Just your normal 20-something college graduate trying to get back to a healthy weight. For most of my life I was average weight (around 150 lbs, 5’7”) until my last couple years of college when I began to gain weight at an insane rate. Blame it on the pizza or the beer or just the stress from studying- those were great excuses for why I gained the weight, but now I have no excuse not to lose it – which is exactly what I plan to do!
Me in March of 2011 at my heaviest
190
During my last semester of college (Spring 2011) I was committed to losing all the weight I had gained during my time in college. I busted my ass at the gym running 10-15 miles a week and lifting weights, I counted calories, I ate right and nothing seemed to work. While I had lost 5 lbs by the time I graduated, it was a minor dent in the whopping 40 lbs I had gained since I had started school (approximately 6 pounds per year). I felt great and was proud of myself for pushing myself, but the lack of results was causing my motivation to dwindle.
Me at my college graduation, five pounds less
185
I first heard about Keto through the website Reddit. I was actively reading their fitness forums when I noticed a great deal of people mentioning success through Keto and Paleo diets (they're very similar however Keto is a bit more strict regarding carb intake). After a week or so of reading about the diet, I decided to give it a try.
While the first week was not easy due to the fact that I was going through a rough induction flu, I immediately started dropping weight and was thrilled that I could eat as much bacon as I wanted. By the ninth day the induction flu had subsided and my energy levels had improved dramatically, actually, everything started to improve dramatically. I was sleeping better, my skin looked better and I was losing weight at a rate of about 2 lbs/week without working out.
I stuck with the diet for about a month and a half and lost 18 pounds. By the last 3 weeks of the diet I was doing unintentional fasting, I would only eat between 2-10 pm and was averaging about 800 calories/day in consumption. Despite the low caloric consumption, I wasn't starving myself, I was always eating until I was full. What was even more amazing to me was the fact that after 2 weeks on the diet I no longer craved any sugars - I craved vegetables and meat! I would watch my roommate make Oreo hot fudge sundays and not feel tempted in the least.
Me after a month and a half of Keto
173
Eventually, I did fall off the bandwagon, a stint of unemployment and some serious financial hardships forced me to resume eating cheap carbohydrates, but during that time (a month and a half) I only gained back 3 pounds! So now I'm back on the bandwagon and planning to start all over again, but this time: on a budget.
Most of the foods I suggest you buy or eat will be cost-effective but still keto-friendly. A lot of forums squeal in delight over how much bacon you can eat while on the keto diet, and it’s true, you can eat all the bacon you want, however its expensive. I would suggest saving the more expensive cuts of meat, like steak, bacon and lamb, for special occasions. But we'll get more into the keto-friendly/budget-friendly shopping advice in the next couple of posts.
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