How a Month of Keto Jumpstarted My Metabolism (and What Made Me Quit)
If you are thinking about whether or not to go on a ketogenic diet, my story may give you some food for thought
In October 2021, I decided to go on a ketogenic diet. It was an impulse.
I had just turned 40 and had spent the past 10 years being overweight for my 5'4" frame. None of my diet or exercise-related efforts had produced any results — the weight just hadn’t budged. It was as if after turning 30, my body had forgotten how to lose weight. Add to this my pregnancy, and I had around 15 to 20 kilos to lose.
But weight loss wasn’t my aim when embarking on the keto lifestyle. I wanted to be free of the mood swings that come from hunger pangs. In my case, they were quite severe.
I had, of course, known about the ketogenic diet for several years but never once entertained the thought of doing it because… giving up carbs? Are you kidding? Carbs are life. I’m Indian, after all! Also, aren’t complex carbohydrates healthy? Why cut out an entire food group?
What tipped me toward the ketogenic diet was my curiosity. I came across a YouTube video titled ‘What happens to your body when you quit sugar for 30 days.’ I had been experiencing a morning crash post-breakfast tea for the past few days, so I decided to try quitting whatever little sugar I had been having.
What I didn’t know was that in the world of ketogenic diets all carbs are considered ‘sugar’. Even the healthy ones. This was news to me. I was discovering a lot of new information. One thing led to the other and after binge-watching Dr. Berg’s videos the whole night, by next morning I had decided this was going to be day 1 of my keto life.
Welcome to a Whole New Way of Living
Living in Australia it was fairly easy to assemble the raw material in line with a clean ketogenic diet. I only had to hop over to the nearest grocery store, which was a short walk away. I learned everything I could about how a ketogenic diet works and created a highly nutritious plan for myself.
I’m proud to say I took very well to this odd new diet. It was no problem sticking to it.
I didn’t miss carbohydrates at all. It was surprising. And liberating!
The Weight Does Drop Off Like Magic
The first week nothing happens but two to three weeks in you notice your clothes fitting loose. In about a month’s time I had lost one size. Overall I looked visibly shrunk. I had only lost 5 to 6 kilos but I felt a lot lighter and smaller.
It was an awesome feeling. What I hadn’t been able to achieve in the past 10 years was accomplished by this diet in a month’s time!
And Then, I Quit Keto. Just Like That…
With such amazing results, I would have loved to keep going. My initial goal with the ketogenic diet was to do it for three months, lose 15 kilos, and then switch to a low-carb diet to maintain the fat loss.
But I gave up after only 5 weeks, and reluctantly so. I had finally gotten the hang of this diet, I was doing it very well, sugar crashes and being ‘hangry’ were a thing of the past. So why did I stop?
One Reason: Hair Loss
I’ve never had problems with hair. I’ve been blessed in this department. One month after beginning the ketogenic diet, however, my hair was not only falling out in clumps, it had also started to thin. I could feel about 50% reduction in the thickness of the strands of hair that were falling out. It was shocking. My brother as well as my husband both blamed keto for it and strongly advised me to put an immediate stop to it.
And just as I had started it, I quit keto, too — abruptly.
It’s been more than a year since I quit keto and my hair still isn’t what it used to be in terms of thickness. They say hair thinning is irreversible. It seems to be that way.
It still does look like I have a nice full head of hair. Because I started off with thick and dense hair my body has been able to absorb this shock. For those who are already struggling in the hair department might want to take this very slow. (And keto is anything but slow; it’s a shock to the system.)
Hair loss is a common and widely known side-effect of the ketogenic diet and I went in knowing about it. I made sure my food was high in nutrition, I was well-supplemented and hitting my macros right. I was eating the healthiest I had ever eaten.
What explains the hair loss then? I don’t think it was deficiencies. It was probably shock. The shock to my system of having given up carbohydrates, which had been a staple all my life.
With a heavy heart I closed the keto chapter. But the benefits of the diet didn’t stop.
No, I Didn’t Gain All the Weight Back
I tried to do a low-carb diet post keto but it just doesn’t work as well as keto; in fact, I found it difficult and confusing. So I now eat carbs whenever I feel like; in fact, most days. On weekends I’ll even indulge in churros, croissants, or pizza (depending on my mood).
Not only did I not gain the weight back, I may have lost some more (I don’t weigh myself) considering I’ve dropped another size since quitting keto. The only thing I do in terms of diet is intermittent fasting.
Keto Seems to Have Reset My Metabolism
Giving up carbs for a limited period of time did wonders for my body (with the exception of the hair loss). I just don’t find carbs attractive any more, though I still eat them.
In fact, I have to make it a point to feed my body carbs at least once a day or it goes into a fat-burning mode (I feel the weight dropping off and hair problems return.)
For the sake of my hair I must keep eating carbs and lose weight at a very slow pace.
Keto Made Me Quite Healthy
I had a detailed blood test done soon after I quit being on keto and I’m happy to say the report was fantastic. The doctor was particularly surprised, and pleasantly so, at high iron levels.
“Have you had a blood transfusion recently,” she asked me. “It’s rare to see such healthy levels of haemoglobin in female patients.”
That would be all the dark leafy greens I ate, I thought to myself.
What I Didn’t Like About Ketogenic Diet
- It left me chronically dehydrated
We lose a lot of water on keto, and we also urinate a lot. Since we have almost eliminated carbs from our diet the body doesn’t feel the need to hold on to water much. (1 gram of carbohydrate holds on to 3–4 grams of water.) On keto the body feels like it has been wrung dry of all water. I also experienced a lot of leg cramps because of that, which interfered with my sleep. - It led to dizziness caused by electrolyte imbalance
A loss of water leads to depletion of sodium, which upsets the electrolyte balance. A few days after quitting the ketogenic diet I started experiencing mild dizziness which was only fixed by an electrolyte solution. I also started adding salt to my drinking water to feel better. - I didn’t have energy for rigorous workouts
In the state of ketosis my body just didn’t have the energy to work out much. I could only do pilates once a week (down from twice a week), and I also felt a drop in the intensity of my sessions.
I Have a Fond Memory of My Keto Days
I had combined my ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting and I started doing this at a time when life stressors were quite high. It could be the cumulative effect of all of the above that triggered hair loss, accelerated by the keto diet. What was my experience need not be yours.
Far be it from me to give anyone health-related advice, but I know that I’d still do keto again even after knowing the side effects. It has just been that effective at reducing extra weight and resetting my metabolism. In fact, if it weren’t for my body panicking at a fast rate of weight loss and going into a survival mode despite the nutrients, I would still be on it.
