Till now, I have followed the keto diet three times, each time having slightly different results. The first time was in 2018, before Christmas
I followed the diet for a month and I managed to lose 10.1 lbs. Then, I took a two-month break before starting keto again (Lost 19.5 lbs within a month)
I was in amazing shape. I took an oath to stick by my routine and avoid messing things up. I even added affirmations in my morning routine to keep myself focused and on track
Everything was going great until, quarantine messed things up!
Being alone at home all the time made me an expert in procrastination. I was always an expert but this time, I literally felt like I had no reason to train or eat healthily
My daily routine was no longer daily, My monthly goals were no longer important, and fitness was a joke
Within 2-3 months, I gained around 35 lbs
Nevertheless, I started the keto diet along with a little bit of hope on 14 April after multiple sessions of mental breakdown
For some people, diet restriction is enough to lose weight but for me, I need lots of workout sessions + diet to get myself in shape. My body literally gains weight overnight unless I do something about it
My diet ended on 30 May. Here is everything you need to know from my Keto experience, the peaks, and also the falls of the diet.
Please keep in mind that I am not a nutritionist. This information is from my personal experience and research
My Daily Workout Routine
I like working out a little bit whenever I follow a diet plan. It helps me in staying focused. Moreover, this way I lose more weight, keep my muscles toned and feel like I am doing something
Still, my workout routine was quite simple. It consisted of only 4 exercises which I performed whenever I felt like working out (I was at home all the time, I had a lot of time at my disposal)
Here is the list of exercises I performed
- Jogging (1 hour in the morning)
- Crunches (30-50 reps depending upon my mood)
- Skipping (1-2 minute throughout the day)
- Burpees (20 reps right before the shower)
My Daily Menu
Rather than creating my own meal plan and picking food & meals randomly, I followed a custom meal plan
I believe in balance when it comes down to nutrition, and I think dieticians know more about it compared to my own understanding of nutrition
Throughout my life, I have tried many different diets, like Military, Vegan diet, paleo, keto, and the best results were always when I avoided random meal plans
Moreover, it’s too complicated for me. The only thing I can successfully track is my calorie intake. Keto is restrictive and I don’t like taking chances when I am low on motivation
I got my custom keto meal plan from here. The diet plan was tailored to my weight loss goals and consisted of food that I loved. All I did was follow it!
If you are serious about following the keto diet then I would recommend you to consult a dietician to help you with the diet. This way you can minimize the chances of side effects
(If you consider visiting a dietician an unnecessary hassle then you can get a custom keto diet plan from here. This custom diet plan will respect your food preferences, goals, and will be created based on the expertise of certified nutritionists, personal trainers, and chefs)
If you are going to create your own meal plan then, you should consider consuming a varied diet, including pastured chicken and pork, wild-caught fish, eggs, raw vegetables, and leafy greens to ensure that you get the full spectrum of B vitamins needed to maintain energy, avoid side effects, and avoid nutrient deficiencies
Frustrating First Week
For some people transition into ketosis is marked by keto flu
Keto flu is a term used to describe symptoms like fatigue, nausea, increased thirst, mental fogginess which you may experience when your body breaks through the carb cycle and enters ketosis
Not everyone experiences it, you have to try keto to know. My “keto flu” lasted for 2 days. Moreover, after the first week, I never experienced the symptoms again
Personally, I think keto flu is the worst part of ketosis
To adjust your body faster to the new diet, you should try drinking more fluids. Drinking 2-3 liters of water will help you with keto flu as well as with the sugar cravings
Moreover, avoid having high expectations in the first week. High expectations will make your journey difficult
Biggest Challenges
What most people don’t realize about keto is that it’s an extremely low-carb diet. Moreover, you wouldn’t be able to enter ketosis unless you reduce your carb intake to about 20-30 grams/day (In the first week)
It’s not something you can get used to easily. The success of the keto diet also solely depends upon carb intake (In a way, this is the one thing you can’t mess up)
To ensure that I stay in ketosis, I reduced my carb intake to about 20 grams/day. It sounds easy but in reality, it was the result of intense planning
Another challenge was motivation. After the first week, I was not that interested in the diet (Even though I have followed it multiple times before). It just felt like a prison
I was already at home all the time. Now I can’t even choose what I want to eat. Right now, thinking about it send chills down my spine. I have no idea how I survived that
Maybe the fact that the results were instant (2-3 lbs/first week) helped me a lot. Please avoid starting the diet with low motivation as I did. I was always 1 day aways from quitting
The fact that I made it this far is something I am proud of
The 2-3 months which I spent at home alone had a very negative influence on me. I lunched over temporary stimulants to make myself happy, and they messed me up!
Nevertheless, What doesn’t kills you makes you stronger. Now I am very good at being alone (Not that I want to try it again)
Another thing you should know before you start the diet is that there are no days off. No cheat days whatsoever. You have to go all-in
The only way you will lose weight with the keto diet is by staying in ketosis
If you mess up your diet even for a day. Your body can get kicked out of ketosis which means, more work for you to get back on track
Unlike other diets, you don’t have a day off. So, commit before you start the keto diet, and then you will have amazing results!
Results after 47 Days
Ist Month (17 days): 10.5 lbs
Remaining 30 Days: 14 lbs
In total 24.5 lbs (11.1 kg) in 47 days, it’s not much but I feel proud
I feel healthy, proud, and light. If I mess things up again (I know I will), I will definitely try keto again!
Have a Nice Day!
P.S If you enjoyed this article on my keto diet experience, feel free to leave a question down below in the comment section if you have any
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