keto diet, week 1.

My husband jumped on the ketogenic diet last year and lost ninety (!) pounds. I hate him. He looks awesome! I'll admit that when he first started, I was very skeptical, especially given the amount of fat that he ate. But a year later, he still has the weight off and his latest physical had great numbers (and some areas even improved). So, I thought - let's give this a whirl.

What is a ketogenic diet?
It is a high fat, moderate protein, and very low carbohydrate diet that may be used for weight loss, as well as a treatment for other conditions. In doing some very general research this week, I found sites that detailed how to use this diet for epilepsy, diabetes, and cancer treatment. The diet puts your body into a state of ketosis, which burns fat rather than energy garnered from carbs. You can check to see if your body is in ketosis, most accurately, via a blood test. Well, I'm not going to delve into my health insurance dollars if I don't have to, so I have been using the keto strips to help determine what's going on. Not as reliable but much cheaper.

Week 1 is rough - your body goes through carb withdrawal, you experience a wide range of fun emotions, and you have to re-work how/what you eat completely.

Week 1: Emotional Review

• Day 1: In the morning, I felt pumped! Let's do this! Lunch time was an adjustment (eww ... eggs?!) but I rolled with it. By the time that the evening rolled around, I had a short fuse. 
• Day 2: Anger, headaches, exhausted, very emotional, anger (yes, it warrants mentioning twice), cravings are awful. This was definitely my low point. 
• Day 3: Hey! I feel more like a person!
• Day 4: Okay, cravings are subsiding a bit. I am seeing progress, so that is motivating. My energy is improving.
• Day 5: I feel great. I no longer want to punch people for eating beautiful carbs in front of me, lots of energy, and not very hungry. 
• Day 6: Normally, Saturday is my fall apart day. I got up at a respectable time, had a nice relaxing day, and wasn't very hungry. Motivation increases! 
• Day 7: That's today! My energy level has stayed up, my hunger has stayed down, and I'm really liking the results from this diet. 

Food that I Ate this Week: And for the record, I'm not a big meat person. It's been adjustment to eat this way, with a LOT of coaching from my hubby. My mental process goes to AGH! TOO MUCH FAT! but it really is working ... 

• Eggs 
• Cheese 
• Bacon 
• Peanut butter
• Broccoli
• Chicken breast
• Hot dogs 
• Spinach
• Greek yogurt (only a little)
• Cauliflower "mashed potatoes" 
• Salad 
• Water, water, and more water! 

Week 1 Results: 

• Weight: loss of 6.9 lbs! 
• Energy Level: great by the end of the week

Week 1 Revelations:

• Willpower is hard but possible - once I was through the initial carb detox, it motivated me to stay on the diet more for fear of going through it again
• I miss Starbucks, but I'm trying to make it work -- a grande iced coffee with sugar free syrup and soy milk has only a few carbs, so that will be my new normal
• Coffee at home is possible! Enter the Keurig machine, heavy whipping cream, and sugar-free Torani syrup (it's amazing!). I've been doing a normal 8 oz. cup of coffee, 1 oz. of heavy whipping cream, and 1 oz. of the sugar-free syrup. 
• Eating this diet is expensive...but in comparison to medical costs down the road if I don't get my butt in gear, mere pennies {perspective}.