Happy Keto Body Review Week 5: Making keto a lifestyle, not a diet
I just finished five weeks of keto eating and I’ll be sharing my experiences and lessons learned with you.
In this post I’ll share:
How I planned for a successful week
What I learned from Week 5 of the Happy Keto Body program and from my own experiences
What I ate (you know, the fun part!)
How I felt (physically and emotionally) and my results
My best tips for Week 5 of Happy Keto Body
You can read other posts in this series here: Weekly Happy Keto Body Review Series
The Happy Keto Body program is a 12 week online video course and it is AMAZING! It has answers to all your keto questions, meal plans, shopping lists, recipes, and how to troubleshoot common keto problems. Check it out here: Happy Keto Body
Happy Keto Body Week 5
How I planned for a successful Week 5 on Happy Keto Body:
Much of my planning for a successful Week 5 of Happy Keto Body is the same as what I did last week. It’s also basically the same as what I’ll do next week. And that is to add these things to my calendar.
Weigh on Monday morning.
Schedule time every day to review the videos and bonus materials.
Download the Week 5 Journal (found on the Happy Keto Body Week 2 page) so I can take notes.
Plan my meals.
Grocery shop (or delegate this task)!
Schedule time for exercise.
Plan time every day to fill in my 12 week keto planner. I use this printable planner.
What I learned from Week 5 of Happy Keto Body:
It’s all about mindset, not the food.
It’s really interesting that mindset was the focus of Week 5 because I’ve been thinking a lot about how my thoughts and relationship with food have affected my dieting successes and failures in the past. I wrote a little bit about it last week.
I have been very much aware of my thoughts about food and living a keto lifestyle now, much more so than in the past. It has been really interesting to compare my thinking and experiences with the information shared on the Happy Keto Body videos this week.
Body Kindness for Ongoing Success.
This was the title of the first video this week, and it’s all about learning to accept (and eventually love) the body you have right now. Sometimes we think “if I love the body I have I’ll never lose weight or change it” but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I know from personal experience that getting skinny does not mean you will be a happy person. Yes, clothes shopping is more fun, but when I was a size 2 I still loathed my body. I also was not a very happy person.
It’s hard to get to a place of accepting your body and learning to love it. I have found it helpful to try to change my thoughts about myself in very small ways. I might start with intentionally thinking “I have a body.” That sounds simplistic and dumb, I know, but then, over time, you can change the thoughts. The next might be “my body is strong,” or “my body takes care of my family.” Whatever resonates with you.
The point being, it is worth it to take real action (by intentionally thinking), to work towards a place of accepting and loving your body just the way it is.
Making keto a lifestyle.
This video was an interview with Leanne Vogel and Shawn Mynar, a holistic nutritionist. I really liked this video because it talked about how to make keto a lifestyle, instead of approaching it as a quick fix or temporary diet.
One of the suggestions I really took to heart, was to stop obsessively tracking (which I have done for the past five weeks). Part of the reason I have been tracking macros, and weighing myself, and testing ketones, is so I can share my experience with YOU. Also, it’s a little scary to think about not writing down my food or calculating fat grams.
At the same time, I understand the need to listen to your body (which I have been very focused on), and your body’s cues to choose your food and when to eat.
Wednesday of this week I stopped tracking my food and macros as an experiment. I will still weigh and test ketones. If I find myself out of ketosis, or I gain weight, I always have the option of tracking again.
“Eating well is a form of self-respect.”
Photo Credit: Wendy’s
What I ate on Week 5 of Happy Keto Body:
As I mentioned in my Prep Week Happy Keto Body blog post, I mainly focus on super simple meals that don’t require recipes or lots of effort in the kitchen. You may find my choices boring, and that’s ok. There are lots of recipes in the Happy Keto Body Mini Cookbook, in Leanne Vogel’s The Keto Diet Book, or you can find keto recipes by browsing the web or Pinterest.
Here are some of the things I ate this week:
Breakfasts
I’ve enjoyed my January green smoothies (LINK) and my continue to drink them, but I’m adding a little variety.
Intermittent fasting a few days. (I drink my regular coffee, I haven’t done any bulletproof or fatty coffees yet because I like my coffee!)
Egg salad with a few slices bacon.
All my breakfasts are followed by coffee with either heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk.
Lunches
Dinner leftovers are my go-to lunch. I’ll often add veggies & olive oil, or avocado if I need to boost the fat.
Double smoked ham with Gouda, and a side salad.
Dinners
Chili with sour cream and cheddar, followed by a concoction of coconut butter, pecans, and 90% dark chocolate.
Freddy’s cheeseburger without bun. I realized I do not like Freddy’s burgers. This was such a yuck meal.
Wendy’s Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad. This was actually really good! The full portion has 41g fat, 42g protein, and 11g net carbs.
Shrimp cocktail with avocado, and chips with salsa at Ted’s Cafe Escondida. This was my weekly carb up on Saturday night and I was back in ketosis Sunday morning!
Super Bowl celebration with Rotel Dip and lots of veggies. Also a salad with blue cheese, pecans, pickled onions, and EVOO.
SNACKS
Macadamia nuts with either a hunk of cheddar, or a handful of olives.
Baby bell peppers with homemade blue cheese dip.
How I felt during Week 5, and my results:
So far in this blog series, I have been listing each day of the week and how I felt. I’ve spoken about being in ketosis, or if I was tired or whatever. But having finished five weeks of keto, my daily journal isn’t really very relevant.
Unless I tell you otherwise, I am in ketosis and I am feeling fine.
I don’t have “symptoms” or the keto flu. Every day is pretty much like the others, PHYSICALLY.
But what I want to offer you is what is going on EMOTIONALLY… this week, and in future weeks.
I am a person who has done every diet known to womankind. I have been obese and I have been thin, and everywhere in between. I have been a chronic yo-yo dieter in the past.
And I know intellectually that my success depends on my thinking. My attitude.
Because if I let the diet games (that I spoke about in Week 4) get the best of me I will quit.
I know that some of you will relate. You have been on keto or other diets before, and have quit. You get excited about a new meal plan or diet book and are massively motivated for the first week or so. Then, the old negative thinking comes into play…. it’s not working. I can’t control my eating. Why stick to it because it’s not making a difference? I am a failure.
I have been super aware of my thinking over the past two months. I have been really doing a lot of thought work (which will likely be the subject of another blog post). I know that my thoughts and attitude… how I feed my brain… is just as important, if not more so, than what I put into my mouth.
Physically I felt very good this week. I stayed in ketosis the entire time, even the day after my mini carb up on Saturday night.
I made the transition to not obsessively tracking my macros and food on Wednesday, so this is a little scary, to be honest. I am a tracker from waaaaay back. But I also want to be an intuitive eater and, for me, this is only possible eating low carb.
All throughout this journey I have been paying extra attention to listening to my body which would never be possible if I was eating processed foods and having sugar cravings.
Week 5 Results:
Last week I actually gained weight (which I am sure was water and not fat). I am down 3.2 pounds from last week, and a total of 8.8 pounds after five weeks. The weight loss is slower than I would like, but I know it is realistic.
The biggest benefit to eating this way is that I am not obsessed with food and I am not binging. This is huge! I also absolutely believe that I would never be able to intuitively eat, which I began mid-week, if I was eating a standard American diet of processed crap.
“Keto. Because bacon is better than diabetes.”
My best tips for Happy Keto Body Week 5:
Learn from your Week 5 experience! You’re probably going to see this every week because it is vital to learn from our experiences. Based on this week, what do you need to change? How can you improve? What amazing things do you want to continue?
Carb ups are a way to enjoy real life. I truly enjoyed my Saturday night Mexican meal, which was mainly chips, salsa and queso dip. It had zero effect on ketosis, and I was able to lose three pounds this week.
Don’t be afraid to stop tracking macros. If it stresses you out, as it does me!, just commit to a week and you can always re-evaluate. I am continuing to monitor my weight and ketones.
If the weight loss isn’t coming as quickly as you would like, focus on all the positive changes! As I said before, not obsessing about food and no urge to binge has been the best keto present of all!
The Happy Keto Body program is a 12 week online video course and it is AMAZING! It has answers to all your keto questions, meal plans, shopping lists, recipes, and how to troubleshoot common keto problems. Check it out here: Happy Keto Body
Don’t forget to PIN this post so you can find it in the future!
Welcome!
Are you a busy lady (like me) who really, really wants to live a healthy life? I get it because I’m obsessed with living my best life too. Here you’ll find simple ideas and strategies to plan a healthy and happy life.
I’m Jacqui, by the way, and I’m the crazy busy lady behind Plan A Healthy Life.
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