Mark Luigi Dacumos
Once you have one month of keto in the books, you should feel very proud of yourself. Why? Because you took the initiative to start a new lifestyle that can help you look and feel better, while also improving your overall health. And since changing your way of eating from carbs and sugar to healthy fats is no simple task, that too should give you boosted confidence.
Here’s a brief recap of what you can expect from the first month of keto:
Week 1:
- Keto flu (symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, headaches, irritability, muscle aches, nausea)
- Dehydration (which can be combated by drinking plenty of water and replenishing your electrolytes)
- Less bloating
- Weight loss up to 10 pounds (usually water weight)
Weeks 2,3,4:
- Hopefully, hitting the fat-burning stage of ketosis
- Keto flu disappears
- Increased energy
- Fewer cravings
- Reduced hunger and the ability to skip meals with ease
- Constipation (which can be combated by eating plenty of leafy greens and non-starchy vegetables)
- Improved mental clarity
Now let’s look at what you can expect with that first month of keto completed.
Keto Weeks 5 and Beyond: Results and Signs to Look For
Increased Confidence and Motivation
If you’ve hit ketosis by now and have started to reap keto’s rewards like weight loss, fewer cravings, reduce hunger, improved mental clarity, etc., your confidence should be sky-high. You should see that keto isn’t a fad diet, and it’s a way of life that you can adapt to since it doesn’t cause starvation or deprivation.
No More Cravings for Comfort Foods
With cravings and constant hunger out of the picture, you probably won’t even want to go back to your standard way of eating. If you had an insatiable sweet tooth before, it should be gone to the point that you can stare sweets in the face without feeling any temptation.
Continued Steady Weight Loss
Such control over food makes it easy to continue losing weight after your first month. It will likely be a steady weight loss at around 1-2 pounds per week, depending on how much you have to lose.
Improved Finances
Your finances may be in better shape as well, especially if you’ve been cooking your keto meals at home and following a plan. By not eating out and giving in to impulse purchases, you may have a heftier bank account than before. Reward yourself for this discipline with your diet and finances by buying some new clothes that fit your new physique.
A Desire to Take Things Further With Exercise and Fasting
Now that you’re in a keto groove, you may want to begin experimenting with ways to accelerate your results and take things to another level. Many ketoers find themselves exercising once they lose weight via the diet. They do this to start sculpting their bodies, gain the endorphin rush from exercising, and boost their health even more.
Beyond exercise, another way to take your keto routine to another level is to start intermittent fasting. It’s where you limit food consumption to a specific window. This will help you burn even more body fat while improving brain function and providing other benefits. And as you skip meals with fasting, you can keep padding your bank account since your food expenses will go even lower.
As you slim down, feel and look better, and save money, you’ll see that you made the right choice doing keto. And even though you just have one month completed, these benefits will likely have you sticking to the lifestyle for years to come.
