My Experience on the Keto Diet

The keto (ketogenic) diet is basically a very low carb diet where your body is forced to switch modes between using glucose for energy and using fat for energy. It's an amazing way to lose weight (in the first week you can lose up to 10 lbs which in large part will be water weight). The goal is to eat a good amount of healthy fats, have some protein, ensure you include fiber in the diet and stay hydrated as your body won't hold onto water the way it normally does.

I've been on the diet for about 3 weeks. I was only 160 lbs at 5'9" (which is considered thin by USA standards) so I didn't intend to lose much weight. I hit 150 lbs in about 2 weeks and am content with that lol. A guy at work has been on the diet for a year or more and says it's made his mind clearer. I'm still waiting for those benefits lol, but hopefully they come. I'm an electrician and also write a lot of code for a living so that would be a pleasant bonus.

I went shopping lol. I got lots of ground beef, cheese, bacon, grilled chicken, pepperoni slices, and salad. Also pork skins which I've had to learn to like (I used to consider gross, but now they're just chip-ish to me lol). I have noticed that I don't get hungry like I used to. Now I eat if my stomach growls and I am hungry. Before I would eat because it was time to eat, and I would eat a little more than is healthy. With the small weight that I've lost, pull-ups are much easier. I'm not super fit, but 6-8 pull-ups used to be about the most I could do. Now 12 and I'm done.

One difficult sacrifice was the Starbucks Soy Mocha with Whip. Make fun all you want, but that was my heaven. One cheat day or cheat meal per week is all I need to stick with the diet religiously. Early on I made simple mistakes like forgetting that hotdog buns are not allowed lol. I don't worry too much about counting carbs. I mostly just avoid them. Remember to have green veggies as you'll need fiber. Fiber carbs are fine as your body just passes them through (these are not the droids they're looking for lol).

I do get weird looks when I have a plate full of greasy bacon, omelet covered in cheese.. or grilled chicken covered in guac and sour cream as part of my "diet". Butter is encouraged lol. Overall it's pretty tasty.

Unknowns? I'd like to have my cholesterol checked at some point. I've heard it's actually not bad at all. I'd rather find out for myself instead of relying on research. Normally I'm all about science. The problem is.. you can find scientific articles that support keto, or the opposite. Keto helps against cancer? Or keto causes cancer? Coffee is good for you.. or bad? You get the idea. To some extent, different people will respond differently to the same diet anyway (genes and health history).

If you're interested in trying this diet, expect the first few days to be difficult. I took it fairly easily, but some people say they get really sluggish and sometimes have headaches.

The ketosis diet has long been a remedy for seizures. The following are some of the results of a study on this from this website: http://www.drperlmutter.com/new-study-validates-ketogenic-diet-epilepsy-treatment-adults/

(Now a report, appearing several weeks ago in the journal Neurology, reveals that in fact, a ketogenic diet is also profoundly helpful in adults as well in terms of treating epilepsy. This research, published by investigators in Maryland, found that there was at least a 50% reduction in seizures in 32% of patients treated with a ketogenic diet as well as in 29% of patients who went on a modified Atkins diet. In fact, 9% of those placed on the ketogenic diet and 5% of those placed on the modified Atkins diet had a greater than 90% reduction in the frequency of their epileptic seizures. These diets were designed such that the bulk of calories, between 67% and 75%, came from fat. The study revealed that “the anticonvulsant effect occurs quickly with both diets, within days to weeks.” Interestingly, the most common side effect was weight-loss which the office indicated “maybe advantageous inpatients with obesity.”)

Does anyone have any keto tales of woe or victory? I'd love to hear them!