1 Year Keto! Surviving the Keto Diet Long-Term and Why I Finally Gave it Up!
It’s been just about a year since I started the keto diet! I dove into keto in February 2019, pretty much giving up carbs cold turkey. My results were amazing! I lost weight quickly and ate more of the foods I loved, with none of the weird side effects that were commonly reported. I never once experienced keto flu, keto breath, the dreaded keto crotch, or any of the negative side effects of the keto diet. The first few months were pretty much a breeze and I reported on my progress periodically on this blog and on my Instagram.
As much as I love the diet and despite how effective the keto diet is at managing weight, I’ve decided to take a break. It is wildly effective, and pretty easy to maintain, but it had some major health drawbacks that are making me put it on pause. Keep reading for why I broke up with the keto diet, how keto impacted my health long term, and what steps I’m taking for healthy weight management!
Health Risks and the Keto Diet
I’m not going to spend a lot of time discussing what keto is. At this point it’s so popular and there are so many resources that can give you an in-depth overview if you are looking for one. But in a nutshell, keto is a high fat, low carb diet that is proven to help with weight loss and weight management. It worked incredibly well for me, but after being on the keto diet for almost a year I did have some negative health effects. After my last physical I learned that my cholesterol was crazy high, blood sugar was completely out of whack, and I had high inflammation. I had also been experiencing night sweats off and on for months and couldn’t figure out why!
After going over my lab results with my doctor, she strongly suggested I reset my diet to get my system back in order. The high cholesterol was common with the keto diet, especially when you find yourself practicing more of a dirty keto diet than a clean keto diet. She also mentioned that my blood sugar was relatively high for someone on keto, because the keto diet basically eliminates sugar. I was also severely fiber deficient. Even though I use fiber supplements daily on the keto diet, I wasn’t getting anywhere near the recommended amount, and hadn’t in almost a year. I underestimated the importance of fiber in a diet, but it’s good for way more than just keeping things regular! Fiber is pretty important for overall digestion and bowel health, plus it helps manage your blood sugar and cholesterol, 2 things I was having issues major with.
Dirty Keto vs Clean Keto
There are a few different ways to keto diet, but 2 of the most common are dirty keto and clean keto. Dirty keto means you are adhering to the high-fat low carb principles of the diet, but eating more unhealthy options and fast food. I definitely fell into dirty keto for a while, forgetting the difference between good fat and bad fat. That meant a diet full of processed foods, red meat, fast food, and foods that are high in saturated fat. Steaks, cheese and butter were basically my best friends! Clean keto focuses on getting your fat from healthy sources, like fatty fish, olive oil, nuts, and avocados. So, while I did lose weight from regularly eating lettuce wrapped double cheeseburgers with bacon and sausage egg and cheese breakfasts, the results were proving to be disastrous for my health.
Giving Up the Keto Diet
I’ve spent the last few weeks giving my body a break from the keto diet to get back on track. I do plan to restart a cleaner version of the keto diet in a few more months, once I feel like my system is stabilized and functioning in optimal health. I just need to give my body time to reset from my old dirty keto style of eating!
Since I moved away from my semi dirty keto diet, the mysterious night sweats have disappeared and I will know more about my cholesterol and sugar when I do my blood work next month. While I still generally practice a low-carb diet, my focus is more on making sure I hit my fiber goal. My doctor recommended getting 30-35 grams of fiber a day and challenged me to get that fiber from a plant-based diet, not just taking additional supplements. Getting that much fiber is harder than it sounds, especially if you are not relying on processed foods like fiber bars. The high fiber diet means my daily carb intake is usually around 50 grams, and when I was on keto it was always under 25 grams. So while that is considered a low carb diet, it keeps me out of ketosis.
And yes, I have already gained weight back! I’m trying not to stress about it since health is more important, but I have definitely noticed a difference in my body. It’s only a few pounds and I’m letting it rock while being mindful. I definitely don’t want to dramatically gain or lose any weight this close to wedding dress shopping!
I will also say that my doctor made it clear that she is not anti-keto, just that I need to find a way to clean it up and make sure my nutrients are balanced. So if you are concerned about the potential health risks of the keto diet, talk to your medical professional and work with them on a diet plan that can help you maintain the keto diet without compromising your health. I’m an LA girl now, so it was easy to find a doctor that focused on medicine and also nutrition. She was able to give me great tips on meal planning and food prep that would enable me to continue a low-carb lifestyle in a healthier fashion. If you are thinking about doing a modified low-carb diet, focus on finding the balance between healthy fats, carbs and fiber. Try to stay away from processed foods and foods high in cholesterol as well!
Hope this helps if you are thinking about starting or stopping the keto diet! Overall, it’s important to make sure you are staying healthy and balanced in any diet you choose to follow. Let me know any questions in the comments, or tips about keto if you are on the diet as well!
6 Months Keto Update: Maintainance, Set-Backs, Progress and More!
My 6 Month Keto-Versary is just around the corner! I’ve been meaning to update you guys on how the diet is working for me and managing it long-term for awhile, and 6 months is the perfect milestone! I can say for sure that I’m passed the point of thinking of keto as a fad diet and more now consider it a lifestyle. I’m no longer trying to lose weight, and am happy with my results. But overall I feel like the diet works amazingly for me, let’s me eat most of the types of foods I want, and allows me the flexibility to have long-term success. Here are a few things that have changed for me after staying on keto for 6 months!
I Adjusted My Macros
I use My Fitness Pal to track macros and when I first started my goal was 20-25 grams of carbs a day. That led to the quick weight loss I experienced in the first few weeks. Since my goal has shifted to keeping my weight stable, I increased my carb intake to around 30-35 grams on average. My carbs still mostly come from vegetables and berries, but I will occasionally have a glass of wine, or a few bites of a dessert that would normally be completely off limits. Which brings me to my next point . . .
I Cheat on Keto A Lot More
When I first started I was pretty hard core and dedicated to seeing results. Now that I no longer care about losing weight, I’m more liberal about having occasional cheats. Full on cheat days are still pretty rare, but I would guess I go over my carb goal on average once a week. I say guess because I don’t necessaily count macros on things I just have a few bites of, but I am guilty of picking at a few of my boyfriend’s fries or eating something saucy which is usually a no no because sauces tend to be high in sugar. I have also fallen off the wagon HARD a few times, indulging in carb-binges that I loved in the moment but regretted the next day. After maintaining a low-carb and basically no sugar diet for so long, overindulging can shock your body and leave you feeling sick, crampy, and withdrawn as you digest. I’m not saying the occasional bowl of pasta or plate of French toast isn’t worth it, but keep in mind how you will feel after!
I Stopped Weighing Myself
I haven’t set foot on a scale since April! Instead of worrying about my weight, I think more about inches I’m losing or gaining. My workouts have shifted to be almost exclusively strength focused, with special emphasis on core conditioning because I have ALWAYS wanted better abs. My workout mix typically includes a HIIT class, Ballet Barre, hot yoga and boxing or Krav Maga. I also started doing 10 minutes of ab work 4 to 5 times a week. I’ve been doing that regularly for about a month, following YouTube videos from Chloe Ting and MadFit and I love my results! I lost an inch on my waist after about 3 weeks of dedicated ab workouts, but gained back half an inch after a carb binge in San Diego last weekend! So yes, I learned that my progress can very quickly unravel and I may need to be more disciplined as I try to get more sculpted!
Intermittent Fasting Suddenly Got Really Hard
When I started keto I also regularly practiced Intermittent Fasting, usually eating between the hours of 12-8. I rarely got hungry before noon, and was sometimes easily able to go as late as 1:30 without even noticing. The only time I would eat past 8 is when socal obligations required me to, and usually when that happened I could easily start eating later in the day since I wouldn’t be hungry. But something happened after my move to LA! Maybe it was the sudden change in my normal schedule or adjusting to my new lifestyle, but for some reason keeping my fasting schedule has become such a challenge. I always think it’s more important to listen to your body than it is to follow arbitrary timing, so when my body tells me it’s time to eat I listen. However I have noticed that I start feeling ravenous around 10-10:30am, which is way earlier than I used to eat when I first started keto. I’m not sure what if any difference it’s making so I’m just keeping an eye on it and listening to my body.
I’m Taking More Supplements
When I first started, the only supplements I added to my routine was magnesium. I typically take a multi-vitamin, Omega 3, Collagen and Biotin anyway, so magnesium was just to make sure my electrolytes stayed balanced. However because of my increased carb intake and more frequent cheating, I figure adding in more keto focused supplements could help me stay on track. They can be expensive, so I will let you know if they are worth it in my next update, because right now it’s too early to say. But when I first started the keto diet I didn’t take any of the most commonly used supplements, like MCT Oil and ketone bases. My results were great, but your body does plateau, so I’m switching things up a bit to make sure it keeps working for me!
I Still Don’t Like Keto Desserts
I’ve found a few keto recipes that work for me, like zucchini lasagna, almond flour pancakes and cauliflower rice stir fry. However the dessert recipes are always disappointing! The textures and taste are just never good enough to really be satisfying. When I’m craving sweets, I’m more likely to just eat a bowl of berries and cream or a piece of Lily’s Chocolate. That usually comes in around 7 to 10 grams of carbs and is way more worth it than a cardboardy keto cupcake with 4 grams of carbs!
Let me know any burning questions about keto in the comments or on Instagram! And shop my look and some of my keto faves below!
