Senso1970's Blog   Thoughts, ramblings, and accountability from sunny Madison, AL

As we slide in to the end of the year I’m happy to report I’ve had great success this year dropping weight on the ketogenic diet.  I’ll have one more weigh-in on Monday, the last day of the year, and barring any surprises I’ll be down just a smidge over 80 pounds for the year.

I’ve kept up with keto news all year long and the diet is only getting more popular as people see the success being had on it.  And not just in weight loss.  I feel so much better than I ever have.   Energy all day long.  No afternoon dips, or dragging my depleted body home at the end of the work day.  Why I even just completed a 48 hour fast and felt great at the end, not hungry and exhausted.  It’s just been my experience that being on the ketogenic diet is great for your body.

So perhaps you’re considering going keto for the New Year.  If so, here are some suggestions I have to start the Keto New Year off right.

First things first.  Before starting any new dietary or exercise program I’d be remiss in not encouraging you to discuss this with your doctor. When you go from a glucose fueled body to a ketone fueled one you are fundamentally changing how your body operates.  While I’ve found it very safe and effective for me, I don’t know you or your current medical situation.  So even if you have to put your start day off a little into the year, talk to a trained medical professional who is aware of your current medical situation.

Assuming you’ve already completed that step you have three days to go before January 1st, 2019.  My advice, live it up.  Probably not the advice you were expecting, I know.  But going keto means you’ll be giving up a lot of stuff you enjoy eating.  Sure you’ll get to replace it with keto friendly meals that are delicious so you will still eat well.  But there are things you enjoy that will most likely be no-no’s on the keto diet.  So take the next few days to enjoy those one last time before you commit to going keto.  Plus this will help with the next step.

Get rid of all the temptations.  If you have boxes of cereal you love to eat still in the house, you’re going to eat them.  As you transition to ketones as your primary fuel source your cravings will go up.  If the food you love is readily available you’ll fall into temptation.  And if you’re absolutely certain you can go without these foods so they won’t be a problem if they’re in the house, then why would you have a problem throwing them out anyway?  The answer is obvious, if you’re having a hard time convincing yourself to get rid of food you know you shouldn’t have, it’s because you’re inclined to have it.  Fix the problem by throwing it away.  If you’re uncertain if something is keto or not, there are plenty of online resources to answer the question for you.

After you’ve gotten rid of the bad stuff you obviously want to stock up on the good stuff.  Again, do a little research on what you can and can’t eat.  Create a short list of stuff on the “can eat” list that you love.  Have plenty at the house.  If you’re hungry and you have keto friendly foods that you love to eat already within reach you’re much more likely to stay on track.

The next step is important.  Let the people in your life know you’re going keto.  This helps for two reasons.  First, it keeps them from being a stumbling block to you, even unintentionally.  Let them know that for the next few months you have to restrict your food choices and avoid places where you’ll likely cheat.  It takes several months of adaptation before you can safely take a keto day off and get right back into ketosis afterwards.  So by telling them in advance it’ll help you avoid awkward moments when you’d have to say you have to decline their invitation out.  The second good thing is accountability.  If your friends and family are aware you’re going keto and what that means they’ll be there to help keep you honest.  Accountability was a great tool for me when I first started.  That’s why I decided to post progress pics on my Instagram.  If I strayed too much the pics would show it.  So I didn’t.

Which brings me to my next suggestion.  The first day take a pic of how you look.  You don’t have to share it on Instagram like I did, but I do think you’ll be amazed at how much support you’ll get if you do.  At least have the pic for yourself so you can take a new one every month so see how you’re progressing.  Going back and viewing my progress in pictures has been wonderful, and helps keep me honest.

Finally, mark March 1st on your calendar.  This will be the point where you’ve gotten two full months of keto under your belt, which should be way looser by now.  This is the amount of time you should be committing yourself to before entertaining straying from the ketogenic diet.  While you’ll see results in the first week or two, it’ll take at least 6 weeks before you fully adapt and are experiencing all the benefits.  If you just give the diet a week or two you’re not really giving it sufficient time to be completely effective.  So spend the next few days mentally preparing yourself for two months of dedicated keto.  And this means no cheating.  I’ve said this before, if you start a diet looking for ways to cheat you should just not start the diet.  You aren’t truly committed to it.  Two months may seem like a long time but my first two months flew by.  After your two months are up if you’d like to take a day off from keto to reward yourself, go ahead.  Just don’t go crazy when you do, and I’d recommend fasting the day after to get your right back in ketosis.

So that’s my list.  If you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comments below.  Agree/disagree with anything I’ve said, comment on that too. I’ve had great success with the ketogenic diet, and understand it pretty well, but I wouldn’t consider myself the final say on these things and would love to discuss any differences of opinion.  I hope you had a great day today.  I hope you have three more wonderful 2018 days.  And I hope you hit the ground running come 2019.  See you soon.