Keto: My First Two Weeks
Hi, it's Jess!
What I really need to do is a new intro to my blog because my last one is from like 4 years ago.... So, here it goes. It's January 16th, 2019. My name is still Jess and I'm still not good at intros. Haha.. So I guess I will just introduce you to what I'm up to right now. My Bug is in school right now and I'm enjoying my last few minutes of "me time" before I need to go pick up the kiddo (oh, the joys of half day pre-k).
So, I just had my first meal of the day; four delicious breakfast sausage links. YUM. That's a somewhat typical Keto first meal for me. I call it 'first meal' rather than breakfast because I don't eat until 11:00am and it's not always typical breakfast food. Whatever I'm really craving, is what I'm gonna eat... breakfast sausage, lasagna in a bowl, keto brownie...it's all fair game for first meal :)
It is now day 11 of this new Keto and Intermittent fasting journey and I really like it. I started Sunday, January 6th because I really needed to change my way of eating to something far healthier and better for me. I had been eating like garbage for the better half of 2018 and it showed. By the end of the year I was so burnt out on crappy food and feeling so drained and exhausted; and with a 5 year old and a new dog, that just doesn't work. I was literally kind of miserable in my own body. I knew I had to make a change. I was so done feeling that way. Not to mention the way I felt when I looked in the mirror *cringe*. I was beyond ready to make some lasting positive changes.
I researched a lot and tried to make sense of everything Keto. I was overwhelmed with information and do's and don'ts. Like there is ALOT of information out there you guys... and also so many WORDS. Macros, Dirty Keto, Strict Keto, Lazy Keto, Ketones, Ketosis...I could literally go on forever. But, I honed in on what seemed to be the most crucial aspects and made a plan. I knew I had to keep my carbs under twenty grams per day to get into ketosis, so that is where I chose to start. And I decided on the 16:8 Intermittent Fasting schedule. Which means I fast for sixteen hours (7pm-11am) and eat all my meals in an 8 hour window (11am-7pm).
I also read a lot of recommendations for carb tracker apps, so I downloaded one to make it easy. I also decided that week one for me would be like a "gentle, all-in, nose dive". How can a all-in nose dive be gentle you ask? Well, the nose dive part was the purging of our house of all things "carbie" and we stocked up on keto friendly, whole foods, and keto dessert ingredients (because that's a MUST for any lifestyle I'm gonna be living!) and the gentle aspect is the fact that I chose to count only carbs the first week; as apposed to carbs, fats, proteins, and calories (MACROS); because that was too overwhelming to start with. I also stayed gentle in my way of thinking. I knew I would make mistakes and that there was definitely going to be a lot of learning and trial-and-error going on because this is whole life overhaul - and that was totally okay.
Week one was the longest week everrrrrrrr. It started out with the typical rush of excitement that new things bring. But it also, brought me a lot of anxiety. In the past, I've had a lot of difficulty making lasting changes like this. Like so many people, Ive started many, many diets, fitness routines, lifestyle changes...etc and I never saw any of them through. I'm really good at self sabotaging :) So I was nervous that of course this would end just like all of those other times. But, I just told myself to stick with it and more importantly, get out of my own head. I just focused on my meals, tracked my carbs and had some killer sugar cravings...day 3 and 4 I was ready to kill for ANYTHING sweet. Then the Keto Flu set in and I felt nauseous and kind of lost my appetite for a couple of days.
Week two started with me feeling a little iffy again. I was like maaaaybe this was too big of a thing; that I could never fully adjust to such a different way of eating. I was feeling kind of sick of butter and I just wanted to go back to what was easy; eating crap. But, that thinking really didn't last long because just a day or two later I am kind of feeling on top of the world! Most of my cravings have gone away and I am loving all the meals I've been making! I already feel lighter and healthier! It feels really good exercising my will power and powering through this big new change. I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 7.2lbs and it feels incredible!
So far I am definitely a fan of Keto. I like the food, I like how I feel, and I am excited to see what good meals, feelings, and results the next week with bring!
~Jess ~
What I really need to do is a new intro to my blog because my last one is from like 4 years ago.... So, here it goes. It's January 16th, 2019. My name is still Jess and I'm still not good at intros. Haha.. So I guess I will just introduce you to what I'm up to right now. My Bug is in school right now and I'm enjoying my last few minutes of "me time" before I need to go pick up the kiddo (oh, the joys of half day pre-k).
So, I just had my first meal of the day; four delicious breakfast sausage links. YUM. That's a somewhat typical Keto first meal for me. I call it 'first meal' rather than breakfast because I don't eat until 11:00am and it's not always typical breakfast food. Whatever I'm really craving, is what I'm gonna eat... breakfast sausage, lasagna in a bowl, keto brownie...it's all fair game for first meal :)
It is now day 11 of this new Keto and Intermittent fasting journey and I really like it. I started Sunday, January 6th because I really needed to change my way of eating to something far healthier and better for me. I had been eating like garbage for the better half of 2018 and it showed. By the end of the year I was so burnt out on crappy food and feeling so drained and exhausted; and with a 5 year old and a new dog, that just doesn't work. I was literally kind of miserable in my own body. I knew I had to make a change. I was so done feeling that way. Not to mention the way I felt when I looked in the mirror *cringe*. I was beyond ready to make some lasting positive changes.
I researched a lot and tried to make sense of everything Keto. I was overwhelmed with information and do's and don'ts. Like there is ALOT of information out there you guys... and also so many WORDS. Macros, Dirty Keto, Strict Keto, Lazy Keto, Ketones, Ketosis...I could literally go on forever. But, I honed in on what seemed to be the most crucial aspects and made a plan. I knew I had to keep my carbs under twenty grams per day to get into ketosis, so that is where I chose to start. And I decided on the 16:8 Intermittent Fasting schedule. Which means I fast for sixteen hours (7pm-11am) and eat all my meals in an 8 hour window (11am-7pm).
I also read a lot of recommendations for carb tracker apps, so I downloaded one to make it easy. I also decided that week one for me would be like a "gentle, all-in, nose dive". How can a all-in nose dive be gentle you ask? Well, the nose dive part was the purging of our house of all things "carbie" and we stocked up on keto friendly, whole foods, and keto dessert ingredients (because that's a MUST for any lifestyle I'm gonna be living!) and the gentle aspect is the fact that I chose to count only carbs the first week; as apposed to carbs, fats, proteins, and calories (MACROS); because that was too overwhelming to start with. I also stayed gentle in my way of thinking. I knew I would make mistakes and that there was definitely going to be a lot of learning and trial-and-error going on because this is whole life overhaul - and that was totally okay.
Week one was the longest week everrrrrrrr. It started out with the typical rush of excitement that new things bring. But it also, brought me a lot of anxiety. In the past, I've had a lot of difficulty making lasting changes like this. Like so many people, Ive started many, many diets, fitness routines, lifestyle changes...etc and I never saw any of them through. I'm really good at self sabotaging :) So I was nervous that of course this would end just like all of those other times. But, I just told myself to stick with it and more importantly, get out of my own head. I just focused on my meals, tracked my carbs and had some killer sugar cravings...day 3 and 4 I was ready to kill for ANYTHING sweet. Then the Keto Flu set in and I felt nauseous and kind of lost my appetite for a couple of days.
Week two started with me feeling a little iffy again. I was like maaaaybe this was too big of a thing; that I could never fully adjust to such a different way of eating. I was feeling kind of sick of butter and I just wanted to go back to what was easy; eating crap. But, that thinking really didn't last long because just a day or two later I am kind of feeling on top of the world! Most of my cravings have gone away and I am loving all the meals I've been making! I already feel lighter and healthier! It feels really good exercising my will power and powering through this big new change. I weighed myself this morning and I've lost 7.2lbs and it feels incredible!
So far I am definitely a fan of Keto. I like the food, I like how I feel, and I am excited to see what good meals, feelings, and results the next week with bring!
~Jess ~
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