Today marks 6 months exactly since I made the decision to adopt a very clean, strict keto diet. I did not do this for the gym or weight loss or anything else but to improve my health, see some biomarkers improve and reduce my inflammation.
I will say I’ve always been someone who would LOVE to be able to out train a bad diet but I learned almost a decade ago that isn’t possible. If 2 grueling hours in the gym everyday permitted me to eat like an animal I’d gladly make that trade. But it doesn’t work that way and I’ve learned over the years to build a decent diet around the gym and year by year I’ve done better and better at finding a good balance.
I also have some food sensitivities that have made macros challenging and since I was in my mid thirties I was plagued by cyclical migraines that were becoming a bane to me. So even before going keto I was avoiding certain foods to dodge the issues I was having and in doing so, I was healing.
November 13, 2024 I made the choice to adopt a clean keto lifestyle. No processed foods. No grains at all. Strict, clean, whole foods only. No seed oils. And very little artificial components. I actually did this at the advice of a mentor of mine who was not my boss then but is now and I’m grateful for the wonderful turn my career has taken!
The changes in my health and body since making this change are both drastic and subtle. I have not yet had my blood work done, that will be in the next few months and what I’m looking to see are:
- Lower inflammation markers (hs-CRP)
- An improvement triglycerides/HDL ratio (mine was already good and I want to see it great)
- Signs of improved metabolic function
I’m confident I will see all of these things.
My mental clarity is improved. I have zero fatigue during the day and surprisingly, my fatigue level doesn’t change much even during my workouts, EVEN doing a Mike Mentzer Heavy Duty training style where I go to utter failure. I leave with muscle fatigue but with the energy to go on.
My digestion is about as peak as I could imagine. Despite eating almost no fiber most days, I’m extremely regular, no issues, healthy “evacuation” 😂 and way less gut disruption, gas and even heart burn.
My skin! At almost 42, I’m mindful of skin changes as I refuse to do anything unnatural but I also want my skin to age well. I’ve had rampant eczema on my hands disappear (this happened within 2 weeks so was surely connected to something I was eating). I had what I suspect was a small age spot that has disappeared. And I have had some reddish patches on one cheek similar to rosacea that have also all but completely disappeared.
As for my body, I’ve lost almost 30lbs. Much of that has been slow, and I don’t believe I have lost muscle. As ketones and protein prevent muscle wasting, my loss has been mainly fat (after the initial loss of water), and it has been extremely easy. I’m not sure if my weight loss is done. I’m letting this process work its way through without worrying about it. Just focusing on sticking to the plan, lifting heavy and doing my usual health care for myself.
For the first time since 2016 I’ve stopped tracking my food intake and continue to lose weight. After an initial struggle in the gym due to fat adaptation (my body going from adapting to glucose as energy to fat), I’ve regained much of my lost strength. And with the fat loss my frame looks more jacked than before – though I doubt I’ve gained muscle, it’s just more apparent now.
Moreover, this has been easy. Once adjusting to what I do eat versus don’t, there has been no challenge to the diet itself. People call it discipline but I don’t feel like I’m needing to engage my discipline in this. In the past 6 months I’ve had Christmas, a family vacation, a job change, a week long business trip, the death of a pet, and my husband suffering an injury and through it all we’ve both very easily stuck to the plan, we have not deviated even once. And that has not been hard.
I said I’d give this 6 months and then evaluate and see if I would carry on, but there’s no doubt I’ll continue. I feel good. My energy is good. My workouts are strong and energetic. My physique is improving and my inflammation just feels so much lower. I feel younger. I don’t miss carbs at all. I’ve adapted and it has been the easiest nutrtion change I’ve ever made.
Anna Farley 