What happens to your Body in ketosis. 

There are many changes that take place in your body. If you are just starting out you may be in a keto flu phase. If you're further along you may feel like that protruding tummy just vanished overnight, or you could be freaking out about that area you thought was hard that is actually flabby now. Never fear - explanations are here!

What is Keto?
Keto (aka ketogenic diet) is when you consume so few carbs that your body goes from burning sugars & carbs for energy to burning fat. It doesn't matter if you wanna lose 5 pounds or 555 pounds it can all be done with a ketogenic diet.
Here are answers to some of your questions.

Keto Flu

I was pretty lucky as I didn't experience keto flu. I was  low carb (compared to most people)  before I started Keto. I also was on pain meds and kind of out of it before and after my surgery. So I could have been too drugged up to notice a withdrawl from sugar and carbs. My understanding is that you can feel light-headed, headachy, tired, lethargic, and like you have the flu. This is because your body is addicted to sugar. It is important to give your body electrolytes which can be done through bone broth, power aid zero, electrolyte-infused water, and/or Mio with electrolytes. There have been times where I haven't felt well and believed I was going through a partial keto flu. Make sure to drink a LOT of H20 as well because you are flushing so much out of your system it is important to replenish your body.

My clothes don't fit....in a good/annoying way.

Ahh. This can be an amazing feeling but also annoying and discouraging. Once you really start losing weight you can be dropping a size every few weeks. For me, I really needed clothes that fit to keep my motivation but since I was dropping a size every month, I didn't want to buy crazy expensive things that wouldn't get used much. The best thing you can do is hit some thrift stores and buy things a little snug. I even went down in shoe size: from a 8.5/9 to a 7. My fingers went down 1 size and my bras went down one size in the cup and 7 sizes in the band. There's no need to invest a lot of money into expensive pieces as they really don't last. 

My taste buds are different, am I gonna die?

Once you get those sugar/excess carbs out of your system your taste buds will change in a lot of ways. One time I had a bite of broccoli while I was eating out and promptly freaked out. I thought it was cooked in sugar or something. After calling the waiter over to ask if it was sugar or honey on my steamed broccoli they looked at me like I was crazy and replied that there was nothing. "Are you sure", I asked with a raised eyebrow.  They went to double check and came back with my answer, "It is literally steamed broccoli." Oh, alright...my bad. After texting my man, he told me that my taste buds had changed and that things which have even a little bit of natural sugar can taste really, really sweet. Don't worry, you aren't having a stroke -you are just in deep ketosis. Things will taste sweeter and once in a while (very rarely) when you try a small bite of something you used to love, you will realize it's gross and spit it out. I have tried to eat a tater tot 3 times and couldn't stand it in my mouth. Ew. Starch. Gag.

Do I need to work out?

I'm not a doctor, just a person who has done a lot of research and experimented with her own body. You can absolutely work out on the keto diet, but I didn't for the first 100 pounds down. I started keto right after my knee surgery, so I was limited as to what I could physically do, but I walk a lot now and do physical therapy. I am at that weight where I am stalled and I seem to be stuck at 171-177. After yo-yoing in that area for a year I have joined a gym and really changed what I do which has also let me increase my calories from 1000 to 1333.

Things are Jiggly, now what?

I have areas that I thought were muscle or due to my "big bones" and now they are jiggly. I'm not going to lie, I had a panic attack and sobbed to my bf as I shook my thigh fat at him. I'm not kidding. I full-on ugly cried and shook thigh fat in his general direction. "What is this - I'm jiggly and I don't understand, it used to be hard." After calming me down, he explained a few things. That firm area was hard fat. I have the same amount of fat cells now as I did before. The difference is they were  filled up with fluid, which made them firm, and now that I have lost weight the fat cells have lost fluid. They get jiggly for a bit, then the fat reforms and the whole process starts over again. The good news is I probably won't need skin surgery as most keto weight loss before and after pics show some amazing results without it.

What's That Smell?

Oh the smells. All the smells. From your armpit to your mouth. Things change my friend and that's okay. Embrace it. Love it. Buy sugar free cinnamon gum. This is the cause of Ketones in your system. You get these from not eating enough carbs so your body starts breaking down fat. Basically, if you have any odor changes in your life you are most likely doing a fabulous job of keeping it low carb. My breath didn't seem so great but my armpits got better. I don't need as much deoderant and don't need to use the heavy duty stuff anymore. Perfume that used to smell great on me no longer does, and perfume that didn't work for me before, works now. Everyone is different, so you will just have to see what the keto gods have in store for you!

Holy Shit, I need to poop!

I debated putting this section on here but you should know about it. Sometimes when you are in Ketosis and really eating your carbs strictly you don't go to the bathroom as often - for a regular pooper this can be scary. Other times, when you have things really dense with nutrients (bone broth or hot pot)  you find that you need to run to the bathroom. All. The. Time. Welcome to the crazy world of Keto. 
​Don't say I didn't warn you.

Gross, I'm a morning person now?

It's okay. I was never a morning person either. Or at least the sugar and carbs made me feel that way. I used to wake up and be able to turn over and go right back to sleep. This is a thing of the past. When I wake up, even at 6 a.m. (even when I have the opportunity to sleep in),  I am WIDE AWAKE. This started for me slowly after I stopped my pain meds from surgery and it is still with me. I seem to sleep better than I did before, but that could be from the weight loss, who really knows? 

Do you really eat that much bacon?

One time I ate 13 slices in one sitting and the next day I was down another .6 pounds.  Make sure what you get doesn't have sugar in the ingredients - its hidden in there most times even if it says 0 next to sugar on the label. I usually use Kirkland Low Sodium bacon.

From 275 to 175 & counting