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"Do you still need to be in a caloric deficit in order to lose weight? Or does keto have a different mechanism of action?
The short answer is that yes, even on keto you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight.
If you want to drop the excess body fat, you’ll need to force your body to use your own fat stores, and this is achieved through maintaining a deficit over a period of time (typically at least a few weeks or months, based on your goals and how aggressively you’re willing to diet)."
OP, keto is a lifestyle change. Going into it knowing fully well you're not gonna stick with it for a while may end up not working for you. Why don't you just lower your carb intake to levels you can handle?
I lost 70 lbs in less than a year not due to keto. I also exercised, which burns up whatever carbs I eat. Couple caloric deficit with working out = weight loss. At the time, I was eating probably 150-200g of carbs a day. I'm eating a little less just because I've added almonds into my diet to replace my daily popcorn habit, so my fat consumption went up to 42g and my carbs went down to 100-120.
Bingo. Keto is the latest fad diet right now. And ultimately it is exactly the same system as all the others; taking in fewer calories that you expend. But it's far more complicated than most diets. Not only do you have to maintain a calorie deficit, you have to whittle your carbs to nearly nothing, watch your macros like a hawk (proportions of fat/carbs/protein) and you cannot slip off your diet even one day because then you will fall out of ketosis, stop losing weight, have to start over, and have to deal with that dreadful keto flu again.
I tried keto for about a week and it isn't the diet for me because I am a petite woman in her 40s and I can't eat enough food to avoid hunger because fatty foods are more calorie dense and I have a lower calorie requirement that most individuals. I couldn't eat hardly any food on keto without GAINING weight. It works better for men and women with a lot of weight to lose. I am going back on a more traditional diet and am trying to decide which one is best now. I also had a constant headache that was difficult to get rid of, a typical symptom of keto flu, so it wasn't worth the grief for me since I get migraines anyway.
I spoke to a dietitian that believed if you cut your calories back you wouldn’t loose weight because of “famine mode”. I wondered if she had ever watched “Naked and Afraid” TV show where they regularly loose weight in 21 days by cutting back on calories. There is a point you will loose weight.
If our bodies were that sensitive to extremes in consumption, why not stop storing energy when there's a certain surplus? I mean, our cells are only smart when we're not eating enough?
It's all about calories in vs. calories out. Period.
I do intermittent fasting. But wasn't losing weight until I started tracking my calories. Ahh - that was the problem! An extra 500 calories per day from snacking! Drop that and poof! Weight gone. Now I maintain and still do IF as well as CICO.
I think it's harder to eat too many calories on Keto for some people, and that's why it works for them. All that fat fills them right up. I have a friend who has a lost a lot of weight on Keto, nothing else worked for her. She needed 'something' extra, and with Keto she doesn't have to count calories. (At least not yet, I suspect she may have a harder time when her weight lowers below the point where she needs less calories to lose weight - but she isn't there yet).
Some of us need 'something' extra to help us lost weight. IF and CICO work for me because I'm goal oriented. I now I have a goal! I will not eat until 11 am and I will not go over my calorie allowance.
I'm on a combination of keto and fasting. Been on keto for years, I think it's easy as long as I take a cheat day every now and then.
Being a Type II diabetic, my sugar intake MUST be limited or I have to take more insulin.
The problem with "take more insulin" is your body wants to grab everything and you gain weight. And it's very hard to lose.
The solution for me is to fast every other day during the work week.
I thought it would be hard, but it turned out to not be too bad. I've lost 35 lbs (from 247 to 212) and am halfway to my goal weight.
And my insulin intake is WAY down.
I have reason to doubt that I'll stop being a diabetic even when I'm skinny.
I had cancer 7 years ago and lost a lost of weight and was still diabetic. Of course, I gained it back and then some.
This time I know how to keep from gaining it back... stay on keto and fast as needed.
I'm following a low-carb philosophy but also logging everything that goes in my mouth. So far, averaging between 50-100 carbs a day AND keeping my calories at 1400-1500, I've lost 17 pounds in about 2 months. I am now adding exercise to my regimen (crossfit-type conditioning with a personal trainer 3x a week), with hopes of losing another 10 pounds between now and New Year's Eve.
I agree that it's definitely a CICO thing - but I also think reducing the amount of pasta, bread and other high-carb things has helped as well.
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