So What's Keto?

So I've been doing this diet for about a month and a half now. So far, I am down 14 pounds, two jeans sizes, sleep better, am way more alert, and can squat 135 pounds no problem. (*self five*).

What is this miracle diet you ask? Simple. It's called a ketogenic diet.

I was introduced to keto by my boyfriend, Nate, and initally I was just super annoyed that he was following it because it is a slightly difficult diet to work with if you aren't doing it.

The whole idea behind it is that you only eat 30 grams of net carbs a day. Yes. You read that right 30. But you get to supplement that loss with fats. Again, yes you read that right. Fat. You count macros for this diet (a post on that coming soon).

So basically the idea is that you eat protein, fat, and little to no carbs. It sounds crazy and totally against what we have been told is a healthy diet for basically our entire lives, but it works. And it feels damn good when you do it right. There is some serious science behind it, but I can't explain it well. I use this as my guide: http://ketogains.com/

Anyway, I committed to eating this way as a new year's resolution because I have recently discovered that I have a major sensitivity to artificial sweeteners. Basically they make me feel like I am dying. I was also really frustrated with the fact that every diet I tried seemed to fail and I felt I needed a stricter program.

I knew that Nate had lost like 50+ pounds doing keto, so I wanted to try and see what I could do. We both committed to doing it toghether and so far, so good. In addition, the diet helped me cut out a lot of sugars thus making me feel much better.

I am about a month and a half in and have a ways to go, but I wanted to use this space to talk a little about keto and how it works.

Let me breakout a basic day for you in terms of what I eat.

Breakfast: Tablespoon of Almond Butter. 4 Raspberries. Coffee with two tablespoons of whipped cream.

Mid-Morning: Four ham and cheese egg muffins (that's basically one egg and two tablespoons of egg whites)

Lunch: This week it is pot roast with four baby carrots and a celery stalk. Four squares of 72% dark chocolate.

Snack: Half a cup of cucumbers and a cheese stick or half an avocado.

Dinner: Spinach and feta turkey burger sometimes with a little broccoli.

Dessert: One tablespoon of almond butter.

I am always drinking water and take a fair amount of supplements in the morning, but this is essentially a good representation of what I eat.

If you can commit to it entirely, it's a great lifestyle and has all sorts of benefits including helping treat and sometimes reverse diabetes and other conditions.

I am going to posts weekly meal planning and keep you updated on my progress, including any cheat days I have to stay accountable and give you a real life snapshot of what a keto lifestyle looks like. I feel like it's a diet that is totally misrepresented and I want to help people understand it better.