I’ve always been someone who “starts today.” I don’t wait for tomorrow morning, Monday or New Year’s Day to implement a course correction. I do it the moment it becomes evident to me. My mom says I was even like this as a little girl (and fun fact, my husband says this quality is “hot” and that makes me laugh!)
In 2016 when I was in grad school there was a day when I realized I’d gained some weight in grad school and, it was a Wednesday, I decided I needed to start tracking my food. I lost 30lbs in 16 weeks and kept it off barring times in my journey where I’ve intentionally allowed weight gain.
In 2019, I decided my excessive cardio wasn’t doing what I wanted. I wanted to change my body composition, get more muscular and be strong. I put a plan into place to achieve this and the results are history. That was on a Thursday.
Well, about 40 days ago, also on a Wednesday, I made a change. I had had some blood work done and while my results were generally very good, I had one marker that concerned me in the event I started developing inflammation. I started researching and had one very impactful conversation, and embarked on my journey of a very clean keto lifestyle.
I had never really thought much about this before. Recently a family member went carnivore and has had great results in terms of reduced pain and inflammation. I probably put in about 10 hours of research before pulling the trigger for myself on my keto change. And I’ve probably done 30 hours since then. I always develop an expert level knowledge in whatever adventure I take!
I had known people in the past that did keto but it was always a very dirty keto. Packaged keto foods. Eating as many carbs as they were allowed. Not necessarily eating clean foods. I am not interested in that.
For the past 40 some days I have, I have eaten only clean, whole foods. Lots of grass fed beef, pasture raised eggs, raw nuts, no artificial foods (and yes, that includes my beloved Diet Pepsi!), no sugar, no processed food at all. And I’m amazed at where I am in just 40 days.
First of all, there have been some spots on my skin, eczema and some sun damage, that have already completely healed. My acid reflux that has plagued me since I was in my twenties has quieted down almost entirely. I’m off my omeprazole, and rarely get heartburn. My arthritis is not bothering me, the chronic pain and stiffness in my knees and wrists abd back has gotten better by mayhe 60%. My energy level during the day is very steady, I’m not sleepy except at night. My sleep scores have skyrocketed (and I was already a good sleeper). I have zero carb or sugar cravings, and I’m not at all compelled to eat between meals. I can see bones in my feet that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen even when I was quite slim which makes me think I had inflammation there. And I’ve lost about 15lbs so far without trying at all.
Was there an adaption phase? Yes. But in my first day of my decision I was also coming down with a regular old seasonal flu, so if the keto flu happened it was overshadowed by the terrible sick I felt otherwise fo4 a few days. By the time my flu subsided, I’d already gone through the worst of sugar detox.
However, there was still an adaption. For the first two weeks, as I figured out electrolyte balance and proper hydration on keto (you need more water since your body isn’t holding water in carbs). I was having fatigue doing normal chores and my heart rate would get up pretty high carrying laundry and it was unsettling.
There is an adaption period when your body goes from using glucose for energy to producing ketones and burning fat. It took me about 5 days to get into ketosis (I bought strips and a blood meter), but even then any effort outside the normal was very taxing as my body tried to figure out how to get energy. By the third week, this went away. And since then my workouts get better and better. I’m able to sustain my energy while weight lifting better than before, and I’m no more tired or hungry at the end of my workout than at the start, it’s very steady. I feel like this improves with every workout and my readings tell me this will continue to improve over several months.
I’m enjoying the food and the longer I go into it the fewer carbs I eat. I’m averaging maybe 20g of net carbs per day right now which really is a good place for me in terms of my digestion. I can easily see how many people transition from keto to carnivore. We eat lots of eggs and meat and cheese and we make carnivore ice cream that is so good. The carbs we are eating are coming mostly from things like asparagus, bell peppers, zucchini and I use a Truvani protein powder and add in organic maca powder and psyllium husk and ground flaxseed. That’s the bulk of my carb intake.
What I’m most surprised by is how easy it is. How good I feel. How satisfied I am with the food I am eating. I do not miss carbs. I do not miss sugar. I’m impressed everyday with the continuing benefits. My gut feels good. I get no headaches. My body feels good and energetic.
I’m excited as I feel like this is a next level move for me. My health is improving. My quality of life is improving. And initially my husband wasn’t going to follow me on this journey but he was so impressed with me by day 10 that he changed his mind and he’s doing fantastic also! And it’s a great journey to be on together!
Anna Farley 