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As mentioned in my last post, one of my health & self-care goals for 2019 is to try Keto, and make this a lifestyle change to reach my ultimate goal weight of 125! I am of very small stature (5’3″), so this is a healthy target weight for someone my size. I also thought it would be great to keep an open journal to share with all of you my breakthroughs, learnings, and to just be real about my journey in case any of you want to try this diet out one day. Perhaps I will post a few YouTube videos along the way as well to keep this journal interesting with live commentary. I hope you enjoy!
Week 1 = Roller Coaster!
Day 1 | January 1 – Today I was super excited to start my new journey! Keto is on my vision board, and my first meal was chicken wings and broccoli (Winning!) My hubby also made steak and spinach for dinner. My starting weight is 151.6. So my goal by next Tuesday is to weigh 149.6. Fingers crossed!
Day 2 & 3 | January 3 – I lost 1.2 pounds already, but the past two days have been rough! Wednesday night I literally had a dream about making brownies and in my dreams I ate the entire pan! Haha! The next day at work, my chocolate craving was so bad, I went to WholeFoods on my lunch break to hunt for Keto friendly chocolate. I thankfully ran across a brand called Lily’s which tastes amazing! I’m not even a chocolate lover, but for some reason my body was craving chocolate. Lily’s is great to use since it uses stevia and erythritol to add sweetness, which brings net carbs to 4g per serving. I’ll leave a picture and link below:
Day 4 | January 4 – It’s currently noon, and I’m getting ready to eat lunch. Today is better day. I have not had any weird cravings, I do not feel hungry and I do not feel tired. I am nervous since I am going to a house warming party tomorrow. I hope I do not give in to any cravings and stay on track.
Day 5 | January 5 – This morning I weighed myself and I already lost 2 pounds in 5 days! This is crazy! Definitely the motivation I need to make it through the party today. So far I feel full of energy, but I miss my favorite coffee creamer. Today I am going to switch over to heavy cream to get my macros up, and to add some flavor to my coffee! Hope I make it through today!
Day 6 & 7 | January 7 – I made it not only through the weekend, but I made it through my first week of Keto! Saturday was super hard because someone brought one of my favorite desserts in – donuts! I stared at them pretty hard and tried to talk myself into it, but I walked away and did not give in (yay me!). Sunday was pretty easy since I mostly cooked and stayed in. I also decided I would treat myself by making my first ever cauliflower pizza! It turned out pretty good! Once I get the science of the crust figured out, I will post the recipe for all of you! Today is Monday, and I actually feel like I’m ready to start introducing cardio back into my routine from my one week break. Today’s goal is just 30 minutes. Let’s go!
Week 1 Summary :
Starting Weight – 151.6 / Week End Weight – 148.2
Mood – Excited!
Side effects – None
Week 2 = Amazement
Day 8 & 9 | January 9 – Tuesday Justin Timberlake came to Charlotte! So I decided to treat myself to some red wine at dinner before the concert to celebrate my amazing first week. I followed up by drinking plenty of water. Wednesday morning I weighed myself, and to my relief, the wine did not affect my weight! #winning! Wednesday I woke up super motivated to workout and did not lack any energy. I increased my cardio from 30 to 45 minutes. It is currently end of day Wednesday, and I feel tired, but I believe it’s due to my long day at work.
Day 10 & 11 | January 11 – The donut gods are trying to mock me! I swear! You guys know how much I love donuts! I came into work on Thursday for a planning meeting and this was what greeted me:
Like why?!?!?! I stared super long and hard and reasoned with myself “You’re ahead of your weight loss schedule. Take one bite, then walk away.” But then I felt as if I was betraying myself, so I turned my carb depleted self around, walked away, quickly, and did not look back! I almost gave in, but I did not! My body rewarded me with another pound dropping by Day 11.
Day 12 & 13 | January 13 – Weekend number 2 was much easier for me than last weekend! My husband and I spent a lot of time running errands together, and I found ordering out on Keto was quite easy. I enjoyed a lot of great meals this weekend, and kept my macros up as well. I also lost another .5 pound which was great!
Day 14 – January 14 – Today ends week 2 on my Keto journey! Week two was a great week! I was able to workout for 3 days during week 2, I survived another donut test, I did not develop the “Keto Flu” even though many people told me I could, and my body is dropping weight like crazy!
Week 2 Summary :
Starting Weight – 148.2 / Week End Weight – 146.2
Mood – Optimistic!
Side effects – 2 small bumps on my neck, not sure if it’s a bug bite or more …
Week 3 = The Keto Rash!
Day 15 & 16 | January 16 – Today is day 3 of what I believe to be the Keto rash. Monday I noticed two small bumps on the left side of my neck. They did not really itch, but I found it odd since I never develop bumps. Tuesday, four more small bumps appeared on the back of my neck. At this point, I dismissed the idea that I suffered from bug bites. Perhaps they were hives? I’m dealing with a very stressful week at work and not getting sufficient rest due to all of the activities happening this week. However, when I woke up Wednesday morning and three more small bumps appeared on the right side of my chest, I knew something was wrong. My entire life, I never suffered from food allergies. These strange little bumps began to itch today.So I googled “keto bumps” and learned that the keto rash is actually a real thing! It turns out, my liver may not be able to properly dispose of all of the chemicals coming from my fat cells fast enough, and my skin is reacting to the ketosis. So I have to either suffer and let this pass, or eat some carbs to help slow down the process. So I did what any girl would do, I regrettably ate pasta tonight. My first cheat of the year. Hopefully the glucose from the pasta will lessen the inflammatory side effects I’m seeing. Day 16 was a very sad day for me and I hope I can figure out how to overcome these side effects.
Day 17, 18, & 19 | January 17-19 – Thursday my rash continued to spread, but food wise, it was a great day on my Keto journey even though there was an all day seminar at my job. However, I cheated this weekend at dinner since I went back to Savannah to visit family and friends. Friday I enjoyed some wine, fish, and risotto and Saturday seafood with french fries. Introducing these type of carbs back into my body after 18 days did not end well for me, but the good news is my rash started to disappear! Haha! Hopefully, my cheat meals will not throw me off my goal too bad this week. Time to get back on track!
Day 20 & 21 | January 21 – Man, Week 3 was ROUGH! I fell off my Keto diet due to being out of town, but the good news is as soon as I returned back home, I got right back on track! The other good news is, my Keto rash is GONE! Thanks to all of the wine and carbs over the weekend, that seemed to do the trick! 🙂 The downside to me cheating was that my weight hit a plateau, and I did not lose any weight this week, I only maintained. I ended week 3 at my starting weight – 146.2. Looking forward to Week 4!
Week 3 Summary :
Starting Weight – 146.2 / Week End Weight – 146.2
Mood – Meh …
Side effects – Carbs & Wine healed my Keto Rash!
Week 4 = Getting Back On Track!
Day 22 & 23 | January 23 – This week I am focused on getting my body back into ketosis. Today I ate tuna, lots of veggies, nuts, and berries. My water intake could have been better ( I consumed around 6 cups today), but there’s always tomorrow to improve! This weekend, I also want to research some Keto soup recipes for lunch next week. If I land on a few good ideas, I will share them with all of you!
January 24 – 31 – This week was a great week for me to get back on track with Keto! By this point in my journey, I no longer crave the sugar and carbs I used to at the beginning of the month. If I have a random craving, I simply munch on some sugar free chocolate or berries. My first month on Keto taught me to listen to my body. When I consumed something that was processed or something that was not all natural, I felt sluggish. That means I need to take care of my body, and always give it natural foods! In one month, I lost a total of 8 pounds! I can’t wait to see what February brings!
Week 4 Summary :
Week Starting Weight – 146.2 / Week End Weight – 143.5
Month Starting Weight – 151.6 / Month End Weight – 143.5
Mood – Excited
Side effects – None, my rash was healed by carbs and wine 🙂
I always wonder why chocolate is the one thing we crave I think it is magnesium but I am not sure, have you heard this?
Wow that is quite a journey to have! And it is quite amazing to see the body adapt by the end of this period, and that you no longer crave the sugars as you might have at the beginning.