Hi I’m Leanne. I diet. Often!
I lose a few lbs then gain it back plus a little more then diet again. Can you relate? Like me do you struggle saying no to giant bars of Dairy Milk and sausage dinners?
Well it’s early days but meet my mate Keto! Please note I am not encouraging anyone begin any diet simply telling you about my experience last week. Name the diet and I have done it and the only one I ever really felt good on was The Atkins. One Christmas many years ago I panic dieted and lost around a stone in 4 weeks. Our cleaner at the old Juice Fm studios in concert square taught me the Atkins rules (her name is Sandra, from Wavertree, lovely Husband Mike, give her my love if you know her)
After the initial ‘oh my dear lord I’m dying’ feeling I was high on life following the Atkins plan until my dad read something about Dr Atkins dying after a heart attack and banned me from it. I was 22 at the time. Don’t judge me my dad is still the boss haaaaa!!!!
Since then I have gone from one slimming club to the next. Every time I creep towards 10 stone I don’t feel right in my clothes and jump aboard another diet regime. Then recently on a trip to San Fransisco this Keto diet came to my attention
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat and very low-carb eating plan similar to Atkins but I was allowed some fruit, veg, almond milk and yogurt. Perfect! It can be tough to start after all, it’s a radical departure from the way you’re eating now. Like many people trying the keto diet, which puts your body in a state of ketosis I immediately suffered from headaches and broken sleep but for only 3/4 days. Then I started feeling bloody marvellous.
Those bodily complaints are what happens when your body’s carb-burning switch flips to a fat-burning one, a change that can cause weight loss. I only knew one person in Liverpool doing the Keto Diet and after beating cancer she changed her lifestyle totally and raved about this plan.
What can you eat? I’m still brand new to this but in week one I have lost 6lb! I am eating eggs, chicken, fish, steak, cottage cheese, veg soup, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, courgettes and unsweetened almond milk like it’s going out of fashion. No big fat lumps of lard in the pan or fatty meats like you would expect with Atkins. Think lean meat with green leafy veg although double cream and butter are encouraged. No bread, rice, cereal or normal milk and forget biscuits and cake. Get your fat from avocado, nuts or by cooking with coconut oil and you are smashing it!
After 3 days I noticed my appetite had changed completely. I love chocolate and chippy teas more than most and if you had offered me one I would have had no problem saying, ‘nahhhh I’m sound.’ What I did notice was I started weeing like a racehorse, my mouth tasted a little funny and my need to sleep disappeared?
Now I have settled into it I will post my weekly weight loss updates, food prep and findings each week and let you know how long I remain in this honeymoon period with Keto. For now it’s ticking all the boxes and I am feeling optimistic.
Til next week ladies xxxxx
