One month of Keto

[NL86]

Hi all,

After trying to put my pants on after Easter and realising a lack of social events on the calender, I decided now would be the best time to experiment in trying to reach a state of ketosis.

A bit of background:

I'm currently 88kg's, which has crept up from about 80 over the last few years. Granted, I'm probably carrying a bit more muscle than when I was at 80. My lean body mass is 66 kilograms, so that's a bodyfat percentage of 25%.

My diet won't be changing as drastically as some others may have to. I don't eat a huge amount of carbs throughout the week. It's mostly brown rice and big weekend blowouts with beers and hot chips!

I don't plan on intensively analysing the proportions of fats, proteins and carbs throughout each day. My focus is to escalate my fat intake and have smaller protein portions compared to what I'm used to.

I'm planning to be completely strict for one month, and will assess the results at the end. Ideally I'd like to be at around 78 - 80 kg's with a lean body mass of around 70 kg's, though that's not my immediate focus.

So this will be Day 1. I've had limited carbs over the last few days, but from now on it's strict. The ketosticks are showing traces, so that's a start.

Before photos are taken - will publish them soon! I'll update on diet and exercise in greater depth throughout.

[repower]

Welcome!

Keep the food journal coming, along with exercise and before pictures. Don't give up

[NL86]

Day 2 - not bothering to weigh myself until a couple of days

Breakfast: 200g of bacon and 1 egg
Lunch: Cheese, almonds and a tin of tuna in oil
Dinner: Chicken caesar salad comprising shredded BBQ chicken with skin, spinach, parmesan cheese, two soft-boiled eggs, and caesar sauce (4.1% total carb)

Workout: All back. 1km jog, 5X5 bent over dumbell row, 5X5 straight back seated row, 4X failure barbell lying row, Face-pulls and some other light weight posterior delt cable exercises.

About mid morning onwards I was feeling a bit sluggish. Almost stoned. Not really a headache, but just a bit clouded. I also started sweating (and am continuing to do so) like a rapist. My workouts over the last couple of weeks have been really good. Today wasn't at quite the same intensity, but I still managed to get through my sets with good form without needing to drop back the weight. The most noticeable thing was probably the last rep and not being able to call on that extra burst of energy. Although this is only day two strict, the last few days my only carbs have been two slices of bread, a couple of coffees and a single beer.

One other thing I noticed after shopping today - this is an expensive diet!

Hoping tomorrow morning the ketosticks will show a bit more, but still early days.

[NL86]

Day 3 - 86.8kg (down 1.2kg)

After sweating and pissing nonstop for two days I knew I'd be down a bit. Despite the fact it's almost 100% water loss, it's still reassuring to see the scales drop.

Today was a toned down version of yesterday. Stinky armpits and drinking a **** tonne of water, but feeling more clear-minded.

Breakfast: 200g bacon and an egg
Lunch: 95g tuna in oil, half avocado and a few heaped tablespoons of ricotto
Dinner: Steak with spinach, cucumber, green pepper, misc seeds/nuts, ricotta, ranch dressing, and drizzled with MCT oil.

After dinner I had a massive burst of energy. I've been having small portions of MCT oil for the last week or so because I heard having too much can cause the ****s. I've had the opposite problem, so I gave it a healthy dose at dinner time.

I wasn't planning to work out because I spent most of the day doing odd jobs and figured I'd be pretty tired and didn't want to push it the first few days into the diet. The energy from dinner was insane though.

Workout: 500 metre sprint. Bench: 2x8 warm up sets, 3X5 heavy, 2X12 to get more of a pump. Then dumbell flat bench presses progressively raising the bench to about 60 degrees and dropping the weight back until failure. Didn't want to hit any other muscles today so just blitzed the chest. Then 1km sprint and jog at the end. Yesterday's issue of pushing out the final rep was completely gone.

All in all, today was a very good motivator to stick with it!

Edit: Another thing I noticed is that running felt far more comfortable than usual. I felt tighter and less bouncy presumably from less water retention. I'm still recovering from a leg day so not ready to test it, but I suspect my distance running will improve.

[NL86]

Day 4 - First day at work. Struggled quite a bit not being able to have my morning iced latte. I'm trying cold brew but it's just not working for me.

Breakfast: 3 egg omlette with garlic, grated cheddar, and a small amount of green pepper and mushrooms.
Lunch: Butter chicken with cauliflower rice
Dinner: Salmon, with butter fried brussell sprouts and brocolli

Workout: Glutes, lower back and hamstrings.

Day 5 - 85.4kg (down 2.6kg, 5.73lb)

Woke up today absolutely shattered and couldn't get going all day long.

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs
Lunch: Tuna, Ricotta, Spinach, Green olive marinated in garlic and chilli

I've snacked on almonds most of the day. Probably way too many, but I was really tired and looking for anything to pick me up. I think I'll bring some MCT oil to work tomorrow to have with whatever I eat for lunch.

I probably went too hard at the gym last night. It's the first time I've trained deadlifts for a while due to a back injury but I felt fine, so I pushed quite a bit of volume. Weight being down so much would probably suggest a bit of dehydration too.

[NL86]

Day 6

Waking up each day is twice the struggle it normally is and I'm really having trouble sleeping well. I've read about this as a side-effect. Hopefully it'll pass soon because otherwise I'm feeling pretty great.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, half avocado, chuck of danish feta
Lunch: BBQ chicken, spinach, bean sprouts, whole avocado, green olives and MCT Oil
Almonds throughout the day.
Dinner: Scotch fillet, butter fried brussel sprouts and brocolli

Gym - decided to test out running. Absolutely smashed my previous best for 2km without going overboard. I backed away after that because I'll probably do squats tomorrow, but covered 8km overall with a lot of ease.

So far I'd have to say the diet has improved my gym performance, and thus motivation. If nothing else, this increased capacity should allow me to burn more calories. Even if I only stick with this diet for a month I feel it's already broken a bit of a plateau. If you're reading this and considering trying the diet, take note I'm only at Day 6 and I'm fairly certain this is having positive effects above some sort of initial placebo.

I've kept checking the Keto sticks. At the moment I'm sitting at a darker shade than 0.15, but not at the next reading which is 0.40.

[repower]

Keep us updated!

[NL86]

Keep us updated!

Will do. Thanks for reading!

[NL86]

Day 7: 85.3kg (down 2.7kg)

[NL86]

Day 9 - 84.9kg (down 3.1kg)

[NL86]

Not much else to report. Today at work was easily the best I've felt so far. No ups and downs energy wise, and pretty clear-minded. I didn't even get to my caffeine until about 10:30am which is unusual!

I did a chest workout last night that left me pretty spent. I think the ability to really smash out the last rep or two is slightly diminished on keto, but endurance-wise unaffected.

5X5 flat bench dumbbell press 32.5kg
5X5 single arm press lying flat 25kg
4X8 cable crossovers 20kg
3X12 flat bench flyes 15kg
Wide pushups to failure

Sleeping is still the biggest issue. I'm wondering if it's the digestion of fats keeping me awake. Tonight I've tried to consume my fat intake a lot earlier in the day.

[danfleysher]

Not much else to report. Today at work was easily the best I've felt so far. No ups and downs energy wise, and pretty clear-minded. I didn't even get to my caffeine until about 10:30am which is unusual!

I did a chest workout last night that left me pretty spent. I think the ability to really smash out the last rep or two is slightly diminished on keto, but endurance-wise unaffected.

5X5 flat bench dumbbell press 32.5kg
5X5 single arm press lying flat 25kg
4X8 cable crossovers 20kg
3X12 flat bench flyes 15kg
Wide pushups to failure

Sleeping is still the biggest issue. I'm wondering if it's the digestion of fats keeping me awake. Tonight I've tried to consume my fat intake a lot earlier in the day.

I would tend to agree I think getting that last rep is a bit harder on Keto but I also feel a much better pump. Not sure what's at play or if my Pre-workout is just hitting me harder since less water in my system.

1) Are you taking a pre-workout or any supplements?
2) Are you having an issue going to sleep or staying asleep?

[repower]

Not much else to report. Today at work was easily the best I've felt so far. No ups and downs energy wise, and pretty clear-minded. I didn't even get to my caffeine until about 10:30am which is unusual!

I did a chest workout last night that left me pretty spent. I think the ability to really smash out the last rep or two is slightly diminished on keto, but endurance-wise unaffected.

5X5 flat bench dumbbell press 32.5kg
5X5 single arm press lying flat 25kg
4X8 cable crossovers 20kg
3X12 flat bench flyes 15kg
Wide pushups to failure

Sleeping is still the biggest issue. I'm wondering if it's the digestion of fats keeping me awake. Tonight I've tried to consume my fat intake a lot earlier in the day.

Carbs (especially junk food, but not excluding) release serotonin in the brain. Which by itself helps with a couple of things: Happiness, mind peace, sleep regulation. That's why sometimes is easier to get sleepy after eating a big meal at night (high carb meal). In keto, at first, could be harder to get to sleep easier, but with time you adapt. Also, in my experience, when you get adapted, you need less sleep. I mean, I get up earlier feeling rested with less hours than a carbed diet.

Finally, if you have so much trouble, try taking 3-5g of melatonin. Good to get sleepy fast.

[danfleysher]

Carbs (especially junk food, but not excluding) release serotonin in the brain. Which by itself helps with a couple of things: Happiness, mind peace, sleep regulation. That's why sometimes is easier to get sleepy after eating a big meal at night (high carb meal). In keto, at first, could be harder to get to sleep easier, but with time you adapt. Also, in my experience, when you get adapted, you need less sleep. I mean, I get up earlier feeling rested with less hours than a carbed diet.

Finally, if you have so much trouble, try taking 3-5g of melatonin. Good to get sleepy fast.

I agree, I wake up completely rested in an hour before my alarm.

[NL86]

I would tend to agree I think getting that last rep is a bit harder on Keto but I also feel a much better pump. Not sure what's at play or if my Pre-workout is just hitting me harder since less water in my system.

1) Are you taking a pre-workout or any supplements?
2) Are you having an issue going to sleep or staying asleep?

I don't take any pre-workouts, and would only supplement with a small protein shake if I've had a particularly long session and might not be eating for a while. The main reason I don't touch pre-workouts is I train at about 6pm and I'd be concerned they'd keep me up.

The issue is mostly to do with going to sleep which has always been an issue. It's just slightly heightened at the moment.

Carbs (especially junk food, but not excluding) release serotonin in the brain. Which by itself helps with a couple of things: Happiness, mind peace, sleep regulation. That's why sometimes is easier to get sleepy after eating a big meal at night (high carb meal). In keto, at first, could be harder to get to sleep easier, but with time you adapt. Also, in my experience, when you get adapted, you need less sleep. I mean, I get up earlier feeling rested with less hours than a carbed diet.

I think I'm beginning to adapt. I'm in a bit of an odd spot because I'm having trouble getting to sleep, but simultaneously I feel like the impact of that is far less than it would've been before I started keto! I feel like I'm trending in the right direction.

[NL86]

Also thanks for the feedback guys - it's nice to know somebody is reading!

[repower]

Hey, you're welcome. Keep posting the log

[NL86]

Day 15 - 84.7kg (down 3.3kg)

The weight loss seems to have slowed down a bit now which is to be expected I suppose.

Not too concerned though, because:
- I haven't worked out as much this week
- My calories have room to come down
- My workouts haven't plateaued in any way and I'm certain I'm still making gains

[NL86]

I've had a bit of a rethink aboutmy whole "month of keto".

I'm finding it generally to be an extremely good decision I've made, however once a week or so it really restricts my lifestyle beyond what I'm willing to accept.

Right now I'm thinking this diet is my way of living now - for good. It's not a burden on me. But I don't want to restrict myself from dinner at friends houses or a night out once a week/fortnight.

My new aim is to maintain this diet 6 days a week, but possibly longer if nothing presents itself to get in the way.

Tonight was my first night back on the carbs. Beers, hot chips, pizza. I didn't crave it, but I needed to do it. These nights aren't regular, but I'm not willing to omit them 100%.

[NL86]

Day 27 - 83.5kg (down 4.5kg)

Still going here, just not much to report that's any different to above.

I've been strict Keto on all but three days where I've been drinking beers and been forced to eat a meal with pasta or rice. This weekend I made sure to have a huge workout the following day and found it to have not been too much an issue.

Getting to 83.5kg is around about what my goal was for the month. I think I can ride this out to sub-80 now though.

[danfleysher]

Day 27 - 83.5kg (down 4.5kg)

Still going here, just not much to report that's any different to above.

I've been strict Keto on all but three days where I've been drinking beers and been forced to eat a meal with pasta or rice. This weekend I made sure to have a huge workout the following day and found it to have not been too much an issue.

Getting to 83.5kg is around about what my goal was for the month. I think I can ride this out to sub-80 now though.

Hit your goal a bit early but remember that on keto about 5 lbs of weight loss is water (could be more). If you switch back to a more typical diet, you're likely to see the numbers move up, but not necessarily bf%

[NL86]

Hit your goal a bit early but remember that on keto about 5 lbs of weight loss is water (could be more). If you switch back to a more typical diet, you're likely to see the numbers move up, but not necessarily bf%

Yeah the water loss was quite evident over the first three days. Even so, this diet is definitely working. 84kg was what I was hoping to see by the end of the month, taking into account I wasn't planning a huge calorie deficit and still wanted to keep lifting.

All my lifts have improved since except for bench, and this morning I weighed in at 83.2kg (183lbs) I think if I can just keep doing this I'll be able to get to 80, at which stage I can really reassess my goals.

[NL86]

It would be good to update the first post in the thread, but the result from one month of keto is -4.9kg, which takes me to 83.1kg. I'm going to keep this up indefinitely, with the occasional weekend blowout.

Last weekend I had a big night out, so I went for a 50km bike ride the next day, the net of which was an overall loss.