Tell me about your second month on keto

#1

Today, I’m 4 weeks into keto-style eating. I’ve experienced improvements in just about every area. I have way more physical energy, my mood has improved, I’m never hungry, and I’ve lost 10 pounds.

I still get afternoon sleepiness. My one other complaint is I haven’t experienced the great focus that others mention. I’ve felt euphoria, especially when fasting, but I’m actually finding it harder to focus than before. It’s like I can only sit still for 30 minutes at a time, and my job requires hours of focus a day.

I’d love to read about how people’s Months 2 differed from Months 1. The good, the bad, the ugly. I’m a little bit afraid that things won’t stay so easy, and I want to be prepared so I can stick with it.

#2

Today is 8 weeks in for me. You’re correct in that you definitely feel the difference, just in the first month alone! I lost 20 lbs. in the first month and simply loosing the water weight made me feel a big difference. And I simply found the second month even easier, getting to know more about the Keto Lifestyle and just wanting to learn more and more. Also enjoy reading up on everything on these forums, from people experiences, recipes, etc.

I guess I’ve been fortunate, since I never experienced most of the things I’ve since read on these here forums. Such as the getting the Keto-Flu, feeling sluggish, or basically most other issues I’ve read about. (I should also say, I didn’t have to change many things to switch over to Keto WOE either, already eating quite similarly and never really liked eating more than once or twice a day anyway. I was also never into breads, rice, potatoes, etc.

I would say I definitely find it easier the more I learn, and I find myself looking forward to progressing further. I do think the focus thing kinda goes in and out at times during the journey, but for me, it seems to be pretty stable presently, which is great. :slight_smile: … As far as fatigue, I haven’t had any problems, and energy levels have been fine. Even fasting, I haven’t had any issues with energy loss.

But I would say it definitely doesn’t get harder, but actually much easier. :slight_smile:

#3

Thanks DD, that’s encouraging! Congratulations on your success.

Do you take exogenous ketones? Today is the first time I haven’t taken any in about 3 weeks. And I feel the difference in a negative way. :frowning: Hungrier, less energetic, carbs look more interesting. It’s subtle but it’s there. I’ll keep taking them for now.

Looking forward to being 4 more weeks in.

(Hoteski) #4

In month one I struggled to work out what to eat other than eggs bacon and cheese… Month two I started to experiment with cooking, food and recipes. I started to realise that quality of what I ate was important and I started to make some amazing tasting fresh food that was simple to make. It’s made a world of difference. I also noticed that my fat in my body had gone up thanks to a body composition scale at my gym. also my weight loss stalled just before I got to know what to eat. One of the trainer’s recommend ashwaganda drops and maca powder, both adabtogenics. The drops help with lowering blood sugar and cortisol levels. The combination of that along with knowing what my body needed too eat made a huge difference. I realised at this point milk was high in carbs so I moved my protein shakes to almond milk unsweetened. I’d only had that if I was going to the gym doing weights. Month 3 I had lost nearly 30lp but by month 4 I started to eat chocolate. At first Atkins bars then dark chocolate. Then I started to eat carrots and sneaking in the odd potato. I was mostly good but my weight stalled . Month 5 it stayed similar, month 6 I went on 2 holidays (vacations) I still watched what I ate but did have carbs that I know I should not have. I was very active on both holidays. Weight stayed the same. Now in month 7 and back to keto properly. Drops every day. Track my food daily and stuck to the macros. No cheating at all. And going to the gym again, I had stopped going in month 4. The weight is shifting again. I noticed in month 4-6 that my brain didn’t like it, my body didn’t like it. Felt tired and snappy. I didn’t see it till I started back up again in month 7 and now my mood is world’s apart and my body feels so much better. Total loss far is 35lp with 4lp from this week alone. I’m hoping I can carry on as I am now. I still have a long way to go. 55lp to be precise to be at the top end of my BMI healthy weight which is where I want to be. Don’t know if any of this is helpful

#5

No Ma’am, I haven’t. Since the beginning, I’ve just simply been making sure to keep carb count under 20g a day (Just total carbs, I haven’t been reducing to net-carbs) I haven’t been paying much attention to anything else, and so far it seems to be working well.

I might have to start looking into more detailed stuff later, if needed, but for now I haven’t had any issues so I’m trying to keep it simple. … I don’t want it to be too complicated, which to me would make it feel more like a diet than a lifestyle. :slight_smile:

I’m sure your second month will be a good one!

(KetoQ) #6

Talia –

I’m about 10 weeks into Keto. Experienced good losses (20lb) in month one. Month two, losses slowed down (3lb/week), but still consistent. Around week six started to notice my body changing: face thinning out, body getting tighter, pants fitting looser.

A key to my success has been developing good habits and sticking to them. The downside is that I had a stall, and it was frustrating, but I’m working my way out of it and starting to loose again.

I haven’t had a cheat yet. My fear is falling off the wagon and doing something stupid. When I get really hungry, I get out the Italian salami and peanut butter. (I didn’t mean that to sound sexual :))

I’d say in month two, find hacks that will help you stay on course. For example, find an exercise program that will work for you, or I eat light keto meal before we go out for dinner so I’m not tempted by the bread or non keto stuff.

Good luck.

#7

HH,

Thank you, this is very helpful, especially reading how your diet started edging out of ketosis in month 4. But it’s fantastic that you were able to maintain your weight loss despite vacations! And it sound like you know exactly what to do to get back on track. Congratulations on your most recent weight loss!

I actually don’t have much more to lose, which feels weird. I’d been fighting 15 pounds for a decade and a half, and 10 of those pounds just melted away. But I’m also doing keto for allergies, IBS, and cancer prevention (I have a genetic marker for breast/ovarian/pancreatic).

I’m really curious about your meals. I basically have 2 meals a day. Salad with meat for lunch and cooked veggies with meat for dinner. Between meals I have avocados, nuts, and the occasional scoop of cream cheese with erythritol. The cream cheese doesn’t fuel my body very well. I get hungry afterwards instead of satisfied. Trying to cut back on dairy.

I take ashwaghanda as part of my supplement for thyroid. It has rhodiola in it, too. I can’t tell if it’s making a difference because I added it the same time I added a new multi-vitamin, new probiotic, and when I cut out “bad” fats. Like you, I learned that the quality of what I eat makes a difference. Canola oil hurts. Olive and avocado oils help.

Did you use a cookbook, website, or just invent recipes? I think it would be fun to make some of those keto recipes that mimic carby foods. I like to cook for other people, so I could use some crowd pleasers.

Thanks again for taking the time. :slight_smile:

#8

That’s great. I’ve had about 4 cheats in terms of high fat foods putting me over my limit. I haven’t reverted to starches or sugars, but I’ve definitely knocked myself out of ketosis a few times just due to the quantities of nuts and dairy. And once, I had a salad with mango in it. I originally picked out the mango, but then it looked so good that I ate it. I felt awful for about 4 hours. Wiry and then super, super tired, reaching for the coffee.

It’s also nice to hear that you started noticing changes in your body around week 6. I’ve been a little disappointed that I can’t visually see the difference in my appearance. I notice that I’m lighter on my feet. That feels sooo good, like my feet are springs instead of bricks. My arms and waist are thinner. My face and lower body are the same. The biggest change for me, hands down, has been my higher energy levels.

The idea to try a new exercise routine is a really good idea. That way I can channel some of my month 1 planning energy into a new, keto-friendly activity.

Thanks for responding!

(Hoteski) #9

Í have always cooked great tasting food and when I want to make something I just Google it or YouTube it for keto.

Lasange sheets keto style.

Bag of mozzarella cheese 1 eggolk

Pop the cheese in microwave for a minute or till melted.
Once melted add the egg yolk in and mix with a fork. Get a baking tray and two large parchment papers.
Put the parchment paper on and some of the mixture. About one fistball. Put the other parchment paper on and use s rolling pin to smoothe it out to a lasange sheet thickness and repeat till you have enough. Put in fridge for 4 hours.
Then with the white cheese souce I used coconut flour rather than standard flour to make a rou.
The red souce you can make using any keto friendly recipe. Then layer as you would normal lasange and pop in the oven.

Colliflour mash. I steam fresh head of colliflour till tender but not too mushy. I then add cream cheese and some salt and pepper. Then I use and immerser to blend it to the same consistency as mashed potatoes. I would use this on Sheppards pie. You can use it with any meal that you would otherwise have had mashed potatoes.
Broccoli rice to me tastes better than colliflour rice.
So I would have that with what would be rice dishes.

Steak with bearniease sauce.
Get a good fatty steak and reason with steak seasoning and allow to rest for an hour on the side.

1 onion chopped
1 pack mushrooms chopped
Butter to fry onion and mushrooms
Add one tub of cream cheese and a large table spoon of the bearniease sauce that I buy in a jar.
Simer for a couple of minutes.

Cook the steak to desire and let rest for a few minutes after cooking.
Pop some salad on a plate add steak and sauce and enjoy.

Fish dish
Got this one from Icelandic websites and they love their fish and my gosh it’s delicious.
I buy Icelandic cod from the supermarket. You can use any cod but wild fish is much better quality as farmed fish are given pellets to eat and that turns into the meat which isn’t good for you.

Half an onion
2 red bell peppers
Spring onion
Chives
Tub of cream cheese
Tub of sour cream, full fat cream can also be used
Teaspoon paprika powder
Vegetable cube
Fish seasoning
All purpose seasoning
Shredded cheese mature

Pop the fish in an oven dish and season with fish seasoning and leave it on the side whilst making the sauce.
Take one of the bell peppers and pop in the food processor, drain excess water. Pop the cream cheese and cut up or crumble the vegetable cube and paprika powder and mix in blender.

Chop onion, mushrooms other bell pepper and spring onion and fry in butter. Add all purpose seasoning.
Add the cream cheese and sour cream and simmer for a few minutes. 3-4 minutes is more than enough.

Pour the source onto the fish and sprinkle the cheese on top. I add chives to the top as it looks nice.
Pop in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with boiled green veg

Enjoy

Btw any one of those dishes should be enough to fill you up all day and the fish dish serves 2-3 people.

(Hoteski) #10

Btw my IBS that I suffered from for years has completely gone. Phoof just disappeared once I started keto and I had it bad.along with other medical conditions I had which where all inflammation related illness or conditions.

(Hoteski) #11

I would for lunch have mozzarella cheese balls, 2 eggs, cucumber, handfull of cherry tomatoes, thick slice of ham from the deli counter and drizzle with basil infused olive oil. Often I find that’s all I need for the day and it would fit in a small plate.
I also take cod liver oil. Now I just take a couple of gulps of it each day and that does help with ensuring I’m not hungry.

#12

I’m on month 4 now and am down 45 lbs. This lifestyle is for me. I currently keto and OMAD Mon-Fri, keto feast (3000ish) calories a day on the weekends and have done 2, 2 day fasts and a 3 day fast.

I am a boring eater but it works for me. My one meal a day is as follows.
6 egg omelette cooked in butter with the following inside.
4-6 strips of bacon
2 servings breakfast sausage
1 serving pickled jalapenos.
2 servings pepperjack cheese

I cut approx 3 ounces of a block of cream cheese and eat it bite for bite with my omelet.

Oh yes and Tobasco everywhere.

#13

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#14

Hi! 12 weeks complete for me. The 8-10 week mark was a turning point. I also had the afternoon tiredness. For me it was usually after lunch. I felt spurts of energy and also dips of exhaustion. I tried fasting at 8 weeks and it went well but I became super hungry afterward, so I decided to wait a bit longer and try again. I started working out again full force around 9-10 weeks, and my energy level has really been great since then with a steady improvement daily.

Even tho I have not lost any more weight, I have way fewer cravings for junk and carbs. Weeks 8-12 I fell out of ketosis a few times by eating too much nuts or protein, and I just chowed coconut oil the next day and was grateful to be back to n ketosis. My appetite returned with the carbs and it was major. Makes me so glad for Keto! Looking forward to seeing what the next three months brings. I am still getting fat adapted. I must be a real carbaholic. Yesterday walking past a fudge shop my hands began to shake because the aroma was appetizing. I had no desire to eat it but it did make me crabby.
Hopefully soon I can fast and kick off some weight loss. Till then, just healing myself and having fun with my workouts!
Good luck with everything and great job so far!

(Artemis) #15

These sound great. Thanks for taking the time to post.

#16

Yes, thank you so much for the food ideas! And Lunalee, your post is helpful too. I hope 8 weeks will be a turning point for me. Most of my food plans end at around 8 weeks, so it will be a huge step to get past that mark.

#17

So far, my second month has been about testing some limits and reviewing what has and hasn’t been working for me. Two days ago, I went through all my cronometer data and took note of what I was doing on my very best days. My best days are those when I have good energy, low hunger, even mood, and few allergy symptoms.

Things that seem to work well for me:

  • higher protein than most sites recommend. I think, feel, and function best around 100 grams.
  • I do better tracking total carbs rather than net. If I keep total carbs under 40, life is peachy. When I start looking at 20 or 30 net carbs, things get slippery.
  • fatty coffee and bone broth in the mornings
  • getting up and moving around every hour or two… it’s great for keeping my energy stable.
  • when I’m in top form, I’m most likely eating: fish, coconut of all kinds (milk, flakes, oil, butter, cream), apple cider vinegar, pickles, olives, cabbage, zucchini, cucumber, butter, grass-fed beef jerky, ground beef or turkey, half and half, avocado oil, olive oil.

Things that don’t seem to work very well:

  • 1 huge meal eaten all at once… better if I split it up over my 4-to-7-hour eating window.
  • Long periods of being sedentary or intense exercise. Both throw me out of balance.
  • going to bed after 11.
  • alcohol sets me back about a day and a half.
  • eating in restaurants. Last week, I got a high glucose reading & spiked appetite after eating nothing but a moderate serving of pastrami and sauerkraut.
  • foods I enjoy but cause erratic energy/appetite: cheese, cream cheese, artificial sweeteners, nuts, bacon, pork rinds.
(Nathan Toben) #18

Inspired by this inventory @Talia. Great objectivity for only the second month. Going to to follow your example and start to keep an inventory of what works and what doesn’t. Thanks!

#19

Talia, I have the same experience with the cream cheese, pork rinds and sweeteners. I’m trying to stick with whole food and small amounts of dairy. Your lists are similar to what I’ve found too!