"I recently followed the Ketogenic diet (click on the link to learn more) for over 6 weeks and I wanted to give you guys my honest opinion and an overview of my own experience.
It wasn’t my first time doing Keto, however it was different from the first and second time I tried it. They say 3rd time is a charm, and it sure was this time around. Our bodies are really good at adapting and the more you do something, whether it be exercise or diet, your body becomes better and more efficient at dealing with the situation. In this case, I have noticed a huge difference in the rate that my body adapted to the high fat diet and using fat as a main source of energy, in comparison to my past 2 trials. It felt like my body was telling me: “oh, are we doing this again? I remember, and I can do better this time”. It took me only 3 days to get into Ketosis, however I was really diligent and followed strictly the jump start rules, I have posted for you guys.
The entire adaptation period took about 10 days, which is quite fast. Some people take as long as 3 weeks. These were the stages of my transformation to a burning fat for energy:
The first 3 days I was peeing every 10 minutes like a 4 year old, and had to drink a lot of water not to become dehydrated. Some people experience headache during this time, but I was ready. I was drinking a lot of water, had salt if I started to feel tired (mostly in the form of home made chicken broth), and I supplemented with Pottasium and Magnesium.
After the first 3 days I have already noticed an increase of energy that lasted the entire day. I didn’t feel like I wished I could take a nap during the afternoon, and despite how busy I was, I didn’t feel overwhelmed (we were in the process of moving into our new home, and I have a lot going on with my book, supplements, clothing line, ZGYM, etc.). I noticed my body started to appear slimmer, because my body was no longer retaining water. I have also noticed I didn’t feel any stiffness in the mornings, and my flexibility had started to increase noticeably. The only problem was the lack of strength I felt during my workouts. After doing a single push up I felt like like I had already done 20 reps. It’s the weirdest feeling to feel exhausted like that after doing a beginner-style workout, when you know you’re in really good shape.
I did not have cravings for carbs or anything sweet and I wasn’t experiencing hunger the way I normally do. Not that I normally starve or something, but in Keto I was just not hungry for hours on end. I had to remind myself to eat.
During the 2nd week my frustration with strength and endurance continues, however I am slowly seeing an improvement. I exercise daily so I notice even the slightest change in my performance. After 10 days, my stamina was back to where it was when my body was using glucose as the main energy source. That’s when I knew my body had finally adapted and it felt amazing. I was utilizing all the fat I was eating to generate energy for my brain and muscle activity.
After the first few weeks, besides having more clarity and having a constant flow of energy, from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed (which I expected), I was taken by surprise when I got my period and didn’t have any cramps! Normally I suffer 2 days every month from really bad to sometimes debilitating cramps that I can’t deal with. This time however, without taking pain killers, I had no cramps! Even though I did notice my energy was lower, I didn’t feel as exhausted as I normally do during this time of month.
I went off Keto after 6 weeks, after we moved to our new house. I didn’t stop because I had some uncontrollable cravings but because I just simply wanted to enjoy my glass of wine in the evening watching the beautiful sunset from our new back yard, I wanted to enjoy a bowl of cherries while sitting by the pool, and I wanted to prepare delicious salads with juicy peaches which are currently in season. It’s just the romantic in me that wanted all those things.
I believe the Keto diet is an amazing sugar detox and it’s worth trying especially if you need that sustainable energy throughout the day. This is helpful if you need to be really focused on important projects for your job or school. Fat has been proven to be a far better quality fuel than glucose and even though it’s not as widely spread news yet, you are going to hear more and more people turning to Ketosis mainly for health and energy purposes.
Remember, you have to give yourself at least 2 weeks for a complete adaptation. Some people left comments saying that this diet can’t be healthy if it makes you feel like a crap at the beginning. Well, that’s not true. Remember, that your body doesn’t like change. If you have ever recovered from an addiction to any harmful substances like cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, you may recall the horrible feeling of withdrawal. Your body was not happy, when you tried to quit, you felt horrible, and this is exactly why so many people have a hard time quitting the unhealthy habits. Sugar is the unhealthy substance you’re trying to quit, when you go into Keto. Of course it’s not going to be pleasant to go through sugar withdrawal. I used to be a chain smoker, believe it or not. I remember the headaches, anxiety, moodiness and constant coughing each time I tried to quit. I gave up a few times and the cigarette made me feel good again. How is it possible that I didn’t feel better instantly when I stopped smoking if it’s so much healthier for me not to smoke? It’s because our bodies hate change which makes any adaptation period uneasy to deal with.
After 6 weeks I stopped doing Keto and went back to earning my carbs with my workouts. I’ve maintained that lifestyle for almost 8 years and I’ve felt great and have gotten great results. Although there were a lot of benefits to being in ketosis, you have to be very strict and I don’t think it’s for everyone, all the time. It’s fine to detox for periods of time but I personally prefer to control my carb intake and enjoy the foods I love on a regular basis. In a sense, I’m a carb addict that controls her intake. I’m all about owning it, instead of living in denial. I believe I can stay fit and healthy following this lifestyle and live a very long life.
Unless, I get some horrible disease like cancer, if that happens I’ll go back to ketosis long-term. Research shows that cancer cells can survive only off of glucose and that Ketogenic diet has the capability to starve those cancer cells and heal people. I’m wondering why this information is not spreading already like a wildfire… If giving up sugar can actually save your life, why aren’t there more programs out there and information to help people do it? Oh wait, are those expensive cancer treatments making a lot of money for the big companies? That makes sense then, let people use more drugs and put them through chemo rather than letting them know that there’s a more natural and completely holistic solution that might save their lives. Here’s a great article about
Dr. Fred Hatfield who had only about 3 months to live before he got introduced to Ketogenic diet and starved those cancer cell f**kers. There’s no doubt in my mind that I would instantly stop eating carbs and sugar if I was diagnosed with cancer. I mean, that’s a no brainer, right?"
