I have recently completed my first 30 days on the keto diet and I am so excited about my results. Keto has the ability to change a persons life if done correctly. I’ve seen stories of people losing 100+ pounds over the course of their keto journey and not only did they just lose the weight to look good, they have transformed their way of living a healthier life.
For me personally, I am rounding my fifth week into my keto diet. So just one week past my 30 days on the keto diet, I am so excited to share my results.
I contemplated going on the diet for a very long time before I actually committed to it. I read every thing I could find online to make sure I was educated enough on taking this lifestyle change on.
So what can you expect to go through for 30 days on the keto diet and what might your results look like? Before we get started, check out my post about the the facts and why it works here.
The Weekend Before I started
I started my diet on a Monday, which is the most basic way to start a diet or exercise program. I was that generic person that said “I’ll start Monday”.
Well that weekend before, I decided to eat a few of my favorite foods that I knew I wouldn’t be able to have anymore. For some reason I was on a huge pasta kick. So I ate a lot of it.
My aunt brought me a cake because I hosted a really early Christmas party, and I made sure I had a lot of that too.
I also LOVE sandwiches, so guess where I went Sunday for lunch with my boyfriend? The Terry Melt for a hot chicken chipolte sandwich with cajun curly fries…yeah you can’t have those either.
Since I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to be eating besides eggs, poultry, salmon, and greens, I checked online for a few dishes that I could make, that would last me for a few days, until my next meal prep day. I made a grocery list, and got everything I needed. Then the fun began.
First Week Struggles
The day before I started, I meal prepped for the week. It was soooo much fun, especially since I love cooking. I made chorizo egg muffins for breakfast, chicken casserole for lunch, and salads for dinner. I laid out five cheese sticks for the week as a snack and was excited to get the ball rolling Monday morning.
Day 1 and 2 were fun. I was thinking about how great I was going to look and feel in no time. But then the rest of the week happened.
I was SO SICK of the chicken casserole and egg muffins. I was literally on day 3 and 4 thinking oh my god I miss carbs so much. Eating that much fat just made me feel gross. But I stuck through it because I knew the feeling was temporary.
But I was starving most of the time. All of the benefits that were supposed to happen like decreased hunger, decreased brain fog and more energy were not in effect yet. I was feeling the opposite of all of this. Again I read everything I could on when the effects would be reversed, and I would start feeling fantastic.
Cue the keto flu….
The Keto Flu
Well this part definitely sucked. This happens early on in your diet change, because your body isn’t used to the shock. Your body is changing it’s fuel source. Instead of burning glucose, it is burning fat.
During my transition, I got hit with the keto flu hard. I contemplated quitting the diet, because sometimes it was unbearable. I also want to note that I had a horrific chest cold. But I could tell the difference between that and my keto flu.
The symptoms for me included:
HEADACHES:
I was getting headaches quite often. I’m not one to normally get them, so I knew it was a symptom. The headaches felt more like hunger headaches than anything, verses a migraine. So they were manageable.
When I would get a hunger headache, I would try to drink some water and lay down if I had time. I did a lot of relaxation after work which seemed to help.
NAUSEA:
I remember feeling so sick to my stomach once in a while to the point where I actually did puke. This only happened a couple times. Although it was enough for me to question why I was doing this to my body.
I figured this just can’t be healthy. But I kept reading, and I was joining Facebook groups on how to help your symptoms. People assured me that it was just my body making a change.
CRAMPING/EXTREME HUNGER
Grouping these two symptoms together is a must, because they go hand in hand.
Personally this was one of the worst symptoms for me, because it was so painful. I wasn’t sleeping at all during the keto flu and I would be laying in bed just dying to eat. But I track my macros and calories, and I had eaten enough. I would have to get up in the middle of the night. .. And I’m talking like 3am to go grab a cheese stick.
The hunger and pain was all I could think about which wasn’t going to help me sleep anyways, so I figured a carbless cheese stick will at least take some of the hunger away until it’s time for breakfast in a few hours.
Cramping in my stomach was also a nightmare. Out of all of the symptoms, this one was the worst. The cause for this is usually dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, so I made sure I was drinking tons of water, and lots of greens and avocado.
I did notice some muscle spasms in my legs, but it wasn’t anything that effected my day to day, so this symptom didn’t bother me as much.
ACHY JOINTS
Well again, this symptom sucked. My lower body was so achy right when I was going through the hunger and cramping and all I could do was try to get some sleep.
The best advice I got was just to let my body rest. So again, that’s what I did hoping that this would all be over soon, and I’d be able to see all the amazing benefits everyone was talking about. Because at this point I didn’t understand why anyone would put themselves through this kind of pain and discomfort.
I’ll provide an article here for tips and tricks to avoid the keto flu. Some people get it worse than others, but the more prepared you are the better off you’ll be.
Finally The Keto Flu Is Over: What’s Next?
Ahh finally my body had adapted to the change. These symptoms went away around day 8 for me. I thought it was kind of a long time for them to last, but I also didn’t experience the symptoms til about day 3 too. So a little less than a week.
I was able to finally start to see and feel some of the benefits of the keto diet.
Weight Loss
Now the good part of the article. Why all of the above was worth it. It happens, and it happens quickly!
Like I said, I’m one month in. I have successfully lost 13 pounds! This is a healthy weight loss that averages about 3 pounds a week. Please don’t go on the diet to lose 30 pounds a month, because it is just not realistic.
I’ll breakdown how my weight loss went:
Week 1:
I was losing a pound a day. Imagine being 7 days on the diet, and being down 7 pounds! It was a dream come true, but in reality it was all water weight. The decrease in carbohydrates, and the extra water intake is what is going to cause this. All the bloat that water causes was quickly finding its way out.
Week 2:
A little bit into week two, I noticed the scale barely moving. It kind of discouraged me, but I knew that the first week I was losing at a faster rate due to it being water weight. But by the end of this week, I had lost about 2-3 more pounds.
Week 3:
You’re basically looking at the same thing as week 2, but I slipped up and kicked myself out of ketosis because I had taco bell. I knew I shouldn’t have, but it happened and I’m past it. This is the week where you’ll start really noticing physical changes (face, waist, legs for me). Even though I had a cheat meal, I got right back at it, reset my mindset and pushed forward to keep going and got back into ketosis really quickly. I’m now down about 11 pounds and the inches are coming off.
Week 4:
The last week was my best yet. Down 13 pounds total, I started to see more physical changes. My family and boyfriend were telling me I looked smaller the past few weeks, but I really noticed it in week four. My legs are slimmer and toned! I’m a PE teacher so my legs were never a concern of mine anyways since I’m constantly running around, but I noticed a lot more muscle definition. I also noticed my waist is MUCH smaller. Of course my stomach has shrunk too, but I noticed my waist dip in more predominately than before I started.
You Can Do It!
If you’re thinking about starting a keto diet for weight loss, I strongly encourage you to push through the discomfort. I’m fully adjusted to it, I’m never hungry, my energy is through the roof, but the best part is I’m smaller due to FAT LOSS.
I do not recommend stepping on the scale every day, because you may get discouraged. Once you’re done losing water weight, you may start averaging 1-3 pounds per week, but that’s a great thing. You are losing fat, which means your body is shrinking. Suggestions to anyone would be to take measurements and watch the inches just come off.
The New Me: My 30 Days Of Keto Results Were In
My journey was rocky early on, but eventually picked up. The benefits outweighs any of the keto flu you’re going to experience. Working on my 30 days keto diet to see maximum results was really starting to pay off!
For instance, I have a lot more energy these days. Working as a PE teacher, I move a lot. The keto diet has allowed me to get through my day with my energy levels on high!
Before going back to work (I started keto right before Christmas Break) I was really scared I would have little energy when I get back, and be hungry all the time, but not have any time to eat while I have classes. But the complete opposite thing happened.
So What Happened?
After my first week back at school I would have a coffee with almond milk in the morning (7 am) and did not need to eat lunch until I sat down at 12:30 pm. Not having energy for 6 classes before I even get a lunch break was terrifying, but I’ve been so much more interactive with my kids. I’ll average 12,000 steps before I sit down for lunch these days.
The extreme hunger I was feeling in week 1 is COMPLETELY GONE. I am rarely hungry. Again, going all morning being on 10 with my students, I would always have a fiber one bar on hand, because I could never make to to lunch without food (I would eat breakfast too). But now sometimes I sit down for lunch, and start putting in grades and have to remind myself “oh yeah you have food in the fridge…EAT IT”.
Not being hungry all the time is amazing, and lets me focus on what I’m doing instead of thinking that my stomach hurts, I have a hunger headache or I’m light headed.
I do keep a few cheese sticks on deck in my mini fridge in my office just in case, but I haven’t needed to eat them.
Also, I’m not saying that I’m just never hungry and never want to eat, because I do. I can just go longer without craving sugar or carb filled food to feel satisfied.
My body is also smaller. Not perfect, not ripped. No 6 pack abs…..YET. I’m a work in progress, as we all are. So here’s a picture of where I am currently at.
WAYS I STAYED ON TRACK
In a previous article title New Year, New Me, I talk about how to set realistic goals, and keep yourself accountable to reach them.
What I did for keto was first figured out exactly how many pounds I wanted to lose. Even though I was weighing myself every day in the beginning, I would only track my weight on Sundays. It allowed me to see greater progress.
From here I set a goal of 30 days. What would my results look like 30 days of keto?
Fitbit For THe Win:
Another way I became successful on the diet, is because I track EVERYTHING I eat. This sounds like overkill, but for me it is necessary. Everything I eat pre-packaged, or make I enter into my Fitbit app.
My goal was to eat 20 grams of carbs or less a day, and using my Fitbit allows me to achieve my goal every day. Of course there are days when I eat more than 20 carbs, but I can adjust my diet accordingly when I eat a meal with a lot more carbs.
It got to the point where I actually don’t track every meal now, because I found my favorites and make them often. I became knowledgeable about foods and how many grams of carbohydrates they have in them.
Days where I am unsure of the macros in certain meals, I still track them so I can keep myself in ketosis.
Other Ways To Stay On Track
Speaking of staying in ketosis, it is a good idea to test your ketones. I bought ketone testing strips on Amazon, where you can match the color of the stick to the bottle to let you know the amount of ketones in your urine. It sounds crazy, but again, it keeps you on track.
The hardest part for me was not being able to go out to eat with my boyfriend. We love trying new places, but I had to put an end to that in the beginning until I could figure out what I could eat. We have recently went out a few times, but all I really can get is omelettes for breakfast, or salads.
I honestly don’t think it’s worth it to spend my money on a salad or omelette that I can just make from home so I don’t think I’ll be going out for a while. I’m a biscuits and gravy for breakfast at a restaurant, and a buffalo chicken wrap with fries and BBQ sauce for dinner type of person.
Bottom line, it’s up to you to keep yourself accountable and you’ll find ways to do that if you are serious about committing to this lifestyle. Try joining Facebook groups, and check out Pinterest for recipe ideas. The hard part is starting, and the harder part is getting through week one, but I promise once you do it is 100% worth it.
Leave a comment and tell me your victories, struggles, and my favorite…recipes! I want to hear all about your 30 days of keto results!
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