Day One (23 October)

(icky) #1

Starting Keto today for health reasons…

Feeling a bit daunted and know I’m going to struggle with motivation.

Hoping the first positive results kick in soon and that will help with motivation.

(Allie) #2

We are all here to support and guide you, feel free to ask anything.

(Robin) #3

You’ve come to the right place. Welcome!
It probably won’t be as daunting as you fear.
Cravings for sugar are caused by sugar. So once you remove that, it’s much easier. Cheats make it harder. Be tough. And patient. And prepared for the benefits beyond the scale as well.
You got this!

(Doug) #4

Good luck, Icky. There are ups and downs, but the downs get less and less and the ups get bigger and bigger.

(icky) #5

Well, I’ve made it through half a day so far and it’s gone okay. I had two wobbly moments but got through them and feel confident about getting through the rest of the day too.

Beyond that, I guess I’ll be taking it one day at a time.

#6

Good luck!

Motivation never really powered me… I need a woe that I enjoy more than my previous one. Keto food can be super good so it wasn’t a problem, I just missed my usual amounts of vegs (and eventually other things I suppose but not so much). Having low-carb years previously definitely helped, if you came from high-carb, that is probably more difficult though it depends, some pulls it off moderately easily. And we all have our personal blacklists, I had no meat on my original keto, for example. It probably didn’t help with the difficulty but it was still pretty easy. I love fatty proteins. And sweets but I could eat as much sweets on keto as I wanted (actually I ate more as I had to find something I don’t eat with vegs… but now I have meat so it changed).

A lot depends on your taste. It may change, thankfully. I still like mostly the same items (except vegs where I made an almost 180 degree turn) but I rarely feel the need to eat my old favs. It’s enough if I eat good food and don’t feel miserable due to regularly not eating what I want. I mean, I go off sometimes, it’s still good.

I always hear carb withdrawal is bad and may last for long. Or cravings. I didn’t have withdrawal, cutting out sugar, grains and other high-carb items was super easy (it wasn’t 100% for the whole year but pretty close). Going low ENOUGH, that took many years as I just don’t do hard things when it’s about food. But we can change, it’s amazing. My body knows what it wants, it tells me that… And my mind and whatever parts have some other, wrong desires, eventually behave better.

But when you get benefits, that’s surely motivating and helps. Keto may or may not be enough for that, many of us need some finetuning, cutting out some low-carb items, even food groups, going lower with carbs, cutting out sweet things…etc.
But that’s for later, first get used to keto and try to enjoy it! It’s surely harder in the beginning when you don’t have enough recipes to your liking yet (if you aren’t lucky who just gets some meat and instant happiness or something :smiley: I wasn’t like that. I need variety, textures and my own recipes when I fancy something that my normal simpler food can’t provide).

No idea what kept me on keto for 7 whole weeks in the beginning (some gut feeling I suppose) but fat adaptation would have been worth much more effort and difficulties… I got my benefits then, not from keto (as I came from low-carb. leaving high-carb felt great but just going a bit lower, even if it meant ketosis didn’t feel much).

Yes. It’s amazing :slight_smile: Vegs interfered in my case but it still was loads better than in my sugary high-carb times. Whenever I go really off, I can see problems coming back so it doesn’t get cured, carbs mess with me. But a little is fine, it varies how much and what kind, one should figure it out for themselves.
Keeping carbs low may help with other triggering substances too, not very sugary but keto ones. But we may want to ignore some troublesome keto items to begin with. But keeping my carbs really low help to do that. As knowing we should stop eating something isn’t always enough to lose our very lively interest in it…

Good luck again. Time should make it easier and easier (unless you are super incompatible with keto or don’t do it right or something. it isn’t for absolutely everyone, after all).

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #7

When you see amazing results you’ll soon get motivated… most people, my doctor included, are shocked by the improvements in health

(Jane) #8

Good luck!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #9

You can have all the glazed doughnuts you want—tomorrow. Just not today, okay?

(icky) #10

:smile:

#11

Taking a head shot front portrait selfie at the start is something we wish we all did.

People are so tuned to looking at faces. It is an in-built human instinct.

Within a week on keto, with 2 comparison selfies, if you would like to, you will notice a difference.

(Allie) #12

Best way, and each one will get easier.

(Robin) #13

Also, take your measurements now. I wish I had thought to do that. The scale is not your most reliable way to track your progress, especially if those numbers can mess with your head.
And remember, you may actually need need to eat more now. Don’t try to restrict calories, just carbs. I eat much more now than I ever have before. And that’s common.

(Marianne) #14

Welcome!

I was terrified when I started because nothing up to that point had ever worked for me long term, plus, every “diet” that I had ever been on was based on restriction and deprivation.

My best tip is to eat to your macros for the first month or so. If you eat enough and find your food delicious and satisfying, you should feel satisfied and not have to fight the cravings so bad (I didn’t, anyway). Keep the carbs under 20/day.

Good luck and keep us posted.

(icky) #15

Well, I’ve muddled through and gotten to the end of day two. I’ve started shedding excess water, peeing a lot and making sure I’m getting electrolytes. Took some “before” photos.

I didn’t have any cravings for carbs today, but am having a lot of carb withdrawal symptoms. I’ve been leaning on comfort food for so long, it feels terrible to be missing this crutch. I’ve been struggling with low mood and feeling teary. I hope my mood will pick up as I go into ketosis in the next few days.

(Robin) #16

When a craving jumps up and smacks you, go eat something keto…. As much as you want. Your body and brain won’t buy into feeling deprived when you’re chowing down.
Also… like most addictions…. The craving will pass, whether or not you give in. This knowledge helped me kick booze and cigarettes.

We are so used to escaping discomfort by giving in to the very thing that is causing it. We need to learn how to sit in discomfort… acknowledge it, name it and then wait.
It will lose it’s power and you will be motivated by your resolve.

You got this!

(Eve) #17

I always ate a very healthy diet by normal standards but loads of veg and fruit so my carbs were very high. I had increasing gut issues including almost constant indigestion. But once l tried the low carb and then keto WOE, the indigestion got lots better and my blood sugar stabilised. I also realised that all habits and habitual eating patterns CAN be changed , no matter how entrenched we feel they are. I never thought l could do without a plateful of veg at every meal, and now l am very happy to have just a small amount.
Keep going and you will be rewarded with positive changes.

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #18

Wish I’d done that. As things improve, sometimes rapidly, your mood will improve. Brains seem to like Ketones, mine did, euphoric!

(KM) #19

Welcome!

If you stick with it, this will get easier and more interesting as time goes on. My two bits of advice would be don’t skimp on the salt, and if you plan on giving up tea or coffee, put that off for a little while. (There’s no reason you have to give them up at all, but quitting caffeine definitely boosts the lousy-factor.)

(icky) #20

Day 3… got through the day okay… Had fried mushrooms in cream cheese sauce for lunch and dinner.

No carb withdrawal symptoms today, which I’m grateful for. I guess my body’s adjusting.

I also noticed that I slept better the last two nights and woke up feeling less groggy in the mornings.