Do you wonder when you make the decision to lose weight if you will be successful? Are you going to be able to stick to the plan and resist the many temptations that you will be faced with daily?
The keto diet plan is one of the most popular weight loss plans to surface in the past few years. ***This post contains affiliate links. If you click one and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.***
The Keto Diet Plan
It is a 1200 – 1500 calorie daily food plan. Your calories are consumed 60 – 75% fat, 15 – 30% protein and 5 – 10% carbohydrates. This may seem a little simplified, but if you stick within these guidelines you will begin to drop extra pounds.
Weight Loss Success
Whether it is with the Keto Diet or some other healthy eating plan, it all starts with a mindset or a “why”. For me, that “why” was to have more energy and be more productive. For you, it could be to feel better or do more things with your children. Your why can be any number of reasons that can keep you motivated.
I went into this journey solely with the expectation of having more energy by eliminating sugar and processed foods. I had taken my eating of sugar and processed carbs to the next level and it had seriously gotten out of control.
I did not give a shit if I lost any weight at all when I started eating low-carb. It was all about feeling less tired. So, I made the decision to give the Keto diet a try.
I bought a membership to Keto Dash and jumped in with both feet. I will have to admit the first week was quite rocky. Giving up bread, pasta and rice was not a huge challenge. Even giving up the doughnuts at work was not a bit issue. The first week, I went through sugar withdrawal.
I did have heart palpitation. I was told to increase the amount of water I was drinking. I did drink more water, but I am sure it was not enough.
The big problem was the ice cream I enjoyed every night. I struggle with not eating in the evening as it is and to have to give up my favorite evening menu item, took some getting used to. This is something I had tried to do in the past with no success.
This time, I decide to find a recipe for a low-carb ice cream that could replace my favorite, sugary, evening ice cream treat…and not only did I find one recipe, I found several that I like! The low-carb ice cream satisfied my sweet tooth without adding extra grams (well, a few) to my daily carb macros count.
If I had to give someone a single tip for being successful on the Keto diet, it would be to try to replace must-have foods with something that will satisfy the desire without adding to your carbs.
There is a wealth of low-carb recipes available and most of them are very easy to prepare. Check out all the recipes available to you and get started thinking differently about what you eat.
Full Speed Ahead
For me, it had gotten to the point where I wanted the energy more than I the gratification I got from eating sweets and bread. After the first week of following the Keto way of eating, my energy increased and my appetite (especially for sugar) decreased. Not only did I feel like I could tackle the world, I lost 8 pounds in the first week.
Fast forward a month and I was down 15 pounds. I was still feeling good and following the Keto plan loosely. I was still mostly not eating carbs and sugary foods. Occasionally, I would have a few bites of foods that are “taboo” on the Keto diet, but never anything that was excessive.
That 15 pounds was the easiest weight I have ever lost. I feel like it is easier reason for changing is not about losing weight. With all that said, this process has not all been peaches and cream. There have been some challenges along the way.
The Set Back
Three months after I began following Keto, I started feeling dizzy and disoriented. It could be 85 degrees and I still could not get warm. It got so bad, that one morning instead of driving myself to work, I drove myself to the ER. About 2 hours and several tests later, I was diagnosed with critically low potassium.
I had been taking blood pressure medicine for about 10 years without any problems. The only thing that had changed recently, was the way I was eating, and the weight I had lost (at that time, I was down 23 pounds).
I had an electrolyte imbalance. It can happen when you are on Keto if you are not drinking enough water. Magnesium supplements and potassium shakes can also help avoid imbalanced electrolytes.
My doctor gave me a potassium powder (to be mixed with water), took me off the blood pressure medicine and recommended I follow a food plan that was a little more “Mediterranean Diet” than “Keto Diet”. It took me a few weeks to start feeling normal again.
Moving Forward
I am about 5 months into low-carb eating and down 27 pounds. At this point, I eat whatever I want. If it is high in carbs, I limit the portion to a few bites. I have not eaten a doughnut since day one of my new eating habits.
Much as I love doughnuts, the hypoglycemic episodes and not being able to stop at one are not worth it. For me, eating a doughnut would be like a recovering alcoholic drinking a beer.
I still struggle with ice cream, but I am learning to manage it. There are benefits from losing this weight that I could have never foreseen.
I would be thrilled if I could shed 15 more pounds over the next year and ecstatic if I could manage 20, but I would still be happy if I never lost another pound. Here are some of my recommendations for having keto diet weight loss success.
Tips for Keto Diet Weight Loss Success
Tip 1: Have a “why”. If you have an important reason for wanting to lose weight or change your health, you will be that much more motivated to do what it takes.
Tip 2: Understand the food plan. If I had become more knowledgeable about Keto and the potential for electrolyte imbalance, my low potassium most likely could have been avoided.
Tip 3: Embrace the process. Look on this chapter in your life as personal growth. I have no unrealistic expectations for this journey and I take it one day at time. I do not freak out, if I gain a few pounds or my weight plateaus for a month. These things are all a natural part of the process.
Tip 4: Plan ahead. It is hard stick with any program if you don’t have the tools you need. If it is time for you to eat and there are no healthy foods handy, you are likely to turn to fast food or whatever is handy at the time.
Tip 5: Get moving. Take 30 days to get use to your new way of eating and then start exercising. I would recommend walking from day one even if it is only 10 or 15 minutes a day. For me, walking is very therapeutic and can help me manage emotional eating. Add strength training, stretching and aerobics to your workout routine.
Tip 6: Practice Mindfulness. Learning to manage the noise in your head is a very important step. If you eat for comfort rather than hunger, you will struggle. While I do still eat for comfort, I do less and less of it as time goes on.
Even with the potassium challenge, I don’t believe I would change anything I have done to this point. It has been five months of self-discovery and learning to let go of old habits.
As far as Keto diet success goes, you can have success on any diet as long as you eat less calories than you burn. Getting to ketosis will get you there more quickly. The big benefits to the ketogenic diet is it is easy to follow, and you can see results quickly. Quick results tend to keep us motivated. For me, low-carb is the way to go!
