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Are you looking for some inspiration to start, or keep going with, the Keto diet?
When I first started keto, I read a lot of keto reviews to see what other people’s personal keto experiences had been. Reading all those positive keto results posts was all the encouragement I needed to give it a try.
Now that I have been doing this keto thing for 7 months, which is the longest I have stuck with any diet, I figured it was time for me to share my successes by doing my own keto diet experience blog post.
Switching to the Keto Diet
So, last month I posted about my miserable experience with the GAPS intro diet. As horrible as it was, I did lose 10 pounds in 10 days. But once we switched to the full GAPS diet, my weight loss slowed down.
After about a week of not seeing much change on the scale, I realized that it must be because of all the carbs in the fruit I had been indulging in. I had heard about keto from a friend, who has had some amazing keto results, so I decided to give it a try.
Most keto diet reviews talk about the “keto flu” you experience when you first start out. Since I had already gone through all of that when I started on the GAPS intro diet, my first week of the keto diet wasn’t so bad. By the time I made the keto switch I had already gotten past the fatigue, brain fog and memory issues and my cravings for junk food were pretty much gone too.
Since the GAPS food I had been eating was already pretty low carb (compared to how I had ate before), it didn’t take long for me to get into ketosis. By the third day of following keto, I experienced the euphoria I had read about in all those keto reviews. All day I was smiling for no reason and just had an overwhelming feeling of pure happiness.
Increasing my Carbs
I started out at the standard 25 grams of net carbs or less per day, but it slowly started creeping closer to 30. While my weight loss had picked back up, a good sign that I was in ketosis, I figured I better pick up some of those keto strips to be sure. Even on the days I got closer to 30 grams, the strips showed that I was in ketosis.
I was able to stay at or below 30 grams of net carbs for about 5 weeks. Everything I had read about testing your keto carb limit said to wait a few months to adjust to keto first. But I had found a good deal on some coconut flour and with all the delicious looking treats I was making for the kids, I needed a few extra carbs a day so I could try some keto versions for myself.
I added 5 more grams of net carbs a day for a week and checked with the keto sticks every morning. Since the keto sticks showed I had no problem maintaining ketosis at 35, I started going as high as 40 the next week.
Most days I was still staying around 30, but even on the days I did get as high as 40, the keto sticks said I was still in ketosis.
Since 40 grams of net carbs was more than enough to allow me to eat healthy meals and have an occasional keto treat, I stuck with that for a couple of months. It wasn’t until the Christmas season started that I was tempted to go a bit higher.
With all the Christmas baking I was doing, and the taste testing of the new recipes it involved, I started going over my 40-gram limit. Eventually, I would have the occasional day where I would hit 50 grams. And then the week of Christmas, with all those Christmas dinners, I even went over 50 by a couple of grams.
Still, I never kicked myself out of ketosis.
Now, going on my seventh month, I eat around 30-40 grams of net carbs a day. Once in a while, I will go as high as 50, or even slightly above that, and I don’t seem to have any problems. I have yet to kick myself out of ketosis.
My Effortless Keto Weight Loss Results
So, how much weight did I lose on keto?
By the sixth month, I had lost 30 pounds, without making any real effort.
While I do go for a 30-40-minute walk with my dog every day, I have yet to go to a gym or do any extra exercising. I never limit how much I eat and pay no attention to my daily calorie intake.
The first 10 pounds came off easily when I started the GAPS intro diet. While I wasn’t tracking my carbs then, I’m sure I was under 30 grams since I could only eat meat, vegetables and broth.
When I made the switch to keto, I quickly lost 5 more pounds. After that my weight loss continued steadily at around a pound a week. By January, I was down to 145 pounds.
While I had lost weight counting calories (and vigorously exercising) in the past, my weight loss had always stalled at 155. I had pretty much given up on ever getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight and had instead decided to just aim for 150. So, seeing the scale actually drop below that was awesome.
Now, I’m not trying to promote doing keto without making any other efforts. Exercising isn’t just good for weight loss, but also part of a healthy lifestyle. While my keto experience has been pretty effortless for the last 6 months, my weight loss has now stalled. Obviously, I will be putting a bit more effort into it now.
While seeing the number on the scale drop is great, now I am focused more on just getting my body into ideal physical shape. Right now, my priority is adding some regular strength training sessions to my weekly routine while I continue to follow the keto diet.
Other Keto Results
If you have read any other keto experience blog posts, than you know that weight loss is not the only benefit of the keto diet. While the effortless weight loss was the main reason I started keto, there have been some other awesome results too.
Skin
The effect that keto has had on all my period-related issues has been one of the best unexpected keto results. Since starting keto my face has stopped breaking out the way it used to when my period is on its way. Sure, I still get the occasional little pimple, but they don’t stick around too long.
Cramps
Then there is the effect it’s had on my cramps. I have always suffered from horrible menstruation cramps and relied on ibuprofen or Midol to get me through my period weeks. Now I don’t even get a warning cramp to let me know I have started. Seriously, I can get through my period like one of those girls from the tampon commercials now.
PMS
Even those moody PMS symptoms have gone away. I used to always be able to tell that my period was a day away because I would get overly sensitive and cranky. Now those female hormones don’t affect my mood at all.
Mood
While I wasn’t a miserable person before, except on that one day of the month mentioned above, now I’m pretty much always in a great mood. My outlook on life just seems so much more positive. While I haven’t experienced that euphoria feeling again, my happy mood has stayed consistent.
Mental Functioning
Some days I am truly amazed at how much I am able to accomplish. While I used to need frequent breaks to process my thoughts while I was writing before keto, now the words all come out naturally and easily. Some days I finish a writing project and can’t believe how fast I gotten it done.
Focus
Staying focused and on task has been so much easier too. I no longer get distracted by all those thoughts that used to pull me away mentally. My focus has improved so much I have even been able to start meditating, something I had previously found impossible to do because of all the distracting thoughts that used to flood my mind.
Energy
While that euphoric feeling didn’t stick around permanently, my energy levels have. I no longer spend my mornings in a foggy daze. Within 30 minutes of waking up, I am full of energy and alert enough to actually start being productive. There are no crashes in the afternoon or evening either. I am easily able to keep going until around midnight every day.
Sleep
I have realized that I now only need 5-6 hours of sleep a night, compared to the 7-8 hours I used to need. Even on the weekends, I don’t seem to be able to sleep in more than an extra hour. I’m not really sure why I now require less sleep, but I have done some research online and found that I’m not the only one who has experienced this on keto.
Stress
While I do still get stressed, as it’s really not avoidable in life, I am able to cope with it better now. I have always been one to focus too much on the things that were stressing me out. I was never good at letting it go so I could just relax or focus on something else. But now I don’t have any problem pushing that stressful issue aside and filing it away mentally to be dealt with later.
Anxiety
While my anxiety was pretty much gone before starting keto, there have been a few stressful issues that would have triggered my anxiety in the past. But now that I am able to better cope with that stress, even these issues haven’t caused my anxiety to return.
As happy as I am with my keto weight loss, it’s really all these other keto results that have kept me following the keto diet.
What was your keto experience? Did you lose weight effortlessly? What other positive effects has the keto diet had on your life?
Let me know on my Facebook post and follow me on Facebook to see what else I learn on my journey to live a healthier and happier life.