I have little respect for food.
Yes I love complex meals, but I’m just as happy eating a plain cheese sandwich. I’m the opposite of a food slob - a food snob? My opinion is that as long as I get my calories I don’t really care if it’s mediocre. So on that front I think I find weird diets a lot easier than most people.
The first time I tried keto
I tried it back in 2018 and I lost more than 12kg in 117 days. This was without any exercise (unless you count walking up the escalators from the Northern line) and not being too strict with my intake. I think what worked for me here was making a lifestyle change and just sticking to it, even when it sucked.
I felt so happy that I was able to post this after around 100 days of diet.
These were the rules that worked for me:
- Nothing that’s very obviously a carb-heavy food (rice, bread, chocolate, etc)
- No eating before 12pm
- If you feel hungry, drink a tall water first
- Breaded foods are okay in moderation
- Wine or water only (this one wasn’t particularly hard!)
This ended up in a lot of awkward situations. I once ordered “a burger but without the bun” and the staff member genuinely didn’t know how to put it into the system, so they were trying to figure out how to tell the chef without leaving their post. Since then I ordered a burger and a fork and just gave the bun to Chris.
I also couldn’t join in with a lot of group meals. Pizza night? I’ll just have some chicken strips. Sushi date? I’ll have a miso soup and some chicken skewers.
Even though I missed out on good foods in the moment, I overall felt so much better. I was more mobile. I felt much more focused and energetic. I even wore outfits that I would never have dreamed of wearing before because they were so tight on me.
The tartan scarf was me before keto, and the other scarf was me after six months. Kind of wish I'd taken progress photos!
My plan for 2025
I think I’ll use the same rules as before. Eat weird food, drink plenty of water, don’t beat myself up if I slip. Though this time there are two main differences:
- I work from home most days, so I’ll be able to control my lunch a little better. But this also comes with the danger of snacking!
- I go to the gym regularly, so I’ll need to remember to eat more calories on those days
And I realise that crash diets aren’t long-term; my plan is to go for as long as I did the first time and see how I feel. I technically started this Monday (though it already feels like weeks ago) which means this experiment will likely last until the start of May.
So if you see me eating questionable foods this year - or tearing up if I walk past an Itsu - you’ll know why.
I call this one 'Sandwich without the Bread'.