So as some of you know I started a keto challenge on January 6th. I don't know what happened exactly but since about September I started eating like a dumpster and (surprise surprise) my body composition sloooowwwwllyyyyy gave way to it. When I started the challenge I weighed 164.4 pounds... barring pregnancy, that's the heaviest I've been in probably 10 years or so. And those of you who want to be sweet and give me the benefit of the doubt because I did just give birth 5 months ago, stop it. I'm not bragging, but two weeks after I gave birth I was sitting at 148 pounds, which is LESS than I weighed when I got pregnant. In fact, the day I went into labor I think I weight 174 pounds... you guys... that's only TEN more pounds than I weighed when I started this challenge!
Anyhow, I digress. But it shows how much like a dumpster I was eating. In four months I gained about 15 pounds... that's CRAZY! So I had been wanting to try keto so that I can help my clients more effectively who want to try it, but I also knew that I needed to reign it in HARD. Every few weeks I will be posting my progress and how I have been feeling so that others who are trying this diet might benefit from my experience.
I'll give a little outline of my structure so that you know what I'll be tracking. I ran my macro numbers and will be tracking all my food (for at least the first 6 weeks) in My Fitness Pal. I am not overly concerned with hitting my carb number as long as it stays under 50 grams a day. I am not a super dogmatic person so I will aim to get my fat as high as possible, at a minimum 60% of my calories daily, but I'm not going to drill down to the gram. I will be more focused on hitting my daily caloric allotment. I am working in a deficit since my primary goal is weight loss.
I will be testing my ketone levels every Monday and Thursday. If when I check my ketone levels and I'm not achieving ketosis by eating this way, then I will be more strict. Monday's I will also be weighing myself weekly. If I had access to an InBody monitor that would obviously be better, but a scale will have to suffice at this time. So here we go!
Week 1: January 6 to January 12
Switching eating was a welcome change and while cutting out sugar always sucks, I found that my cravings weren't so bad. I think this is due to the high amount of fat, which is highly satisfying, but also due to my high motivation factor.
I've been very consistent in hitting my numbers. On day five I was feeling SUPER sluggish and wanted to just lay down all day (but I didn't!). It's hard for me to ascertain what is causing this fatigue because there are so many factors. My hubby was out of town Sunday through Wednesday, so it might have been that I was just physically tired from not having any downtime from my infant. It might also be related to the fact that she is teething and so my sleep has greatly suffered the last two weeks in particular. My body is also in the process of switching metabolic pathways, and I'm also working in a pretty aggressive deficit... so take your pick.
I did feel like my milk production was suffering a little bit so I just took in about 50 extra calories and that seemed to do the trick. The last couple of days I have felt much better, felt like my milk supply was increasing again, and had way more energy. It might also just be that my body has effectively switched over to ketones so my energy levels boosted when it became efficient again.
I weighed myself this morning (the13th), and weighed in at 154.4 pounds! Almost a full ten pounds down. I'm not a silly person, I know a lot of this is water weight, but it was still very motivating. I also measured my ketones and based on the strip I was in a moderate level which I was really happy with (about 4.0 mmol/l).
I do about 30 minutes of CrossFit 6 days a week, do yoga (sometimes an intense flow, sometimes just good mobility) 6-7 days a week, and walk my dogs for at least 45 minutes a day 7 days a week. I am also breastfeeding and pumping in between feeds, so the demand on my body is fairly high. Producing milk trumps everything else right now, even if that meant putting weight loss on the back burner. But right now I feel like my body is leveling out and we shall see what week two brings!
Week 2: January 13- January 19
So I'm finding that eating keto is actually not that hard at all and it's not too much different from how I was eating when I was eating more clean. Our meals consist of a variety of proteins and then lots of lower carb veggies. Because we have to increase our fat, I am sure to add in nutrient dense sources like healthy oils, avocado, and some dairy as well. I'm also adding in yummy fattening sauces like pesto which adds a lot of variety to the meals.
I tested myself twice this week and was in ketosis both times- about 4.0 mmil/l still. I am wondering if I'll ever get to the higher numbers but am happy as long as I remain in ketosis. I totally forgot to weigh myself (DUH) so I will just wait till next Monday to do it. I have never liked weighing myself... I am always scared of the number. Even me, a seasoned personal trainer and nutrition coach, fears the number on the scale. I am getting better about it though. I know that the number does not reflect all aspects.. it doesn't even reflect the best aspects! It doesn't tell me body composition, how my body feels, how my body moves... so I will just skip this week and see what number is on it next week.
I am feeling pretty good. I have noticed that I am a bit more impatient at times. Like, I feel that I get upset more easily that I usually do. I am going to keep an eye on this and be mindful of how long it lasts. It could just be my hormonal cycle and have nothing to do with how I'm eating at all. Otherwise I am still feeling satisfied and full between meals. Still just combatting the compulsion of WANTING to eat more, even though I know I'm full. A few sugar cravings but nothing terrible. Mostly just at the grocery store when I'm walking past the bakery!
My activity levels are the same as the first week, and I feel like my body is adjusting even more to intensity. The first week I felt like I couldn't push quite as hard as I normally do. This week I still wasn't 100% but felt like I was getting closer. I'm keeping in mind that this could have just as much to do with my current lack of sleep (thank you teething baby hahaha).
Week 3: January 20- January 26
One thing that I always love about switching up my diet is how it inspires me to try new recipes! I totally get stuck rotating the same 15ish meals around all the time, but being on keto, I like to try and mix it up and keep things exciting. So that's been fun- I'll be sure to do a post on some of them in the future.
So this week I just felt HUNGRY all the time, so I did rubbish at sticking to my calorie goal. I even noticed a dip in my milk production, which is obviously high on the priorities for me, so I ate til I felt full and then stopped. I also dialed back the intensity on my workouts and focused on still getting in movement everyday, but didn't worry so much about getting into that 8-9 out of 10 intensity.
We visited some friends this weekend and I had bread too so when I tested for ketones a few days after that I only had trace amounts. I expect that they will rise again as I dial it all back in more strictly this week.
My weight stayed the same (154 lbs.) which I was stoked about considering how much I was eating. I also made kale chips for the first time on Sunday and I over salted them a little bit and I could tell that I was holding water when I weighed myself Monday morning. Last week I got in my head a little bit about stepping on the scale, I think because I was eating so much, so I just rededicated the challenge to myself. What I mean, is that I looked at why I'm really doing this. While losing weight and being lighter is awesome, what I REALLY care about is my health and how I feel and how I can best live my life. If that means that my weight doesn't drop much but I feel amazing, then that's fine. So every time I start to think about the number on the scale, I just think about how I'm eating for health and happiness, not for a number on the scale.
Excited to see what week 4 will bring!!!
Week 4: January 27- February 2
My appetite feels more dialed in again this week which I am grateful for. It makes me wonder if last week was my PMS week. This might be oversharing but I haven't had a period yet since I had my baby girl so it's hard to tell where I might be in my cycle. It's really common for women to not have their period for awhile after they give birth, especially if they are breastfeeding. My milk production has also gone back up (YAY!) which I am very relieved about.
I weighed in at 152.4 so I'm down a few more pounds, 13 pounds in four weeks which is pretty crazy! I feel really full and satisfied during the day but am definitely ready for my next meal once it rolls around. Something that I have been doing for awhile, but it seems to help manage my appetite as well is intermittent fasting. I make sure to go at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast the next day. This gives my body a much needed rest to digest everything. There have also been studies that show fasting can help stabilize blood sugar and support weight loss, but most of the studies are largely inconclusive and there is really just as much evidence saying that it doesn't do anything at all. However, I am a strong believer in doing what YOU feel works, and what makes you feel good. Giving my body at least 12 hours of digestive rest seems to help my system and it seems to help manage my appetite during the day, so that's why I stick to it. I also find that it's pretty easy to go 12 hours. I mean if you finish dinner before 7 pm, that just means that you have to wait until 7 am to eat, so that's not bad at all. I try and get some fasted cardio in 3-4 days a week but sometimes that doesn't happen and that's ok too.
I'm still working out 6 days a week, getting some sort of movement/activity 7 days a week and feeling good in my workouts. My strength is coming back which feels amazing. Did the most pull ups in a workout post pregnancy than I have, and I also hit 175# back squats (12 total, mostly singles) which is also a postpartum PR. So I suspect that I've put on some muscle as well. My clothes are all fitting better and generally I feel lighter and leaner.
Since having bread last Saturday, I have had only trace or small amounts of ketones in my urine, but it seemed to be rising when I measured it this morning so I'm hoping to be back into moderate by Thursday but we shall see. I'm not sure why but my body seems to be resisting going back into it, or maybe I'm eating too many carbs. I'm trying to stay under 50 grams of carbs a day but I'm not being super dogmatic about it, especially since 99% of my carbs are from veggies (the other 1% would be the occasional dairy item).
OVERALL SUMMARY : FIRST FOUR WEEKS
I LOVE how I feel. In fact, I love how I feel so much that skipping sugar and flour doesn't seem so bad and I barely miss it. I have always known that I feel best eating low carb but this just confirms how good I can feel when I am off of it. While I won't always weigh and measure everything, I have a feeling that I will eat this way largely going forward even after the 12 weeks is over.
Something that I am REALLY surprised about though is how little I miss fruit. I honestly thought that was going to be REALLY hard because I was eating 2-3 pieces of fruit a day, but now I see that the fruit may have been spiking my blood sugar and causing me to snack/eat more in general. I'm not saying I will never eat fruit again, nor am I saying that fruit is unhealthy and/or "bad", but I'm saying that for me, maybe it's not the best for stabilizing my blood sugar.
Normally four weeks would be near the end of the nutrition challenge, so I'm excited to really challenge myself and keep pushing for 8 more weeks. Truth time, I DO have a weight goal that I would like to hit by April 1st. In fact, the hubs and I both set goals and if we meet them by April 1st we both get a nice reward. Like I said before, normally I wouldn't use weight as a rubric, as I don't feel like it is the best measurement to use, BUT it is something that I can measure consistently so it's what I'm using. I want to be in my 130's by April 1st. Even if it's 139.9! I haven't been in my 130's in ages so it might not be sustainable for me, but I wanted something to work towards. Knowing that I am just 12 pounds from my goal makes it feel feasible, but I also know that the first weight to come off is the easiest, so I'm going to have to remain disciplined and continue to dial things in if I want to get there.
Excited to see where the next four weeks takes me and thanks for coming with me on this journey!
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