What to expect on Keto in Week One ​

Starting the keto diet can be both exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. I know I was nervous as I wasn’t sure how my body would react.

I had read about the keto flu, and I was super nervous that this would happen to me. This may differ from your own experience and the experiences of others. This is what to expect on keto in week one, based on my own experience.

Why choose Keto?

I had dabbled in low carb high fat before, but what led me to try full keto? Actually, a family member of mine had huge success with weight loss and energy gain and I was intrigued to give it a go.

One thing I knew, was that I did not want to do a full meat keto. I wanted to incorporate vegetables that were low carb too. I know the benefits of nutrients from plants, and I didn’t want to dismiss this. Often when people think of keto, they do think lots of meat.

There are ways of completing keto without going full meat at every meal. So don’t let this put you off if you are not too keen on meat, like me.

I chose keto to lose weight and gain energy. Knowing why you are choosing keto is important. It will help you stay on the path, especially when the cravings set in!

Take a moment and reflect on why you are interested in starting keto.

RELATED POST: starting keto for beginners

We have a 10 day Keto Kickstarter Challenge available here

Prior to day one:

It is really important to build your own knowledge around what keto is and how it can help your health. This knowledge empowers you. It helps you understand and listen to your body.

Try joining our keto boot camp so you know what you should be doing and when – plus it comes with a free meal plan!

This knowledge that I gained was really important. It can be super confusing learning about macros, fasting, good vs bad fats and so much more! You can of course do this research yourself. I found being part of a community very informative and supportive.

Another tip of mine is to take before photos. Sometimes I think the scale lies to us! But by looking at photos you can be 100% sure when you are starting to lose weight.

Related:5 Ways to Avoid the Keto Flu

What to expect on Keto in Week One:
Day one

During day one you feel empowered and are sure that you can do this. You are 100% committed and determined to make this a lifestyle. Because you had your meals planned already yesterday, you are well prepared. Meal times are a breeze.

I actually found that I over packed my food for work. I had made myself breakfast, morning tea, and a massive lunch. One piece of advice, don’t over pack. Because you are now adding fat to your meals, you are not needing to eat massive meals!

I enjoyed tracking my food on the first day. It allowed me to see what impact the individual food items made towards my overall macro scores.

What to expect on Keto in Week One:
Day Two – Three

During the next two days you may start to feel cravings. I noticed that by dinner on the second day, I already wanted sweets! I had gone from having sugar every meal (and between meals), to having zero. This is a huge adjustment for the body! On day two my body was really wondering where the sugar was!

On day three I had noticed that I was incredibly thirsty. At times I felt that I really needed water and felt sick if I didn’t get to my bottle in time. Keeping water on hand is essential during these days as your body adjusts.

What to expect on Keto in Week One:
Day Four – Six

I had a huge win at work during day four, where we had a shared morning tea. I was super proud of myself when I ignored the carb filled platters of food. It shocked me that although there was a huge range of different foods on the table. Not one plate had no carbs and no sugar! Makes you realize how embedded carbs and sugar are in our culture.

It is important to celebrate little wins like mine above. These ‘wins’ make you feel proud and boost your momentum. Look for these moments and share them with people who understand them.

Continue logging your foods and monitoring how much water you are drinking. Thirst hit me hard in these days!

I continued to share my daily macro tracking with the Facebook group and I found this super encouraging as others engaged with my progress.

What to expect on Keto in Week One:
Day Seven

Yay! You made it to day seven! Celebrate! Although you may not feel like it? Day seven for me meant that I was starting into the keto flu. I had an upset stomach and a slight headache.

I have to say that the keto flu was not as bad as I was imagining it would be. Keep your fluids up at this time and keep pushing through. You can do this, and you will do this.

On day seven I also stopped and planned out my week coming. I look at meetings and appointments I might have and plan my meals. I do my meal planning and shopping on a Sunday.

I also started to think about how to add exercise into my second week of Keto. I had purposefully stopped all exercise in the first week and I think this helped with the limited keto flu symptoms. It allowed me to fully focus on eating and provided me energy to get through the day.

Related:How to achieve Ketosis

This is my experience so far with the Keto Diet. I will keep you posted how I go beyond Week 1.

If you are interested in starting Keto but not sure how, these are some links that helped me:

• What is the Keto Diet
• What to Eat on the Keto Diet 
• What you Can’t eat on the Keto Diet 
• How to start the Keto Diet in 5 easy steps 

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