Four Down, Nine to Go!

It’s been a month! Time to check in on my progress.

The Weight Loss

Net weight loss is at 12 pounds, which means I’m averaging a loss of 3 pounds per week. This is a healthy, sustainable rate and means I’m on track to hit my weight loss goals. My body fat percentage has decreased by 2.4 percent, which isn’t as fast as I’d like it. I’m firmly fat-adapted at this point, though, and I think that my focus will transition in a few weeks from primarily fat burning to muscle building, and that will accentuate the transformation.

My appearance is definitely changing. The layer of abdominal fat in my waist is decreasing: not only can I feel it, but my pants are dropping faster than the time I drank a gallon of water and finally made it to a restroom after two hours.

What Went Well

I dialed in my intermittent fasting window, which was a challenge in previous weeks. I tend to be an early riser, and I’d work out in the ~5 am hour, then get home and have a big breakfast. This closed my eating window by 3 pm, and going the next 7 hours without food was tough. While I’m still rising early, I’ve shifted my workout time to the 10 am window and begin eating at noon, allowing my window to stay open until 8 pm. That’s made a tremendous difference.

My energy levels are consistently steady. For the first time in my life, I’m able to discern between thirst, hunger, and cravings easily. Until I got on a fat-adapted diet, these feelings were difficult to differentiate. Cravings make me want something extremely specific, while hunger is a low-grade notification that it’ll be time to eat soon, and my body will be happy with whatever I give it. Since I’m making hydration a priority, I rarely ever get thirsty—when I do, however, it’s an entirely different sensation than the other two.

What Was Hard

I solved a major issue this week. Since the beginning of the journey, I’ve been weighing myself at the same time every day. I noticed that my weight loss slowed noticeably on Saturday – Monday and wouldn’t usually pick back up to its normal rate by Tuesday.

This confounded me for a while since I thought I was sticking to my diet, but then I realized that Friday night is when I get my kids, and I adopt a totally different cooking style for them. I want them to have the full holiday experience, so sugar cookies, hot chocolate, and all of the trimmings are options (in moderation, of course). While I’ve been completely successful at not indulging in these, I allowed myself to snack on keto-friendly foods a lot more than I do during the week.

Although keto primarily works on changing your macronutrients and therefore switching your energy system from glycolysis to ketosis, caloric restriction is still part of a sustainable weight loss plan. I’d subconsciously lost sight of that. Now that I know what to do, I’m going into this weekend with a strategy and am eager to see the results on Monday.

The Next Week

Constraining my snacking, even if it’s keto-friendly, will be a significant part of the next few days. I’ll also be paying attention to my weight loss with the aim of staying between 3-4 lbs a week consistently. I’ve got less than three weeks left until the holiday season is over and the constant temptation of carb-loaded treats decreases significantly. Although there have been hiccups as I’ve learned to navigate the season with keto, I’m proud to say that I haven’t cheated a single time and it’s definitely possible to make it through this time of the year while thriving on a low-carb diet.

I should drop below 200 pounds this week, which will be the first time since college that my weight has been that low. I’m incredibly excited about that!