I’ve done it. Previously my longest streaks of weight loss were 3-6 months. The only time I went 6 months the last 3 months included a scale yo-yo while I fought my body’s starvation instincts. I lost maybe 5 lbs in those last 3 months.
Now I’ve been keto for an entire year and see no reason to stop! I’m so excited and proud of myself. There have been many slip ups that usually involved too much wine, but I only went off the actual diet once to enjoy the food in Thailand. Outside of that this has been a year of keto eating. At the beginning of the year I couldn’t imagine how I would live without my favorite foods: pasta and ice cream. Now it’s a non-issue. I’m so happy!
Let’s look at the stats:
Highest Weight: 182 lbs
Current Weight: 137 lbs
Weight Lost: 45 lbs
Body Percentage Lost: 25%
Body Fat Change: 42% to 25%
Waist Inches Lost: 6″ (33 to 27)
Hips Inches Lost: 5.5″ (44 to 38.5)
Bust Inches Lost: 5″(37 to 32)
Total Inches Lost: 16.5″
I’ve been keeping a diary to understand my body’s reactions while on keto. I read through it and found that in addition to the awesome weight loss above keto also had the following benefits for me:
- Lack of Hunger: I’m rarely hungry now. I eat breakfast at 9am and have no interest in food until 3pm. Previously I could barely survive until lunch. Some days I don’t feel like eating at all and make myself to hit my protein goal. This benefit alone is a main driver of me making this a lifestyle change even after I lose all the weight.
- Improved Sleep: I absolutely suck at sleeping and always have. Growing up I had to literally read until I passed out in order to sleep. Since starting keto this has been a lot better. Instead of getting my second wind around the time I’m supposed to be getting ready for bed I get sleepy at night and often when my head hits the pillow I’m OUT until the next morning. It’s awesome. Another weird side effect is that I remember all my dreams now. It’s…strange, but cool.
- Better Mental Clarity: I used to tell people at work that my brain wasn’t awake until noon and it was true. Now when I awaken I don’t have any brain fog – I’m ready to take on the day from the first second. The improved sleep might have something to do with this too. I also no longer have the “Afternoon Slump” where you get sleepy in the afternoon after lunch and become basically useless at work.
- (TMI) No Farting: I used to have a bit of a…problem…with flatulence 🙂 . I’d fart often and it did NOT smell like daisies. I started thinking I might be lactose intolerant because of how random it was. After starting keto not only do my farts not smell…I rarely fart at all. Like maybe a few times this year. WHAT?!?!
The Plan
Here’s a summary of how I approached this year of keto and what I’m planning to do in the future.
Original Plan (January – June 2017)
1200 calories/day (NOTE: This wasn’t really possible while also drinking so ended up being higher: usually around 1350-1375 calories/day on average)
Not adding any calories for exercise
20g net carbs
After Hit Normal BMI (June-November 2017)
1314 calories/day cycled: 1200/day on weekdays, 1600/day on weekends
Not adding any calories for exercise
20g net carbs
Attempted To Reduced Calories (November – December 2017)
In November I realized that my weight loss had decreased my maintenance number so I was then only at a 190 or so calorie deficient per day. I tried to go back to 1200/day until the Christmas holidays, but it wasn’t sustainable. After 5 weeks where I hit the goal 4/5 times I switched back to 1314 calories/day
1200 calories/day for 5 weeks, 1314 calories/day for 3 weeks and Maintenance for the holidays
Not adding any calories for exercise
20g net carbs (50g for maintenance during the holidays)
2018 Plan
Pre-Singapore: 1314 calories/day cycled
After Singapore: If have gained weight go back to 1314 calories/day cycled
When happy with weight: Start maintaining and can eat up to 50g net carbs a day to still stay in ketosis
Let’s do this!
Are you still on it now and how’s it working out? I’m really new keto, so this is encouraging.
Do you pee on the strips or test your blood? I’m also curious if you test your cholesterol. The last one worries me a bit.
In my very short experience:
1) The weight is falling off. Yay!
2) I like the all-or-nothing proposition of the diet. If my body is burning the fat away, great! However, I also find myself eating way less because stuff is off limits.
3) Cutting way back on bread is the hardest part.
4) I find that I can still get away with 1 beer and not throw myself out of keto.
Anyway, I’m going to continue until I’m around 12% body fat (14.5% now) and then re-evaluate.
Yep I’m still on it and planning to be keto for life. I love it. This is the only time I’ve lost weight easily and actually been able to maintain the loss.
I don’t pee on strips or test my blood. Everything I’ve read says that’s not necessary and generally unreliable.
My blood cholesterol numbers have improved a lot on keto. Eating cholesterol doesn’t raise your blood cholesterol. That’s a common misconception – I can send you book recommendations on that if you’d like.
Your experience sounds awesome! Glad the weight is coming off. As for bread I’ve made some yummy bread and waffles with almond flour. My Mom is also good at keto baking in case she gets a sweet tooth. Nice that 1 beer doesn’t kick you out! I haven’t tested that. Good luck getting down to 12% BF!! Thanks for stopping by!