Keto Diet: Week 1

So as I mentioned before last Friday 12/30 I started the Keto Diet. A ton of people I know have been successful which really got me interested. I was tired of counting calories and never feeling full – and it was really nothing I could ever handle long term.

So its end of day Wednesday, so it’s not officially been a week yet. But since I did diet through a New Years Eve and a 3 day weekend from work – I feel that it more than qualifies for an entire week.

I was all psyched to get started mostly because I was sick of looking at my gut just growing. All the sugar and junk that I ate on a daily basis is shameful. So Friday I got up for work and I made eggs and sausage for breakfast, and I cooked up a steak to put on my salad for lunch. I took pickles and cheese for a snack (my favorite together) and I was surprised that I wasn’t dying to eat a cookie or some chocolate right away.

Saturday I slept in – like really slept in. I went to bed at 11 and didn’t get up until Saturday morning at 11:39 (that’s when I checked my phone). I cannot even begin to remember the last time I slept that late – or that long. I felt Ok but as the day dragged on, so did I. To be honest I can’t remember much of what I ate that day, but I was starting to feel nauseous and tired. I went and got a Sprite Zero to help with my tummy. We spent our NYE watching a Harry Potter marathon and the kids and husband wanted pizza. I ordered Papa Johns – including a thin crust figuring I could eat some of that.

This is about when I started feeling a bit anxious about being on this diet – like OMG I am not going to be able to resist temptation. It happens all the time with food in my life; it’s one thing where I can get instant gratification though I always end up feeling guilty. I ate 2 pieces of the thin crust and ended up going over my carbs by about 15 for that day.

I started to feel a bit like a failure – hello day 2 and I was already getting anxious? On Sunday it was a bit of the same. I didn’t feel well, and I snacked on what I could and drank Diet Coke. A lot of people will warn you against soda in general, but it was the only thing keeping me going. I went to bed and slept another 10 hours.

Monday morning rolled around and I knew I needed to break that pattern since Tuesday was back to work. I decided to keep myself busy and since I’m in the process of DE CLUTTERING MY LIFE (more blog post on that to come) I started doing laundry and going through all the clothes in my room (that’s a job in itself. Lord, I need shopping intervention!) I got a ton of boxes ready for a yard sale, some cleaning done and I felt pretty good. Later in the afternoon I made brunch – I made the family toast, eggs and bacon, and I skipped the toast and made scrabbled eggs (with heavy whipping cream instead of milk) and cheese and avacado. It was a bit weird missing out on the toast since I was still feeling a bit icky, but I was full and that’s what mattered. For dinner I made the family pasta and veggies and some thin sirloin steaks, and I just ate the steaks (and my Diet Coke).

Officially Tuesday my sister started this process with me – I made a delish breadless BLT for my breakfast (who knew it would be good without the bread?!) and we had steak and salad for lunch.

This is the day I started to feel better – I had more energy. I came home from work and I didn’t feel like just sitting on the couch the rest of the night. I made dinner, I got some work done around the house and I felt good.

That night I tried a Ketone Strip to see if I was in ketosis yet – (ketosis is when your body is burning up all your extra fat) anyway it was a no go. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. I thought it would be quicker since I wasn’t having any sugar and less than 20 grams of carbs a day. But I liked how I felt – so I knew this was something I needed to stick with if for nothing else than the energy boost I had been feeling.

So tonight I decided to get busy in the kitchen and make some things I could eat that my family loves. Pizza night happens at least once a week in this house (if not more) and even with thin-crust it’s not something that is going to help me stay where I need to be. (Though I did hear some local pizza joints have a ‘no dough’ pizza – I’ll have to keep you updated on that). I worked on a low-carb pizza crust and some fat bombs. (I’ll share more about that later).

AGAIN- my energy level was up. Me trying out recipes and cleaning out my cabinets on a week night? I decided to try the Ketone Strips again to see if I had gotten any closer to where I needed to be. I am soo excited to say – I made it! I am officially burning that extra body fat!

I know I still have a long way to go – I have a lot to learn, and I’m sure there will be days that I’ll just want to eat that pasta or bread, or just grab a handful of candy. But I’m taking this one day at a time, and I can honestly say for the first time this is a diet that I’m enjoying. I feel good. I eat delicious foods and I don’t feel like I might starve.

The next goal is to start adding my work outs in so I can be ready for the all 5ks and mud runs we will be doing this year. I also want to start adding more Keto recipes to my meal plan so I don’t get bored or tempted to cheat.