Got Through 90 Days in No Time
Sorry for the very late follow up to my original Keto post. When I started this site, I was in the middle of several different time-consuming projects. Now that I’m back to a better schedule, I figured a 90-day synopsis of living with Keto/low-carb is worthy of a follow-up post.
This won’t cover everything but should shed some light on my experience so far.
The ketogenic diet is all over the place these days. Is it the next fad or is it the Holy Grail of eating? To be honest, I think it’s much bigger than anyone expected. From the food industries to the pharmaceutical companies, there are a lot of people threatened by the results people are having with Keto.
I started off speaking to my brother who guided me in the right direction. He mentioned how I could go down the rabbit hole of information if I wished. I, of course, started digging in deeper.
My main two sources for questions and information are Dr. Eric Berg and Thomas DeLauer. I mentioned them in the first Keto post, but to this day, I watch their videos. The knowledge these guys have is tremendous. If it wasn’t for them, I probably would have quit this lifestyle awhile back.
Weight Loss
My starting weight number from the original keto post was 176.6 on the home scale. I wasn’t so much looking to drop pounds. I really wanted to focus on the belly fat that has been bothering me for the past 4 years or so. It’s not a potbelly or beer-belly kind of thing, it’s just the only area that stood out when looking in the mirror. Everything else, for the most part, was where I wanted it to be.
At my lowest, I was down to 165.0. This was a number I hadn’t seen since college. Again, my intent wasn’t to lose that many pounds, it just came with the territory of eating the way I was.
I was eating almost the same amount of calories that I’ve always eaten. Entering into Ketosis in the first week really kicked up the fat burning. After the first week, I was shedding the pounds, Ketones were high and I was feeling great.
Muscle Strength
The one thing I did notice was a little off at the beginning was my performance in the gym. I usually lift fairly heavy but did notice a slight strength reduction. This is probably a mix of a couple of things, but the reduction of protein and carbs is most likely the cause.
I decided to accept the fact that lighter weights were the way to go. I increased repetitions and lowered weight. I kept the cycle moving where I was cranking through a lot more exercises in my time at the gym. Over the course of a week or two, my body adapted to lifting a lot more reps at lower weights.
I might have lost a little bit of muscle in the process. At age 45, I don’t need to be benching 225 all the time. In a future post, I will share the workouts that have been working for me.
Cholesterol Lipid Panel
The image below is really interesting. This will eventually be its own post but I wanted to share some of the numbers today. Although the dates are just over two years apart, at the time of the first test I was in pretty good shape. I was pretty happy with my strength and overall daily function. My eating was fairly healthy in the sense of a lot of organic foods, but I was hitting the chips, bread, tortillas, rice and the other carbohydrates we all love. It’s pretty interesting to see how although my cholesterol went up on Keto, take a look at my TGL/HDL ratio. You can use a calculator to figure this out, but my ratios are all IDEAL. Below 6.0 is where you want to be.
Learning About Nutrition
The coolest thing about this journey is the knowledge I’ve gained. If I could remember everything I’ve read or watched I’d be ready to teach. However, this won’t be the case. Make sure you read and watch on your own to really understand nutrition and the body.
Learning about inflammation was probably the number one thing I’m most interested in. I’m particularity interested in how to reduce inflammation from the brain all the way down. Knowing what you put in your body and for the most part, where it came from can change your life.
People say organic foods is a bunch of baloney. Do you believe that? Do you agree that cancer and other diseases, like diabetes and liver disease, all have increased significantly over the past few decades? If it was a known fact that something will increase your chances of something bad happening to you would you do something about it? I would hope so.
Brain Function
One of the main reasons I stepped into the keto way of life was because of brain fog. For about 6 months prior I was really suffering from a lot of brain fog. My concentration was really low and my production had fallen off. As I’m writing this post, I feel great. I may not be the best writer, but I do know that I’m thinking a lot clearer these days. If you are stuck in a rut or just not getting things accomplished, this is another reason to think about Keto.
Fat Adapted
A term that gets thrown around a lot on the ketogenic diet, is fat adapted. Having more energy, decreased appetite, increased physical endurance, reduced carb cravings, better sleep are some of the benefits of being fat adapted. Even if you fall out of ketosis it is easy enough to get back in within a short period of time. This is where I am now. I’m not always in ketosis. I’m drinking alcohol, but I’m also not slamming a 6 pack. I watch what I drink and make smart choices.
Once in a while, I crave bread if it smells and looks good, but for the most part, I definitely don’t need it.
Intermittent Fasting
I thought I would be doing some prolonged fasting since Intermittent Fasting(IF) has been going increasing well. I haven’t committed to more than a 20 hour fast. There is a lot involved with IF, but if you research the benefits you may want to give it a try.
I don’t do it every day. I will go for two days in a row and then mix one or two days without. I usually make it about 14-18 hours to eat after my last meal. My favorite method is eating my last meal around 6-7 pm and then not eating my first meal till about 2 pm the next day. I’m averaging around an 18 hour fast.
There are a ton of videos on IF on YouTube. Check out Dr. Bergs channel for some great information.
Final Thoughts on the Ketogenic Diet
Expense or cost of eating can go up. But, it can actually decrease if you are eating less. Depends how much you normally eat out, how much food you are consuming, and how much food you waste.
Maybe it’s not for everyone, but if you take the time and learn more about Keto, you’d be surprised how it makes so much sense. If you are struggling with losing weight, fighting inflammation of some sort, struggling with a disease such as diabetes, Parkinson, cancer or any of the others out there, you need to do your research.
I considered myself pretty healthy when I started and will honestly say, I feel even healthier. Are there days where I’m not full on 100% great, of course. Keto isn’t a diet fad, it’s a lifestyle. It’s avoiding the crap your body doesn’t need and putting in the right nutrients.
Learn about the positive effects it can have on you. I’ll cover more on all this as the site progresses.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
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