What Happens to Your Body in the First Month of Keto?

So you've heard about the benefits of the keto diet and are looking to incorporate it into your daily life. 

 

Perhaps you're a couple of days into the diet, moderately surprised that you're actually serious about adopting this new lifestyle habit. Or, perhaps you're still in the early research phase, curious if the keto diet is worth the lifestyle change. 

 

Whatever the case, individuals on the keto diet need to know exactly what they're signing up for. While keto has been branded by many as a healthy way of living, that generalisation doesn't paint the full picture of keto's impact.

 

Whether you're preparing to start or just a few meals in, here's a clear breakdown of what to expect in your first month on keto. Let's jump right into it!

A Refresher on the Keto Diet

Before describing the timeline in greater detail, it's important to answer the question: What exactly is a keto diet?

 

Essentially, the ketogenic diet is a diet that aims to bring your body to a state of ketosis. This state is a metabolic state wherein your body burns fat instead of glucose as a fuel source. The body also has low insulin stores, a stable blood sugar level, and hunger suppression in this state.

 

In essence, this diet plan greatly minimises the intake of carbohydrates and replaces carb-rich foods with high-fat foods.

 

Typically, with a normal diet consisting of 2,000 calories a day, the average person takes 225-300 grams of carbohydrates. In a keto diet, carbohydrate intake falls to just 20 to 50 grams a day. 

 

Couple that with an increased intake of healthy dietary fats, and your body will gradually switch its primary fuel source from glycogen to fat, producing energy-rich compounds called ketones during this process.

 

The keto diet has risen in popularity due to its potency in supporting weight loss and enhancing mental clarity. This rise in interest is spurred by consumer interest, media virality, and a community desire to achieve a healthy lifestyle, but with this growing trend comes many misconceptions about the diet plan.

 

As such, it's important to know what's going on in your body as you follow through with your keto diet. And that starts by knowing what to eat and what's prohibited.

What Food is Acceptable in The Keto Diet?

The keto diet centres around high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb foods. It's an intentional style of eating, and to commit to this diet plan, you must be selective in eating nutrient-dense ingredients that both maintain ketosis and nutritional balance. 

 

If you don't want to mentally keep track of whether your food is keto or not, you can consider subscribing to services like Bondi Meal Prep's keto delivery. These services do the weekly meal preparation and delivery for you"all you have to do is sign up, provide your address, choose and pay the monthly subscription plan, and pick up the food on your doorstep!

 

That said, if you want to be in control of what you're putting in your body, the following food ingredients are deemed acceptable as keto-friendly.

 

• Healthy fats: Olive oil, Avocado oil, coconut oil, cream, and cheese
• Protein: Beef, pork, eggs, salmon, and sardines
• Vegetables: Leafy greens, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and bell peppers.
• Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, chia seeds, and flax seeds.
• Low-sugar or unsweetened drinks: Black coffee, tea, electrolyte drinks, and plain water.

 

To stay within the bounds of a keto diet plan, you'll need to avoid high-carb foods such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, sugary snacks, soft drinks, fruit juices, and most fruits. Grains, legumes, and processed low-fat products are also unsuitable because they're high in carbs and can spike blood sugar.

Your Body on a Keto Diet

Now that you're aware of the keto diet and its inherent benefits, you should then familiarise yourself with the way it can impact the human body. 

 

But firstly, it's important to realise that the keto diet can affect people in different ways. Just as everyone has unique tastes and metabolisms, the effects of keto can vary from person to person. Some bodies may respond to the keto diet faster (or slower) than others, and that's okay and expected.

 

But generally, there's a timeline of symptoms that happen in chronological order after following a keto diet. Here's a breakdown of what a person who's just recently started a keto diet may experience. 

 

24 Hours In

After skipping carbs in two or three meals, your body will start slowly losing water weight. This is because glycogen stores are being burned and not getting replenished. You may feel sluggish or less energetic than you were a day ago.

72 Hours In

For first-time keto dieters, glycogen stores are at an all-time low. Your body will be experiencing some form of withdrawal. Symptoms may include fatigue, irritability, brain fog, and intense hunger cravings. This is a universal experience for folks on a keto diet, and it's called the keto flu.

 

During this time, it's essential to touch up on hydration and electrolytes. Cravings, as mentioned earlier, will be strong. But push through this pain for a couple more days, and you'll feel these intense feelings dissipate with time.

1 Week In

Your cravings will start to feel weaker and weaker as your body gets used to this new normal. Your liver produces ketones from fat if it hasn't already in the past few days. Your body adapts and uses up fat for fuel. 

 

You're losing a modest 2-5 pounds of water weight as glycogen leaves your body. Your energy also starts to stabilise bit by bit. You feel progress, but you're not at the all-clear just yet.

2 Weeks In

If you've been religiously following the keto diet, then your body will gradually become more efficient at using fat for fuel. It's not at its most optimised point just yet, but it's getting there.

 

All the symptoms of the keto flu start to disappear. Your mind becomes clearer, your digestion returns to normal, and your mood will return to its baseline, if not improve drastically. You also weigh a lot less now.

3 Weeks In

Three weeks into the diet, your body is now fully in tune with your diet. Random energy slumps become nonexistent at this point, but they may return if you exercise or do light cardio. 

 

In any case, you'll have fewer cravings for sugar, carbs, and sweets. Your body is now in fat-adaptation mode, and you can see and feel noticeable results in your body. It's not uncommon to see a total weight loss of 5 to 10 pounds at this stage.

 

4 Weeks In

Your body is now in tune with using ketones and fat for its metabolic processes. Any lingering side effects from the keto flu have come to pass.

 

Your energy is at its peak, even after moderate exercise. Your appetite is normal, blood sugar levels are stable, and mental clarity is crystal clear. Your body composition is also leaner than ever before.

 

Congratulations! You have achieved sustainable ketosis at this point. 

What Happens if You Binge?

A keto diet is incredibly restrictive, and exceeding the recommended carb intake for even just a meal can disrupt your state of ketosis.

 

So let's assume you've gone ahead and eaten that bowl of pasta you've been craving. What then? Well, here's what happens:

 

• You get kicked out of ketosis: Heavy carb intake replenishes your glycogen stores, priming your body to burn glucose for energy instead of fat.
• Blood sugar spikes: Sudden glycogen intake can spike blood sugar levels and insulin. This can lead to energy crashes, mood swings, and water retention.
• You gain weight: Glycogen gets reintroduced into your body system, and it can retain water. You can regain the weight you've been working hard to lose quickly.
• Your mental health worsens: You'll feel headaches, fatigue, and brain fog. Cravings get intense as your body remembers the taste of sugar and carbs.
• You may be ill afterwards: You can feel bloated or experience digestive issues right after the binge.

 

The good news is that one or two carb-heavy meals won't completely erase the progress of a multi-week-long keto diet routine. It may take only two to four days of a strict keto diet, coupled with exercise and fasting, following the binge, to restore your body into a state of ketosis. 

 

We hope you've learned more about keto and its effects on the body. Good luck on your keto journey!