Digital art created using an image by Jeon Sang-O from Pixabay
All it took was turning into a ketogenic zombie for a month 😉
Ha ha, but to be serious, I followed the Ketogenic diet with a 300 calorific deficit per day. Meaning, I have strictly eaten a very low carb (20-30 grams of carbs/day) diet, while maintaining a count of 1800 carories/day.
To recap on what the ketogenic diet is:
A keto, or ketogenic, diet is a low-carb, moderate protein, high-fat diet that puts your body into a state of ketosis. During ketosis, your bodies metabolism changes to burn fat as it's primary source of energy, rather than glucose from carbohydrates. Many studies show that the keto diet provides benefits for weight loss, health, and performance.
Source: The Keto Chronicals - Salad, Eggs, Avocado and Fish...
But I have to be honest, the keto diet should come with a warning. Following this dietary regime takes discipline, a serious pile of supplements and the ability to shrug off feeling like death for between 2 days and 8 weeks.
Keto flu is a condition where your body essentially reacts to the process of adapting to burning fat as its main fuel source. During this time you can experience fatigue, nausea, insomnia, muscle aches and sugar/carb cravings. The effects can be mitigated by supplementing with electrolytes (sodium, potassium and magnesium) as these elements are flushed from your system during the initial phases of ketosis. According to most sources this adaption phase should take between 2 days to a week, 2 weeks at most.
I'm here to tell you that while this may be the case for people with no underlying health conditions, it is certainly not the case for people with digestive chronic conditions like IBS and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.
The keto flu has lasted for considerably longer for me, and left me feeling like the walking dead.
Digital art created using an image by Jim Gade from Pixabay
I've been sick as a dog for the best part of the last month, with the odd burst of energy, seemingly out of nowhere. The last week has been particularly hard as insomnia has hit big time. Bringing with it insane dreams, and an average of around 5 hours sleep a night. Along with strange feelings of disassociation, severe depression and thumping headaches; this keto flu has been like a knockout punch.
But it's not all doom and gloom! This morning I managed to get back to sleep at my usual 'insomniac' waking time of 5am for a further 3 hours and felt mush better for it. I decided to take a short 5 mile bike ride and visit my parents where there is a set of digital scales...
Yeah I know, how lame is it that I don't own a set of scales myself, especially when undertaking a health challenge like the ketogenic diet 😆
Inspired by the energy I'm feeling today, I've decided to share the lowdown on my weight loss!
- Before taking up this challenge I was two stone (28 pounds or 448 ounces) over weight. I weighed myself on Christmas day - before eating dinner - and I was 17.1 stone (239.4 pounds or 3830.4 ounces).
- After getting through the initial ten days of keto flu, I weighed myself at my parents and clocked in at 16.6 stone (232.4 pounds or 3718.4 ounces). I remember that initial weight loss of half a stone made me smile at the time. But bigger grins were to be had today!
- I weighed myself about 3 hours ago, and clocked in at 15.11 stone (211.54 pounds or 3384.64 ounces)! 😃
All of this weight loss was achieved in a exactly a month as I started adhering to the keto diet strictly on the 4th of January after the effects of the new year's partying had worn off.
Although I did not start this diet primarily for weight loss - but to try and help heal my chronic conditions - the plummeting scales is a fantastic bonus.
Along with SIBO, I suffer from something called fatty liver disease. The primary treatment to halt of reverse this disease is to lose weight and increase exercise. Given that the chronic fatigue I have suffered from limited my exercise, dropping this weight is the first step on the road to recovery.
Less weight means less drain on my energy when cycling or swimming. I also believe that if I can heal the problem with my liver it will have a knock on effect to the digestive condition, bringing everything into balance.
I hope this post may have inspired some people to give the keto diet a try. For rapid weight loss I can honestly recommend it... as long as you can handle brief bouts of fatigue and insomnia 😉
Thanks for reading 🌿
To read more about my reasons for starting the keto diet, and the tools I use to stick to this diet, please check out the posts linked in the images below.
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Nice, keto worked for a friend of mine that lost a lot of weight and I believe he did a 1800 deficit that whole time too. If you choose to keep doing keto I hope it goes great for you.
Thanks bioscrolls
I am planning to do keto diet for another 5 months, until the beginning of July. I'm also off all sugar, caffeine and alcohol until then :)
Go Raj!! Congratulations!
I've read that one should stay on Keto only a short time. Maybe the 12-, 14- or 16-hour fast would work. It's the only way I finally shed 15 pounds in four months. I've gained back 3 but we won't speak of that. To lose the next ten pounds, I will have to give up corn tortilla chips, popcorn, sugar... and step up the exercise program. If you keep away from dairy and grains, you'll probably conquer all your health issues. Keep us posted. :)
Hi Carol, thanks for congrat :)
I'm glad to hear you've shed some unwanted pounds and are eating more healthy. It really does make a difference.
To be honest, all the usual advice goes out of the window when you have a chronic illness that no doctors, or even specialists, can help you with... you just have to try and help yourself. although this diet is extreme - extreme problems demand extreme solutions.
I've already tried pretty much every fast, including a 5 day water fast which was hardcore. My bloating went away, but the minute I started to eat again it came back. I've already given up sugar, caffeine and alcohol when I took up this keto diet, and I'm committed to sticking to it (and the no sugar/caffeine/alcohol thing) until the end of June unless I exhibit symptoms of kidney problems which is the only serious side effect thing keto can possibly cause.
If you're interested in the levels of research, and thought I've put into this my first post is the one to read:
https://steemit.com/hive-120078/@raj808/healing-holistically-lets-get-ketogenic
Hope you're well :)
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Anything over a stone in a month is great going, especially with no exercise.
I have a very good grasp on calories and so I know how little 1800 a day is, that alone is grim enough, let alone with those awful symptoms.
Sounds like you have to give up on normal sleep hours and just get it in while you can.
Hopefully you're over the worst of it now and you'll have the desire to get out and exercise a bit more... it's lighter now too which should help.
Great effort and progress! I don't blame you for not keeping scales in the house!
Cheers m8.
Yeah, I do feel proud of myself. And to be honest, I'm wondering if some of these symptoms might be intensified by the daily caloric limits I've set myself. It's important to me to drop down to 15 stone, but there is no rush and at this rate I'll be 14 stone by march lol
When I get to exercising more, I'm gonna increase the calories to 2000/day at least I think.
Dieting definitely limits your energy levels.
Slow and steady is definitely the way to go. Maintaining that for weeks on end is the hard part, without a binge.
Personally I find the weekly beer session the hardest to give up when I'm controlling weight loss/ gain (like I am ATM) - one session coupled with the crisps, and the junk food the following day pretty much eradicates 4-5 days of decent eating!
I also strongly believe from experience that you simply have to feel hungry at some point in the day if you're going to lose weight, only for a few hours a day, but i think it's necessary: there comes a point when celery and carrots don't work anymore!
Giving up the beers is not so much of a problem for me as I was getting all sorts of crazy effects from drinking because of the dicky liver. I do miss social drinking though. The convo's at the pub, and there is a little community of drinkers in my area that I get on with
Not yet ready to go and drink warter at the pub and watch everyone else get drunk lol
Yeah, spot on! I feel hungry around three four times a day. But it's not as bad as you'd think on keto as the way your system changes to digest fat actually means less hunger as you're metabolizing all kinds of stored fat as well as the large amount you take on at meal times.
M8, I can't eat carrots as too much carbs. Celery dipped in homemade garlic cream cheese dip has become a regular snack though :)
Water in the pub, I'm reminded of a certain Young Ones pub scene!
Worse would be those J2Os - I understand why I pay £4 for a pint of beer, a lot of it is tax, but £3 for a 400 ml of flavoured sugar water, no thanks!
Have a virtual beer anyway, and some of the other good stuff too!
!BEER
!ENGAGE 20
I'm sure there aren't that many carbs in carrots? I know there's none in celery, but you need to lay off those dips, they're exactly the kind of thing that blow your calorie limit.
Cheers for the token m8.
I'll save my beer until July when I'm gonna be having a liver scan and - hopefully - be able to enjoy a drink again ;-)
You're right in normal circumstances, but funnily enough it's the opossite whjen it comes to keto. Fat is what you want to be eating! I know it is strange to the conventional outlook on dieting, but I actually struggle to achieve the 75% of my diet that has to be fat to make adapting to ketosis easier.
Lol, I've been rocking the butter, cheese and mascarpone pretty hard ;-)
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I always feel hungry!
You could try offsetting the keto flu with cocaine. Might give a good positive boost and essentially it's really good for the environment. Sort of...
:0D
Ha ha... my mate Tom keeps saying to me 'why are you doing a ketamine only diet?'
I'd give the coke a good ole blast to shift the fatigue but I've tried that technique in the past and it only leads to trouble 😂
Also, I've been trading BTC... and you don't need any coke doing that shiz as the heart levels end up dangerously high as it seesaws hundreds of $$$ ever few minutes 😉
I'd avoid the Special K diet and of course cocaine comes with massive moral dilemmas... although it is good for weight loss of course...
so many dilemmas!! I'm gonna stay chubby :O)
Ha, Im resigning myself to tjat too. Keeping it real. X
There is a certain relief and happiness in not attempting to change some things.
Not that I'm advocating giving up of course!!
😂 😂
Yeah, I'll leave the special K diet for another incarnation I think... or maybe none 😉
Ha ha, tbh the lengthy withdrawal type symptoms from this keto diet are enough to put me off hard drugs!!!
In all seriousness, I think I'm getting a combo effect with caffeine, sugar and carb withdrawal. The triple whammy 🤪
Ooooow, trading the BTC. There go where the brave fear to tread!!!
Yeah, all that nonsense is best left in the past! :OD
Good decision boomy. To be honest if it weren't for the crazy symptoms I've had for the last 4 years from the chronic gut condition, I would be very happy to eat and drink myself mental.
Man... now I'm thinking about crumpets 🤯🤪
Mmmm, how buttered crumpets. I love them. I hadnt eaten them for years until I started getting them for my kids!
Ahhh man.... you're killing me with the descriptions of buttered crumpets! One of my fav treats b4 I undertook this 'no carb nightmare' 😉
Here's one for ya to try. Butter, then a small amount of caramelized onion chutney and melted grilled cheese... on the crumpets.
That is crumpet nirvana.
That sounds magic!! I tell you what, I will have something very similar tomorrow in honour of ya ;0p
Experiencing nausea and the rest of them seems like a downside to this keto process, truth is the fact that it comes with a lot of detail is even what makes me fear the diet process. In short I seem to like the endgame of the diet because for an anaemic person sometimes I eat and consume a lot of shit Just to stay healthy and it's really stressful looking at these details already. But I'm glad you're actually doing well the dietary. I'm happy you're coming well nicely with the diet
Yeah, it is stressful for sure, and I wouldn't recommend it for someone with anemia as I'm not sure how it would effect your system.
The thing is that I was sick before this diet a lot worse than I make out on steem. Believe it or not, I try to keep it bright and breezy, and upbeat on here lol
Exactly, it isn't all that rosey but we just have to maintain the cool really
What worries me about the keto diet is doing it as a vegetarian/vegan... I just can't imagine those restrictions. I am glad it's working for you... didn't realise you had fatty liver disease too. I cant think in stone... what's that in kilos? Hopefully you start feeling great again this year mate.
I've lost 1.1 stone in a month, which is 6.985 kilograms 🙂
Yeah, keto is hard even as a pescatarian. The bulk of what I eat is eggs, also nuts, fish, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, small quantities of tomatos are ok too. Also, tones of dairy like cream, cheese, butter + half an avacado every day and lots of healthy oils like olive and coconut.
It's not the most interesting diet + I couldn't do it vegan... I expect it would be possible but expensive.
I hope so. Hopefully just in time for the next steem moon 🙂🙂
In 2017 I was a powerhouse here, running a discord radio show for creative writing and providing workshop/feedback sessions in the promo-mentors community, not to mention at least 10 hours/week curating for curie, as well as writing 4-5 posts a week.
These days I just gotta focus on my posting. I burned myself out big time in 2017/18
I really didn't know that much about the keto diet to be honest, the flu thing sounds full on, but to be expected really as you are detoxing all the other foods out of your system. I guess you got to give yourself time on this diet. Glad to hear you lost weight and that you got some energy back too. Sending you healing and positive energy my friend xx
Yep, It's a detox of the highest level I think. I literally haven't done any type of detoxification process in my life... and there has been many years of unhealthy eating, living and 'cough cough' dubious choices about substances I ingested.
I shouldn't be surprised that the illness lasts a little longer. I'm staying positive and thinking that way :)
Thank you. Right back at ya Aishlinn xx :)
Good for you, my friend. Onwards and upwards!
May I ask how tall you are? I am 1.84 ( six foot one ) and only weigh about 70kilo ( 154 lbs ) so I don't feel tempted to do this, whether it would make me feel healthier or not.
It sure feels like a hell of a ride but I guess at times a short stay in hell is worth it ;>)
Yeah, I'm 6.1 as well m8.
So 17.1 stone (108.59 kilos) was definitely overweight. I was 15 stone for most of my life before I developed the chronic gut illness. I dropped to 14 stone once when I trained for an Olympic length triathlon, but generally I think 15 stone (95.2 kilos) is my healthy weight.
I think you are right, there is no point in doing the keto diet unless you're over weight or have cognitive
and or energy problems.
thats my thinking. Honestly, after the various treatments I've undergone in the last 5 years this isn't any worse that them. Just gotta stay strong!
Thanks for the support and encouragement :)
You're welcome!
Isn't this the case for most of us? ;>)
If 15 stone is your healthy weight, you must have pretty heavy bones or loads of muscle, or both. For me, it would be very difficult to ever reach that weight unless I become a body builder. I burn my calories way too fast.
Blimey, that's a dramatic month! Hope things are beginning to stabilise for you now, though. The weight loss is fab, what a bonus! Good idea to keep a diary, I try to have a varied diet but I lose track sometimes and it'll be weeks before
I have any fish.
Hi @shanibeer
I remember your comment on my first keto post about doing dirty keto lol
If you're interested in counting calories and expanding the amount of things you eat this website and tool has been a life saver for me:
https://www.fatsecret.com/
where you can keep a dairy and track carb/fat/protein macros easily. You have to sign up with an email, but it's free to use once you sign up. Here's what the dairy looks like :)
@porters here on behalf of @NaturalMedicine - I went on the Keto diet to support my husband. While he went cold turkey and experienced the Keto flu and rash I gradually went on the keto diet (mostly because i needed to eat all the groceries I had just bought) and never experienced the flu at all. We have been on it for over a year and it definitely takes the weight off and we are very happy with the results we have got from it and enjoy our diet as we incorporated it into our lifestyle.
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I've got to be honest @porters... I'm struggling the past few days with if I'm doing the right thing with this keto diet. 5 weeks in, and despite losing a load of weight, it hasn't improved my chronic illness at all and I'm still getting severe keto flu symptoms. I'm supplementing with electrolytes and a bunch of other stuff and drinking plenty of water so I'm not sure what is wrong.
My only thought is that I stopped sugar, caffeine and alcohol at the same time as going keto and before that I was consuming about 3 teaspoons of sugar per day in a pint mug of strong coffee. maybe all of the withdrawals have stacked up to create this mega detox... I don't know but in all the forums I've read that fat adaption shouldn't be taking more than 6-8 weeks max!
I think I'm gonna give it 2 months at least but if things don't improve I'll speak to my doctor and get their advice and possibly stop it.
I would value your opinion on all of this as you and hubby have been keto for so long :)
I'm so glad this is working for you!
I've been eating carnivore the past month and have really noticed a great difference! If you run into a weight stall, you might want to look at that too, at least to get you going again. My plan is to do carnivore in the late winter to harvest time, then keto until Christmas.
Hi viking-ventures :)
Intriguing. I shall google that when I get a spare minute.
I've already dropped one third of my planned weight reduction in 4 weeks so I think I'm gonna be looking to up my calorie intake in about a month to be honest.
Best of luck with your healthy dieting plans.
Congratulations on your weight loss. When I first experienced ketosis I went through the keto flu for a few days. It was so hard and I felt fatigued. Afterwards I too had this massive amount of energy boost that came and I felt so much better after that.
It is a lifestyle change. I initially started it to loose my preggo belly bump but now I do it to better my overall health.
I hope you are able to recover from the conditions you have and I hope you can keep your energy level up. Thanks for sharing your experience.