Learning The Ketogenic Diet: Week 1
As I mentioned in my previous post, we’ve been struggling with infertility for about 3 years now. All along the way, my doctors have run tests, done bloodwork, tried me on different medications, and a whole host of other things. All without being able to find the root of my problem. Last week, I was finally able to get a referral to an endocrinologist who is pretty much my new favorite person. She looked over my years of test results, and asked me about my experiences, and then came up with a hypothesis of what’s been going wrong (PCOS and insulin resistance) which she later completely confirmed with additional blood work. Part of the new treatment plan she has me on is a super low-carb ketogenic diet. As a food blogger, I’ve become pretty familiar with all the different eating styles out there. Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, Low-Carb, Paleo, etc. But the one I’d never really understood was the ketogenic diet. So of course, that’s the one I end up on. Haha. At this point, I’m not planning for this blog to become a “How to live a keto life” kinda blog, but I thought it would be helpful to chronicle some of the things I’m learning along the way and share about my personal experiences. I will also be sharing all the yummy keto recipes we invent. Y’all can help keep me accountable and enjoy this diary of my first week on keto! We’re gonna call this my “before” photo. Taken a few weeks ago. Disclaimer: I am on this diet under the close supervision of a doctor. This website does not provide medical advice and the information below is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any q Continue reading >>
Two Weeks Of Keto Eating — What You Need To Know.
Two weeks of Keto eating — what you need to know. Almost two weeks ago I wrote this — the start of my journey into a strict and monitored 90 day (minimum) ketogenic diet. I also promised regular and public updates. I’ve been semi-true to that goal — I’ve been doing regular updates over on twitter and I’ve even made my measurements spreadsheet public. What I haven’t done is blog; because blogging is hard and I really haven’t felt like doing it for a few weeks. Weight And Fat As it stands right now after 12 days, Ive dropped 3.3 Kg & 0.3% of fat — although at this stage since i’m using a connected scale to measure you have to assume a 2% margin of error — lets talk again in 2 additional weeks. Let’s be clear — I’m aware not all of that weight is real, some of it will be ‘water weight’ — the body using its carb stores and dumping water as that process happens. If you look at my spreadsheet, that clearly explains the initial rapid 2KG drop; but the next 1.3 seems genuine. What’s also interesting is that my initial measurements have improved; at the 1-week mark this could be down to bloating, so I can’t wait to compare to this coming Mondays when we should see a more realistic change. I wanted to get the weight and measurements out of the way first — because that’s actually the least interesting part for me. If you read my initial article you’ll understand that for me, this is more about a long term lifestyle change than short term weight/fat loss — although they are of-course related. Sleep — Quality and Duration My spreadsheet suggests my quality of sleep remains unchanged, both the duration and quality. The way I ‘feel’ doesn’t agree, so for the remainder of the 90-day period I’m going to focus a LOT more on the leng Continue reading >>
My Six-week Keto Diet Experiment
When Ros Lawrence first heard of a diet that allowed her to eat foods she normally denied herself, especially peanut butter, she immediately decided to give it a go. What would you say if I told you there's a diet where you can eat all the food you normally deny yourself, stop counting tedious calories, shift some weight, gain extra muscle and get an energy boost too? If you're anything like me you'd be asking 'where do I sign up?'! So when I heard about the ketogenic diet from a colleague I was immediately intrigued. This simply sounded too good to be true. Could I really eat fat and get lean? Enjoy peanut butter treats and squeeze into my skinny jeans? Never one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to see for myself, and so began my six-week experiment with the ketogenic diet… What is a ketogenic diet? In its simplest form, this is an extremely low-carb, high-fat diet. It's based on the principle that by lowering your carb intake your body is pushed into a metabolic state known as ketosis (pronounced key -tow -sis), where it switches from burning carbs as its primary energy source to burning fat. To be more precise, it uses ketone bodies or ketones from the breakdown of fatty acids in the liver – hence the name, ketosis. Now that fatty fuel can come from a meal you've just eaten or from the stores of fat on your body (aka, the evil muffin top). Ketosis is a metabolic process that the body initiates to help us survive when our food intake is low. Typically our bodies run on glucose derived from the breakdown of carbs – this is because glucose is the easiest molecule for the body to convert and use as energy, so it will be chosen over any other energy source. But when your body doesn't have enough carbs for your energy needs it will switch to ketosis to keep yo Continue reading >>
Keto Diet Week 1: My Keto Diet Journey
Okay friends, the Keto Diet Week 1 results are in! When I was deciding to live the ketogenic lifestyle, I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. Thankfully, I was wrong! It was so much easier than I thought it would be. The first week I went easy on myself. I knew that I didn’t have enough food in the house to work within my goals, so I decided to simply cut out all gluten. No bread, crackers, nothing, nada, zip, zilch. Okay, you get it. I was amazed by the results of cutting out gluten. After a few days, I noticed that my belly wasn’t swelling after every meal (something that started this past year), and I felt full of energy. I was always full after every meal and didn’t feel the emotional desire to eat. I did crave sugar a little, but it wasn’t that bad. If I craved sugar, I would just eat frozen fruit or an apple. This seemed to work very well for me. I also noticed that I wasn’t swelling anymore. Before cutting out bread, I had experienced swelling in my hands and feet. I don’t really know what was causing it, but it was annoying and painful. My guess is that bread and the fake sugars in the sodas were causing me to swell and retain water. After one week of cutting out the bread, tortillas, and crackers I lost 4.8 pounds. I attribute most of this to water weight, and I’m assuming that 1/2 to 1 pound was actual fat. Either way, my clothes were fitting better, and I wasn’t bloated, so I was pretty happy with those results! I can’t really remember what I ate or how much I ate, but I did fill full for longer periods of time, and I had more energy. The only side effects I really noticed was the occasional dizziness when I would stand up. Week By Week Stats: Keto Diet Week 1 Starting weight: 121.00 Weight Loss: 4.8 lbs Measurements: (I didn’t take th Continue reading >>
What Happens In The First Few Days Of A Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic diet comes with the caveat of experiencing the keto flu. The keto flu can stop you from getting into ketosis quickly as it may place a psychological barrier in from of you preventing you from continuing with the diet. Here’s a basic outline on why keto flu occurs and the simple and effective steps you can take to minimise the negative effects. The keto flu is generally a sign that the ketogenic diet is working. There are some measures you can take to firstly, speed up how quickly you get into ketosis and secondly reduce the symptoms of the keto flu. Ketosis (using fat for energy) occurs when your diet is comprised of high fat and low carb. Generally, this entails consuming 5% carbohydrates (or 50g per day). The keto flu describes the symptoms (flu-like) which come when people transition from using glucose as their primary source of fuel to ketones as their primary source of fuel. The body may fail to quickly enough as it struggles to use the dramatic change in macronutrient ratios effectively. Flu symptoms may include: Fatigue Craving for sugary foods Nausea Headaches Brain fog Problems sleeping Irritability The keto-flu duration and severity is different for everyone and this is going to depend on a few key factors. The first reason is based on how drastic the reduction of carbs are. You will enter the state of ketosis much quicker this way, but the downside of this is that the symptoms of the keto flu are likely going to be more pronounced. Symptoms are dependent on the drastic of the cut of carbohydrates but also your age, gender, exercise frequency. The flu will generally last about a week. This may last upwards of several for some individuals, or as little as a few days if you are lucky or take more extreme measures such as incorporating a prolonged Continue reading >>
How I Survived My First Week Of Keto (low Carb Ketosis)
How I Survived My First Week of Keto (Low Carb Ketosis) – The first few days of a diet are the most important ones. I, like many others, have a hard time staying motivated and focused on a new diet and tend not to stick to one. Here are my 5 tips on how I survived week 1 of the ketogenic diet for beginners – the longest “diet” I have ever lasted on! Love seeing the results! © Jessmine / Dollar Photo Club As the week started to come to an end, I thought many times if I wanted to share this kind of post or not. Should my blog be only about recipes? Is this type of post a little too personal? In the end, I thought what the heck, just write that darn post. I’m sure I am not the only person who is wondering how the heck does one survive the first week of keto or any diet. Dieting isn’t fun; dieting is HARD. It’s blood, sweat, tears hard for me. I can never stick to a diet and every time I start one I always fail and end up “cheating”. Either I wasn’t enjoying the type of food on each particular diet, or the diet was boring, or I didn’t see enough progress to keep chugging along. If you have read my blog for any amount of time, you should know I like quick meals that pack a big punch of flavor. Over an hour of prepping for the meal is a no-go with me. The longest prep snack I have made since being on keto was a mixed berry whip with approximately 15 minutes of prep time. Not too bad. So far I have lasted a FULL WEEK, and I am the happiest I have been in a long time. My energy is starting to come back, the food is fantastic, and I am down 6 pounds! And I forgot to mention, I am not starving!! I am satisfied and eat when I want to. I love not having to watch the clock and eat every 3 hours or so. ©MSPhotographic / Dollar Photo Club So here are my tips on Continue reading >>
5 Changes During My First Week Of Keto
A couple weeks ago my husband and I decided that we were ready for a big change. We had tried to eat better in the past, but we were ready for something that would drastically change our lifestyle for the better. When we first began, we simply decided to cut out breads and sugar. Not going in with a game plan usually isn’t a good idea but we just wanted to start something. Anything. It was pretty quickly when we stumbled upon the ketogenic diet (keto). Keto is a low carb, high fat eating plan. Personally, I try to keep my carbs under 20 grams daily and usually keep them under 10. The hardest part of keto isn’t reading food labels to see all those sneaky carbs, but to get enough fat and protein. It almost seems wrong that I’m losing weight and eating a bacon cheeseburger for dinner…but you know what? It’s working for us! Along with weight loss, there are lots of other great changes my body is experiencing since cutting down carbs and sugar. Reduction in under eye circles I’ve had dark circles under my eyes for as long as I can remember. Nothing seems to cover them and I’ve been accepting that this is just how it is. In just a few days I noticed they were lightening up and my eyes were brighter. I’m sleeping better Cutting out sugar really helps avoid random crashes throughout the day. I wake up sleepy but not exhausted like I typically would. At night I find myself sleeping more soundly and comfortably. Decreased appetite, faster satiety A great thing about keto is that it severely reduces my appetite. As a stay at home mom, this is really helpful. I cook many times a day and sometimes it’s just really hard not to be snacking while I’m around all that food. In the morning, heavy cream and coffee usually can hold me until around 1pm when I decide to ea Continue reading >>
Lchf – What To Expect For The First Couple Of Days
Keto flu or carb crashing. There are many names for what happens when you stop eating carbohydrates and start fueling your body with dietary fat instead. On this page I will tell you what to expect for those first couple of days and also give you my best tips for an easy transition. If you’ve been eating the standard Low Fat High Carbohydrate diet for your entire life, it’s safe to say that your body is probably a sugar burner. This also goes even if you’ve managed to keep your diet healthy in terms of low in sugar and junk foods. Grain products, potatoes and starch in general are all converted to glucose (blood sugar) in the body. And your body is a clever machine that tries its best to adjust to whatever you provide it with. By feeding it plenty of carbohydrates, it has enough fuel and never really have to rely on fat for energy. Over time your body has slowly downregulated the hormones and enzymes used for fat burning, for the simple reason that they weren’t all that necessary. And then, all of a sudden you stop eating carbohydrates! For the first couple of days, your body relies on stored carbohydrates (glycogen) for energy but after 3-4 days, the storage is empty. You’re feeding your body dietary fats but your body isn’t familiar with what to do with it, so now it starts complaining. Or even crashing! Also called the keto flu. This is how you feel: COMMON SYMPTOMS OF KETO FLU – CARB CRASH ¤ Headaches ¤ Fatigue, feeling exhausted, heavy legs ¤ Dizziness, nausea, feeling lightheaded ¤ Problems concentrating ¤ Mood swings, feeling irritable ¤ Constipation or diarrhea ¤ Bad breath – metallic taste in the mouth ¤ Crazy appetite or cravings or no appetite at all These symptoms are all your body telling you that it does not have access to enough fu Continue reading >>
First Week: Top 3 Keto Conundrums
The low carb lifestyle is known to sculpt some serious fat off your body. Many followers of the keto diet experience rapid weight loss, low hunger levels, and good energy levels. Since you cut out most of the high sugar foods, controlling your calories becomes a breeze. Sounds like an easy plan to success, right? Those who joined the ketogenic army can attest that the early weight loss comes with a toll. The first week of low carb living can be daunting, both mentally and physically. As your brain and body are adapting to a life without glucose, you may become outright miserable. Don’t go shoving cake down your neck just yet – the misery passes. To have an idea what you’ll go through, check out these common side effects that most go through when switching to a keto diet. Usually they only last for the first few days to a week, but preparing yourself for what might come will always help. Mental and Physical Fogginess The first major sign – coming 2 or 3 days into your ketogenic transition – will be the fogginess. You’re brain likes to take it easy and it if had a choice, would run on only glucose. As your body is switching from glucose to ketones as its main source of energy, your body will continue to burn the last stores of glycogen. This results in a foggy haze that might make it hard to concentrate. You might find yourself staring into space or feeling lethargic, but have no fear – it will pass. Headaches might pound at your door, nausea can pit in your stomach, muscle cramps can ruin your day and irritability can spark arguments, but knowing this can help you plan. Switch your diet in the middle of the week, so you will have the weekend to fully rest and recover from your transition. What we suggest is to go super low carb for the first week, which mea Continue reading >>
Symptoms Of Ketosis:
If you are considering the ketogenic diet or have already started down this carb-free road, you may wonder what you can expect. Here’s the thing. Ketosis looks different for everyone, but I will share many of the most common symptoms with you today. If something other than what’s listed here is happening to you, just do a quick Google search for that symptom and keto. You should be able to find what you’re looking for! The Early Signs: The early signs of ketosis vary from person to person. The biggest impact on how quickly you notice the symptoms of ketosis will have a lot to do with how you ate before you started the diet. If your diet was very high carb, you might get hit pretty quickly and furiously with what we like to call the “Keto Flu.” This can last anywhere from 3 days to a week or more. Once your body has adapted to burning ketones for energy instead of glucose, you’ll be golden so don’t give up! Here’s what you can expect within the first 2-3 days of starting the Ketogenic Diet: Fatigue & Weakness (lack of concentration) Headaches Metallic taste or sweet taste in your mouth (I experienced this, and it tasted like blood in my mouth) Lightheaded / Dizzy upon standing Heightened Thirst Hunger / Sweet or Carb Cravings Dry Mouth possibly paired with “Keto Breath.” Stomach Discomfort / Mild Nausea / Cramping Trouble Sleeping or Staying Asleep (early waking) Water weight loss (perhaps an excessive loss of weight within the first two weeks) Frequent Urination Allergies or cold like symptoms may flair up For the ladies: Period issues: You may experience a longer, shorter, earlier, later period because of Keto. Seriously it causes all of that. Each woman is different, and I have experienced every one of those issues with my period since starting ket Continue reading >>
