My Keto Diet Results
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Seriously, go follow me!
If you have been following me, then you'll know that a couple of weeks ago I wrapped up my #60daysketo experiment.
I documented the whole journey, from dropping weight very quickly in the first two weeks, to being sidelined on day 18 by emergency surgery to take my appendix out, my first carb-up, and finally, my results from it.
Of course, if you haven't been following along, those posts are all still there, so feel free to scroll back and take a peek. Or, just search the hashtag #60daysketo to see everything I ate and did!
I'm going to dive into tons of into about the why+how of my Ketogenic Experiment, but first I'm sure you wondering:
What were my results on a Ketogenic Diet?
I'm so glad you asked, because I'm super excited to share them with you!
The picture on the left is after 75 days on Keto (I was very busy when the 60 days ended) and the picture on the right was before I began the experiment:
So here's the thing: the pictures obviously speak for themselves, even though I hated having my picture taken before going Keto, so I don't have a ton of great ones to compare the “afters” to.
The state of my midsection.
The shape of my thighs.
My face….
My arms.
Just so many things, and even things you can see like not sleeping well, lacking energy, not much mental focus. I could go on, and on, and on.
But, there are some pretty compelling stats about my weight and measurements that seal the deal that Keto was so, so good for me:
I lost, in 60 days:
- 23 pounds
- 2.25 inches on each arm
- 3 inches on my waist
- 5.5 inches on my pooch
- 3.5 inches on my hips
- 1.75 inches on each thigh
- 1.5 inches on each calf
Ya'll, I lost more than 20 inches in 60 days without my energy levels dropping, losing sleep, my hair falling out, or even drinking any of those magic pills or potions that so many people are hawking on Instagram.
Yeah, we all KNOW those don't work…….
My Keto Plan:
I used the Ketogains Macro Calculator to come up with my daily macros. Here was my starting plan:
- 1600 calories/day
- 116 g protein
- 25 net carbs
- 113 grams fat
These numbers were designed to help me lose fat by taking in to account my weight, body fat percentage, activity level, and exercise amount each day.
However, a few weeks in, my energy levels started falling, so I adjusted my calories and macros for increased activity (maybe I wasn't as sedentary as I thought) and used these macros for the remainder of the experiment:
- 1950 calories/day
- 146 g protein
- 25 net carbs
- 121 g fat
I started feeling much better, albeit a bit full at the end of the day, but my body seemed MUCH happier with these numbers.
Why Keto? (Not THM, Low Carb, Carb Cycling, Paleo, etc?)
After doing Trim Healthy Mama for almost 2 years, I started noticing some patterns in my eating, my energy levels, and even my mental focus.
And to be honest, I was burnt out making sure that each meal fell into an E, S, or FP. I am a numbers person, so I would put all the foods into My Fitness Pal and make sure that I wasn't eating too many carbs, too much fat, and that I was eating enough protein.
The other big factor in deciding to do Keto for 60 days was noticing how I felt doing Trim Healthy Mama (some people call it carb cycling). When I ate lots of healthy fats, especially in the morning I felt amazing. My mental focus was amazing and I felt bulletproof. Often, I would eat an E lunch with carbs and very little fat, which, while perfectly in line with THM guidelines, left me feeling mentally foggy, tired, and lethargic.
Related: Learn all about Trim Healthy Mama in THM101
I was eating really clean, complex carbs, but I just couldn't deal with the energy levels dropping.
So, I decided to switch it up, and put fats and protein at the center of my lunches, trying out E meals for breakfast, lunches, or just throwing in an E snack every day.
And ya know what happened?
Every time, no matter how careful or when I timed my E meal, my energy flagged and my brain got foggy.
So a lot of this was just noticing how my body treated all sort of different carbs vs. fats.
The final straw was realizing my cravings were out of control. I was fueling my body really well, but still being able to stress eat THM treats was not a healthy habit.
So I took on the 60 Day Keto Challenge to help with all of these problems.
Ready to take the plunge? Join the first 30 days of the challenge here:
You'll get The Keto Quickstart Guide, with everything you need to know to start Keto + 30 Days of Meal Plans, Shopping Lists, and more!
What is a Ketogenic Diet?
I want to put a little blurb in here about what a Ketogenic diet (known as Keto) is, in case you're not familiar. If you are, feel free to skip this little Keto 101, and skip down to see what I ate.
A Ketogenic diet is one that is high in healthy fats and proteins, and extremely low in carbohydrates. Typically, it takes around 100g of carbohydrates per day to keep up with the average person's brain and organ function. When you eat between 20-50 g of net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates – fiber) your body has to switch over to using fat to fuel itself instead of carbohydrates. This process is called Ketosis, and it's a perfectly natural state of humans to exist in.
Typically, it takes between 3-7 days for Ketosis to kick in, but once it does, most people on Keto notice their energy levels rapidly increasing, cravings diminishing, and of course, they start to rapidly lose body fat.
I did, that's for sure!
Even better, Ketogenic diets have been linked with helping to prevent or drastically reduce the symptoms of diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, epilepsy and more.
And not once did I feel deprived on Keto.
Interested in learning more about Keto? Check out my full post, Keto 101
What did I eat on Keto?
The best part about Keto?
Eating All. The. Food.
Seriously, here are some of the foods I ate:
- Steak with Zoodles and Cream Sauce
- Keto Kookies (10% off with this link)
- Fathead Bagels with Cream Cheese
- Butterfinger Fat Bombs
- Keto McGriddles
- Giant Chef Salads with Bacon, Eggs, lots, of meat, cheese, and ranch dressing
- Ketologie Chocolate Shakes (YUM!) (10% off your first order through my link)
- Brownies with Ice Cream
- Pork Rinds with Ranch & Guacamole
- Prime Rib with Asparagus
- Jimmy John's Unwiches
- Bulletproof Coffee with Brain Brew MCT Oil
- Drop an F-Bomb Nut Butter Packs
- 90-Second Mug Cinnamon Roll FatBomb
- Cheeseburger Salads
I was introduced to many new foods…
And developed some of my favorite recipes, which I've linked to above!
Over all, I felt great, lost more than 20 inches, and 23 pounds in 75 days of doing Keto.
My husband did it with me, and he dropped 40 pounds and 25 inches in just 40 days!
My mental focus increased, I started sleeping better, I had energy to keep up with my daughter, and not ONCE did I feel deprived.
From here, my plan it to keep up with Keto, but as I get close to my body fat % goals, to start incorporating some carbs before my workout because I want to build more muscle.
My body is an experiment, but my 60 Days Keto Experiment was a huge success!
Join Keto Quickstart for free here:
I would love to hear if any of you have tried Keto. What were your results?
xoxo,
Gretchen
Join the FMJ Family for exclusive healthy family resources, recipes, tips, and tricks:
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john says
thank you so much for this informative articles it really helped me getting my shape again and I’m planning to go on this diet all my life really.
they are mistakes you should avoid such as eating too much protein 20 % is enough because of protein when it’s too much it will convert to glycogen and stored in your body. focus on potassium, sodium, and magnesium they are your friend in this type of diet if you don’t want to feel dizzy and get the keto flu. and what I suggest to you guys is to keep intensity in your training so you can adapt really fast and your body uses fat as a primary energy. they are really good cookbooks that can make things enjoyable and fun. I know eating the same things can make things harder but you can use cookbooks out there just type in google “keto diet cookbooks” or use this one I test it myself is great bit.ly/2lv0qA7
one more thing is flexibility cause they are events that you can’t avoid eating manage a day in the week and eat carbs if you like but never exceed 300 carbs.
Alina Smith says
Nice article its very helpfull thanks for sharing
Claire says
Yay! I was so happy to find this website! Even if it’s hard, I’m going all in. You’re not reading this by accident. The Lord Jesus Christ loves you SO much! HE DIED FOR OUR SINS ON A CROSS, WAS BURIED, AND ROSE TO LIFE FOR YOU TO LIVE ETERNALLY IN HEAVEN WITH HIM!Please give Him a chance He’s amazing, and alive.
Lhyka says
Great tips! I really love the keto diet and I’ve made a lot of progress in changing my eating habits in the past year.
One thing that really helped me get started was having access to a quality ketogenic diet cookbook.
Recently I found one that offers 148 ketogenic recipes complete with meal planning tips.
It also provides you with handy list of high-carb foods to avoid and advice on how to neutralize your cravings for those foods.
The recipes are amazing and there’s enough recipes there to keep you from getting bored with your diet.
I highly recommend it.
Just click the link below to get instant access: https://clickmeterlink.com/ketocookbook
Victoria says
Hi!
I found this article really helpful, thank you! I’ve read a keto cookbook a couple of days ago and it was helping me giving ideas, it is really cool. Here it is: https://bit.ly/2utGodS
Rosa Lupig says
Great tips! I really love the keto diet and I’ve made a lot of progress in changing my eating habits in the past year.
One thing that really helped me get started was having access to a quality ketogenic diet cookbook.
Recently I found one that offers 148 ketogenic recipes complete with meal planning tips.
It also provides you with handy list of high-carb foods to avoid and advice on how to neutralize your cravings for those foods.
The recipes are amazing and there’s enough recipes there to keep you from getting bored with your diet.
I highly recommend it.
Just click the link below to get instant access:
https://clickmeterlink.com/ketocookbook
usama Ali says
Great tips! I really love the keto diet and I’ve made a lot of progress in changing my eating habits in the past year.
One thing that really helped me get started was having access to a quality ketogenic diet cookbook.
Recently I found one that offers 148 ketogenic recipes complete with meal planning tips.
It also provides you with handy list of high-carb foods to avoid and advice on how to neutralize your cravings for those foods.
The recipes are amazing and there’s enough recipes there to keep you from getting bored with your diet.
I highly recommend it.
Just click the link below to get instant access:
Just click the link below to get instant access:
https://clickmeterlink.com/ketocookbook
Miljan Ristic says
Great tips! I really love the keto diet and I’ve made a lot of progress in changing my eating habits in the past year.
One thing that really helped me get started was having access to a quality ketogenic diet cookbook.
Recently I found one that offers 148 ketogenic recipes complete with meal planning tips.
It also provides you with handy list of high-carb foods to avoid and advice on how to neutralize your cravings for those foods.
The recipes are amazing and there’s enough recipes there to keep you from getting bored with your diet.
I highly recommend it.
Just click the link below to get instant access:
https://clickmeterlink.com/ketocookbook
Gretchen Lindow says
thank you!
Betty says
Hey, Gretchen, thanks for your insight!
I’m wondering do you know any other good diets I can buy online to help lose my baby weight besides this one?
I was thinking of the 2B Mindset but have found some bad reviews like this one https://pushpedalcrank.com/2b-mindset-review/ so I’m more iffy on it.
I’ve been searching google for some good advice. I don’t want to waste money on a diet I won’t be able to stick with, I’ve made that mistake too many times.
Kind regards,
Betty xx
glenda says
I was overweight for my height of 5’3″, tried dieting but did not work. I started to try keto diet for a month and notice a drop to my weight of 1lb. Did exercise for twice to four times a week and it works. I highly recommend it. https://clickmeterlink.com/ketocookbook
Amanda Kay Creighton says
I’m 15 days in and am concerned about my appendix, which has pain. Please share what happened with your appendix, and if you know, why? Thanks!
Trileana says
I loved this article, it was really helpful for me. Thanks for posting it. I am following your tips with some other awesome diet plan that helped me lose a lot of weight.
Jennsmom says
Thank you for the inspiration and the motivation to press on with the keto diet.