Keto Weeks 5-7 | Weight Gain?
So, I realize I've been a bit MIA with the blogs these past few weeks, but I'm going to tell you about something that is probably the biggest Keto Killer. Like, I struggled MAJORLY through weeks 5 and 6, and partially into week 7. I'm in week 8 now, and have fully recovered from this demon that only us women experience...
Yes, I'm talking about PMS. So if you're a guy reading this you can skip this post because you probably can't relate. I don't know if it's fully to blame on Keto, but I had the worst period that I've had since I was in high school. My cramps had me in fetal position for hours, I had fatigue that had me sleeping maybe 10-12 hours straight, I probably had mild bipolar disorder for a good week or two that was intense (sorry, Josh! Lol), and I had CRAVINGS...
When I say I had cravings, they were bad! I wanted sweets like crazy and I wanted to eat everything I'm not supposed to eat. Also, i went from not being hungry, like ever, to not being full ever. I wanted to eat all day everyday. BTW my period was heavier, but shorter (only 2 days!), but my PMS symptoms lasted almost a full 2 weeks.
Here's how I got through this intense battle with PMS:
I ate every time I got hungry, no fasting.
I bought Halo Top ice cream and ate a 1/2 cup each day whenever my sweet tooth was unbearable (approx. 6g of carbs/servcing)
I made chocolate mug cakes for my sweet tooth as well. I found a super amazing recipe that I can share if you're interest! (approx. 4g carbs/mug cake)
I also made sure to stay far away from breads, pastas, and sugary foods because I wasn't sure how good my willpower would be during that time.
i did increase my carb intake from under 20g a day to under 30g a day. It usually ended up only being around 25g, but some days it got up to 27g.
Good new, though! I made it through without cheating. My weight did fluctuate though. Periods cause your body to retain more water and bloat of course, so I went up a few pounds the first few days of PMS, but it went back down a few days later. My lowest weight since PMS has been 145.6 (for a total loss of 13.2 pounds within 7 weeks).
I have been fluctuating a bit, but staying between 145.5-146.5 lbs and I've had alcohol 3 weekends in a row, so that has potentially stalled some of my weight loss (fun fact: drinking alcohol causes your body to stop burning fat for 2-3 days).
From here, I plan on going back to no alcohol (except for my friend's bday party coming up). I will go back to intermittent fasting and back to strict keto (I've been doing lazy keto lately), and doing cardio for the next few weeks before I go to Mallorca next month. I also plan on adding weight lifting back into my routine soon too. So I'll keep you all posted in this journey. If I don't have much to update on, I may skip/combine weeks as not to waste anyone's precious time or my own. I hope to see you all back in future posts!