Black Friday keto

2 strawberries and some blueberries
2oz cheese sharp (1 in omelette, 1 on side)
Half bell pepper
2 egg mushroom onion cheese turkey ommlette cooked in bacon residue
3 thin bacon
Coffee w/ whipped heavy creme (1tbs cut with 1tbs water)

#yum

Revolution Keto

(2 eggs sunny with bacon fat oil atop skillet cooked thin turkey slices, 2 bacon, 2 slice sharp cheddar, half red pepper sliced, few raspberries (started berries after month 3), cappuccino with 1tbs heavy whipping creme whipped with 1 tbs cold water)

I started this blog to put together a few links and key ideas that i have been telling my friends, so they can reference this and decide if they want to start a Keto diet.

I am not a doctor, or a medical professional. Start at own risk. I took great care in my own health during my initial 4 months of keto, saw great results, and started with blood tests to compare with 4 months later.

Keto Manual Part 1:

GO TO reddit.com/r/keto and read the 2 links atop the page. This is a MUST READ. Read it once, think about it, read it again the next day, think about it, share it with someone you trust a week later. Form questions, and ASK THEM on the forum!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aiHSPoto_YqsNTDvL-g60nytMnyH-CJcCbiAx1IEUYM/edit
http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/faq

Use the Keto Calculator:

Use this website to start your diet right! Hey, this is your body, DON'T MESS AROUND. Know what your doing. Use this diet to figure out what you should be eating. You will need to know your approx body fat percentage. I was about 30 when i started. You can do a pinch test, use a high tech scale at a friends house (#paul #cody) or use a body mass calculator to get you something close. (http://www.linear-software.com/online.html)

http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/

You will need to get to the part that gives you percentages for your Protein, Fat, and Carbs. These are numbers you will need to the next step. I used a 60% calorie deficit becuase I am ambitious, and HEY i did it! I chose a carb goal of 25. I recommend this as everyone goal.

MyFitnessPal:

You need to get very comfortable with this app. Its more than just a log of what you ate. it will help you LEARN what is actually in the food you eat. Log everything, make it fun, make it a game. Think candy crush, but with food + nutrients. You will need the mobile app or website. Go to www.myfitnesspal.com and make an account. Then you need to setup custom goals that match the numbers from your keto calculator. DO NOT USE THE DEFAULT GOALS. This will NOT start the diet, and most probably make you feel terrible! Login, click MYHOME>GOALS>scroll down, click CHANGE GOALS>click CUSTOM, then continue. Here you will enter some of the important macros from your keto calculator entry. it limits you to 5% intervals, so just pick whatever is closest. Dont worry too much about all the number, your mostly concerned with the major categories (Protein, Fats, and Carbs) but you should also start to be aware of your magnesium, salt, calcium and potassium. This comes in the next step.

Supplements:

I was strict on my supplements when I was on this diet. I took my daily multi, along with Magnesium and b12. Salt and Potassium are also very important to be healthy. During the Keto flu, which you should know all about after reading the links from reddit, you will need to be aware of your dehydration. i lost a lot of water weight in the first week. Thus i started to feel low energy and dizzy. The issue was not that i was not drinking enough water, it was the frequency of it. What i learned is i needed to have a bottle by my side and sip sip sip all day. this kept me going. Drinking a tall glass every 2 hours was not enough. I needed to just sip it slowly. I also got some electrolyte mix i would put into my water to make SURE i was working closer to my potassium goals. (THEY ARE IMPORTANT) Salt is also CRITICAL to the chemistry of the body, and a lot is lost during keto. I used Morton low sodium potassium salt and salted EVERYTHING i cooked. This kept me feeling well. (see shopping list below) Lastly, i also did some independent study and learned that lots of toxins are stored in body fat. So because i was basically going to rapidly burn through it all, i started a regiment of 3grams of chlorella supplements which help to detox the body. They are very effective and helped to 'smooth' out some of the low fiber effects of the diet :) I recommend this. it worked for me :)

Shopping List:
Mortons Low Sodium Potassium Salt: http://www.amazon.com/Morton-Lite-Mixture-11-oz-Bottle/dp/B003TXZ50U/ref=pd_sim_sbs_gro_2
 
Electrolyte mix: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HWRY5S/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Chlorella Supplements: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013OVYCA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


This is how i did it. You do not have to do it my way. I teamed up with my roommate, and a few friends. We support each other, and shared the journey. We all motivated each other and man, not only was it very fun and easy, we are all SO MUCH healthier! No more body pain, shin splints, joint pain, hand pain, to name a few. it can be a near gluten free diet, and also a whole food diet. Good luck on your journey.

My starting specs: Age: 29 Weight: 200lbs Height: 5'7"
    4 months later: Age: 29 Weight: 157lbs Height: 5'7"   

That's 43lbs folks. Thats a large child on my shoulders. What a load off :)

PS. I did do biking 3x a week in the first month of the diet. This helped to jump start things for me mentally, but it was not necessary. I continued to loose weight and feel more energetic as each week passed, and i was traveling most of the summer, maintaining my diet as i went. lots of protein salads, PB, and cold cuts along the way. Everyone was very supportive and helpful to accommodate me and these strange new ways :) Don't worry, and when the going gets tough, bullet proof your morning coffee. #heavywhippingcreme

I won.

 Before:

After: