The Keto Diet For Weight Loss

Of the hundreds of diet trends floating around out there, the weight loss success stories of the ketogenic diet definitely caught my attention – and isn’t everyone trying keto now?

This high fat, low-carb diet boasts benefits of reduced appetite, no sugar cravings and weight loss, but what exactly is it and how does it work?

Is the ketogenic diet sustainable?

Can it reverse insulin resistance from PCOS or pre-diabetes?

I tried the keto diet for PCOS weight loss for about 3 months after Christmas and I’m here to tell you all about my experience with it, what it is, a full keto diet list of foods, why I stopped it and why I’ve decided to get back onto the keto diet bandwagon, if only temporarily…

*this post does not replace medical advice – always discuss significant dietary changes with your doctor*

What Is A Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a very high fat, low carb diet. It involves drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake and replacing it with high fat foods. Eating very few carbs and high amounts of fat then puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When your body is in ketosis, your body burns fat for energy instead of using your sugar stores as an energy source. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver.

Ketogenic diets substantially reduce your blood sugar and insulin levels, which along with the increased ketones in the body, can have a number of health benefits. There are several versions of the keto diet:

-Standard ketogenic diet: very low-carb, moderate-protein and high-fat diet. It typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbs.

-Cyclical ketogenic diet: involves periods of higher-carb refeeds, such as five ketogenic days followed by two high-carb days.

-Targeted ketogenic diet: allows you to add carbs around workouts (workouts involving bursts of energy, like HIIT, are difficult on the ketogenic diet because your body needs sugar for instant energy).

-High-protein ketogenic diet: similar to a standard keto diet, but with more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbs.

Personally, I tried to eat about 9% carbs per day, with at least 67% of my intake consisting of fat and 24% consisting of protein and used the Carb Manager site/app to track my food intake in the beginning, it also set up my carb/fat/protein targets for me. This app was great for showing me how much of each macro I was getting each day in comparison to my intake targets (see pic below). After a while of eating within these guidelines, I began to get used to what to eat and didn’t have to track my intake as much. It also helped me realize that carbs are in almost everything!

Is The Keto Diet Right For You?

Only a doctor can really answer this question, but if you have any of the following conditions, the keto diet may not be a good choice if:

you are pregnant or breastfeeding
you have a liver condition, or conditions involving the pancreas or kidneys
you take medication for insulin-related issues, high blood pressure or depression
you’re suffering from or recovering from an eating disorder

Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor before starting the ketogenic diet!

What Are The Benefits Of The Ketogenic Diet? How Can It Help PCOS Symptoms?

The ketogenic diet has been linked to the following benefits:

-increased fat loss with less calorie restriction

-increased insulin sensitivity and reduced insulin levels for people with Type 2 Diabetes and other metabolic syndromes, like PCOS

-some studies show improvements to risk factors such as HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, high body fat and high blood sugar that can lead to heart disease

-reduced seizures in children

-used to treat some cancers

-reduced appetite when in ketosis

-reduced sugar cravings when in ketosis

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Foods To Limit Or Avoid On Keto (this list hurts!)

Here’s where the happy part of me dies just a little – below is a list of all the yummy, carb-filled foods that are not on the keto diet list of foods that you need to reduce or cut out of your life if you want to successfully enter ketosis (e.g.when your body starts burning fat for fuel):

-processed sugars – Nutella, chocolate, candy, soda, fruit juices, cake, ice cream, pretty much everything you reach for when you’re having a bad day

-grains and starches – pasta, breads, rice, cereal, pizza, chips

-fruit – everything except small portions of berries

-beans and legumes – peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas

-root vegetables and tubers – potatoes, carrots, parsnips

-Alcoholic beverages (unless very high in alcohol content, like tequila)

Based on the amount of sugar (glycogen) you already have stored up in your body when starting the keto diet, you’ll need two or more days of high fat, low-carb eating to burn it all off and enter into ketosis. I also practice 16/8 intermittent fasting (eat for 8 hours a day, don’t eat for 16), which also helps burn off sugar stores more quickly.

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Fun Part – Keto Diet List Of Foods You Can Eat – Yayy!

The keto diet isn’t all bad – there are a lot of high fat, protein-filled foods you can eat on the keto diet list of foods, like:

-meat and fatty fish/seafood

-eggs

-butter, cream and cheese – yes!

-nuts and seeds

-healthy oils – extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil

-avocados, of course – the keto staple!

-low-carb veggies – green veggies, tomatoes, peppers, onions

-90% dark chocolate (treat option – thank God!)

Here’s a list of 44 low-carb foods you can read for more details on what to eat when you go keto!

What Are The Side Effects Of Keto? Did I Get The Keto Flu?

As you can imagine, going low-carb and eating only items from the keto diet list of foods isn’t all roses and unicorns and will impact how you feel as well as your overall energy levels. The keto flu is something you might have heard about and can affect people when they first decide to start the ketogenic diet.

The keto flu includes symptoms like poor energy and mental function, increased hunger, sleep issues, nausea, digestive discomfort and decreased exercise performance.

For the most part, I really didn’t get a lot of these symptoms – mainly just increased hunger in the first couple days and definitely decreased exercise performance if I was doing more intense cardio – thought I was going to die – I talk about this more later in this post.

To minimize some of these effects, you can try a regular low-carb diet first and then gradually lower your carb intake from there. Adding some salt to your water (I’ve heard pink himalayan salt is really good for you!) can help re-balance your mineral and water stores, which change when you enter ketosis.

Your magnesium levels can also drop while on keto, so you might want to consider taking a magnesium supplement (I take the Natural Calm magnesium supplement – love it for reduced stress and better sleep).

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Other effects of the ketogenic diet and ways to tell if you are in ketosis are:

Reduced appetite: I couldn’t believe how little appetite I had once I burned off all my sugar stores and entered ketosis. The reduction in appetite comes from the high-fat content of the diet and decrease in blood sugar levels; fats are great for keeping you feeling full and satiated longer and little insulin fluctuations keep cravings at bay.

Reduced cravings for sugar: This was a big one for me and the reason I recently went back to the keto diet in the last week. Once I entered ketosis, my cravings for sugar were GONE! Poof – goodbye!

I would literally look at chocolate bars in my pantry at home or check out all the donuts in the Tim Horton’s display and not want to eat a single one – NADA.

Keto Tip: If you have terrible sugar cravings, a dip in the keto diet pool might be a good detox for you, even if it’s only temporary.

Increased Mental Focus: Ketones are an extremely potent fuel source for your brain and have been found to help the brain heal from diseases and certain conditions. I personally notice that I have more mental clarity when I’m in ketosis because I’m not thinking about eating as much.

Constipation: Unfortunately, not all the effects of ketosis are positive. Eating less carbs can also reduce the amount of fibre you’re getting in your diet. I quickly noticed that my regular bowel movements were less regular and more difficult, even with all the green veggies I was ingesting to compensate.

Bad Breath: Not a symptom I noticed myself, but bad breath can occur on the keto diet because of the amount of ketones in your blood (mainly acetone, that comes out in your breath).

Increased Ketones In The Blood: As blood sugar levels drop, the amount of ketones in your blood increases. Measuring ketones in your blood is the most accurate way of determining whether your are in ketosis or not.

Was It Hard To Eat High Fat, Low-Carb?

Was following a ketogenic diet difficult? Yes and no. Again, I used Carb Manager to monitor my carb, protein and fat intake in the beginning and see where I needed to adjust. It was a bit of trial and error in the beginning, but once I got the hang of things (after about a week) I actually found following the keto diet quite easy.

Once I entered ketosis, the reduced appetite and disappearance of my usual sugar cravings made avoiding breads and pasta much easier than I expected (although avoiding pizza was super difficult!). I also enjoyed having more control over what I was eating and liked not being distracted or fueled by my cravings anymore.

In general, I found I ate way less and loved that I never felt super stuffed or bloated like I would have after eating a bowl of pasta or rice. Whenever I did treat myself to some starchy goodness, like way too many slices of pizza, I immediately noticed that I felt super bloated, lethargic and just gross in general. Going out, however, can be tougher on keto.

When visiting family, most of the time things like bread, potatoes, pizza and chips are around, so I liked to make sure I didn’t go out on an empty stomach and stuck with keto options whenever I could (with some cheats, of course…life’s too short).

Did I Lose Weight On Keto With PCOS?

Yes – although not a lot in terms of numbers on the scale. Visually, I lost a good chunk from my tummy, butt and back and both family and co-workers all mentioned that I had lost a lot of weight. On the scale, I only dropped about 3-4 pounds, but my clothes fit way better and I felt great! This weight loss also happened relatively quickly, which was nice too.

My only issue was after about 3 months, I felt my weight loss progress had stalled, so staying on track with my carb/protein/fat targets and adding exercise will be key if I try keto again for weight loss.

Keto Tip: The amount of calories you eat still matter on a ketogenic diet.

Was Exercising Harder On Keto?

The answer to this varies based on the type of exercise I was doing. I found out very quickly that trying to do a high intensity interval training workout while in ketosis was 10 times harder then when I was eating a normal carb-fueled diet; this is because your body needs readily available energy in the form of carbohydrates to fuel periods of intense activity.

I realized that I had to eat some carbs 30 minutes before doing my HIIT workouts in order to not pass out and perform well (also known as carb cycling).

Keto Tip: Low intensity aerobic exercise, like walking, yoga or weight lifting, are better suited to the ketogenic diet, as the body uses fat for energy.

High intensity aerobic exercise requires carbohydrates as a fuel source.

Exercise is a great way to burn more fat while on the ketogenic diet, since your body is now burning fat to fuel your activity. Just stick to lower intensity exercises!

Why I Stopped Keto And Started It Again Now

There is no real huge reason as to why I stopped my keto diet – I was actually doing really well on it! Until I ran into a really bad weekend emotionally and threw it all away by downing whatever carb-loaded snack I could find in the house, because life happens.

After this sugar-fueled, junk food binge, I found it really hard to get back into my keto groove and took a few months off. While I didn’t put much weight back on during this non-keto period, I decided to start following a ketogenic diet again because I’ve been eating huge amounts of chocolate lately and thought a good detox was in order.

I hate not feeling in control of my eating and I loved the control that I had over my cravings when I was on keto. I also hope to see more weight loss this time around and plan to try to exercise more now that the days are longer and brighter – maybe tweak my eating habits a bit too. I’ll keep you posted!

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