In an effort to lose weight and gain more energy, I have been following a modified Keto Diet for the past nine months. As a result of hormonal imbalances, I gained a lot of weight a few years ago and I was having trouble losing it! I decided to try the Keto Diet, but I didn’t want to give up foods such as fresh fruit and starchy vegetables, which are generally not permitted on the diet.
In case you are not familiar with it, the Ketogenic Diet severely restricts carbohydrate intake and instead emphasizes proteins, fats and non-starchy vegetables. Dairy is allowed, but most fruits and starchy vegetables are off limits. The main idea underpinning the diet is the body burns glucose for energy first as it is the simplest form of energy so depriving the body of glucose (fruits, starchy vegetables and carbs all convert into glucose once consumed) means the body has to use stored fat for energy.
I don’t eat a lot of fruit, but I like to start my day with a piece of fresh fruit, followed by some vegetables and an egg. [Just an aside, but I read many years ago that fruit should be eaten first or by itself since fruit digests within 30 minutes while carbs and proteins take several hours to digest. Further, the writer advised against having fruit after proteins. I have followed this rule ever since reading this advice.]
For lunch, I will have a salad of mixed greens, tomato, avocado, and carrots with chicken or egg for protein. For dinner, I often have beef or fish with vegetables such as zucchini or squash.
So as you see, I don’t follow the classic Keto diet because I eat fruit and tomatoes. They contain too many beneficial antioxidants for me to eliminate them from my diet. I have also strayed from the classic Keto diet by having starchy vegetables such as zucchini, carrots or squash at least three times a week. I have to admit that I haven’t been eating potatoes, but I am not a big potato eater anyway.
I don’t get on the scale because I believe our brains can play mind games with us when we get certain numbers locked in our heads lol so I can’t tell you exactly how much weight I have lost, but I have gone down almost three dress sizes since December so I would estimate that I have lost between 20-25 pounds. This was not a super speedy weight loss – not even 4 pounds a month – but I’m okay with that. I would prefer to lose weight slowly. I know that if I had eliminated fruit from my diet, I would have lost weight faster, but I enjoy eating fresh fruit and know their antioxidants are good for us so I wasn’t prepared to make that sacrifice.
As far as exercise goes, I walk throughout my neighbourhood several times a week and do a bit of yoga. More recently, I have been able to swimming and kayaking. So I have not been engaging in excessive exercise! I do love that I have more energy now!
That’s my experience on a modified Keto diet. I’m pleased that I lost weight and I’m also okay with the fact that it came off slowly. Are you following Keto or any other diet plan? What has your experience been?
You might be interested in making “Fried Shrimp Cauliflower Rice Keto to Make at Home“.
I learned some new stuff from your post today! It also seems you have found what works for you. And that’s great.
Yes, I am finding the Keto diet is working for me, which is great! Cheers, Lori
Well done on achieving your weight loss goals on a diet and exercise regime that worked for you. I’m currently following a vegan plant-based option with little to no processed foods and I can say it is interesting.
I hope the vegan plant-based diet works for you. I would love to go vegan, but I am deficient in vitamin B12. Cheers, Lori
Wonderful to hear that the modified keto diet works for you .Hope to follow the modified version sometime although must say I have not tried any diets so far. I love including fruits and cannot exclude them and so hope to find some results.
I also can’t exclude fruit from my diet, but I do eat only one fruit a day and still had results from the modified Keto diet! Cheers, Lori
I have never thought of choosing a diet yet. It is great to see that Keto is working for you. I think if one is trying to reduce weight than she should be ready to experiment.
it’s great to see it works for you! a lot of people like keto
Wow! This is awesome. Happy to know that it’s effective and have lost weight. Would love to try this as well since I badly need to shed off some pounds. Thank you for sharing.
It’s great that this has been successful for you and you feel better. It’s probably a good thing that it’s been a slow loss because it should be more sustainable for you long term.
I need to lose some weight and I will like to follow some diet and I am happy this diet worked for you.
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