Who is doing Keto on here? Got some questions;
1. Is it viable for longish-term weight loss. i.e not just a quick 4KG.
2. Do you use an app - i see there's many sites that will build a keto menu for you. Or do you do your own thing?
3. Anyone find very adverse health effects?
I've read up on the risks of it. Although I do have high cholesterol it is under control for a few years now with medication. But I intend to get tested at least once a month to make sure it doesn't go off the charts.
I've been doing a low-fat, low-calorie diet lately but finding it VERY hard to stick to. Especially since i eat a lot of my meals out. Also bowls of plain pasta and potato with bread are getting a bit boring now
Excuse the long post but here goes.
I loosely follow a ketogenic diet. I say loosely as I am on a remote site and food is catered for.
So in general, I'll choose a meat source that's available on the menu and add some greens to it (I generally go for leafy greens). I do not count calories as it's impossible to estimate the calories in the beef stirfry (as an example) as I have not seen it prepared.
What I do avoid (unless there is no choice) is bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and other starches. No sweets of any sorts at present (Those donuts and eclairs do look sooo tempting though!).
My one weakness is coffee (milk, no sugar) and the occasional bullet proof coffee.
Added to that, I do an intermittent intermittent fast (not a typo) as I'll sometimes have my third meal with a few work colleagues to get some social time in.
I exercise 3 times a week and it consists of either the treadmill (something I started quite recently) for 30 odd mins with an average HR of 140s (Where's my bloody points Discovery?!?
) or a 45 - 60min stationery cycle (same ave HR).
Now for the metrics:
In the 5 weeks, I've dropped 7kgs but more importantly, I've lost 4cm around my waist (It was the only measurement I took on my body). My pants do feel looser around the thighs. I weigh in weekly at the gym (using a Huawei scale and their app).
Prior to starting this, I had bloodwork done and HDL / LDL / Total Chol was all well within normal range. My Triglyceride was slightly elevated and I will have that retested when I go for my medical clearance tests.
Blood pressure was initially 128/83 (I must do a follow up on that in the morning before coffee)
Blood sugar sits around 4.5 to 5 mmol/L fasted and after breakfast (I can measure daily but don't as I'm not fond of sticking needles into myself).
Resting Heart Rate: 50 - 52 (but if I am really chilled it has dropped to 46)
No chronic meds (not bad considering my age I guess)
Well being
The first two weeks was a bit hard. I had the cravings for something sweet but I managed to avoid anything refined (I'd have an apple or orange to curb the craving). Now I have no cravings between meals and when I fast there is no issue either and I almost have to force myself to have something to eat after the fasting period is over.
I was a bit skeptical of doing fasted exercise at first (Concerns over blood sugar being low and collapsing / fainting etc) but have had no issues thus far (All cardio work). My next step is to ramp up the exercise and add some weight / resistance training twice a week (I'm kind of dreading this as I buggered my shoulders in a fall a few months ago).
Long Term thoughts
Honestly at the moment it is quite easy to stay focused on this as I am away from home but the social pressures of a beer and braai and variety of fast / junk foods when home will be another thing I will have to mentally prepare for.
Do I think it's doable long term? Yes definitely but I will see what my blood work reveals when I go for my medical in November. I am especially interested in my triglycerides and Hb1ac to see what effect a ketogenic diet has on these metrics.
I had more to ramble on but got side tracked with work.
