If you follow me on Instagram or read my latest post, you’re definitely very well aware that I am a couple of weeks into the ketogenic diet, and am totally loving every avocado filled minute of it! In that first post, I explained a bit about what the ketogenic diet is, and some of the benefits of following it. I also told you not to pass judgment on the diet just from hearing about my first three days experience, and to stay tuned to hear about the rest of my first week. (PSA, apologizing in advance for the not cute photos in this post. It’s pretty difficult to glam up my tupperware lunches that I bring to work, especially when they have mushy avocado all throughout.) As a quick recap of my last post, by the end of day 3 my ketone levels were “trace,” which was a step above average levels. I was tired, I had body aches, and come-and-go headaches. Sounds like fun, right? It was a no-brainer that I had to keep going, so let’s see how I fared for the rest of the week!
Day 4
When I woke up this morning, my ketone levels according to the ketone strips I bought was between small and moderate. My body felt completely normal again, so my headaches and body aches went away. It was my day off from the gym, so I got to sleep in before going to work, and I wasn’t tired at all when I woke up (which was somewhat surprising, because it was my first day back after a five-day July 4th holiday). My head felt very clear all day. I intermittent fasted, so my first meal was at 1PM. I made myself a cold avocado, tomato, and mozzarella salad that I brought to work, dressed in olive oil. I also had a snack of pecans on the side of my lunch. This kept me full all the way until dinner at 6:30 PM. For dinner I made myself zoodles with homemade pesto (basil, olive oil, and parmesan cheese), and some dark meat chicken. As a bedtime snack at 9 PM I had some brie cheese. Overall, this was a very good day. My energy and focus at work were above average, and I didn’t get my normal afternoon munchies.
Day 5
This morning I tried a fasted workout, which was a huge fail. I usually do a fasted workout in the morning before work, but I also usually have BCAAs along with it which helps with hunger and energy. About three quarters of the way through this workout I just about KO’d. I’m not exactly sure what made this workout so difficult, but I’m sure it was a combination of it being my first ever truly fasted workout attempt, and also the first morning workout attempt since coming back from the July 4th holiday. Either way, I called it a loss and left the gym early. When I got home around 7:50 AM I had a snack of cottage cheese (so I did not intermittent fast today) and almost immediately felt so much better and full of energy. This morning at 10:30 AM I also had a matcha latte made with almond milk and a splash of heavy cream. For lunch at 2 PM, I had a cold salad of zucchini, mozzarella cheese, and avocado dressed in olive oil and liquid aminos. For dinner, I had scrambled eggs cooked in butter with mozzarella cheese and some more brie. I noticed as I was leaving work today that I was getting some cramps in my leg muscles. After asking a friend, who is a seasoned keto survivor, and doing some more independent research, it turns out this diet results in the body retaining less water, which means we can become depleted in electrolytes. On my way home from work I stopped into my local health store and bought potassium and magnesium supplements.
Day 6
I woke up this morning not hungry at all, and I attempted another fasted workout (but this time brought some pecans to the gym with me in case of an emergency. I wound up not needing them, though, as my body handled my fasted workout much better this morning than the previous morning. My muscle cramps went away, and I was left with some residual soreness, but nothing at all major or similar to the cramps I was experiencing the day before. I intermittent fasted today and had my first meal at 1:30 PM of scrambled eggs with mozzarella cheese, some breakfast sausage, some avocado, and (decaf) coffee with a splash of heavy cream. For dinner at 8 PM I made myself some zucchini “nachos” which were basically thinly sliced zucchini baked in the oven and topped with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, and a bunch of delicious seasonings. As a bedtime snack at 9:30 PM I had some pecans and cottage cheese. My energy and focus today were absolutely amazing, and my hunger levels were pretty low. Also, right before going to bed my ketones were at a moderate level, which was the most they have been all week!
Day 7
This morning was the first morning waking up feeling totally normal. All of the residual side effects of my glucose detox have gone away, and tracking my macros and preparing my meals feels like second nature. I am definitely proud of myself for not only sticking to such a restrictive diet for a full week, but also detoxing my body of sugar in the process. I realized that this week I hadn’t even eaten any packaged goods or supplements like BCAAs and protein powders, since I didn’t really feel a need for them.
I would definitely recommend checking out my previous post for a ton of things I learned during my first three days on keto, since I learned the most during those first experimental days. Towards the middle of the first week there was definitely a light at the end of the tunnel of side effects that started during the first few days.
The second week, which I am just finishing up as I write this post, was significantly easier than the first, and I was consistently amazed at how well this diet keeps me full and energized for hours on hours. I intend on keeping up with the diet for as long as I can, and hopefully see if I can incorporate some sort of occasional cheating with carbs, in an effort to make it more sustainable in the long run. If anyone has any experience on keto and incorporating cheat days, please comment or message me! Until then, stay tuned because I already have a TON of keto friendly recipes to write up 🙂
Stay fit and fresh, all!
Maddie Danza 