Keto What?

Even personal trainers & health coaches need a reboot. Over the past few months, I'd been feeling low levels of energy, higher levels of anxiety, and blase about my fitness routine. I knew that I needed to change something and turn it on it's head.

Over the past couple of months, I've been hearing and reading more and more on the mind-gut relationship. You know when you say you've got that gut feeling? Turns out that our guts control our brains! The chemicals that influence our emotions are created in our stomach and transported to our brain! WOW! 

We went to a lecture given by a doctor who talked about food allergies and sensitivities, and she spoke about the benefits of eating a ketogenic diet (high fat, low carb). Eating a ketogenic diet puts your body into ketosis, where it switches from using carbs as fuel, to using fat instead. 

This eating plan is radically different from anything that I've ever done for health and fitness. I haven't eaten low-fat dairy after eating Paleo a couple of years ago. I felt more sated and loved the taste of full fat dairy compared to reduced/low-fat. But, it didn't mean I put butter on everything. BUT, with this ketogenic plan that I'm following, I feel like a regular Paula Deen follower! 

I was concerned what effect eating keto would have on my digestion, since I don't have a gall bladder, and eating one of my one-time favorites, clam chowder, is no longer on the table, b/c it makes me feel yicky because my body can't process it. So....when our first breakfast was a porridge made of full fat cottage cheese mixed with cream cheese, I was like "Whoah Nelly! Today might be a rough day!" And, yeah, day 1 sucked. I was hungry and cranky and really tired. They refer to this as the keto or carb flu, because your body is like "What?! Who took my carbs away?!" 

But, I tell 'ya. The rest of the week I felt awesome! I had loads of energy! I felt super focused, and with a big work project coming up, I was up very early and was productive, without being overwhelmed with anxiety. HUGE bonus! 

I can also see my abs! Below is a progress pic. Week 1 Day 3 is on the left and Week 2 Day 1 is on the right. It definitely takes effort and meal prep and planning; but, so far I'm digging it.. 
I've not broken down exactly what is my fat/protein/carb ratio because I don't want to be that meticulous with what I'm eating. I'm following the recipes in Michelle Hogan's Keto in 28 book, and really enjoying the food. It's great for variety and taste. 

I'll continue posting about this journey. Have you tried keto? What are your thoughts? 

Week 1 Day 3                                                            Week 2 Day 1