 I only made one resolution this year. On January 1st I started the ketogenic diet. At the time I weighed 226.2 pounds and after my first month of results I've lost almost 15 pounds. My initial target weight is 199 which still makes me overweight but that's just a short term goal. In 2016 I was using the keto diet and my weight dropped down from 205.6 pounds in March to 181 two months later. So I know that my short term goals of 199 and 189 respectively are definitely reachable and I'm using pounds as weight because that's what we use here in the United States but I'll also include kilograms and stones for our friends overseas. I use a weight guru's bluetooth smart scale and I'll leave a link to the specific one I use along with any other link you might need in the more info section of this video. What I like about the weight guru scale is how it tracks my daily progress. So in the first month I've lost 5% body fat. In this video we're going to talk about the benefits of the keto diet and some observations I've made along the way. I'll also talk about a few of my favorite meals to make, the foods I missed the most, and intermittent fasting. We'll even take a peek at possible cheat days. Keep in mind this is not medical advice by any means it's simply my experience so far with the keto diet. Now the picture I used for the thumbnail of this video was from April 29th 2017 when I finally dropped down to 199 pounds using the keto diet. I was 57 years old at the time today I'm 63 and I'm at 208 pounds and I don't have much further to go until I hit my target weight. I see this picture as motivation to achieve my short-term goal of 199 and then eventually 189 pounds. In November I was talking to my friend Cliff who had been on the keto diet for a number of months. He had lost a significant amount of weight from the last time I saw him probably around 60 pounds or so. He said he had to buy a whole new wardrobe because of all the weight he lost. He looked fantastic and more importantly he was happy and healthy with his progress. He also stated that he was pre-diabetic but since he was on the keto diet his physician said he no longer needs to take any medicine for diabetes because his blood sugar levels had dropped to the point of not being considered pre-diabetic mainly due to his keto diet according to Cliff. I was very impressed with that you know this is a first-hand observation and it motivated me to start the keto diet as my New Year's resolution. So if it was November then why did I wait until January to start the diet? As many of you know Christmas is a time where many of us gain weight. Lots of family and good food along with colder weather and less physical activity all adds up. Now I started December off at 217 pounds but by January 1st I weighed 226 pounds. By January 17th I was down to 217 again but I think to myself if I started my keto diet at the beginning of December I could feasibly be in the 190s today. But hey no regrets right? Once again this is not medical advice this is my own experience and first-hand testimonial on what I've experienced and seen from others through the keto diet. If you're considering a keto diet talk to your doctor beforehand make sure it's something you can or cannot do. It might not be suitable for everyone. So I began the keto diet on New Year's Day. I posted my results after the first week of progress on Facebook. I wanted the results public to basically hold my feet to the fire. If people knew I was on the keto diet I knew they would eventually ask me about my progress. When I put my mind to something I'm like a pit bull you can't stop me. I was determined to lose this weight so why do people lose weight on the keto diet? How do you lose weight by eating fatty foods? Several factors contribute to why the keto diet works for many people. Number one, ketosis shift. The primary goal of the keto diet is to induce a state of ketosis. In this metabolic state the body primarily relies on ketone bodies produced from the breakdown of fats for energy instead of glucose derived from carbohydrates. This shift can lead to increased fat burning. Number two, appetite suppression. The keto diet often includes high fat and moderate protein foods which can help people feeling fuller longer. The reduction in carbohydrate intake coupled with an increase in fat consumption may help control appetite and reduce overall caloric intake. Number three, stabilization of blood sugar levels. By minimizing carbohydrate intake the keto diet helps stabilize blood sugar levels. This can lead to reduced insulin spikes and crashes contributing to improved energy levels and a more stable mood. Number four, increased fat burning. In ketosis the body becomes efficient at burning stored fat for energy. This can lead to significant weight loss, particularly in individuals with excess body fat. Potential for rapid initial weight loss. The initial phase of the keto diet often results in rapid weight loss. This can be motivating for individuals seeking quick results. Number six, improved metabolic health. Some studies suggest that the keto diet may improve various markers of metabolic health including reducing triglyceride levels, increasing HDL cholesterol and improving insulin sensitivity. Number seven, reduced cravings for sugary foods. The keto diet eliminates or greatly reduces the intake of sugary and processed foods which can help break the cycle of sugar addiction and reduce cravings for unhealthy snacks. Number eight, enhanced mental clarity. Some individuals report improved mental clarity and focus on the keto diet. The brain can efficiently utilize ketones as an alternative fuel source. Number nine, support for certain health conditions. The keto diet has been studied for its potential therapeutic benefits and conditions such as epilepsy type 2 diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders. Number ten, individual variability. People's bodies respond differently to various diets and what works well for one person may not work as effectively for another. The keto diet may align well with the preferences and metabolic characteristics of many individuals. Keto meals. I've never been much of a veggie man and this goes all the way back to my childhood. Everyone else in my family loves veggies. I don't. It'd be easier to mention the veggies I like than to tell you the ones I don't like. Before the keto diet, my favorite cooked vegetables were potatoes, corn and green beans. I also liked some salad veggies like iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and celery, but that's about it for veggies. Now, on the keto diet, potatoes and corn are taboo. You can't eat them because they're full of starch and carbohydrates. And I'm thinking, yeah, this is great. The few veggies I like I can't eat. My diet before January first was basically meat and potatoes. Because I don't like veggies, I would drink low sodium V8 juice and a lot of it. But with the keto diet, I also get to eat a lot of foods that I really love, such as hamburgers, steak, chicken, pork chops, bacon, eggs, etc. I found it hard to believe that bacon and eggs for breakfast is keto. You just can't have the toast that goes along with it unless you buy the keto bread, which is really expensive. Although I find Aldi's has the least expensive loaves of bread for around $3.85 a loaf. But do you know what? You don't even have to do that. Instead of buying expensive keto bread, make your own with this simple recipe. All you need is one egg and a half cup of your favorite cheese and a waffle maker. Then I take my waffles to my sandwich maker and add breakfast sausage or bacon, another egg, and a little more cheese to make an amazing keto friendly breakfast sandwich in five minutes. And here's a quick tip. Don't add the cheese until the end, about a minute beforehand before it's finished. Yummy. You can check out the video I made of this on my In 5D YouTube channel. And this is better than restaurant quality breakfast sandwiches. It was friggin delicious. Now you can still have things like breaded chicken wings. If you use almond or coconut flour instead of enriched white flour, sometimes I'll make a knock off, shake and bake chicken recipe using almond flour. Some other keto friendly meals I make include garlic, crusted beef, or pork, beef stroganoff, beanless chili, and French onion soup made with yellow onions. Of course, I don't use pasta with the beef stroganoff or any bread with French onion soup. Although you could use the bread I just showed you how to make. And one of the tips I got for making French onion soup is to use both beef and chicken broth for the base. Also, don't use sweet onions. For beverages, I drink a lot of water because I could no longer drink milk, juice, or V8 juice because they're all high in either carbohydrates or sugar. Now that sucks because before my diet, I was a milk hauling. Milk is my favorite beverage. Hands down, period. You should see the look I get at a restaurant when I order milk with my meal. They'll ask me what I want to drink and I'll tell them milk. And then they'll repeat what I said with a question mark. Milk? Milk? Did I stutter? Of course, I'm not going to say that to them, but it's obvious that they don't get a lot of adult milk requests. While most people will have a beer or a mixed drink with their meal, I'm sitting there with a milk mustache. Now I also make fresh celery juice. A lot of people say they don't like the taste of it. It's really not that bad. I bought an inexpensive cold press masticating juicer on Amazon for about $120. And if you don't know anything about these types of juicers, if you're making celery juice, the pulp from the celery will shoot out into a container. If the pulp is bone dry, then you have a great juicer. Beforehand, I was using a $600 Tribest Green Star juicer and it was amazing, but money got tight and I had to sell it. Before that, I was using a Jack Mulane juicer and that was horrible because there would still be a lot of juice left in the pulp. You can drink tea, but I'm not a tea drinker. Although I do enjoy iced tea on occasion, which you can make by using keto friendly sweeteners such as Stevia, Erythritol, Monk Fruit, and Xylitol amongst a few others. I use Monk Fruit powder that I bought on Amazon, but you really can't drink anything that has a high sugar content or that's high in carbohydrates. As for milk, I still have a hard time understanding why milk isn't keto, but butter, cream, and whipped cream are. Go figure, right? Now you can have unsweetened coconut milk and almond milk, but I'm not crazy about either. Before my diet, I tried oat milk and I liked it. Obviously, not as much as regular milk, but it was definitely tolerable, but it's not allowed on the keto diet. For dessert, I get to eat one of my favorite combos, strawberries and blueberries with whipped cream. On occasion, I'll have a Briars Carb Smart Fudge Bar or some Briars Carb Smart Chocolate Ice Cream. They both contain minimal sugars and since I don't eat any sugar throughout the day, it really doesn't affect my ketosis. Intermittent fasting. I also do intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting alternates between periods of eating and fasting, promoting cycles of energy consumption and metabolic rest. There's a number of different ways you can fast. Many people will do 16 hours of fasting with eight hours of eating, which is what I try to do at a minimum. I'll usually go between 17 and 20 hours. On a 20 hour fast, I'll only eat from one to five p.m. Now what I do isn't called OMAD, which means one meal a day. I'll eat at one and right before five p.m. and that's it. Your stomach gets used to it quickly. So once you start doing this, it's pretty easy to maintain. What foods do I miss the most? Pizza, lasagna, pasta in general, juice, milk, Swedish meatballs. If you're on the keto diet, leave a comment below on some of the foods you miss the most and if you found a way to make any of them work in a keto diet. For me, it was chili and using almond flour for breaded chicken. So I was at least able to eat a couple of the foods that I really enjoy. Cheat days. My friend Cliff gives himself an occasional cheat day where he goes off his diet for one meal and then resumes it the following day. I definitely plan on doing this as well. I'd be lying to you that I haven't thought about doing it. I have and I think my cheat day meal will either be pizza or chicken alfredo with a huge glass of milk. God, I'm salivating. Let's talk about some of the obstacles you might encounter. Number one, keto flu. Many people experience symptoms like headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and irritability when initially transitioning into ketosis. This is often referred to as the keto flu and is a result of the body adapting to using ketones for energy instead of carbohydrates, staying hydrated, and ensuring adequate electrolyte intake can help alleviate these symptoms. Number two, social challenges. Sounds easy, right? But the keto diet can be challenging in social situations, especially when dining out or attending gatherings where carb-heavy foods are prevalent. Navigating social events while adhering to a strict low-carb diet may require planning and communication to avoid feeling isolated. Number four, meal planning and preparation. Planning and preparing meals that adhere to the keto guidelines can be time consuming. Balancing micronutrients and ensuring variety in the diet can be challenging, particularly for those with busy schedules. Number five, limited food options. The restriction on carbohydrates can make it challenging to meet daily fiber requirements and may lead to a limited intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This can impact gut health and micronutrient intake, so careful food selection and supplementation may be necessary. And on a side note, I take biotin, alphalipoic acid, krill oil, and spirulina tablets every day. Number six, initial weight loss followed by plateaus. While many people experience initial weight loss on the keto diet, some may encounter plateaus or slower progress over time. This can be frustrating and adjustments to calorie intake, micronutrient ratios, or exercise routines may be necessary to continue seeing results. And this is why I started doing intermittent fasting. I noticed a plateau around the third week or so of keto, which is when I started intermittent fasting. And since then the weight has been dropping off consistently and at a nice pace. I've lost 8.8 pounds in five days and here are the numbers to prove it. But with that being said, you might have a little extra bacon one day and because of the high salt content, you'll probably retain a little extra water weight for a couple days. So expect fluctuations based on what you're eating. Number seven, long-term challenges. Following a very low carb diet over an extended period might be challenging for some people. Cravings for high carb foods or the desire for more food variety may make it difficult to sustain the keto lifestyle for the long term. And that's why some people will take a cheat day. My friend Cliff does this every so often without any regrets and goes back to the keto diet the following day. In the past, I've done that too. And it's amazing at how much weight you'll put back on in that one day. So you might not want to weigh yourself following the cheat day. My advice, wait a few days. Number eight, concerns about nutrient deficiencies. The limited food choices on the keto diet may raise concerns about potential nutrient deficiencies, particularly in vitamins and minerals found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Proper supplementation and careful food selection are crucial to address this potential issue. You can obtain the necessary nutrients from a well-balanced keto diet, but specific supplements may be recommended for people on keto. And I'll leave a list of these supplements in the more info section of the video. A few observations. I wish I took a few before pictures of myself when I started this diet with both front and side views. It'd be nice to have those before and after photos. The before photo would be motivation to continue your diet, to continue what you're doing, to see how far you've came. I also wish I took measurements of myself. I do a weekly show on YouTube and rumble with my wife, Allie, so I can physically see the weight loss in my face. There's a thinning out of the cheeks that you'll notice within the first month or so. Today is January 10th and it's been a week since I began recording and editing this video. Shortly after producing it, I plateaued again around 209.4 pounds. But in the past week, I've lost 4.2 pounds and I'm currently at 205.2. I've lost nearly 22 pounds in 41 days. And the only thing I've done differently since I plateaued is that I'm having my final meal of the day a little earlier than beforehand. You really don't notice the weight loss on any given day until you compare where you were and where you are right now. And even since I originally began recording this video on February 3rd, I can see more definition and additional thinning in my face. I've lost significant weight on the keto diet several times and I can't express how important it is to maintain this lifestyle because the weight will come back quickly if you don't. I took this picture when I weighed 193 pounds in June of 2019. But as you can see from my weight guru's app, I put most of it back on within six months. I'm basically on the 24 intermittent fasting diet in conjunction with keto where I can eat from the hours of 1pm to 5pm. So eating a little earlier gives me a slightly longer fasting time. And as you know, when you're getting that feeling of being hungry, it's your body telling you that it's gonna feed on your fat if you're not gonna give it food. And I'm okay with that. Plus, that hunger will go away in an hour or two. Also, I did take some pictures in January, but it was a couple weeks into my diet. And at the time I had already lost 11 pounds or so. Anyway, I'm getting real close to my target goal of 199 and I expect to hit that within the next few weeks. Hopefully by next week. And as of today, still no cheat days. Although pizza and chicken Alfredo sounds really effing good right now. I might try the fathead dough recipe to make pizza, calzones, and even cinnamon rolls with monk fruit extract as my sweetener. Anyways, leave your comments below and tell me what works best for you. Maybe you have some awesome cooking tips for amazing keto meals. And definitely tell us about the success you've had because that will help motivate others. So wrapping it all up, I started keto on January 1st. And in just one month, I lost almost 15 pounds in 2016. I did keto and went from 206 to 181 in just two months. So I know it works for me. My friend Cliff lost 60 pounds with keto in a year and got rid of his prediabetes and looks great. That convinced me to give it a go again. The cool part, I get to eat things I love like bacon and eggs and I'm still losing weight. I do miss some things like pizza and milk, but the weight loss in keto meals make it worthwhile. I'm doing intermittent fasting, mostly eating between 1 to 5 p.m. And remember, this is not medical advice, just my experience. If you're thinking about going to keto, talk to your doctor first, but for me, keto is the way to go. I'm wishing you all success on whatever diet you might choose. Good luck, everyone. If you enjoyed this video, please like, share, and subscribe. I'd like to thank everyone who has helped to support my work on Patreon. Please join me there at Patreon.com slash N5D and get a shout out on upcoming N5D production videos, as well as being listed on our wall of gratitude featured on N5D.com. And if no one told you this yet today, please allow me to be the first. You are loved. You are appreciated. Thank you for your service to humanity. Until the next time, I'm Greg Prescott from N5D.com, sending you all infinite love and light from my heart to yours. Take care.