but if you find you are 'dieting' instead of just having a particular eating habit then I would try something else.

Do you know how many calories you require/how many you are eating? Do you exercise at all?

Danger781

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

Fair play on your progress so far

Do you have to eat the canteen lunches?

Could you bring your own lunch in instead? If Keto-ish works for you then I would stick with it but if you find you are 'dieting' instead of just having a particular eating habit then I would try something else.

Do you know how many calories you require/how many you are eating? Do you exercise at all?

I could by all means bring in my own lunch - but the fact that canteen food is quite cheap makes me reluctant as I don't particularly enjoy cooking every day. Don't get me wrong, I like cooking once in a while. But if I have to make multiple meals every day it gets very monotonous.

My reasoning behind being a bit reluctant about going back to keto - It's not very practical.. It makes life quite difficult for social occassions like if the girlfriend and I want to go out for dinner, or I'm out with friends when I'm looking to buy a quick snack in a shop, or for example if I'm in my girlfirends house for dinner and I get strange looks when I don't take potatoes. I dislike trying to explain why..

I didn't think of keto as a diet. It was actually a lifestyle change. I genuinely believe in the low carb approach, but the practicality of it made it difficult to go back once I came off it. (Came off while we went away for a weekend so I wouldn't need to be picky when eating out).

Calories - I don't know my current needs. My scales broke a few weeks ago so I haven't weighed myself in a while. I know I'm somewhere around 180lbs, and as far as I can remember my 'lean' body weight is about 160lbs or so. I can get more accurate measurements at my gym.

My exercise routine goes from consistent to terrible week by week. I haven't gone to the gym in the last two weeks, but the previous month or so I was going 3 days per week and had started 'Starting Strength'. When I'm following a specific eating plan (be it low carb, or 40/40/20, or whatever) I'm usually pretty good at maintaining a 2 or 3 day per week routine.

SunnyDub1

My exercise routine goes from consistent to terrible week by week. I haven't gone to the gym in the last two weeks, but the previous month or so I was going 3 days per week and had started 'Starting Strength'

I don't understand why you done low carb and followed a keto orientated diet, lost the weight and have now gone back to eating what you like and and not working out Have you check to see if you have put the weight back on?


I followed a low carb (paleo) diet for a couple of weeks.
Like yourself one of the things I found a struggle was when eating out for lunch/dinners etc, It wasn't often just at weekends.
Very hard to find a café in a shopping center that does s DECENT salad. Everything just seems to be pita,wraps etc :rolleyes:

With regards to eating out in restaurants most dishes are severed with some sort of carbs (chips,potatoes,rice etc)
ask for a side salad instead, nearly all restaurants will have no problem with giving a salad as a side dish instead of rice or whatever, but just be prepared to get "side salad" of lettuce and a few tomatoes in some restaurants :rolleyes::(


Canteen in work - just ask for more veg with the stirfry or more veg with the meat instead of potatoes, again there is nothing wrong with having a a few noodles with a stir fry. Portion control.
there is really no need to have noodles as well as potato cubs with the stir fry.

When I done the paleo while I did lose weight from doing it, I felt very restricted and it was very time and money consuming. So I went back to a "normal" - Reduced sugar, processed carbs, increased veg, good fats and protein intake.

IMO I think if you want to be healthy and lose weight just keep everything in moderation. I do this and don't feel like I follow a diet as such, more just looking after what I eat.

Don't deprive yourself - theres nothing wrong with having a few potatoes with your dinner once a week, or some pizza, or a bar a chocolate. As long as it's not every day and you put in the work (diet & exercise) every other day.

JessieJames

SunnyDub1 wrote: »

I don't understand why you done low carb and followed a keto orientated diet, lost the weight and have now gone back to eating what you like and and not working out Have you check to see if you have put the weight back on?


I followed a low carb (paleo) diet for a couple of weeks.
Like yourself one of the things I found a struggle was when eating out for lunch/dinners etc, It wasn't often just at weekends.
Very hard to find a café in a shopping center that does s DECENT salad. Everything just seems to be pita,wraps etc :rolleyes:

With regards to eating out in restaurants most dishes are severed with some sort of carbs (chips,potatoes,rice etc)
ask for a side salad instead, nearly all restaurants will have no problem with giving a salad as a side dish instead of rice or whatever, but just be prepared to get "side salad" of lettuce and a few tomatoes in some restaurants :rolleyes::(


Canteen in work - just ask for more veg with the stirfry or more veg with the meat instead of potatoes, again there is nothing wrong with having a a few noodles with a stir fry. Portion control.
there is really no need to have noodles as well as potato cubs with the stir fry.

When I done the paleo while I did lose weight from doing it, I felt very restricted and it was very time and money consuming. So I went back to a "normal" - Reduced sugar, processed carbs, increased veg, good fats and protein intake.

IMO I think if you want to be healthy and lose weight just keep everything in moderation. I do this and don't feel like I follow a diet as such, more just looking after what I eat.

Don't deprive yourself - theres nothing wrong with having a few potatoes with your dinner once a week, or some pizza, or a bar a chocolate. As long as it's not every day and you put in the work (diet & exercise) every other day.

I agree with this, i've learned the hard way that if it feels to you like your constantly on a 'diet' you prob wont stick to it. Try make changes so that healthy eating and exercising becomes a natural part of everyday life (of course with some treats in moderation) this way it wont feel like a 'diet' it will just be the norm. I just wish i could take my own advice :rolleyes: best of luck