My first goal toward my new year's resolution is to make the transition from a sugar burning body to a fat burning body. What does that mean in real life? I have to cut the sugar, all of the sugar. No bread, pasta, candy, ice cream, alcohol… Nothing. I will also have to increase my fat intake. So salads, I douse them with 2-3 times more olive oil than I feel like I should. Meat, I add butter. In other words, I have to work to change my pallet.
I have learned in the last few years, that if I want to succeed with any dietary change, I have to meal prep. If I don’t have food ready to go, I will make poor choices. For me that means, gold fish and chocolate. I’m not talking about dark chocolate with all the benefits… I’m talking Peanut Butter Cups.
So, the first weekend of this year, I spent in the kitchen. I cooked like I’ve never cooked before. I made multiple dishes of beef, chicken, and pork. I did this so I can alternate which protein source I want per day. I am not one of those people who can cook a ton of chicken and have that the whole week. Plus, variety is key in my book.
One of the resources I picked up from Stefanie Obregozo's "Holistic Health Reset" is the cookbook, Bare Bones Cookbook by Bob Kopinsky. This is a great cookbook especially if you are new to cooking. Bob goes through many techniques used to cook delicious foods you may or may not be familiar with. A new one for me is organ meat. No less, keto recipe ideas are not hard to find. Just make sure the foods come from grass fed, organic sources. Once my meals were all cooked, I separated them out, vacuum sealed them, then stuck them in the freezer. Meals for days.
There are a lot of different ways one can ensure they are in Ketosis. Two ways are the urine strips, and at home blood tests. I have decided that I am not too concerned with whether or not a strip tells me I am in Ketosis. I know I am fat burning based on how I feel. I find that when I am in full Ketosis, I am not ravenous. When candy comes across my face, I can leave it. For me, it is an incredibly freeing state to be in.
This time around, it took me about a week, of a very strict keto meal plan. I made sure that I was only getting 20g of carbs in per day. This is not a lot. It basically comes down to one salad. After I know I am in ketosis I will stop counting my macros. I just ensure that every grass fed, organic thing I put in my mouth is covered in fat. Sounds gross, but man, this is the diet for me.
So far I have completed over a month in ketosis and everything is going as planned. I have stopped counting my macros and just make sure that I am getting plenty of fat in for each meal. I did run into a bit of an issue with cramping during my workout on week one (I’ll tell you all about that in another post). Overall I am feeling good!!!
