I Tried the Keto Diet for 21 Days and This is What Happened
By: Justannet
Tags: Weight Loss, Health, Advice, Diet, Keto

I Tried the Keto Diet for 21 Days and This is What Happened

Is the keto diet worth trying?

Photo by Vika Aleksandrova on Unsplash

I have always had problems with my weight. Largely due to my unhealthy relationship with food. I do not eat for nourishment but rather for enjoyment so often times than not, I have a midnight snack or two or three which would consist of chocolate filled doughnuts, cookies, ice cream or anything and everything I can get my hands on.

I realized my weight was out of hand when I weighed myself and I was only three kilograms away from weighing one hundred kilograms. I was shocked by how much I had let myself go. For context I am 171cm (5 ft 7) tall and weighing one hundred kilograms for me is not only unhealthy but also unflattering.

Realizing that I was so close to weighing one hundred kilograms was the wake up call I needed.

I knew I had to do something drastic to lose all the weight I had gained. After doing a bit of research I decided to try the ketogenic (keto) diet.

The keto diet is a high fat and low carb diet that would trick my body into burning fat instead of glucose for energy.

The process by which the body utilizes fats for energy is known as ketosis. According to the articles and YouTube videos I watched ketosis would cause drastic weight loss in a very short space of time. The fast and drastic nature of the weight loss was the most attractive element of the diet and that is why I chose it.

What could I eat while on the keto diet?

Although I could not eat any carbohydrates or sugars there was still plenty of other food I could eat. There are two main variations of the keto diet. These are the dirty keto diet where I could eat all sorts of fatty foods, but no carbohydrates (so think bacon, fried meat and all sorts of other fatty and processed food). Then there was the option for clean keto which would need more meal prep time and include healthy fats such as salmon, avocado and other more naturally occurring fatty foods.

Deciding what to eat on keto was pretty easy because there are so many resources available on the internet. Although the diet restricts the consumption of carbohydrates and sugars, there were so many other food groups I could eat. And, some large stores even had a keto friendly food section which made it even easier to stay on track.

My keto diet was a combination of both dirty and clean keto. I ate healthy fats like avocado, salmon and olives but also indulged in bacon, cheese and fried vegetables. I knew one extreme wouldn’t work for me so a combination of the two would be best. My go to keto meal was roast chicken, avocado and cauliflower. I always had avocado with each meal because it was the best way to amp up my fat intake in the most healthiest way. Other people add fat in the form of butter to everything including coffee (also known as bullet coffee), when on keto. The thought of fatty coffee did not appeal to me so I stayed away from that.

My experience on the keto diet

My first week on the keto diet was extremely difficult. I was craving carbohydrates with every meal but I knew I couldn’t eat any so I was always hungry. It was extremely difficult and it took a lot of self discipline to stay away from carbohydrates. It was also very difficult to ensure that I was eating enough fats. As great as eating fats sounds, it is really unnatural to eat a meal that is predominantly fat so it took a bit of getting used to.

Within the first week I also experienced what is referred to by many as the keto flue. The drastic reduction in my consumption of carbohydrates was shocking my body causing withdrawal-like symptoms, similar to those experienced when weaning off an addictive substance like caffeine. I could not sleep because my body would shake, my tummy would feel like it was getting knotted from the inside and I felt very light headed.

If I had not read about the keto flue prior to starting the diet I would not have continued with the diet after experiencing the keto flue symptoms. I genuinely felt ill and very unwell. I questioned my decision to go on the keto diet but I knew I had to persevere if I wanted to see results.

After the first week on keto, the diet became a lot easier. The keto flue was no longer affecting me and my body had adjusted to not having carbohydrates. I was no longer craving for carbohydrates and could easily pass up on cake and other yummy carbohydrates with ease. Eating out was a struggle because not many meals are keto friendly in restaurants. Alcohol contains a lot of sugar so I could not drink any during the diet. During the diet I would normally order a Cesar salad but exclude the croutons when I was eating out, but for most days I chose to eat at home so I was always aware of what I was eating.

I cruised through the rest of the days on keto, I did not have any cheat meals because that would get me out of ketosis. I couldn’t risk that happening. I was motivated by my fear of weighing one hundred kilograms. That fear kept me on track and strict with what I ate. During the 21 days I did not weigh myself because I did not want to potentially feel disheartened by the number on the scale.

What happened on day 21 of keto?

After 21 days on the keto diet, I decided to weigh myself to see the results of the diet. I was extremely nervous and worried that I would be disappointed with the results. Even though I had not weighed myself during keto, I had noticed that my clothing was starting to fit better, they weren’t as tight anymore. It was not a struggle to get into my jeans or dresses so I knew I had lost some weight but I couldn’t be sure as to how much I had actually lost.

When I stepped on the scale I had lost a whopping seven kilograms. I was so elated and happy with the results. The keto diet really does work and, it works really fast. I was impressed by how much weight I had lost in under a month. It was the most weight I had lost in such a short space of time.

What happened after the diet?

I was really happy with the results from my keto diet but the diet requires strict adherence to the keto guidelines which means that I could not have cheat days. Due to the restrictive nature of the diet I knew it was something I could not continue with in the long term. Being on the keto diet would mean not enjoying birthday cake, champagne or any of the traditional African foods I love as they are predominantly carbohydrates. So after the 21 days I stopped the keto diet but attempted to limit the amount of carbohydrates I did consume.

Unfortunately within a few months I had regained all the weight I had lost during keto. My body had been so starved of carbohydrates, once I did start eating them again, my body held on to every morsel and stored it. So I’m back to where I started.