MY KETO STORY
After stumbling upon the /r/keto subreddit and doing some preliminary research, I started a ketogenic diet in April 2011. My goals were completely vain -- at 5'9" and 160 pounds, I was bigger than I was used to (especially around the stomach) and wanted to lose weight fast without being hungry and still being able to eat things like mayonnaise and eggs and salami. Using MyFitnessPal as a macronutrient and calorie counting resource, I made sure I was eating no more than 1600 calories per day and that my nutrient ratios were 65% fat, 25-30% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrate. I rarely went over 50 net carbohydrates per day and I diligently tracked every morsel and each liquid that passed my lips.
By the end of May 2011, I lost almost 20 pounds and had the nicest physique I had ever had, without doing any extra exercise (just my regular NYC walking and twice weekly Simple Fit workouts). Some of this result is due to genetics -- my family tends to have defined, lean muscles even at higher body fat rates and we tend to be lean overall -- but I'd say 80% was just eating keto.
I lost a few more pounds (at my lowest ever -- 135 pounds) and then maintained this weight and physique using a ketogenic diet and rigorous boot camp training and weight lifting (exercising 5-6 days per week) through November 2012 (because I was exercising more, I relaxed my nutrient tracking and allowed myself more calories).
However, I got engaged in September 2012, and then fell prey to holiday food in November and December. I was having a hard time at my job and our apartment had some serious structural problems (our bathroom ceiling caved in!), and I used that as an excuse to get lax with diet and exercise.
With the stress of getting married, changing jobs, moving, setting up our new apartment and getting used to my new position at a new firm, I completely neglected my eating habits and exercise regime for basically an entire year. By September 2013, I was the biggest I have ever been in my entire life -- 180 pounds. Getting back into my healthy habits has been a struggle. But keto has been a miracle for me, once again. I'm now down to about 150 pounds (still have 15-20 pounds left to lose). My exercise habits have not bounced back yet -- but that 30 pounds of weight (even while being somewhat inconsistent) have melted off with keto.
All that story is to preface 3 key things I've learned from doing a very low carb/ketogenic diet on and off for the past three years.
NUMBER ONE
Consistency Is Key
Keto is awesome, but if you go "off the wagon" and eat sugar/grains/starchy food on even a semi-regular basis, along with all the fat and protein you are used to, you WILL gain all the weight back and FAST. If you want to transition out of a ketogenic diet, I would recommend doing so like Eleni does and still "eating clean" with your carbohydrates coming from potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit and whole grains like oats and quinoa. If you transition out of keto, you will also need to cut back on fat intake. The whole point of a ketogenic diet is fueling your body on fat. But if you add more carbohydrates, you are basically confusing your body -- it will start to run on glucose again and instead of metabolizing fat you are keeping the extra fat you are eating.
If you do keto, get keto adapted, and then abruptly start eating thoughtlessly like I did (New York City pizza and Chinese takeout, anyone?), you will pile on the pounds but quick. I ended up being TWENTY POUNDS HEAVIER than I ever was in my entire life by being inconsistent with keto.
NUMBER TWO
Fat Is Your Friend
Make sure you are eating A LOT of fat. Err on the side of too much fat (and very low carbs)! Fat keeps you full, in a good mood, and fuels your body on keto. Scrumptious, fatty, luscious avocados will become your favorite fruit. I always stock up and then refridgerate once ripe to have a big supply. Here's one of my favorite keto snacks:
All that is? Half an avocado with a scoop of full-fat cottage cheese! It is AMAZING and the macronutrient ratios are almost perfect. You know I'm lazy -- I just bring an uncut avocado and a little container of cottage cheese from home, cut the avocado in half at work, plop the cottage cheese on top in work kitchen and DONE. It's gobbled at my desk with a spoon on days where I'm busy. If I want to make a lunch of it, I'll eat both halves and double cottage cheese. If not, I'll wrap other half of the avocado for next day. It's around 600 calories total for a full avocado.
Another thing is to always have a fat pick-me-up around, especially when you are first getting keto adapted. This helps keep you satiated AND sane. I always keep this in my drawer at work:
PORK RINDS. They are amazing source of fat, have no carbs, and you feel "normal," like you are getting a nice, potato chip-like snack (especially if co-workers eat garbage snack food around you).
NUMBER THREE
Alcohol is NOT Your Friend
You CAN have alcohol on a ketogenic diet -- but basically only sparing helpings of dry red or white wine or hard liquor with mixers like plain seltzer and Diet Coke. However, please take it from me: your alcohol tolerance is SEVERELY limited on keto! Your body is running on ketones for fuel and because of this, your body metabolizes alcohol completely differerently.
Where before I could have 3 or 4 mixed drinks over the course of a weekend night out on the town and be completely fine the next day with no hangover? On keto that is a recipe for being blackout drunk, not remembering anything past the first drink, and waking up with the worst head-pounding-stomach-churning-just-plain-evil hangover EVER. Trust me, I found this out the hard way this Valentine's Day. My husband was not too amused about me first drunkenly dancing around the apartment and then not being able to function after two drinks! Not to mention having to help me through the next day's earth-shattering hangover.
I don't care WHAT your tolerance is on a normal diet -- I guarantee you that you will be an EXTREME lightweight on keto.
Basically, if you want to drink, please be careful. On keto I can get a buzz off a single drink. The problem is not knowing your limit because you are used to drinking more, or gettting so buzzed off a single drink that you decide you want to drink more "for fun." Trust me, next day will be the least fun day of your life.
Please, please, please: pace yourself and be smart about your alcohol intake while on a low carb or keto diet.
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I hope that, through my own trial and error, you may glean some insights that will help you with your diet regimen!
Keto is amazing, but like anything, it's not a magic wand -- it takes work and thought to gain the most benefits.
As always, please let us know if you have any questions -- we love to hear from you. Also, I think Eleni and I will be focusing on some "crunchy" home beauty secrets in our next round of posts. Stay tuned!
-Alex
