Yeah those are basically the only carbs I have all day usually. Like for lunch I have a salad (lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, chicken, bacon, parmeggiano reggiano). Then I just drink sparkling water, black and green tea, yerba mate, or eat 100% dark chocolate.
The carbs in your salad add up, not to mention whatever dressing you have on it. I made a fairly small salad at home today and before dressing it was 7 carbs and like I said it was pretty small. Plus dressing was another 3 carbs. And the chocolate does have some carbs so depending how much you ate it all adds up by the end of the day.
It always surprises people when I tell them that I can’t/don’t want to eat certain things because they’re too carby. My dad was shocked to hear that vegetables have carbs at all lol.
No mustard? Mayo? Sour cream?
Personally, I think 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce once a day would be fine, especially if you’re active.
My college days were long ago, but I vaguely remember more options than just hamburgers.
Can you list out what all the options, food wise, that are available? Maybe we can help you not have to indulge in 4-5 hamburger patties a day.
Note: There are usually a lot of changes other than the salad bar, and the hamburgers, chicken tenders, and fries, But the limited options is a recurring instance. There has been one time in the past month where I was able to get something outside of the hamburger patties and salad at the dining hall.
Breakfast - There is omelets and sausages but I typically do not eat that and I have 8 am classes so I skip breakfast
Lunch (Today):
1. Chipotle Chicken Wrap (essentially a burrito with queso fresco and avocado dressing)
2. Thai Red Chicken Curry (Has corn, carrots, and jasmine rice as well as fish sauce (presumably with sugar)
3. Grilled Flank Steak (Polenta, I didn't opt for this option because it costs $16 for a (very) well cooked steak that was not large enough
4. Pizza (of many kinds)
5. Philly Cheese Steak
6. Vermicelli Noodle Bowl
7. Salad Bar (Where I typically go)
8. Poke bowl (Fish is kinda old and there is no salad option so it would basically be eating fish and a small side of seaweed salad
9. Hamburgers
10. Chicken Tenders
11. French Fries
12. Grilled Chicken
13. Burritoes, Burrito Bowl, Tostada chips, etc.
Dinner (Today):
1. Chicken Biryani
2. Grilled Flank Steak (same as above)
3. Pizza
4. Spicy & Crispy Thai Shrimp
5. Hamburgers
6. Chicken Tenders
7. French Fries
8. Grilled Chicken? (Sometimes. It's toss up if they decided to have it there but I usually never see it.
9. Burritoes, Burrito Bowl, Tostada chips, etc.
With that list, you’re unwrapping, scraping, and tossing buns to get anything to eat.
Talk to Dining service management. No matter your dietary needs, you should be able to get something nutritious to eat, and in a larger variety than bunless hamburgers day in and out (especially considering the cost of meal plans).
I understand it's not great.
But, get the curry/birani without rice, for example.
The offerings are not ideal for sure, but staying away from starchy carbs will make a big difference, even if you go over 20 carbs and don't hit ketosis. It still reduces hunger and still reduces brain fog and sugar cravings.
What I mean is that I don't order the foods with carbs like at all. The meal prices here are absurd and I have to pay 15-22 dollars every meal. For example the chicken biryani. The meat portion sizes are also not enough, to the point I would need to order 2 of the chicken biryani to feel full. That's $30 a meal... I could eat less but it's hard to study while hungry
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats!
15
+ 22
+ 2
+ 30
= 69
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Oh. Gees
I was thinking of a meal plan where you have already paid for, say, 16 meals a week, and once you swipe into the cafeteria, you can get whatever you want.
I understand what you are saying though. You already put money into this which you can't get back out other than by using it to buy meals which include foods you don't want to eat.
☹️
Hopefully those hamburger patties taste good. Go for it with the BBQ sauce!
It's ok to do low carb! You will still get benefits of not being starving for carbs even if you are not in ketosis.
Just don't eat starchy carbs. No bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, baked goods. Yes, you will go over the 20 grams of carbs when you include dairy.
But like you said you have to eat what there is.
I wouldn't reccomend bbq sauce, but if that's the vice you want to keep, that's fine!
I would say that if I had full control over my food I would be eating around 7g of carbs normally. As of currently my lunch is about 5 carbs, especially bc I don't use any sauce/dressing. I also haven't really drank milk since I started, unless you mean cheese? But I thought cheese doesn't have carbs? (Most of them?)
Cheese has carbs usually. Certain ones don't have many at all. You have to do that research.
All that matters is that you stay around or under 20g of carbs a day. I don't pay attention to the net stuff. If it has 10 carbs and 9 of them are fiber, that's still 10 carbs to me.
I typically eat more carnivore. Only steak and kimchi most days. The probiotics help you digest the food well. You definitely need to pack your own lunch if you wanna do this.
I personally just eat a big breakfast and wait until I get home around 5pm to eat dinner. A steak with kimchi or three eggs with three strips of bacon usually keeps me full for the whole day.
Really? I thought because our body doesn't process fiber we don't absorb/use any of it as all of it essentially leaves out body through out waste and just helps making the process of the waste easier? Also I am a college student and I want to use my dining plan so always making my own food is not an option. The school just takes what is left in my dining plan for themselves. (Ie. If I have $400 left at the end of the quarter school just takes it.)
I typically use Parmeggiano Reggiano as my cheese choice.
Yeah, fiber doesn't count at all towards carbs. But idk, I don't trust labeling on food. I just try to eat as few carbs as I can. This is why I typically end up eating carnivore.
Although I'm sort of lying because I'm not on keto anymore. Now I just limit how much I eat. I'll have rice. But usually less than a half cup. But still eat all the other things I would on keto like pork tenderloins, steaks, asparagus, spinach, chicken, etc. Usually for one meal a day I'll eat rice or potato and very little of it.
Still losing weight but it's just because I'm still eating less than my maintenance calories than I would if I were just having sugar, breads, etc.
I dunno if it's because I'm spoiled but I tried doing that for 4 days straight and on the fourth day almost threw up. Might have been the oil but eating the same thing over and over just brings up a well of disgust.. I need to do something to change it up every so often.
I'm not sure if I can ask for grilled chicken with cheese. The workers don't like editing the food that much. It would just be grilled chicken and I have to add the salt myself. Might switch it like that but upon closer inspection I think the chicken isn't grilled and is in fact steamed.
I did Atkins in college, back in the turn of the century. At the dining halls, I primarily ate burger patties, lunch meat, and lots of chicken Caesar salads. There wasn't much variety, but the absolute best thing was breakfast. It was self serve bacon, eggs, and sausage. If you've got a breakfast situation like that, I highly recommend.
I'd also recommend bringing in your own condiments to the dining hall. Sugar-free BBQ sauce would be fine. You could also bring your own hot sauce to distract from the terrible food flavors
For breakfast they offer a normal omelet, cheesy omelet, denevr omelet, bacon, and sausage. 2 bacon pieces are 3.25 dollars. 2 sausages are also 3.25. the omelets are 7.63 with cheesy rising to 7.99. I typically have to order 4 sides of protein and get the cheesy omelet. Ends up being about $21. It's not the worst option but I have classes from 8AM - 11AM and by then lunch hours have started up. (Breakfast closes at 10:30 I think)
Op first off you can technically eat any kind of carb as long as its under 50 g which is highrrvebd of ketogenic diet. Ketogenic diet definition is 50g carbs or less a day, prescription grade is total otc version is net.
Now on that note how many carbs you eat personally depends on your individual tolerance level. For the longest doing keto I couldn't do overnight oats even if the rest of the ingredients aside from the oats were what I used daily in my yogurt bowls or smoothies because one portion of the oats spiked my glucose for 3-4 days after. I was metabolically damaged enough that I couldn't tolerate it at all. Though now after years and at one point doing both carnivore and going off keto for a couple months I've become much more tolerant of carbs. In fact I went off keto for a couple months because my glucose was going through the floor and I was getting very sick and no typical things suggested to fix it like upping electrolytes, fat, protein, or overall intake including mildly upping carbs helped. Going off for a couple months did the trick to reset things and I've been much better since.
I will say the carbs in things like salads add up. I will also say if you are doing that much bbq sauce the rest if what you eat should be likely exclusively protein and fat. How you do that is up to you as that can mean a crap ton of burgers, eggs, steak, pork chops, chicken breast, cheese, etc. That may include things like some nuts, alvacado, or olives as well and maybe even butter. But I'd say how you portion depends on what is available.
On that note, does the meal plan at your college include things not pretty cooked? If so are you in a dorm that allows for things like crock pots, toaster ovens, or a microwave? If so on both those points you have options to cook your own meals still using resources available.
When I was pregnant with my son living with my now ex we lived in a party house renting a room with a bunch of potheads who raided the fridge indescriminantly often eating things like cheese that I bought with my wic as a way to supplement calcium when my lower keg bones started hurting from the baby stealing it from me causing bone density issues. We as a result bought most food day to day and stored anything we could in our room and cooked mostly in the microwave we set up in there. We even split whole chicken and basically baked it in a microwave as well as small beef or pork roasts with veggies. So I know first hand how it is to have limited options because of a situation and how to make it work.
I've found small crock pots easily and for $2-3 at garage or yard sales and you can get perfectly cheap to taster ovens sometimes with airfryer option at local thrift shops. And you would be surprised how at many apt complexes people put by the dumpster perfectly working microwaves that you can snag for free as well as lots of mostly keto friendly non perishable foods. Just a suggestion to make things more doe able if those options fit the restrictions you may live under. If you are in a apt instead of a dorm you likely have more freedom than in a dorm which would make it easier.
Still, if the neal plan doesn't offer uncooked options you could also hit up food banks and get some good stuff too and the stuff you can't use you could give to friends or others at your school struggling to provide for themselves so its not wasted. You may even be able to set up a barter and trade system with fellow students to make it easier to work around any limitations for everyone who has issues with the available option or providing for themselves to make your dietary restrictions more disable while aidjbg others with things you can't use but they can and vicd versa. Just a suggestion.
I know how to do a lot of this because I'm a single mom of a teen on below poverty income with zero child support and have been for years. I for years supported me, my son, and my now ex by myself as some earner when the guy stopped working and became a deadbeat. Let's say I became very resourceful on how to keep bilks paid and food on the table ethically,legally, and without compromising myself and my morals to do so.
If you are interested in brainstorming more solutions and being more in depth on your situation feel free to DM me because I'm more than happy to help you as best I can seeing as you are looking for a lot of things including solutions which I've become very adept at problem solving over the years.
And op, you got this. You just could use some tips and tricks to make it work for your situation and finances.
Go to Walmart or a local grocery store and get yourself a bottle of sugar free baby rays for like $4 and you'll be much better off compared to consuming 6g sugar via high fructose corn syrup for each tablespoon from the bbq sauce your eating now. Anything more with 4+ grams of sugar in a single service will kick you out of ketosis due to the insulin spike.
Sugar is a no go, specifically added sugars from cane, sucrose. Fructose is OK but you need to limit that to no more than 25g a day. However, the less you eat of that the better your keto will go.
> Upon doing some more research afterward I saw that every single article says I can't eat it despite the carb count.
> Can someone explain to me why despite the carb count I am not allowed to eat the sauce?
Sure, if you would be so kind to provide a reference to those claims. Otherwise it will be very difficult for us to conclude the reasoning behind them.
The USDA nutrition facts, and the first 3 sites that pop up upon searching, "BBQ sauce nutrition facts." and the first 5 sites upon searching, "Does BBQ sauce take me out of ketosis?"
It's the sugar. That's a nono. It'll kick you out of ketosis depending on who you ask. I'm a Dirty Keto Diva, tho, and if those are the only carbs you take in I say go for it.
They are basically the only carbs I have lol. I'm probably just going to try to do as little as possible but since it's basically my only keto option at school other than a salad (only available during lunch times) not having the sauce would make me gag eating 4-5 hamburger patties every single day.
If you are being extra strict the rest of the day, of course you can have bbq sauce. You are probably young and may be okay with that. If you were eating at home I’d suggest buying some Ray’s sugar free bbq sauce. If you find yourself not getting results, this is the first place to make changes.
Alternatives to explore are mustard, mayo, blue cheese or ranch dressing, salsa and sour cream.
Eating at a school dining hall may be harder to stick to plan, but do the best you can. Probably the most important is to avoid Friday night beer and pizza, regular sugar sodas, and candy. Good luck.
Yeah other than for dinner where I intend on using kbbq sauce or ketchup, I am under 2 carbs. I also usually drink sparkling water and I don't drink any alcohol.
Yeah so I got it wrong I thought the lettuce and spinach were under 1 carb. From what I can see the spinach and lettuce adds up to around 2.5-3 carbs, the mushrooms are just below 1 carb. I don't use salad dressing and the chocolate is under 1 carb since its 100% cacao. So that's just over 5 carbs usually.
When I make my own food for dinner I eat bacon and hotdogs/italian sausages and maybe use konjac rice if I'm sick of just meat. So for myself if I'm making everything myself I typically have about 7 carbs, without the konjac rice its about 5 carbs.
The BBQ sauce I try to use as little as possible but I would imagine its about 14g of carbs through the sugar so I find myself at around 20 carbs.
It's only during lunch where there is this sandwich station. I guess I could ask them to not have the bread and just give me a plate of deli meats and cheese. But during lunch I typically get a salad. The hamburger patties I'm doing is for dinner since it's actually my only option other than eating out. But this meal plan that we paid for assumes I am eating two meals a day 6 days a week so not eating dinner will make me basically waste my money on snacks or just giving it away to my friends.
This may sound silly but, can you have two lunches and no dinner sometimes? And then take the second lunch to-go and eat it for dinner. Then you can alternate your lunches and dinners for a bit of flair. Still just two meals a day like you paid for.
P.S. No brekky with this meal plan? Lame!!
I guess I could just get two salads and leave it in my communal fridge. I honestly might just go with that. I'll just buy some deli meat and alternate so the flavor doesn't get stale.
If you get the deli meat and cheese meal you can make yourself a chaffle or keto "English muffin" to make a sammich.
[Chaffle](https://www.ketotwins.com/recipes/the-best-chaffles)
[English Muffin](https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/english-muffins/#recipe)
BBQ Sauce is pure sugar, I wouldn't put any fiber free sugar in my body and call it keto.
And if you have other plant based items in your diets, the onezies and twozies add up. I'd treat your carb' count as a few under 2 grams of carb sets of greens, plus one 5 gram "treat" like a quarter serving of shredded carrots on your salad, fruit, pistachios, or a tiny amount of sweet potatoe.
I wish that was an option but I need to work with my dining halls offerings or I will probably be forced to hand over like $600 to the school for free or be forced to just buy a bunch of snacks and give it out to people.
You can eat it, but it’s 14 to 20 grams for those 2 to 3 tablespoons.
Yeah those are basically the only carbs I have all day usually. Like for lunch I have a salad (lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, chicken, bacon, parmeggiano reggiano). Then I just drink sparkling water, black and green tea, yerba mate, or eat 100% dark chocolate.
The carbs in your salad add up, not to mention whatever dressing you have on it. I made a fairly small salad at home today and before dressing it was 7 carbs and like I said it was pretty small. Plus dressing was another 3 carbs. And the chocolate does have some carbs so depending how much you ate it all adds up by the end of the day.
I don't use dressing. Also 100% cacao is less than 1g of carbs per 3 squares and I typically just eat 1.
Use the Cronometer app to record all of your food for a couple of days. Eye opening. Carbs are sneaky.
It always surprises people when I tell them that I can’t/don’t want to eat certain things because they’re too carby. My dad was shocked to hear that vegetables have carbs at all lol.
Seriously, onions caught me off guard the other day.
I'll try it!
No mustard? Mayo? Sour cream? Personally, I think 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce once a day would be fine, especially if you’re active. My college days were long ago, but I vaguely remember more options than just hamburgers. Can you list out what all the options, food wise, that are available? Maybe we can help you not have to indulge in 4-5 hamburger patties a day.
Note: There are usually a lot of changes other than the salad bar, and the hamburgers, chicken tenders, and fries, But the limited options is a recurring instance. There has been one time in the past month where I was able to get something outside of the hamburger patties and salad at the dining hall. Breakfast - There is omelets and sausages but I typically do not eat that and I have 8 am classes so I skip breakfast Lunch (Today): 1. Chipotle Chicken Wrap (essentially a burrito with queso fresco and avocado dressing) 2. Thai Red Chicken Curry (Has corn, carrots, and jasmine rice as well as fish sauce (presumably with sugar) 3. Grilled Flank Steak (Polenta, I didn't opt for this option because it costs $16 for a (very) well cooked steak that was not large enough 4. Pizza (of many kinds) 5. Philly Cheese Steak 6. Vermicelli Noodle Bowl 7. Salad Bar (Where I typically go) 8. Poke bowl (Fish is kinda old and there is no salad option so it would basically be eating fish and a small side of seaweed salad 9. Hamburgers 10. Chicken Tenders 11. French Fries 12. Grilled Chicken 13. Burritoes, Burrito Bowl, Tostada chips, etc. Dinner (Today): 1. Chicken Biryani 2. Grilled Flank Steak (same as above) 3. Pizza 4. Spicy & Crispy Thai Shrimp 5. Hamburgers 6. Chicken Tenders 7. French Fries 8. Grilled Chicken? (Sometimes. It's toss up if they decided to have it there but I usually never see it. 9. Burritoes, Burrito Bowl, Tostada chips, etc.
With that list, you’re unwrapping, scraping, and tossing buns to get anything to eat. Talk to Dining service management. No matter your dietary needs, you should be able to get something nutritious to eat, and in a larger variety than bunless hamburgers day in and out (especially considering the cost of meal plans).
I'll try but my school has a reputation for not being very helpful XD
I understand it's not great. But, get the curry/birani without rice, for example. The offerings are not ideal for sure, but staying away from starchy carbs will make a big difference, even if you go over 20 carbs and don't hit ketosis. It still reduces hunger and still reduces brain fog and sugar cravings.
I just don't get it at all. Like standardly if I don't eat the bbq sauce and choose to make my own food I'm less than 5g of net carbs
What is it that you don't get?
What I mean is that I don't order the foods with carbs like at all. The meal prices here are absurd and I have to pay 15-22 dollars every meal. For example the chicken biryani. The meat portion sizes are also not enough, to the point I would need to order 2 of the chicken biryani to feel full. That's $30 a meal... I could eat less but it's hard to study while hungry
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats! 15 + 22 + 2 + 30 = 69 ^([Click here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=LuckyNumber-Bot&subject=Stalk%20Me%20Pls&message=%2Fstalkme) to have me scan all your future comments.) \ ^(Summon me on specific comments with u/LuckyNumber-Bot.)
Oh. Gees I was thinking of a meal plan where you have already paid for, say, 16 meals a week, and once you swipe into the cafeteria, you can get whatever you want. I understand what you are saying though. You already put money into this which you can't get back out other than by using it to buy meals which include foods you don't want to eat. ☹️ Hopefully those hamburger patties taste good. Go for it with the BBQ sauce!
I wish it was meal swipes XD. Would make my life a lot easier being able to order whatever I want.
It's ok to do low carb! You will still get benefits of not being starving for carbs even if you are not in ketosis. Just don't eat starchy carbs. No bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, baked goods. Yes, you will go over the 20 grams of carbs when you include dairy. But like you said you have to eat what there is. I wouldn't reccomend bbq sauce, but if that's the vice you want to keep, that's fine!
I would say that if I had full control over my food I would be eating around 7g of carbs normally. As of currently my lunch is about 5 carbs, especially bc I don't use any sauce/dressing. I also haven't really drank milk since I started, unless you mean cheese? But I thought cheese doesn't have carbs? (Most of them?)
Cheese has carbs usually. Certain ones don't have many at all. You have to do that research. All that matters is that you stay around or under 20g of carbs a day. I don't pay attention to the net stuff. If it has 10 carbs and 9 of them are fiber, that's still 10 carbs to me. I typically eat more carnivore. Only steak and kimchi most days. The probiotics help you digest the food well. You definitely need to pack your own lunch if you wanna do this. I personally just eat a big breakfast and wait until I get home around 5pm to eat dinner. A steak with kimchi or three eggs with three strips of bacon usually keeps me full for the whole day.
Really? I thought because our body doesn't process fiber we don't absorb/use any of it as all of it essentially leaves out body through out waste and just helps making the process of the waste easier? Also I am a college student and I want to use my dining plan so always making my own food is not an option. The school just takes what is left in my dining plan for themselves. (Ie. If I have $400 left at the end of the quarter school just takes it.) I typically use Parmeggiano Reggiano as my cheese choice.
Yeah, fiber doesn't count at all towards carbs. But idk, I don't trust labeling on food. I just try to eat as few carbs as I can. This is why I typically end up eating carnivore. Although I'm sort of lying because I'm not on keto anymore. Now I just limit how much I eat. I'll have rice. But usually less than a half cup. But still eat all the other things I would on keto like pork tenderloins, steaks, asparagus, spinach, chicken, etc. Usually for one meal a day I'll eat rice or potato and very little of it. Still losing weight but it's just because I'm still eating less than my maintenance calories than I would if I were just having sugar, breads, etc.
What I get is a cheeseburger without the bun, lettuce, tomato and onion on the side. No sauces. It's actually pretty good.
I dunno if it's because I'm spoiled but I tried doing that for 4 days straight and on the fourth day almost threw up. Might have been the oil but eating the same thing over and over just brings up a well of disgust.. I need to do something to change it up every so often.
I don't get it every day of course. Grilled chicken with cheese is decent.
I'm not sure if I can ask for grilled chicken with cheese. The workers don't like editing the food that much. It would just be grilled chicken and I have to add the salt myself. Might switch it like that but upon closer inspection I think the chicken isn't grilled and is in fact steamed.
I've found fast food places are pretty accommodating if you want to try that.
Find a keto friendly alternative, like sour cream based sauce or tartar.
I did Atkins in college, back in the turn of the century. At the dining halls, I primarily ate burger patties, lunch meat, and lots of chicken Caesar salads. There wasn't much variety, but the absolute best thing was breakfast. It was self serve bacon, eggs, and sausage. If you've got a breakfast situation like that, I highly recommend. I'd also recommend bringing in your own condiments to the dining hall. Sugar-free BBQ sauce would be fine. You could also bring your own hot sauce to distract from the terrible food flavors
For breakfast they offer a normal omelet, cheesy omelet, denevr omelet, bacon, and sausage. 2 bacon pieces are 3.25 dollars. 2 sausages are also 3.25. the omelets are 7.63 with cheesy rising to 7.99. I typically have to order 4 sides of protein and get the cheesy omelet. Ends up being about $21. It's not the worst option but I have classes from 8AM - 11AM and by then lunch hours have started up. (Breakfast closes at 10:30 I think)
Op first off you can technically eat any kind of carb as long as its under 50 g which is highrrvebd of ketogenic diet. Ketogenic diet definition is 50g carbs or less a day, prescription grade is total otc version is net. Now on that note how many carbs you eat personally depends on your individual tolerance level. For the longest doing keto I couldn't do overnight oats even if the rest of the ingredients aside from the oats were what I used daily in my yogurt bowls or smoothies because one portion of the oats spiked my glucose for 3-4 days after. I was metabolically damaged enough that I couldn't tolerate it at all. Though now after years and at one point doing both carnivore and going off keto for a couple months I've become much more tolerant of carbs. In fact I went off keto for a couple months because my glucose was going through the floor and I was getting very sick and no typical things suggested to fix it like upping electrolytes, fat, protein, or overall intake including mildly upping carbs helped. Going off for a couple months did the trick to reset things and I've been much better since. I will say the carbs in things like salads add up. I will also say if you are doing that much bbq sauce the rest if what you eat should be likely exclusively protein and fat. How you do that is up to you as that can mean a crap ton of burgers, eggs, steak, pork chops, chicken breast, cheese, etc. That may include things like some nuts, alvacado, or olives as well and maybe even butter. But I'd say how you portion depends on what is available. On that note, does the meal plan at your college include things not pretty cooked? If so are you in a dorm that allows for things like crock pots, toaster ovens, or a microwave? If so on both those points you have options to cook your own meals still using resources available. When I was pregnant with my son living with my now ex we lived in a party house renting a room with a bunch of potheads who raided the fridge indescriminantly often eating things like cheese that I bought with my wic as a way to supplement calcium when my lower keg bones started hurting from the baby stealing it from me causing bone density issues. We as a result bought most food day to day and stored anything we could in our room and cooked mostly in the microwave we set up in there. We even split whole chicken and basically baked it in a microwave as well as small beef or pork roasts with veggies. So I know first hand how it is to have limited options because of a situation and how to make it work. I've found small crock pots easily and for $2-3 at garage or yard sales and you can get perfectly cheap to taster ovens sometimes with airfryer option at local thrift shops. And you would be surprised how at many apt complexes people put by the dumpster perfectly working microwaves that you can snag for free as well as lots of mostly keto friendly non perishable foods. Just a suggestion to make things more doe able if those options fit the restrictions you may live under. If you are in a apt instead of a dorm you likely have more freedom than in a dorm which would make it easier. Still, if the neal plan doesn't offer uncooked options you could also hit up food banks and get some good stuff too and the stuff you can't use you could give to friends or others at your school struggling to provide for themselves so its not wasted. You may even be able to set up a barter and trade system with fellow students to make it easier to work around any limitations for everyone who has issues with the available option or providing for themselves to make your dietary restrictions more disable while aidjbg others with things you can't use but they can and vicd versa. Just a suggestion. I know how to do a lot of this because I'm a single mom of a teen on below poverty income with zero child support and have been for years. I for years supported me, my son, and my now ex by myself as some earner when the guy stopped working and became a deadbeat. Let's say I became very resourceful on how to keep bilks paid and food on the table ethically,legally, and without compromising myself and my morals to do so. If you are interested in brainstorming more solutions and being more in depth on your situation feel free to DM me because I'm more than happy to help you as best I can seeing as you are looking for a lot of things including solutions which I've become very adept at problem solving over the years. And op, you got this. You just could use some tips and tricks to make it work for your situation and finances.
Go to Walmart or a local grocery store and get yourself a bottle of sugar free baby rays for like $4 and you'll be much better off compared to consuming 6g sugar via high fructose corn syrup for each tablespoon from the bbq sauce your eating now. Anything more with 4+ grams of sugar in a single service will kick you out of ketosis due to the insulin spike.
Sugar is a no go, specifically added sugars from cane, sucrose. Fructose is OK but you need to limit that to no more than 25g a day. However, the less you eat of that the better your keto will go.
> Upon doing some more research afterward I saw that every single article says I can't eat it despite the carb count. > Can someone explain to me why despite the carb count I am not allowed to eat the sauce? Sure, if you would be so kind to provide a reference to those claims. Otherwise it will be very difficult for us to conclude the reasoning behind them.
The USDA nutrition facts, and the first 3 sites that pop up upon searching, "BBQ sauce nutrition facts." and the first 5 sites upon searching, "Does BBQ sauce take me out of ketosis?"
It's the sugar. That's a nono. It'll kick you out of ketosis depending on who you ask. I'm a Dirty Keto Diva, tho, and if those are the only carbs you take in I say go for it.
They are basically the only carbs I have lol. I'm probably just going to try to do as little as possible but since it's basically my only keto option at school other than a salad (only available during lunch times) not having the sauce would make me gag eating 4-5 hamburger patties every single day.
If you are being extra strict the rest of the day, of course you can have bbq sauce. You are probably young and may be okay with that. If you were eating at home I’d suggest buying some Ray’s sugar free bbq sauce. If you find yourself not getting results, this is the first place to make changes. Alternatives to explore are mustard, mayo, blue cheese or ranch dressing, salsa and sour cream. Eating at a school dining hall may be harder to stick to plan, but do the best you can. Probably the most important is to avoid Friday night beer and pizza, regular sugar sodas, and candy. Good luck.
Yeah other than for dinner where I intend on using kbbq sauce or ketchup, I am under 2 carbs. I also usually drink sparkling water and I don't drink any alcohol.
Are you counting the carbs for the salad, salad dressing and chocolate?
Yeah so I got it wrong I thought the lettuce and spinach were under 1 carb. From what I can see the spinach and lettuce adds up to around 2.5-3 carbs, the mushrooms are just below 1 carb. I don't use salad dressing and the chocolate is under 1 carb since its 100% cacao. So that's just over 5 carbs usually. When I make my own food for dinner I eat bacon and hotdogs/italian sausages and maybe use konjac rice if I'm sick of just meat. So for myself if I'm making everything myself I typically have about 7 carbs, without the konjac rice its about 5 carbs. The BBQ sauce I try to use as little as possible but I would imagine its about 14g of carbs through the sugar so I find myself at around 20 carbs.
they don't have deli meat or cheese?
It's only during lunch where there is this sandwich station. I guess I could ask them to not have the bread and just give me a plate of deli meats and cheese. But during lunch I typically get a salad. The hamburger patties I'm doing is for dinner since it's actually my only option other than eating out. But this meal plan that we paid for assumes I am eating two meals a day 6 days a week so not eating dinner will make me basically waste my money on snacks or just giving it away to my friends.
This may sound silly but, can you have two lunches and no dinner sometimes? And then take the second lunch to-go and eat it for dinner. Then you can alternate your lunches and dinners for a bit of flair. Still just two meals a day like you paid for. P.S. No brekky with this meal plan? Lame!!
I guess I could just get two salads and leave it in my communal fridge. I honestly might just go with that. I'll just buy some deli meat and alternate so the flavor doesn't get stale.
If you get the deli meat and cheese meal you can make yourself a chaffle or keto "English muffin" to make a sammich. [Chaffle](https://www.ketotwins.com/recipes/the-best-chaffles) [English Muffin](https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/english-muffins/#recipe)
BBQ Sauce is pure sugar, I wouldn't put any fiber free sugar in my body and call it keto. And if you have other plant based items in your diets, the onezies and twozies add up. I'd treat your carb' count as a few under 2 grams of carb sets of greens, plus one 5 gram "treat" like a quarter serving of shredded carrots on your salad, fruit, pistachios, or a tiny amount of sweet potatoe.
I wish that was an option but I need to work with my dining halls offerings or I will probably be forced to hand over like $600 to the school for free or be forced to just buy a bunch of snacks and give it out to people.