Keto Diet Without Cheese: Am I Crazy?
I love the keto diet. I have never had so much energy in my life. My brain works better when I eat keto. My workouts are better. I’m gaining more muscle and I’m losing fat. I’m managing stress better. I’m sleeping like a rock and waking up energized, ready to tackle the day. This. Is. Amazing.
So, what’s the catch? Sound too good to be true? Well, my issue is with the food. I’ve found myself eating things that I wouldn’t normally consider “healthy choices” merely because they are “keto friendly”. There’s a whole cup of mozzarella cheese in this serving? No problem! It’s keto approved!
The option to be able to eat olives, cheese, prosciutto, hard salami and nuts as an acceptable meal is heavenly to me — all my favorites! Bring on the charcuterie board.
The ketogenic diet is a high fat, moderate protein, very low carbohydrate diet. While following the diet your body goes into a metabolic state called ketosis, where your body produces ketones. Having ketones in your body can increase mental and physical performance, help your body burn fat, and increase energy levels.
There are tons of tasty keto recipes out there, but most of them involve cheese, which, although I absolutely love, I ate sparingly prior to starting the keto diet. Normal people buy themselves a pint of Ben & Jerry’s when they want to indulge. Not me…give me a big slice of brie cheese and some apple slices and I am happy as a clam.
The first experience I had doing any sort of diet was doing the Slow Carb Diet. I am a big fan of Tim Ferriss, and after reading his book The Four Hour Body, my boyfriend and I decided to do the Slow Carb Diet, which is outlined in Tim’s book. The Slow Carb diet is a modified ketogenic diet, where you can have some slow digesting carbs, such as beans and lentils. No dairy is allowed, except for cottage cheese. Other than that is is very similar to keto — no sugar, no starchy vegetables, no grains, no fruit.
I love how I felt, and I think even more I liked the discipline of following a diet and seeing changes in my energy, mood, and body.
Prior to starting the Slow Carb Diet I considered my diet to be very clean. Apples, avocados, salmon, chicken, grass-fed beef, eggs, low-sugar yogurt, and kale salads were all regulars on my shopping list. I had come a long way since my college days where my most common meal was a Betty Crocker Bowl Appetit three cheese rotini microwavable meal (seriously — no wonder I couldn’t stay awake in my 9 am classes!).
After doing the Slow Carb Diet for several months, and taking a little break around the holidays, my boyfriend and I decided to go full keto, which I have followed (sometimes loosely, cheat days/meals do happen) for the past 9 months. All of the benefits I felt from the Slow Carb Diet seemed to be magnified and I was completely in love with the high fat goodness of keto, especially the fact that I could eat cheese guilt free!
I was also introduced to exogenous ketone supplements about 6 months ago, which have taken things yet to a whole new level of amazingness. Fat loss, mental clarity, energy, and muscle gain have all increased since I began adding exogenous ketone supplements in my life.
So, that brings me to today, the day before Thanksgiving. I know a high fat diet is definitely right for me, but I want to challenge myself to stick to a strict keto diet for 30 days, eliminating all cheese and cutting back on other animal products. Cheese and meat are easy meals, but I know they are not what is best for my body.
Putting this out there for the world to see is my accountability partner.
I am going to document my meals, share recipes, and be honest about how I’m feeling — physically, and also how I’m feeling about the added stress of extra meal planning, having to get creative with meals, the risk of eating the same thing over and over because my options are limited, the risk of not eating enough because my options are limited, the time and energy researching alternative options etc. (as you can tell, there were a few items on the “con” list when deciding whether or not to do this!).
My challenge starts Friday, November 24th and ends Saturday, December 23rd. I am going to kick things off with a 60 hour fast starting the evening of November 26th and ending the morning of November 29th.
So, who’s going to do this with me? You’ve gouda be kidding me if you think I’m going to be able to do this provolone!
(although I’m not eating cheese, I can still have terrible cheesy jokes, right?)
