The Truth About Taking a KETO BREAK!!!

My personal experience with getting off of Keto has been very, VERY interesting. Going into the Ketogenic Diet, I thought that it was going to be a horrible experience to take a break from or get off of keto, but it hasn't been! Now don't get me wrong, there are pros and cons to taking a break from keto, and I'm going to get into them now...

Pro #1 - I haven't gained weight since getting off of keto (and it's been around a month now, I believe).

I expected to gain at least the 6 pounds of what I believed was water weight that I lost the first week, but nope! I did gain about 2 lbs, but that could all be water weight. I don't see too much of a negative difference in the mirror. I don't have "carb face" (swollen-looking) and my stomach is still about the same as when I was on keto.

Pro #2 - I don't get bloated.

Before keto, I would get bloated almost every time I ate. Like painfully, pregnant-looking bloated. Even since being on a break from keto, I haven't gotten bloated. If I have, it must've been minimal to where I didn't notice (and food babies don't count! Haha that was my overeating on vacation).

Pro #3 - The obvious: I had no limits on what I could eat.

This is piggy-backing off of the last one, but obviously when you're traveling, you don't want to be stuck to only keto meals. If it were a weekend trip, maybe, but we were there for 5 days.

I'm not going to save the worst con for last, I'm going to give it to you first...

Con #1 - My little tiff with mild anxiety/depression is back.

I mentioned before how I felt extremely positive and genuinely happy on keto... well, that's why I know I'm going back to it. How I've felt recently isn't HORRIBLE, but now that I know what it feels like to not feel anxious over little things, I can't wait to get back to keto. This is one of the biggest blessings you'll ever get from keto! Feeling legit BLISS. Life isn't magically made perfect on keto, of course, but my perspective on life was definitely more joyful.

Con #2 - I'm literally a sloth... like my level of laziness is unmatched.

I can't get myself to adult. I don't feel like doing anything responsibly 75% of the time. The productivity that I got from keto is gone. I've been meaning to write this blog post for a while, and make a blog/vlog on my trip to Mallorca, and couldn't bring myself to do it because I was lazy. Also, I've been binge-watching shows which I loathe doing, but can't seem to stop myself from it.

Con #3 - I don't have the self-control I had when I was on keto.

One of the things that made me so proud to do keto was the fact that I was consistent and demonstrated strong will-power for 3 months straight. I wouldn't overeat, I wouldn't cheat (except towards the end, I had a couple of cheat meals), I would only drink on special occasions (not that I'm an alcoholic now, but I wouldn't ever have a drink at home, it'd only be for birthday parties), and I felt in control of my life because I was in control of my diet. Well now, I feel like I've lost a bit of control, I ate chips and cookies yesterday as a snack because I was putting off cooking dinner... which leads me to my final con...

Con #4 - I get hungry again

If you haven't kept up with my keto progress then that one probably sounds silly to you, like, "Duh, you get hungry!" BUT on keto, I did no get hungry. I would maybe get the sensation that it was time to eat, but I never felt true hunger. Now I eat more often than before. This one doesn't bother me as much, but I do miss being able to go long periods of time without needing to buy a snack or grab food from somewhere (aka I saved a lot of money on keto because I could literally eat twice a day, feel full, and get all the nutrients I needed for the day from my healthy meals).

So, if you've made it this far, I'm proud of you; that was a lot to take in. And to wrap it all up, I love the keto lifestyle and want it to be my permanent way of eating. I will take breaks here and there for vacations, holidays, or other special occasions, but don't intend on those breaks to be as long as this one. I can honestly say that my life on keto is way better than off. I'd recommend looking into this diet if you haven't yet, or talking to your primary care providers about it, it's worth it. As always, thank you all for reading this, and I can't wait to update y'all again once I go back to the keto way of life.