The First Few Weeks: Challenges & Perks

Yes, it's a little after 4am in my time zone. No, I'm not awake. I use the post schedule feature on Blogger like it's an Olympic sport. Sue me.

Let's talk about the first few weeks of keto. It's usually what ruins this life style for people. Managing the diet is realistically easy as long as you can make the transition from a low-fat to full-fat mentality. There are some side effects that can be challenging. I also noticed some near immediate changes that I'll call perks. This is all part of the process that your body goes through as it struggles to become "fat adapted."

1. Challenge: The "Keto Flu." This nearly fucking killed me. For the first few weeks, if I moved suddenly, I had to have serious concern about either puking or shitting myself. I was sore, I was tired. Queasiness lasted for the first month. No one died though, so that's sort of a perk. Right? 
2. Challenge: General shit physical performance. Truth be told, I'm still struggling with this, seven weeks in. Before keto, I was on a 1k calorie/day diet for two months. Starting keto, my lift numbers dropped and haven't recovered. I've become that guy grunting over 15 lb bicep crunches. My run times have significantly reduced per mile.
3. Challenge: Figuring out what to eat. The initial instinct was to eat everything with bacon. It's still a stand-in when I can't figure something out. I've added avocado to my diet, and I'm doing things with cream cheese and coconut oil that I wouldn't have believed possible.
4. Challenge: Cutting through the bullshit. There's a lot out there. I watched a YouTube video where a guy told his viewers not to eat cashews (because they're really a fruit), then praised the goodness of avocados (also a fruit). This is an ongoing process in a world where any jackass such as myself can get on the internet and pretend to be an expert in things.
5. Challenge: Raging diarrhea. Strangely, this seems to be cyclical for me in keto and critical to any fat loss benefits. The first few weeks though went a little like this clip. This is also my stomach's follow up response to a scheduled cheat day.

1. Perk: A permanent skin irritation/rash went away. I've had it constantly since I moved to Dallas in 2011. When I leave town for a few weeks, it would heal up. My dermatologist has theorized that the rash is an allergy to diatoms in the local water supply that are getting stuck in hair follicles. 
2. Perk: Several people have noted that the whites of my eyes are "whiter" and that as a result, my eyes look bluer.
3. Perk: Several people have told me that my skin is "glowing." I don't have the heart to tell most of them that it's usually after I've gotten laid. But, I have noticed my skin tone is more even in general. My dry "t" zone has also cleared up.
4. Perk: I feel more... alert. This could also be the Bang energy drinks, but I noticed it prior to drinking my first one. My mood seems to be more stable on keto than it is normally. I've been diagnosed with dysthymia, and I'm Portuguese, so I tend to be a little volatile anyway. Not so much anymore, although I do still have triggers. Mostly Facebook.
5. Perk: I haven't had (many) cravings. In my head, a lot of keto "approved" food (I'll lament this concept later) is sort of garbagey. I usually feel like I'm eating what I would have as a teenager if my mom wasn't around to screech at me. I don't really want carbs. Or miss them. I'm full for a long time between meals (6-8 hours, typically). Most diets I struggle not to break. With keto, I schedule cheat days and I could generally take a pass on them. I don't feel like I'm dieting.
6. Perk: No one died. When I originally lost the 100+ pounds on my old 1k calorie/day diet, I was a rampaging bitch for about a month. I'm surprised I kept my job. See Perk 4.