My Ketogenic Lifestyle Journey (Part 1): In The Beginning

Hey bbys!

I know I promised a lot of you blogs/vlogs on my wellness and fitness journey (I even remember opening a direct message with a tone of annoyance from a follower demanding for the posts, LOL!), but I've been so busy and/or lazy and fickle-minded. I couldn't decide whether to film it or write it! I actually have a pending project in my iMovie because I filmed a vlog about this, but while editing it felt like I was saying so much in the video that my thoughts were just all over the place. So here I am, finally decided that I might as well just write this very essential post down: the long overdue blog sharing the beginning of my ketogenic/high-fat low carb lifestyle.

I quit sugar and carbs almost a year ago, around August in 2016. Before starting, I was at my heaviest weight. I was around 220 pounds and wearing a UK size 16. Now, to be very clear, I didn't do it because I wanted to lose weight. You've seen me model in my lingerie and be my same old ~bold and fearless~ self even at my biggest. I was even rocking my red hair then! I was far from feeling insecure. I just want to make it very clear that it wasn't because I felt ugly or "too big" or whatever.

I was actually starting to feel uncomfortable in my body, functionally. I was always lethargic, I got exhausted easily, and I was just mostly unproductive. I tried working out at the gym with a personal trainer while subscribing to calorie-counted meal deliveries, but it felt like torture. I wasn't looking forward to hitting the gym or eating the packed meals. Getting active and eating, the two things that are supposed to be enjoyable to make you want to keep doing it, became such a chore to me. I found myself always cancelling with my trainer and throwing out leftovers from the delivered meals because I just found it too bland and gross. In three words: NOT. FOR. ME.


I've heard about the ketogenic diet from a good girl friend while we were on a beach trip in Zambales. She was telling me that it was the best "diet" (I hate how this word has two different meanings!) she ever did because she got to enjoy bacon, steaks, cheeses, and butter while on it. (She fell back into consuming sugar and carbs and is struggling to get back to keto.) While hearing this, I got really confused. LIKE, REALLY??? THIS IS A "DIET"??? Won't you die from a heart attack? And to unintentionally add to my confusion, she also reiterated the health benefits she gained on it—the increased energy, focus, and productivity. (Side note: she also dropped 20 pounds during the first 3 months.) HINDI KO MA-GETS. I kept bugging her about my doubts like a broken record because it just seemed like a big, fat, joke (pun intended). I mean, all my life I've been told that eating less, exercising more—and most of all—avoiding fat was THE WAY to health and wellness. And then here's the ketogenic diet being presented to me which is so counter-intuitive. It's basically EATING FATTY FOOD and getting healthy on it.

I started reading about it when I got back from that trip. When I'm interested in something, I really do my research and geek out on it. I watched YouTube videos and read up on articles and forums about the ketogenic diet. I came across so many testimonials from people swearing by it, saying it's the easiest diet they ever did and how it turned into a lifestyle they won't ever stop living.

SO MANY THINGS TO LEARN AND UNLEARN ABOUT HEALTHY EATING!!!

I was 90% convinced from all the information I discovered, and watching the eye-opening documentary, Fed Up (it's also on Netflix) just sealed the deal for me. It gave me a whole new perspective on health and wellness, and told me the truth about the political side of the food industry. It was then that I realized the food industry DOES NOT CARE ABOUT OUR WELL-BEING AND OUR HEALTH, and felt so angry from all the years of deception. It was pretty much all I needed to be so determined to quit sugar and carbs. In a fortunate turn of events, a friend who's a fitness enthusiast randomly messaged me preaching about keto, asking if I'd be game to participate in his ketogenic coaching program for free. And that was it. I jumped in the bandwagon and gave this high-fat low-carb way of eating a shot.

Despite feeling very motivated to start keto, it didn't change the fact that quitting sugar and carbs is one of the hardest tasks I put upon myself as I transitioned to a new lifestyle. I mean, come on. I'm the biggest sugar addict I know. I could eat 4 Krispy Kreme doughnuts in one sitting. I can eat spoonfuls of Nutella until my throat hurt when I'm PMS-ing. I loooooove chocolates and ice cream and all kinds of desserts. They've given me comfort at some low points in my life. This has got to be one of the hardest things I've ever done. Waaaaaay harder than quitting drugs, to be honest. (Sugar is 8x more addictive than cocaine, so I guess this makes perfect sense. Watch the documentary That Sugar Film too!)

BUT, to feel and see the benefits of keto, I had to do what I had to do. Without knowing how I'd survive, I completely let go sugar and carbs like a nasty old ex and told myself there is no turning back!

Past life as a sugar and carb addict!

Prior to starting, I learned to read labels. I learned that 4 grams of sugar is equal to 1 teaspoon, and knowing this truly shocked me as to how much sugar are in our every day food. Even ones that are marketed as healthy or have the word "fit" or "organic" on it! I also got an idea of the different names these food companies cunningly replace the word sugar with. The moment I saw any of it as a listed ingredient, I didn't buy it. There is just so much hidden sugars in food you'd never assume to have that an unaware person can easily surpass the daily allowance of 4-6 teaspoons a day.

After knowing the truth that fat isn't bad and sugar is the real culprit and enemy here, I became a sugar nazi. If there was even as little as 2 grams of sugar in a food product, I ditched it. I was sick of feeling tired all the time and knowing that my body wasn't living up to its full potential. I wanted to have a healthier body from the inside out, and during day 1 of living a keto lifestyle, I just went berserk in my kitchen. I threw out everything that had sugar in it—from ketchups, to salad dressings, to canned food, to "healthy sugar" (no such thing) like muscovado and coco sugar.  I even sold my Hurom juicer because that machine basically extracts all the sugar from fruits in the form of juice while removing all the good fiber in it. It's crazy how for the longest time I believed that juicing is healthy and beneficial! Of course, I also got rid of everything that's processed carbs—breads, pancake mix, pasta, breadings, cornstarch, and instant sauces (curries and gravies) to name a few.

Obviously, I was serious about this pursuit, and I knew if I had any food to cheat with in the condo, I was only setting myself up to fail.

I then replaced all the sugary and carby foods in my kitchen with some keto necessities. These became my new obsession and food staples—avocados, eggs, butter, uncured bacon, stevia (as my new sweetener), heavy cream (for my coffee), cream cheese, cheeses, sour cream, meats, and lots and lots of greens. For snacks, I stocked up on almonds and chicharon!

Danah and I, during the first few weeks of adapting to keto

The first two weeks were the hardest. I had chronic headache, I felt over fatigued and feverish. I had such terrible mood swings that Danah and I felt like we were always on the verge of killing each other. We were always so short-tempered and snapping at each other over the pettiest and most random things! LOL. This might sound really bad—well, it was really bad—but this is normal and part of the adjustment process. These symptoms are some of what makes the "keto flu" and how it manifests varies from person to person. This happens because the body doesn't know where to get energy since it's used to burning glucose (from sugar and carbs), then all of a sudden it's nowhere to be found. This is the process of keto adaptation, and although it's hell, it's worth persevering for. Once my body got used to this lifestyle, all the symptoms were gone for good!

Here's my version of the keto flu, and again I want to reiterate that THESE ARE ALL NORMAL AND TEMPORARY as my body was still adjusting to using fat as its main energy source.

• Chronic headache: lasted for about 2-3 weeks. I used magnesium citrate to help relieve this.
• Over fatigue and feeling weak: lasted for about 3-4 weeks. I just had to endure this and made sure I wasn't exercising, going out, or doing too much activities.
• Feverish: happened a few times over the course of the first month. I just slept this off and made sure I drank lots of water.
• Mood swings: my head always hurt, I removed a sugar and carbs from my life (a source of comfort). I felt exhausted all the time and it wasn't easy adjusting. I became very irritable and short-tempered.
• Heart palpitations: this one comes and goes, but it happened quite often. This caused a lot sleepless nights for me during the first month.
• Diarrhea: Okay, this might be TMI and a bit gross, but this must be discussed. I had the keto diarrhea for 2 WHOLE MONTHS, and that shit stank so baaaaad. This is also normal, as I was doing an overhaul on my diet and my digestive system wasn't used to dealing with too much fat. I just had to sit this one out (literally, on the toilet. LOL) and patiently wait until my bowel movement went back to normal. And it did, once I was keto-adapted.
• Oily skin + acne: lasted for about 3-4 weeks. My skin became very oily because of all the fat I was consuming. My chin and my forehead had some pimples, but I promise you, it went away after a month. In fact, my skin didn't just clear up—it actually became more radiant, more supple, and more youthful, over all!

Now for the awesome part. Here are the reasons why the hellish phase of keto adaptation were very much worth it. The lasting benefits of keto!

• Sugar cravings decreased drastically after resisting all forms of sugar for the first 2-3 weeks. My cravings only came once a month, before that time of the month (if you know what I'm sayin') and I was able to resist temptations (until Christmas of 2016. LOL. Will share more on this soon.)
• Tastebuds became very sensitive to anything and everything sweet—which is a signal for me to not eat whatever it was because it only meant it had some sort of sugar in it).
• Increased energy = increased productivity.  2 weeks into keto and I noticed feeling very awake and almost kind of wired (at times). If you've tried doing extacy, I'd say the feeling is similar before the peak and even during the peak. I kid you not. (READ: I am not advocating for the drug, I am obviously advocating for keto so you won't even have the need to use drugs to feel pumped up and energetic!) It's just an insane boost of energy that will keep you alert and productive through the day. This will eventually subside once you're keto adapted. The energetic feeling will not be as overpowering anymore. It becomes consistent without palpitations and feeling like you're high on drugs or caffeine. LOL.
• Mental clarity. Haven't experienced this in a long time. I was scatter-brained pre-keto life (I still am, but not as much as before!). Now, my thoughts are clearer. I became more self-aware. 
• Goodbye, naps! I usually needed to take naps in the afternoon, hoping it would give me more energy to last throughout the day. After keto adaptation, because of increased energy, I no longer have to take naps midday. 
• Sleeping hours became stable and consistent. Pre-keto life, I was an over sleeper. I'd sleep really late, usually around 1 or 2 am, get 9-11 hours of sleep, and wake up at 11am or later. Of course I'd wake up groggy and feel that way all day, which I guess contributed to the sluggishness and wanting to nap more. It was a horrible cycle, but it all changed after keto. My body also started waking up early in the morning, at around 8-8:30 am consistently. Sleeping early is very important. I am not sure if this was directly caused by keto, but in my experience, my body longed for rest earlier than the usual after midnight hours.
• Never "hangry" again! Fat keeps you full and it suppresses appetite. When I consumed sugar and carbs, I would get crazy hunger pangs as a signal from my body to eat my next meal. My hunger affected my mood and even my attitude. Now, I only get a mild headache as a signal to refuel with food. My mood doesn't swing from opposite ends anymore because hunger doesn't affect it anymore. I also only eat two full meals a day with no snacking in between as I've leveled up my keto game by doing intermittent fasting (IF). READ: IF is the second phase after doing keto for quite awhile, so don't do keto plus IF all at once. I'll discuss this more in my future posts.
• Real-time signal of fullness. You know why people say it takes 15-20 minutes to feel that you're full, that's why you need to eat sloooooow? It's because it's the truth about eating carbs. People who consume carbs on a regular basis are more prone to overeat during meals, because they don't sense that they're satiated right away—then all of a sudden, BOOM! It hits them that they're not just full, they overate. Well, this is not the case with eating fat. Fat makes you feel full as you eat, making it easy to stop once you've had your fill. 
• Regular period. At my heaviest weight, my period became irregular. Danah also had irregular period cycles due to PCOS, but 2 weeks in the keto life, Aunt Ruby was back for her monthly visit. The same happened to me! WOOHOO REGULAR PERIODS! Well, not really woohoo!, but still, WOOHOO because it's a sign of a healthy reproductive system! 
• Heartburn and acid reflux vanished! Gosh, writing this down, I can't believe my body was tolerating all these health problems! I used to rely on antacid (Tums) whenever I had digestive problems. It's crazy how the solution of most doctors when you have health issues is to prescribe medicine, instead of eliminating the causes of the sickness in the first place! Oh wait, how many billions does the pharma industry annually earn again? 
• Super duper fast weight-loss WITHOUT working out. This is intentionally last on this list because as proven by my previous points, it's not the most amazing benefit of doing keto—at least not to me. Sure, a high-fat and low-carb diet is undeniably a fast and effective weight-loss tool, but I just don't want to highlight this out of all the other amazing benefits I've written. I think I dropped 2 sizes smaller during the first 4 months of doing *strict* keto.