I decided at the beginning of this year that I would finally do something about my health, or more accurately lack of health.
Whilst I was employed in a semi physical job, my diet had been appalling for many years, and exercise was virtually non existent, including resistance training.
The scales creep up on you slowly, but unmistakably.
In my case, 2.5 to 3 kilo increase every year from 2009 till the end of 2016.
That equates to 86kg - 105.5kg in 7 years.
Whilst I wasn’t obese at 105ish at 184cm tall (with some muscle on my frame from weight training previously), I could see that if I continued with my unhealthy lifestyle, another 7 years could easily see me at 130kg and in my early 50’s…SCARY
Being Italian, I love bread, pasta, sweets.
In fact, any and all carbs.
There’s no doubt, I was addicted to Carbs and sugar.
I knew I needed some strict rules regarding Carb consumption if I was going to achieve anything worthwhile.
LCHF is a good option for many, but I considered too wishy washy for me, given my addictive personality.
So after doing some reading, and watching a bunch of YT clips, I decided that Ketogenic would be my vehicle towards health and weight loss.
For those unaware, a Ketogenic diet is generally made up of the following Macros…
Percentage of calories from FAT 75%, PROTEIN 20%, Net CARBS (carbs minus fibre) 5%.
I won’t delve too deeply in the benefits of a Keto diet, as it is explained far better online, other than to say those in Ketosis have switched their body from using sugar(glucose) as fuel, to burning Ketones (or their own fat deposits).
This is largely due to a reduction of Insulin in your system {Dr.Eric.Berg describes this very well on his TY channel}.
I thought I would share some of my experiences so far, since beginning on Mon 2nd Jan.
Firstly, the transission was far smoother than I had anticipated, with the worst symptoms being very light headaches in the first week or so, and some mild lethargy.
Not surprising, as I almost completely stopped feeding my body a fuel source that it had been using for 46 years, and I restricted caffeine in the initial stages also.
My energy levels have been quite constant.
I’m not suffering from the dreaded ups and downs associated with a refined carb diet.
Have not suffered from bloating, or any other intestinal problems.
NOW, the biggest plus is…
I feel absolutely satisfied once I eat a meal.
I can go 6 hrs or more before needing to eat again.
My cravings are completely under control, the high fat in my diet has me satiated for longer.
It’s difficult to explain it to someone who hasn’t tried high fat before, but it really does control your appetite.
Even intermittent fasting has been a breeze, whereby some mornings I don’t feel like eating, so will hold off till lunch, then have have dinner later that evening.
Let me provide some context…
As I have had a keen interest in nutrition in the past, I know that my previous diet consisted of approx 3000+ calories a day.Probably nudging 3500 on some days.
And I could easily have snacked on more food late evenings if there were no consequences.
Whilst on Keto, I have budgeted for 2200 per day, and have struggled to reach it on a consistent basis.
So much so that some evenings, I’m consuming a Fat Bomb, or spooning myself Coconut Oil to bump my Fats up.
Point being, I feel full and satisfied.
Over eating has been completely eliminated on this style of eating.
Is it restrictive ?
Yes it is, obviously, but there are alternatives to almost every carb food that I ate previously, it just takes some effort in the kitchen to make it happen.
Fruit is probably the most difficult food to give up (berries excepted), as there is no viable substitute for it, but once achieving your goal weight, some fruit can be re-introduced without hopefully knocking your body out of fat burning mode.
Apart from that, it’s a piece of p*ss.
Don’t want to give up having Pizza once in a while ?
Fine, just make a base with Cauliflower and cheese.
Don’t want to give up sweets ?
Fine, make a chocolate mousse with Mascarpone, Double Cream, Cacao Powder and Stevia.
Don’t want to give up Pasta ?
Fine, make it with Zucchini, and top it with any sauce you can think of (home made, low carb, obviously).
I’m not focussing on the foods I can’t have, rather all the tasty foods I can, that I would not have dreamt of placing in my shopping trolley before.
Such as…full fat Philadelphia Cream cheese, Brie, double cream, fattier cuts of meat/mince and chicken (hello drumsticks, thighs and skin), bacon with the fat on, animal drippings/lard, copious amounts of coconut oil, olive oil & butter.
Also, the fattiest, tastiest and probably most nutritious nuts(macadamia).
Having said all that, I am eating nutritious food, and plenty of healthy fats, along with a Green Superfood blend and Apple Cider Vinegar daily.
So, am I getting results ?
Do I feel better/healthier ?
Is it realistically do-able long term ?
A resounding YES to all 3 of the above.
Weight loss is happening effortlessly.
5kg down after 20 completed days, without a whole heap of exercise or resistance training so far.
I certainly feel better…no question.
I can’t see how eating carbs to the excess that I was before, will ever be introduced into my diet ever again.
This style of eating is easy to follow, once you understand the foods you must limit.
Of course, you don’t have to be FULL KETO all the time.
There are times when LCHF will serve you well, and may in fact be the way to go once your obtimal weight is reached.
Anyhow, I’ve rambled on for long enough.
Just wanted to share my experience, as it’s been a totally positive one, and I know this diet and some others similar have been discussed in the Health forum recently.
If there are any Blitzers wanting to lose weight, or feel better/reclaim their health, I highly recommend doing some research on Keto, or LCHF, or even Paleo.
- This might be my longest post ever !
